The Value of Quebecois EducationNews
Thestreets are crowded with marching people. They bang their variouskitchen implements together, trying to raise awareness for theirfight against the Quebec government. This is le printemps érable,and these scenes are wonderfully captured in ‘Casseroles -Montréal, 24 Mai 2012’ by Jeremie Battaglia. Writing this in thesummer of 2012, I do not expect that these scenes will ever occuroutside of Quebec. Allow me to present the two biggest reasons whynon-Francophone students will never strike.
Thefirst reason is that the impetus behind le printemps érable issimply mind-boggling to the average Anglophone. A tuition hike thatcauses the lowest tuition rates in the country to remain the lowestseems like a poor reason for such an uprising. Combine that with adire provincial economy, and it appears heinous to protest thesechanges. For these reasons, the English media has portrayed theprotestors as whiny, entitled brats, and the majority of Canadianstend to agree with this portrayal.
Thetruth is that the most Anglophones are baffled because they fail tocomprehend why education is so important to Quebec culture. TheQuébécois believe in a social contract between themselves and thegovernment, which demands that low-cost post-secondary education beprovided. This belief exists exclusively for the Québécois (inCanada at least) and thus we Anglophones can’t possibly hope tounderstand the anger at the tuition hikes which break this promise.
Secondly,it is a fact that student unions across the country lack the supportthat their Quebec counterparts depend on. It is mainly due to strongstudent unions that the protests have succeeded as well as they have.They organized themselves and their members quickly and efficiently,allowing their protests to have maximum impact and achieve globalrecognition.
It’sdifferent outside of Quebec. Personally, I have never been contactedby our union representative, have no idea who he/she is, and have noidea on how to contact him/her. I doubt you know anything about ourstudent unions either. Effective student leadership doesn’t existoutside of Quebec, and few students would come flocking to the bannerif called upon.
Inthe previously mentioned video, a man sings in French throughout. Onelyric encapsulates the Quebec protests: “You tell them that it wasinstinct that drove you up to here.” A few radicals may organizepaltry protests outside of Quebec, but the majority of us will ignorethem. We English-speaking Canadians have no understanding of thisinstinct, and lack the leadership needed to overcome our lack ofpassion.
Thefirst reason is that the impetus behind le printemps érable issimply mind-boggling to the average Anglophone. A tuition hike thatcauses the lowest tuition rates in the country to remain the lowestseems like a poor reason for such an uprising. Combine that with adire provincial economy, and it appears heinous to protest thesechanges. For these reasons, the English media has portrayed theprotestors as whiny, entitled brats, and the majority of Canadianstend to agree with this portrayal.
Thetruth is that the most Anglophones are baffled because they fail tocomprehend why education is so important to Quebec culture. TheQuébécois believe in a social contract between themselves and thegovernment, which demands that low-cost post-secondary education beprovided. This belief exists exclusively for the Québécois (inCanada at least) and thus we Anglophones can’t possibly hope tounderstand the anger at the tuition hikes which break this promise.
Secondly,it is a fact that student unions across the country lack the supportthat their Quebec counterparts depend on. It is mainly due to strongstudent unions that the protests have succeeded as well as they have.They organized themselves and their members quickly and efficiently,allowing their protests to have maximum impact and achieve globalrecognition.
It’sdifferent outside of Quebec. Personally, I have never been contactedby our union representative, have no idea who he/she is, and have noidea on how to contact him/her. I doubt you know anything about ourstudent unions either. Effective student leadership doesn’t existoutside of Quebec, and few students would come flocking to the bannerif called upon.
Inthe previously mentioned video, a man sings in French throughout. Onelyric encapsulates the Quebec protests: “You tell them that it wasinstinct that drove you up to here.” A few radicals may organizepaltry protests outside of Quebec, but the majority of us will ignorethem. We English-speaking Canadians have no understanding of thisinstinct, and lack the leadership needed to overcome our lack ofpassion.
DanielAndru is a second year student taking Honours Philosophy. He is thesection editor for King’s Community, and this is his second yearwith the Regis.
