Quebec refuses to exempt CEGEPs and universities from cap on foreign students

Photo: Graham Hughes La Presse canadienne «On va écouter leurs arguments, mais on dépose un projet de loi pour que le gouvernement du Québec ait une meilleure manière de contrôler son immigration», a déclaré le ministre Roberge au sujet de la requête des universités et des cégeps.

By asking to be exempted from Bill 74 aimed at reducing the number of foreign students, CEGEPs and universities are being unreasonable, according to Immigration Minister Jean-François Roberge.

“We will listen to their arguments, but we are tabling a bill so that the Quebec government has a better way to control its immigration,” summarized Mr. Roberge in a press scrum on Tuesday, the first day of studying the legislative text that he had tabled at the beginning of October. The Coalition avenir Québec elected official had just given a firm no to college and university establishments, which wish not to be affected by the proposed changes to the law.

In a short joint brief presented to parliamentarians, the universities of Montreal (UdeM), Sherbrooke (UdeS), Laval (UL) and McGill recommended to Minister Roberge that their students “not be subject to Bill 74.” The same goes for Concordia University, Bishop’s University and the Université du Québec network. The same goes for the Fédération des cégeps.

In their eyes, the government proposal “threatens to erase” the “crucial” contribution of international students in terms of research and economics.

“We have taken decades, if not two centuries in the case of McGill, to build this exceptional university system in Quebec. “All of this could be destroyed in a very short period of time,” McGill University President and Vice-Chancellor Deep Saini said in English during an impromptu press conference a few minutes after his appearance before the committee.

“We’re not talking about something minor. It’s fundamental to the future of this province,” he continued, surrounded by his fellow rectors from UL, UdeM and UdeS.

“Not reasonable”

According to Université Laval rector Sophie D’Amours, international student enrolment has dropped by about 22% this year compared to last year. This phenomenon has been facilitated by a series of government decisions such as the increase in tuition fees imposed on non-Canadian students, added his counterpart at Université de Montréal, Daniel Jutras.

“Across all our universities, we have seen declines in new registrations. I think this is the result of the confusion that has resulted from a series of measures announced over the past year—12 of them—that affect international students,” he said.

According to Ms. D’Amours, asking for an exception for universities is therefore self-evident. Mr. Jutras believes that “there are other ways [than a bill to] control immigration” and that there should be more control over those who “abuse the system.”

But Jean-François Roberge refuses to open the door to an exemption clause. Asked directly about this proposal, the CAQ elected official simply replied Tuesday that it was “not reasonable.” “Ten years ago, there were 50,000 foreign students. Now there are more than 120,000,” he recalled.

“Adequate” reduction

The minister assures that he does not “see foreign students as a problem,” but that their numbers are disturbing. When he tabled his bill, he said he wanted to reduce these levels “adequately,” promising to come back with targets this fall or early 2025.

“It is not normal that migration policy, when we talk about foreign students, is put in the hands of 20, 40, 70 institutions, all independent. It takes a conductor,” he said, recalling that his government would consult all the affected institutions to avoid cutting programs that help “meet our public service challenges.”

Although challenged by several groups on Tuesday, Bill 74 still received some support from the Commissioner of the French Language, Benoît Dubreuil. According to him, the percentage of foreign students in English-speaking universities (around 34% this year) is still too high. He hopes that the bill will allow for a rebalancing in this regard.

Commissioner Dubreuil believes that a reduction in the number of study permit holders is not necessarily essential. “It's more a question of having an overall balance,” he said.

The study of Bill 74 continues Wednesday in the National Assembly.