quebec passes controversial law capping number of international students
immigration minister jean-françois roberge wouldn't specify what the new number will be. "for now, we have done nothing. we just have a new law with new tools."
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quebec — a controversial piece of legislation slapping a ceiling on the number of international students in quebec, and giving the government more say on where and what they study, has been voted into law. despite widespread opposition to the legislation by quebec’s cegep and university networks, the coalition avenir québec government used its majority to pass bill 74 on thursday.
the vote was 78 for and 27 against, with the liberals and québec solidaire voting against. the four parti québécois mnas supported the caq, but also expressed reservations about what the government was doing.
immigration minister jean-françois roberge insisted from the moment he tabled the bill in october that the number of international students in quebec — about 120,000 — is too high.
the government had to act to protect french and to ensure the students — who fall into the category of temporary immigrants — meet the needs of the province and economy, he said.
throughout the adoption process, roberge never stipulated what the desired number of international students would be, saying that will be determined later via government regulations and after consulting with the education network.
the new law gives the government sweeping powers to manage the system, including determining the total number of international students allowed into designated schools. quebec will have a say in which regions they can study in and the courses they are allowed to take.
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during the clause-by-clause study of the bill, roberge inserted an amendment adding knowledge of french as one of the factors to be considered when evaluating an international student’s admissibility to quebec.
another amendment, which changes quebec’s immigration law, stipulates that in the future quebec will include temporary immigrants in its multi-year immigration planning. there are about 600,000 in quebec today.
emerging from the legislature after the vote, roberge downplayed accusations he is assuming too much power. there were also complaints from cegeps and universities that he is meddling in their academic autonomy and threatening future research in quebec, which is highly dependent on foreign students.
“they have worries, but i think their concerns are not founded,” roberge told reporters.
he said the law in fact allows the government to protect certain universities and research projects. he pledged to work with cegeps and universities to define the road ahead.
“(universities) see there are new powers and they want to express their concerns,” roberge said. “i hear them.”
he again refused to specify what the new ceiling on international students will be.
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“we had a huge increase in numbers, so we had to act,” roberge said. “but we will do this as a team, with other ministers. we will take our time. we have more agility to get more information to make better decisions.
“for now, we have done nothing. we just have a new law with new tools for the government.”
in their remarks just before adoption, the liberals and québec solidaire ripped into the bill, saying it is ill conceived and fails to recognize that international students represent a richness for quebec.
“the minister gives himself a great deal of power,” said liberal immigration critic andré morin. “the term ‘blank cheque’ comes to mind. it’s far from insignificant.”
“the minister will be able to close the tap (on international students),” added liberal higher education critic michelle setlakwe. “he has not been able to say what the ceiling will be. are we talking 10 per cent, 20 per cent, 30 per cent?
“how many is too many? we don’t know.”
“i am very concerned,” added qs immigration critic guillaume cliche-rivard. “the universities expressed concerns during the consultation (process); they wanted positive and proactive measures to reassure them. none of that happened.”
