Regional leaders in the Eastern Townships are working together to support Bishop’s University (BU) in the face of the Quebec government’s tuition increase for Canadian out-of-province students.

A press conference was held at BU’s Centennial Theatre on Oct. 31 that saw over 187 community leaders, including former politicians, elected officials, business owners, university representatives, and BU alumni, stand behind the university and demand that government officials reconsider their proposed university tuition fee policies.

The press conference was organized by a steering committee made up of former Sherbrooke mayor, Jean Perrault; Louise Bourgault, director general of the Sherbrooke Chamber of Commerce; Claude Belleau, Bishop’s alumnus and former general director of Estrie Aide; Chantal Lessard, associate with Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton; and Yanick Crack, Associate with Groupe TCJ. 

Sébastien Lebel-Grenier, principal and vice-chancellor of BU, said it was 'overwhelming' to see the extent of the mobilization of the entire Eastern Township community.  “What, to my mind, is especially important is that you saw all of the Francophone leadership stand up with us and say ‘Bishop’s is essential to our community, they are a part of what makes us whole.’ They were here to support us and the Bishop’s community was here to feel that outpour of love for the institution and what we stand for,”  Lebel-Grenier said.

In October, Minister of Higher Education Pascale Déry announced the proposed increase in tuition fees for Canadian out-of-province students from $9,000 to $17,000. According to the official press release sent out by the Ministry of Higher Education, students covered by international agreements, such as those from France and Belgium, as well as non-Quebec students already enrolled at a Quebec university, will not be affected by these changes for the time being. The goal with these changes is to preserve the French language and they are expected to be implemented by the fall of 2024. 

According to Lebel-Grenier, Canadian out-of-province students make up 30% of the student body at BU, which leaves the university in difficult circumstances. 

“That percentage is much lower at McGill and Concordia. Therefore, the immediate financial impacts of the measures will be much greater. Also, we have been defined by the diverse student body we welcome on campus and out-of-province students are an essential part of that mix. (…) Losing Canadian out-of-province students would make us a different university,” he noted. 

Claude Belleau, a member of the steering committee behind the press conference and BU alumni, said “the entire community is being threatened by the situation” and the concerns within the Eastern Townships are much greater than people think, which is why he and other volunteers took up the cause. 

“Who would have thought, in our wildest dreams, that students coming from all over the world and all over Canada would be a threat to the French language, it does not make sense. (…) You know, we discovered while we were mustering the participation of everybody that there are so many more people that are concerned, directly or indirectly, by this cause. So we said no, no, no, we cannot allow this to take place and we need to send a strong message to the government,” Belleau told CIDI. 

He added that there is “fear that this battle could be a long one,” but “we’re not going to give up until we have obtained satisfaction.”

Speaking on his experience as a BU student, Belleau said that his opportunity to attend the university opened up “the world” to him. 

“It changed my life entirely. I came to the campus not speaking a word of English. I was doing a lot of sports, I played football and basketball at Bishop’s, and when the coach came to my high school in Sherbrooke I couldn’t understand what he was saying. My coach translated and he said ‘well, they want you to go and play there.’ (…) Coming to Bishop’s gave me the opportunity to access a new language, a new culture, and literally opened up the door to me because I ended up doing a career at the international level where English was absolutely essential,” he said. “(….) I’m eternally grateful to this institution and I do not want to see it weakened.”

Belleau emphasized that BU needs to be preserved for the sake of future generations. 

“I am a strong defender and believer that French has a distinction and that it needs to be preserved, but in tomorrow’s world we need to preserve French, we need to have our kids speak English, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, whatever other language, because the world is shrinking. If we isolate ourselves, there is no winning for us in the future and there is no winning for our kids. (…) This is the way I feel, and this is the way the close to 200 people on stage feel about it too,” noted Bellau. 

At the press conference, Sébastien Lussier, president of the Sherbrooke Chamber of Commerce and Industry, highlighted the important economic contributions of BU and out-of-province students in the Eastern Townships. 

Citing a study by  Ernst & Young, Lussier said that “the economic impact of Bishop’s University on Quebec is $108 million dollars in direct spending, 76 million per year in GDP, and $65 million a year in wages - most of it is directly inject in the Eastern Townships economy.” 

He added that the roughly 800 out-of-province students contribute $21 million dollars per year in direct spending into the region’s economy, $11 million in GDP, and $7 million dollars per year in wages. 

“We have a lot of employees here in Sherbrooke and Lennoxville. We have many students who are coming from other provinces and some stay here, but some return to their region and they become ambassadors for the Eastern Townships or Sherbrooke. So it is really important this solidarity with Bishops,” Lussier told CIDI. 

Moving forward, Lebel-Grenier explained that BU is keeping the channels of communication with government officials “active” and that it is proposing solutions to avoid the tuition hike. 

“I think that’s really an important piece of the puzzle. We’re communicating regularly with government members. Again, I want to make this clear, we are not opposed to measures to uphold and support the vibrancy of the French-language in Quebec, quite the contrary. We really see ourselves as a partner with government in that respect. We are not opposing the fundamental objectives, but this policy is destructive for our institution and will not bring any benefit either our community in the Eastern Townships or Quebec generally. (…) We’ve been told that we should be hearing from them soon. We’re hopeful that we’re going to find a solution that is beneficial to the entirety of Quebec,” he said. 

Disclosure: CIDI journalist Taylor McClure is a graduate of Bishops U.

To hear more from the press conference, listen to the full interview below: