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Montreal Gazette
6 days ago
- Business
- Montreal Gazette
LaSalle College says it helps French thrive, so why is Quebec cracking down on it?
By The bookstore at LaSalle College looks a lot like a bookstore at any other college or university, apart from a large section offering fabric by the yard, coloured threads on bobbins, buttons, zippers and other notions, alongside textbooks with titles like 'Fashion: The Whole Story' and 'Tout sur la mode.' It's all evidence of the school's long reputation as Quebec's foremost school for fashion design. But recently, this private, subsidized bilingual college at the corner of Ste-Catherine and Fort Sts. in downtown Montreal has been getting attention for something less glamorous than its flair for fashion. The Quebec government has served the school with fines totalling almost $30 million for violating the province's language law by admitting too many students to its English-taught continuing-education programs over the last two years. Education Minister Pascale Déry says it's a simple case of the college refusing to follow the rules. But many see it as another example of perverse effects caused by the CAQ government's single-minded zeal to show just how serious it is about protecting the French language. According to the college's president and CEO, Claude Marchand, the draconian one-size-fits-all fines risk killing an institution that actually promotes French here and abroad, contributes far more to government coffers than it takes in subsidies and improves Quebec's image around the world. On top of all that, Marchand argues, the main reason LaSalle College is in conflict with the language law is that it has been trying to help Premier François Legault's government meet another important objective: to fill a 170,000-person labour market shortage in the public service and other strategic economic sectors. The college is fighting the fines in Quebec Superior Court but is hoping the government will relent and come to some reasonable agreement. In the meantime, staff members told a Gazette reporter last week they are telling nervous students that it's 'business as usual'… for now. But what exactly is LaSalle College and why should the government reconsider these fines that threaten to put a 66-year-old institution out of business? LaSalle College was founded in 1959 by east-end Montreal entrepreneur Jean-Paul Morin. The original campus was in the Montreal borough of LaSalle. When it opened its doors it was essentially a secretarial school. In its first year, a dozen young women signed up to take courses in shorthand, touch typing, filing and record keeping, along with a course called 'Charm and Finishing.' The college grew, and in 1962 Morin moved his school downtown to be closer to the office jobs the school was filling. But Morin had a passion for fashion, having worked at the iconic Ogilvy clothing store and several clothing design firms during and after obtaining a business degree at Sir George Williams University. In 1973, Morin hired local fashion maven Michèle Boulanger-Bussière — best known as the longtime fashion editor at La Presse — to design and head up a new fashion faculty at the school. In 1989, LaSalle College embarked on a project to 'internationalize' by establishing the first LaSalle College International (LCI) campus in Casablanca, Morocco. The LCI network now includes 23 campuses in nine countries, including Canada (Montreal, Laval, Vancouver), Mexico, Colombia, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Morocco, Spain, Turkey and Australia. These institutes are all independent, but LaSalle College students have the option of taking a few courses or even a full degree at these institutes. By the early 1990s, the college had more than 1,000 students. The school established a charitable foundation called the Montreal Fashion Foundation, which supported education and research in the field, organized fashion galas and awarded scholarships to young designers to continue their studies in Canada and abroad. Today, LaSalle College has about 4,500 students enrolled in seven faculties, including Information Technology and Engineering; Gaming, Animation and VFX; Hospitality, Tourism and Culinary; Business Management; Education and Social Sciences; and Arts, Design and Communication. Students can take courses in 65 programs, all offered in English or French. Students can do a three-year Diploma of Collegial Studies (DCS or, in French, DEC), which prepares them for the job market or to continue their education at university. The school also offers continuing education for those in the workforce but looking for a change of career. These courses lead to an Attestation of Collegial Studies (ACS, or AEC in French) and generally require less time to complete. 'What makes LaSalle really unique is that all of our programs are available in French and in English. So that means our students can pick what is best for them,' Marchand said. 'At LaSalle, half the students are enrolled in our French-taught programs and half are enrolled in our English-taught programs.' The other element that makes the school unique is the high proportion of international students who enrol here. In any given year, from 30 to 40 per cent of the student body of about 4,500 students hail from countries other than Canada. 'No other college-level institution, whether in the public or private sector, welcomes as many international students,' Marchand said. And since LaSalle is categorized as a francophone institution, all of its students must pass the French exit exam to receive their degrees. 'It's amazing for the French language because every student studying in our English-taught programs must follow courses of French, courses in French and must successfully pass the (French exit) exam at the end of their studies to show they are proficient in French. Our belief is that is easier to (learn French) at LaSalle because at the cafeteria, or when we organize activities ... half of the students are already living in French. I don't want to be stereotypical, but, yes, there are couples being formed between kids in the French-taught programs and in the English-taught programs, and … they need to make it work.' The high quotient of international students is one reason LaSalle ended up over-enrolling in its English-taught programs. Law 14, formerly Bill 96, amended Quebec's language law to limit the number of students studying in English at public CEGEPs and at private, subsidized colleges like LaSalle. The law was passed in May 2022, but each institution's enrolment quotas and the fines that would be levied if those were surpassed were only made public at the end of February 2023. By that point, Marchand says, enrolment for the 2023-2024 academic year was already mostly complete, and many international students were already enrolled for the 2024-2025 year because they need to secure acceptance well in advance to obtain visas. Another complicating factor for LaSalle College was that it was participating heavily in a Quebec government program to address labour shortages. In 2021, Labour Minister Jean Boulet launched a program called 'Operation main-d'oeuvre' to fill critical gaps in the public service and certain economic sectors. Over five years, the government aimed to spend $3.9 billion to attract, train or retrain 170,000 workers, including 60,000 in essential public services such as health, social services and early childhood education, and 110,000 in information technologies, engineering and construction. 'So what the government did was encourage, post-COVID, workers to go back to school and re-qualify, and LaSalle played a key role in that program,' Marchand said. In fact, LaSalle reoriented its offerings to accept many more continuing-education students in programs like IT, early childhood education and special-care counselling so its graduates could meet needs in those sectors, including in daycare centres and long-term care facilities. The overall number of students studying in English at LaSalle has decreased since 2019, but more students are now taking continuing-education (ACS) courses in English, while fewer are taking pre-university (DCS) courses in English. The college receives government subsidies for all Quebec residents doing pre-university (DCS) degrees. In addition, the school gets a fixed sum per year regardless of how many students it accepts in ACS programs. For example, in 2023-2024, LaSalle was subsidized $9.3 million for its ACS programs. Marchand points to an economic impact study that shows the college generates $31.8 million in government revenues annually. 'We receive about $20 million of public subsidies, so we generate an excess in cash of about $10 million a year to the government,' he said. He is still hoping the government will relent and cancel the fines, noting the school will be meeting the Law 14 quotas for English-taught admissions in the 2025-2026 year. He said instead of punishing the school, the Quebec government should be using it as a model for francization and the principle of harmonious 'vivre ensemble' that politicians love talking about and for which Montreal is famous. 'We fulfil a very important public mission for Quebec society. We are not stealing from Quebec society. On the contrary, we are heavy contributors. We don't deserve any kind of fine. We deserve additional investments or recognition.'
Montreal Gazette
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Hanes: LaSalle College is the latest scapegoat in Legault's misguided language strategy
The quota limiting the number of students at English CEGEPs and colleges that was embedded in Bill 96, Quebec's law to protect French, was always a ticking time bomb. Rather than restrict access to francophones and allophones altogether, as some language hawks have long advocated, the government of Premier François Legault instead came up with a complicated formula to hold enrolment at English institutions to 17.5 per cent of the entire college network. If the cap is arbitrary enough already, divvying it up among the various schools is even more capricious. For good measure, the government set another booby trap: hefty penalties for any public and subsidized private colleges that exceed the benchmark. Oh, and if the enrolment numbers ever dip, the proportion allotted to English CEGEPs can never ever bob back up, according to the law. The sole purpose of these measures seems to be to limit the vitality of English institutions by backhanded means, since (last we checked) their doors are still open to all and they manage to appeal to graduates of English and French schools alike, much to the chagrin of language hardliners. So a sword of Damocles has been dangling over English CEGEPs and colleges ever since the law was adopted in 2022. It has made many administrators nervous as they recalibrated their admissions processes to abide by the cap while also overhauling their course offerings to ensure the francophone and allophone students they admit meet the same language requirements as graduates of French institutions. Now, the blade has finally fallen and it has struck a heavy blow against LaSalle College. The subsidized private college has been penalized $30 million for exceeding the quota of English-program students in each of the last two years. The government is trying to recoup $8.78 million from the college for going over the benchmark of 716 students for 2023-24 and $21.1 million for being 1,066 students over the quota in 2024-25. However, LaSalle says the majority of its English-program students are international enrolments, who pay their full ride and receive no subsidy from the government. Yet, the money the government is clawing back from the college funds the education of Quebec students, both French and English. There has been a lot of finger-wagging portraying LaSalle as an unrepentant language scofflaw that ought to have known better. On X, Higher Eduction Minister Pascale Déry lamented that LaSalle is the only college to contravene Bill 96 in this manner. Minister of the French Language Jean-François Roberge piled on, commenting that 'no one is above the law.' But as LaSalle College president and CEO Claude Marchand explained, the international students for which the school is being sanctioned had already been accepted or were in the middle of their programs when the government (belatedly) set the quota. LaSalle couldn't very well renege on their offers or kick people out of their courses (or at least it had the integrity not to). So its administration asked for a grace period to implement the cap. On top of that, LaSalle said the Quebec government approved the study permits of the international students attending. Given that most programs last two years, the college said it will be in compliance with Bill 96 by the 2025-26 school year. No matter. The Legault government has decided to make an example of LaSalle, as if the college is doing a dastardly deed by educating 5,000 students for careers in fields such as early childhood education, managing seniors' residences or accounting — yes, some of them in English — and honouring the commitments it made to international students, who registered at the college in good faith in pursuit of their hopes and dreams. Of course, its real crime was to try to reason with a government that concocted a punitive, political and discretionary quota system designed for the sole purpose of putting the squeeze on English institutions. But the practical consequences of this language crackdown could be severe. The hefty fine puts the future of LaSalle College, founded in 1959, at risk. If Marchand thought the government wouldn't dare let a valuable and established educational institution that employs 700 people go down the drain, perhaps he hasn't been paying attention. The Association des collèges privés du Québec has put out a statement in support of LaSalle. While recognizing the importance of protecting French, it said it has always had serious qualms about the penalties for missing the quota. It called for negotiations to reach a 'reasonable, fair and realistic solution' and 'avoid irreversible consequences' for the flagship college. You think that would be a no brainer — the first recourse, in fact. Alas, there are two things that are completely dispensable to the Legault government: the stability of English institutions and the fate of temporary immigrants, including promising and hard-working international students. This government has attempted to abolish English school boards and raised tuition for out-of-province university students, purportedly to prevent the anglicization of Montreal, a move that disproportionately hurts English academic institutions. LaSalle is contesting the fine in court — and could well be vindicated. But that may not even matter. English school boards have won two resounding legal victories, before Quebec Superior Court and the Quebec Court of Appeal, defending their constitutional rights over Bill 40. Yet, the Legault government is nevertheless appealing the judgements to the Supreme Court of Canada. McGill and Concordia also won a reprieve from the out-of-province tuition policy in court, but Déry's office has said Quebec still intends to collect the higher fees, even if the government won't appeal the ruling that called the hikes 'unreasonable.' The contempt is stunning — but the antagonism of English institutions is only compounded by the Legault government's disregard for immigration, which the premier once characterized as 'suicidal' for Quebec's language and culture if increased. In recent months, the Quebec government has scaled back many programs for both temporary and permanent immigrants as it drastically slashes the number of newcomers it plans to accept. Last fall, the government froze the Programme regulier des travailleurs qualifiés and the Programme de l'expérience Québécoise, two tried and true pathways to permanent residency. The latter was especially popular with international students who enrolled at Quebec colleges and universities, gaining valuable academic, work and life experience that should make them a natural fit. Now, it turns out that not only have new applications been suspended, but files already in the pipeline have been put on ice, too, leaving many people in limbo. Last winter, the government reduced by 20 per cent the quota of international students it will allow to study in Quebec next year. (Memo to LaSalle College, just in case). Earlier this month, the Quebec government also put a moratorium on some new sponsorship applications for those who want to bring loved ones like spouses, parents or adult children here to live. Legault has repeatedly asked the federal government to relocate some of the asylum seekers who have been entering Quebec — a form of immigration that policies can't control and which is putting pressure on the province's social services. Quebec adopted a new law laying out how new arrivals should integrate, while Bill 96 also cuts off their access to public services in a language other than French after six months — nevermind the long waits to access language classes. Whether its quotas, caps, deadlines, fines, laws or unrealistic expectations, immigrants are being set up to fail and English institutions are tiptoeing over trip wires as part of the Legault government's Machiavellian strategy to protect the French language.
Montreal Gazette
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Hanes: Report conflates political tensions with religious conflict at CEGEPs
When Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry dispatched investigators to Dawson and Vanier colleges last December, her stated aim was to ensure the 'physical and psychological well-being of students' was being respected on those campuses amid strife over the Israel-Hamas war. Nearly seven months later, that probe found a 'deteriorating' and 'toxic climate' caused in part by militant student groups and politicized course content. But it also seems to have turned into a fishing expedition, dredging up all kinds of flotsam and jetsam that may well have caught the government's eye, but strays from the original purpose. The ministry report also blames prayer rooms and religious accommodations for contributing to 'radicalization and proselytism' that 'accentuate tensions' at the two English colleges, though it offers scant evidence and few examples to back these claims. The recommendation that Quebec's secularism laws be reinforced at CEGEPs is a red herring that will do little to ease the very real strains roiling academic institutions. It conflates political polarization with religious friction. And it conveniently provides new fodder for the Coalition Avenir Québec government's desire to expand secularism legislation, further restricting minority rights. There is no doubt that the animosity on Quebec college and university campuses is a serious matter that deserves to be addressed. Since the terror group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, sparking the relentless bombardment of Gaza, many academic institutions have struggled to uphold the rights to protest and of free expression while ensuring students and staff of all backgrounds feel secure. Whether it's here in Montreal, where pro-Palestinian protesters took over the front lawn of McGill University for much of last summer, or demonstrations on campuses across North America, there are no easy answers for keeping the peace. The ministry report acknowledges these challenges. In 71 pages, it examines various policies and protocols in place at Dawson and Vanier to respond to complaints that have arisen on campus due to the war in Gaza. And it doesn't find fault with how the administrations handled these complex and tricky situations. When the Hillel Club at Vanier was vandalized on Christmas night of last year, for instance, the administration sprang into action over the Christmas holidays to alert affected students, boost security and organize mental health supports. When Dawson students voted to strike in solidarity with Palestinians last November, the administration acted on a parental complaint about a professor who was alleged to have encouraged his students to take part. The decision to close the college for