Concordia proved it would suffer serious or irreparable harm but it didn’t demonstrate a clear violation of rights, the Quebec Superior Court judge ruled.
Justice Éric Dufour ruled July 12 that while Concordia had raised serious issues and proved it would suffer serious or irreparable harm, it didn’t demonstrate a clear violation of rights. It didn’t meet the high bar to have the government’s policy suspended at this stage of the legal process, Dufour ruled.
Starting this fall, tuition for out-of-province students at Concordia and McGill will rise by around 30 per cent, to a minimum of $12,000. International students will have to pay a minimum of $20,000, with the Quebec government taking $17,000.
The provincial government has argued the changes will redirect funds to French-language universities and reduce public spending on out-of-province students who often leave Quebec after graduating.
Concordia argued the changes infringe on the rights of English-speaking Canadians and were based on stereotypes about anglophones, Dufour wrote. The university also argued that because the changes will hurt it financially, they also infringe on the rights of anglophone Quebecers.
The government argued that discrimination of the basis of language is not a prohibited under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and that the university hadn’t demonstrated it will suffer serious or irreparable harm. It also argued that the “necessity” of rebalancing government funding of universities outweighed the harm to Concordia, the judge wrote.
Concordia spokeswoman Vannina Maestracci highlighted the judge’s acknowledgment that the university will suffer serious or irreparable harm and that it had raised serious issues.
“This request is only one step in the process, and we look forward to our arguments being heard on the merits,” she wrote.