MONTREAL - A prominent group of Quebecers says the province needs to hike tuition fees to deal with "chronic" underfunding of post-secondary institutions.
The group includes former premier Lucien Bouchard, whose Parti Quebecois government froze tuition a decade-and-a-half ago at the lowest rates in Canada.
But now Bouchard says universities are in trouble.
He and a group of other prominent Quebecers have signed a declaration calling for an increase in university tuition as well as an increase in government funding for universities.
"Quebec's universities are hurting," said Bouchard. "The condition is not incurable, but it is chronic. This is why we are strongly encouraging all Quebecers to commit themselves to supporting our universities."
Other signatories include former Liberal finance ministers Michel Audet and Monique Jerome-Forget.
Thumbs down
The group representing Quebec's 45,000 CEGEP students gave an immediate thumbs down to the proposal, saying governments should be beefing up student loan programs, not hiking tuition.
"It's completely absurd," president Xavier Lefebvre Boucher said in a statement. "Their solution doesn't hold water. It is disappointing to hear this coming from former members of our movement. We expected better, given that they have usurped the name of our organization."
Lefebvre Boucher says Quebec's loan and bursary programs are underfunded to the tune of $170 million. He added that hiking tuition fees would cause enrollment to drop and would shut out poor students.
Any hint of tuition hikes has, in the past, triggered a huge backlash and had Quebec students out in the streets protesting.
But the debate is now relaunched as Quebec, like almost every other jurisdiction in the world, struggles with the challenge of balancing its budget without slashing services.
