Court ruling a wake-up call for Quebec to work with English universities, not against them, Concordia says

Montreal Gazette

25-04-2025

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Buoyed by a partial court victory, Concordia president Graham Carr says the time has come for Quebec's anglophone universities and the Legault government to turn the page and begin working together.
'The decision to seek legal action came after months and months of trying to have data-driven conversations with the government and frustration at the lack of genuine dialogue and collaboration,' Carr told The Gazette.
'My hope is the government will look at this judgment and the larger context and (decide) we can hit reset and take a genuinely collaborative approach to supporting a higher education system that is world-class.'
Last year, Concordia and McGill sued the Coalition Avenir Québec government over its university funding overhaul, which specifically targeted English-language institutions. The institutions said the changes hurt their finances, forcing them to make deep budget cuts.
On Thursday, Quebec Superior Court Justice Éric Dufour ruled that parts of the funding revamp were 'unreasonable.'
The affected measures are the 33-per-cent tuition hike for out-of-province students that took effect in 2024, as well as French proficiency targets for non-Quebec students at English universities, set to begin in the fall of 2025.
Dufour gave the provincial government nine months to revise its tuition policy in line with the judgment. He ordered an immediate end to the French-language requirements.
However, the judge rejected the anglophone universities' argument that another aspect of the overhaul — concerning the portion of international student fees retained by Quebec — was unlawful.
Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry has not commented on the decision. Parties involved in the case have 30 days to appeal.
'I am relieved and reassured that on some very critical matters, the judge found in our favour,' Carr said.
He said on francization, Quebec's English universities — Concordia, McGill and Bishop's — have long been committed to helping non-Quebec students learn French. Carr said that 'commitment remains.'
Concordia is struggling financially. The university has cut millions in spending as it tries to restore a balanced budget by 2028-29, as set out in a recovery plan approved by Quebec's Higher Education Ministry.
In February, the university said it still needed 'to realize $21.8 million in additional savings and increased revenue — the equivalent of (three to four per cent) of the university's overall operating budget of $665 million.'
Carr said the court judgment will not solve Concordia's money problems.
He noted that a drop in applications from out-of-province and international students has hurt his university's finances. More recently, the provincial and federal governments have cut the number of international students that universities can accept.
In March, McGill announced it would lay off about 100 employees as it worked to eliminate a projected $45-million deficit for next year.
The university said several factors led to the possible shortfall, including the out-of-province tuition increase and a provincial clawback of a portion of tuition revenues. It also pointed to caps on international student admissions at the provincial and federal levels and lower capital grants from Quebec.
In a statement sent to students and staff late Thursday, McGill president Deep Saini said his university is reviewing the court decision
'McGill remains firmly committed to playing an essential role in Quebec's economy, talent pipeline, research ecosystem and to contributing to the promotion and vitality of the French language,' Saini said.
He thanked the university community for its 'dedication to McGill as we work to protect its mission and place as one of the world's top institutions of higher education.'
The Quebec Community Groups Network, which has described the university reform as an 'attack on Quebec's English-speaking community,' welcomed the court decision.
'This is an important ruling on a crucial issue,' Eva Ludvig, president of the umbrella group of anglophone associations, said in a statement to The Gazette.
'It confirms our belief that the government acted rashly last fall in first blaming out-of-province students for the decline in French it perceives, and in imposing a discriminatory tuition burden on these students who contribute mightily to Montreal and Quebec, as well as the English language-institutions that are at the heart of our English-speaking community.'
Ludvig said it's telling that the judge was 'so critical of the lack of evidence and data to back up the tuition policy. The government blew it on this one, and the universities' partial victory is well deserved.'