the day was a last resort after weighing the risks of tensions spiralling out of control. The report doesn't suggest what Vanier or Dawson could have done better or differently under the circumstances. Nevertheless, Déry lamented a 'series of failures that have profoundly undermined the climate at both colleges' in a statement accompanying the report. There were already calls for Déry to resign for ordering a politically motivated witch hunt seen as an attack on academic freedom. The bulk of the recommendations stemming from the investigation venture into touchy territory. They include limiting academic independence because of questions about the validity of a Palestinian literature class and cracking down on student groups that have become politicized. This would require reopening collective agreements and overhauling governance structures because the CEGEPs are constrained by current rules. But such draconian measures could have unintended repercussions on other aspects of college life. Where the report really veers off course, however, is in its focus on secularism. The probe examined with a fine-tooth comb the policies at both Dawson and Vanier for accommodating students when exams or course work conflict with religious holidays not recognized by the school calendar. After spelling them out, it notes simply: 'the two institutions have not received any official complaints on accommodation requests for absences during religious festivals.' What this has to do with angst over the war in Gaza is unclear. The report delves deeper into the history of prayer spaces at both colleges. It notes that there has been a room at Dawson used exclusively by Muslim students for 15 years. When the CEGEP needed to reclaim the area in 2024, it was moved to a temporary location that will likely become its new home. Meanwhile, Jewish students asked for a space of their own in the fall of 2024. 'At this time, a room is under renovation to respect Jewish religious obligations,' the report states. Since the early 2000s, Muslim students have had a prayer room at Vanier with 'a sink for ablutions as well as a separating curtain so women and men don't pray together.' In 2013, there was some talk of converting it to a multi-faith room, but because Muslim students were considered to have an acquired right to the space, no changes have been made. 'How can a prayer room be considered an acquired right in a college that must respect Articles 2 and 3 of the Law on the Secularism of the State, which stipulates that secularism must be respected in fact and in appearance in all government institutions?' the investigators wonder. It is worth noting that CEGEP Garneau and CEGEP Ste-Foy also have temporary or permanent prayer rooms, because colleges are not covered by all the dispositions of Bill 21, Quebec's secularism law. Although the probe didn't spell out how the presence of such facilities at Vanier and Dawson contributed to the anguish over the war in Gaza, it definitely doesn't view them in a favourable light. 'Certain institutions have tried to take steps to promote living together, even if they are contending with a significant lack of space. But far from contributing to better coexistence, this only feeds the climate of radicalization, community withdrawal and mutual distrust within the CEGEP,' the investigation notes. 'Dawson and Vanier are themselves contending with a significant lack of space. … The allocation of a room to one religious group is considered a privilege that can be seen as proselytism and discriminatory towards other religious groups. It is also worth asking questions about the pertinence of prayer rooms in a secular society, especially in the current sociopolitical context.' So is this about space? Is it about tensions on campus? Or is it more about Quebec's secular dogma? Neutrality of the state is an important principle of a modern, Western democracy. Quebecers' aversion to religion is understandable given the long shadow the Catholic Church has cast over the province's history. But this Quebec government has taken secularism to a whole new level with Bill 21, the law forbidding civil servants in positions of authority from wearing religious garb on duty, trampling constitutional and minority rights in the process. The CAQ has made no secret of its desire to go further, introducing Bill 94 to extend dress code provisions to public schools. It has appointed an expert committee to leave no stone unturned in uncovering the influence of religion in other public institutions, including CEGEPs, to pave the way for stricter laws. Putting Dawson and Vanier under the microscope over secularism certainly provides fresh grounds. But it's not useful or helpful to cast strife over the Israel-Hamas war as a purely religious conflict. Yes, Israel is the Jewish state and the Jewish community as a whole has been stigmatized, isolated and even physically attacked as antisemitism surges. True, Palestinians are overwhelmingly Muslim and Islamophobia is also on the rise. But many of those protesting against Israel belong to neither of these faiths. Some Christians, atheists, and even Jews are also opposed to the war in Gaza. This is a sociopolitical movement. The progressive left has been especially active in calling for a ceasefire, pushing for a Palestinian state and delegitimizing Israel. Ignoring the multiple dimensions of these fault lines will not bridge growing divisions on Quebec campuses.
