Quebec judge rejects Concordia’s request to temporarily suspend planned tuition fee increase

Concordia University’s request for a temporary suspension of tuition fee increases ordered by the Quebec government has been rejected by a Supreme Court judge.

Quebec Superior Court Judge Éric Dufour ruled that although the university had raised “serious questions whose merits must be debated,” the inconvenience caused to the university would not outweigh the harm that a suspension would cause to the public interest.

In January, Quebec’s Minister of Higher Education Pascale Déry increased the tuition fees that students from other provinces and abroad will have to pay at English-speaking universities starting in fall 2024.

The aim of this step is to “correct the financial imbalance between the English- and French-speaking university networks and ensure better engagement and integration of Canadian and foreign students into Quebec society,” Déry wrote in a letter in December.

A Concordia spokeswoman, Vannina Maestracci, said Dufour’s decision was merely “a step in the process” as a larger hearing on the merits of her case is still pending.

“We look forward to having our arguments heard,” she said in a statement to CBC News.

McGill University is listed as the plaintiff who originally asked for the stay, while Concordia and an individual named Lucas Meldrum were listed as interveners in the case. However, Dufour explains in his ruling that McGill has since asked for its application to be stayed.