There was no contrition or hint of empathy by Fr\u00e9chette for any of the hurt that her government\u2019s initiatives have inflicted on the anglophone community over the last eight years. When she praised our \u201cimportant, world-class institutions like Concordia and McGill universities,\u201d I almost choked. Her government\u2019s controversial tuition hikes for English universities have had a severely detrimental impact on these institutions. (More on that later).\u00a0<\/p>\n
Asked about participating in a leaders debate in English, Fr\u00e9chette said, \u201cwe\u2019ll see because we have a lot of invitations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked if it\u2019s too late to mend her party\u2019s relationship with anglos, she pivoted to talk about how winds are changing and Quebecers are again considering the CAQ.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Asked about language inspectors\u2019 heavy-handed crackdown on words like \u201cnosh\u201d or the \u201cBurgundy Lion,\u201d she offered that \u201cmaybe we can improve the tone used by the OQLF.\u201d<\/p>\n
She was more definite, though, about the CAQ bill to restrict access to adult vocational training<\/a> in English, which wasn\u2019t adopted before the end of the legislative session, but remains a major concern of the anglophone community and school boards. She vowed to bring it back if re-elected, citing a decline in the French language \u2014 \u201cespecially between 2016 and 2021\u201d. She wasn\u2019t asked which statistics she was referring to but offered that maybe the government would consult better next time.\u00a0<\/p>\n When she praised our ‘important, world-class institutions like Concordia and McGill universities,’ I almost choked.<\/p>\n Fr\u00e9chette may have accepted CJAD\u2019s invitation to reassure the business community that she is a more inclusive leader, or maybe she\u2019s hoping for some anglo support as a strategic stopgap against the separatist Parti Qu\u00e9b\u00e9cois. But it certainly didn\u2019t strike me as a genuine olive branch to the community.<\/p>\n She offered platitudes \u2014 including the stock answer that reversing the decline of French doesn\u2019t mean we should not respect the rights of English-speaking Quebecers \u2014 while ignoring how past actions have weakened the community\u2019s institutions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The next day, the heads of three English universities \u2014 McGill, Concordia and Bishops \u2014 held a press conference with Higher Education Minister Martine Biron to announce a new deal<\/a> that only added insult to injury. <\/p>\n After the CAQ first floated plans to raise out-of-province tuition, the three schools responded by promising to establish French-language targets. Under the deal announced Tuesday, the universities will receive a share of $20 million annually to help 60 per cent of out-of-province undergraduate students obtain Level 4 oral French skills. The burden is with the universities to meet the target; otherwise, McGill and Concordia will face $1,500 penalties for each student who fails to reach the goal, starting in the 2029-30 school year.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shockingly, this collaboration comes without any change to the tuition hikes<\/a> that McGill has claimed could translate to $91 million in cumulative losses and an annual deficit of $89 million by 2028. Concordia, meanwhile, has had to cut $36 million from its annual budget.<\/p>\n \t\tEditor\u2019s Picks\t<\/p>\n Under normal circumstances, an initiative like this \u2014 our English universities working positively with the Quebec government on promoting the French language \u2014 would be laudable. But to me, this was like a robbery victim sitting next to their mugger, apologetically promising to help them out, but not even getting their money back.<\/p>\n Here I also blame the universities. Why not hold out on this deal in exchange for a reversal of the hikes, which were roundly denounced \u2014 even by the courts<\/a>?<\/p>\n In an election year, the community leadership must be smarter in leveraging our voting block to make gains. It won\u2019t happen if governments think they can pull the wool over our eyes, and we help them believe they can.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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