Montreal Gazette
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Montreal Gazette
Opinion: It's time for Quebec to keep religion out of CEGEPs and universities
Op Eds Imagine being 17 years old and waking up every morning to go to school with the fear of what might happen to you because of your religion. With the feeling of being persecuted simply based on the god you pray to. This is not Afghanistan, Iran or Yemen. This is actually happening right here, in Quebec. Yes, in 2025. This is among the shocking conclusions of a six-month inquiry launched by Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry. The report, unveiled last Friday, reveals a deeply troubling climate of suspicion, division and tension among students and teachers at Vanier and Dawson colleges. The document also notes that the presence of prayer rooms for some students fuels 'radicalization, communal isolation and mutual distrust' within these CEGEPs. Furthermore, it states that 'assigning a room to a particular religious denomination is considered a privilege, can be seen as proselytism, and is discriminatory toward students of other religious beliefs.' The ongoing conflict in the Middle East is further intensifying interfaith tensions here at home. Students are exposed to the unfolding events through television and social media, and the narratives from both sides contribute to the importation of hateful rhetoric. Tensions between Jewish and Muslim communities are at a historic high in Canada. We see it everywhere. Our public schools are not immune to this growing hostility, and they are, based on all evidence, being directly affected by it. If anyone still needed proof of the urgent need to protect and reinforce secularism in Quebec's public institutions — including our education system — well, here it is. Quebec is a free and inclusive society. It is simply not acceptable for anyone to feel threatened or discriminated against based on their religion while receiving government services. We must act swiftly to correct this unfortunate situation. Déry faced heavy criticism for calling this inquiry, following reports and complaints from students at Dawson and Vanier. Some of her detractors — including teachers' unions — even publicly called for her resignation, accusing her of interfering with academic freedom. Let it be clear: There can be no academic freedom if the education we provide to young Quebecers is influenced, in some way or another, by religious beliefs, ideologies or discourse. And academic freedom simply cannot — and must never — be used as a pretext to conceal attempts at religious indoctrination. Our publicly funded CEGEPs and universities are places of higher learning. The only thing that should be revered and worshipped there is knowledge. The only faith that should be promoted and propagated there is in science, whether social or natural. Prayers should be left at home and in temples, where they are truly meant to be. Bibles, Qur'ans and Torahs have no place in our colleges and universities, unless of course they are studied in the context of historical and social movements. In Canada, our most sacred Charter of Rights and Freedoms guarantees that no one should feel persecuted for who they are or what they believe — and that includes their religion. As a society, we must do everything in our power to address any situation where this basic and fundamental principle is potentially violated. In the end, the report released last week proved that Déry was right to intervene and launch this inquiry. In retrospect, it was her duty as minister of higher education to ensure every CEGEP and university student in Quebec can learn in an environment that is safe, inclusive and respectful — whether they are Christian, Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish or Muslim. Let's now hope she follows through on the inquiry's recommendations to restore peace, harmony and stability on these campuses. Because in this country and province, everyone deserves to be treated equally, no matter what, or whom, they believe in.
Global News
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Global News
Prayer rooms causing tensions in Quebec colleges, new government report says
A new report from the Quebec government says prayer rooms are fuelling a climate of radicalization and mistrust in the province's junior colleges. The report questions the relevance of prayer rooms in public colleges and says they make it harder for students to get along. Get breaking National news For news impacting Canada and around the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you when they happen. Sign up for breaking National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The document is the result of an investigation of two English-language junior colleges in Montreal, launched last November following complaints that the conflict in the Middle East had created an unsafe climate on campus. Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry says the report highlights a series of failings and says the government could take further action. The report finds that some student groups are causing tensions between students, and that the colleges lack the power to intervene. It also recommends that the government adopt a new law to regulate academic freedom in the college system.
