this post was submitted on 13 Oct 2023
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The Quebec government is proposing an increase in tuition fees for international and out-of-province students attending English-language universities as a way to protect the French language.

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[โ€“] Poutinetown@lemmy.ca 17 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I'm curious to see how this could possibly slow the decline of French. France has the highest number of international students going to McGill compared to any other country, and this would make them reconsider moving to Quebec.

[โ€“] Rodeo@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 year ago (1 children)

It will do absolutely nothing to support their stated goal, but it will be great for the bottom line of universities.

[โ€“] Poutinetown@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 year ago

The money will be taken away from the universities. It's unclear whether the QC government will just keep it or redistribute it to French universities.

[โ€“] Thrillhouse@lemmy.ca 14 points 1 year ago (1 children)

My question is how does this make economic sense.

In Ontario my undergrad degree costs about 6k a year now. It cost 4k a year when I took it.

How can the Province justify doubling the fees? Wonโ€™t that make people not want to go there and select somewhere else instead causing a reduction in the student population?

I donโ€™t understand how this isolationism thing will play out long term unless they encourage French-speaking Quebecois to have more babies (and they already do this) or unless they accept a lot more immigration from French speaking countries. Maybe they are doing this? I donโ€™t know happy to be informed.

I donโ€™t understand how Quebec looks at other extremely isolationist cultures where the population is declining and thereโ€™s going to be some sort of crisis and goes โ€œoh yeah, thatโ€™s what we want.โ€

[โ€“] BCsven@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Quebec really seems to want to be its own country rather than melding culture and language like the rest of Canada

[โ€“] k_rol@lemmy.ca 12 points 1 year ago

Yeah, it's like a country within a country. The culture is quite different.

[โ€“] alsimoneau@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 year ago (3 children)

We do want to meld, but that implies that the ROC needs to meld as well, otherwise it's an erasure and not a union.

[โ€“] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 9 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I think the issue is disagreement over that mixing. The (as you put it)RoC sees "province-sized Chinatown but french" and Quebec sees "we will not be diluted one iota".

[โ€“] frostbiker@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 year ago

As an immigrant, something I like about Canada is how regardless of where we came from we all make an effort to speak to each other in the common language so that we can learn and understand each other. And then there is Quebec sulking because we don't speak their language, instead of following everybody else.

I didn't lose my culture just because I use English as a vehicular language. I gained all sorts of stuff from other people, which I wouldn't have if I or they refused to speak the common language. So, please, Quebecois, do share your beautiful culture with us -- in the language we all understand.

[โ€“] Auli@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The problem is its lopsided the ROC gets nothing out of knowing French but Quebecois get to participate in the international community by knowing English. Only way this well change is if America falls since they are the 1000lb gorilla in the global community.

[โ€“] alsimoneau@lemmy.ca 0 points 1 year ago

I'd argue French is more useful in Europe than English.

[โ€“] baconisaveg@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

English is not a ROC thing though, it's a global thing, in an online world. So sure, you can create your French-Canadian pockets on Reddit, Lemmy, QC guilds in MMO's, etc, but you constantly have to step outside of those areas to interact with the rest of the English speaking world.

[โ€“] alsimoneau@lemmy.ca 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

And French is not a Quebec thing either.

The most spoken language in the world in Mandarin.

You have a very anglocentric view of the world.

[โ€“] sik0fewl@kbin.social 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Actually, the most spoken language in the world is English.

[โ€“] Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 0 points 1 year ago (1 children)

I don't really see much evidence of the "rest of Canada" wanting to meld culture and language. Other than french immersion schools and the occasional food truck serving up poutine there's not much of Quebec culture or French language that you'll find outside of Quebec.

If they don't protect what they have, a hundred years from now Canada will be solely an English speaking country and poutine will be covered in nacho cheese.

I mean, I don't have any stake in it one way or the other coming from BC but I understand why they feel protective.

[โ€“] grte@lemmy.ca 3 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago)

Doesn't it seem like the stronghold mentality is somewhat self defeating, though? I'm also in BC and there's not much evidence of French culture around here, it's true. I'm more likely to encounter Tagalog or Mandarin than French, and would have more opportunity to speak those if learned, but not because those languages are indigenous to the area.

Just Quebecois things