What started as a protest over a proposal to raise tuition fees and then morphed into a social movement in Quebec appeared closer to some sort of resolution Saturday after Leo Bureau-Blouin suggested striking students were willing to compromise.
Bureau-Blouin, the president of Quebec’s College Student Federation, said in a radio interview Saturday, if the Charest government lessened the tuition increase it is contemplating the student protests could come to an end.
“I think we are ready for compromise,” Bureau-Blouin told CBC Radio’s The House. “If Quebec’s government is ready for it too, I think we can come to something.”
But what students are looking for as a concession from the Charest government wasn’t clear as Bureau-Blouin wouldn’t say what amount of increase would be palatable to students.
“I don’t want to send (out) numbers or percentage in the public place, but I do think students are ready for a compromise on the amount of the tuition hike,” Bureau-Blouin said.
However, whatever optimism was created by the comments – which a senior Quebec government cabinet minister welcomed – they also came with a warning: get a deal done soon, or risk protests during Quebec’s biggest summer tourism events.
Festival season in Montreal
Students take to the streets in Montreal
begins the weekend of June 8 when the Formula One Grand Prix rolls into town. According to the Montreal Gazette, the Grand Prix has an economic spinoff of $90 million, while the other major event – the Jazz Festival – pumps about $96 million into the local economy.
“I will think Quebec’s government will want to solve the crisis before these big happenings,” Bureau-Blouin said.
Students began protesting more than three months ago when the provincial government proposed raising tuition by 75 per cent, spread over seven years. Once fully implemented, it would bring the average tuition in Quebec to $3,946 from the $2,168 today – the lowest tuition in the country.
But the Charest government’s introduction of legislation to limit when and where protests can take place, how much information protest organizers must provide to police, and hefty fines for anyone blocking students from attending classes, has drawn international attention and condemnation for limiting free speech. Students are challenging the contentious piece of legislation, Bill 78, in court.
Bureau-Blouin and Quebec Finance Minister Raymond Bachand told The House that what is happening in Quebec now is a social movement, one that Bachand said may ultimately be decided in a provincial election.
Premier Jean Charest must call an election by 2013, but Bachand suggested Saturday that it may happen sooner – within months.
“The debate on tuition fees basically is a question of fairness between taxpayers and that will be settled in elections,” Bachand said.
“The question of tuition fees, not all the rest, basically is a question the people decide on by basically reelecting us… or electing others.”Student Protests Montreal