Increase in tuition fees | “We are here for you, Bishop’s”

More than 100 influential members of the Estrie community took to the stage of the Centennial Theater at Bishop’s University on Tuesday morning to show their support for this English-speaking establishment, whose survival would be threatened by rising tuition fees. decreed by the Legault government for students from other provinces.

It was in front of a packed room and thunderous applause that the former mayor of Sherbrooke Jean Perrault said: “We are here for you, Bishop’s. »

Students, staff members and citizens of the region responded in large numbers to this call to mobilize in favor of Bishop’s. More than 650 people were in the room and on stage, and another 220 were listening to the event via replay in the university bar.

Bishop’s recruits nearly a third of its students from other provinces. The government announced on October 13 that it would double the tuition fees imposed on these students, starting next September. The bill will go from nearly $9,000 to $17,000.

“This will make Quebec the most expensive province, by far, to pursue undergraduate studies.^er cycle, denounced Mr. Perrault. These measures threaten the very existence of Bishop’s University, since students from other provinces will no longer be able to afford to come and study there. »

The deputy mayor of Sherbrooke, Raïs Kibonge, the prefect of the MRC of Memphrémagog, Jacques Demers, the rector of the University of Sherbrooke, Pierre Cossette, the president of the Sherbrooke Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sébastien Lussier, the principal of Bishop’s University, Sébastien Lebel-Grenier, and the president of the student association, Sophia Stacey, took turns taking the microphone to express their concern about the future of Bishop’s, in the context of the increase in tuition fees.

” You are welcome ”

Rector Pierre Cossette said his university collaborated a lot with Bishop’s. “It’s not well known because we often have the impression that universities are in competition with each other, but we collaborate on several levels,” he said to the applause and shouts of the crowd. .

On Monday, the management committee of the University of Sherbrooke unanimously adopted a motion to support Bishop’s University.

“I have a message for you, Bishop’s students: You are welcome in the Eastern Townships, you are welcome in Quebec,” concluded Mr. Cossette, in English. “We very much appreciate your presence among us, and we hope that it will continue for a very long time. »

The president of the Sherbrooke Chamber of Commerce and Industry recalled, for his part, the significant economic impact of Bishop’s in the region.

“The 800 students from other provinces provide accommodation, food, expenses and a few parties per year, therefore contributing to the region’s economy,” he declared. These same students are not a risk for linguistic communities. In fact, the district of Lennoxville, in the city of Sherbrooke, is seeing a slow erosion of English-speaking communities. »

In an open letter, 187 signatories from Estrie ask the government that Bishop’s be exempt from the increase in tuition fees for students from other provinces.

In recent days, former Prime Minister Jean Charest, the leader of the official opposition, Marc Tanguay, and the MP for Compton–Stanstead and federal Minister of Revenue, Marie-Claude Bibeau, have also denounced the increase in labor rights. schooling at Bishop’s. On Monday, hundreds of students marched to Prime Minister François Legault’s office in Montreal to oppose his government’s decision to double tuition fees for students from other provinces.