These increases have already impacted the future of Concordia. In an article published by CityNews, Graham Carr reported that out of province student applications for the next academic year have decreased by 30% and international student applications have decreased by 40% compared to previous years. Fewer students at Concordia evidently means less funding, and less funding means that course cuts and program cancellations are imminent.

Cuts that are already happening:

• Concordia is in a precarious financial position. The university has already started making cuts in order to stabilize the budget now and get ahead of the losses of revenue they are expecting due to these funding changes.

• The thermostats in buildings across campus have been set at 21 degrees celsius, one degree above the legal minimum.

• This fall, you may have received emails urging you to register for courses or else they might be cancelled. This is because courses which did not meet certain enrollment thresholds were being cancelled to save money, sometimes just days before the start of the semester.

• For next academic year, 2024-2025, all the units in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences have had their course allocations (how many classes they can offer) by 10%. This means that students have fewer options to complete their degree plans.

• There has been a hiring freeze in staff positions, and a move to have fewer staff in the future.

• There have been cuts to the travel funding available to PhD students, who need to go to conferences as part of their professional development.

Cuts that could happen

• The cuts that have already happened are before the university even feels the financial impact of the tuition increase and subsequent drop in enrolment. More cuts are likely to come. Concordia has not commented on the nature or potential of these proposed hikes.

• Departments could be consolidated into larger departments with fewer support staff, and less expert knowledge designing the curriculum. Programs could also be merged.

• Spaces and funding for students to socialize could disappear.

• Student scholarships and work-study opportunities could become rarer and more competitive.

• Programs with lower enrolment could be cut.

• The university could continue cutting courses at the last minute that do not have high enough enrolment.

• When professors retire, they could not be replaced; there will be fewer and fewer hires of new professors.

• Course offerings could continue to narrow down, so that even compulsory courses now offered every year would be offered once every two years.
  

11 000 students from Concordia and McGill, were on strike from January 31st-February 2nd. Demands from students on strike included calling upon both institutions to defend the interests of their students, and to pursue alternate avenues in fighting the tuition hike. Since then, both universities have announced that they will be pursuing legal action against the government.

Students against tuition hikes, the body of students organizing around tuition hikes, wishes to strike again from March 11th to March 15th, in order to pressure the governments and courts to suspend the tuition increase until a legal decision is made. So far, 6 666 students at Concordia have voted to strike for these dates, with dozens of other associations voting to strike in the coming weeks as well.

• Strikes are a suspension of academic labour, that cause a disruption to the daily lives of students and faculty alike. These disruptions serve several purposes for different groups of individuals.

  • Strikes are vital for building momentum within a movement. There are several factors that have converged in our present day that make it virtually impossible for the general public to become involved in social movements.

    • First and foremost, COVID has been an industrial sized steel spoke in the wheel that is student mobilisation. Life at Concordia, and in Quebec, was stunted for almost 3 years. In this time, vital student leaders and organisers graduated and moved on, while connections with younger students were not made, and important institutional knowledge failed to be transferred between cohorts. Therefore, it feels as though many grassroots movements are starting from scratch, and very few students know where to get involved.

    • Furthermore, the ratification of bill C-18 (a bill that advocates for the fair pay of journalists in online media) has prompted Meta, the company responsible for Instagram and Facebook, to ban Canadian news from both media platforms. We are very much in an era where many individuals, especially those under 30, seek news and updates on these such social media platforms. As a result, we noticed that in general, students were either completely unaware of, or generally misinformed about the tuition hikes.

    • Students Against Tuition Hikes, the general body organising against the hikes, has been mass producing informational Facebook and Instagram posts. These posts have received little engagement even when they are shared by the CSU, SSMU, FASA and ASFA instagram accounts, which have 16.5k followers combined. We have planned a current tally of 3 demonstrations (October 30th, November 30th, February 22nd). All 3 demonstrations were promoted virigourly online, through classroom announcements, and by postering around the Concordia and McGill areas. In all 3 instances, we had fewer than 1000 people in attendance. Oftentimes, students state that they cannot attend these demonstrations as they have classes, this speaks to the importance of creating space where students can express their dissent and take to the streets without facing academic repercussions.

      For these above reasons, striking is effective for building momentum in the sense that we are disrupting the daily activities of students, and creating space where the topic of tuition hikes MUST be addressed and a dialogue can be had. We have seen far more engagement from students when conversation is started in this context as opposed to a classroom announcement.
      

For these above reasons, striking is effective for building momentum in the sense that we are disrupting the daily activities of students, and creating space where the topic of tuition hikes MUST be addressed and a dialogue can be had. We have seen far more engagement from students when conversation is started in this context as opposed to a classroom announcement.

Strikes pose an economic threat to the government. As the Quebec government subsidies university education up to $11 000 per student, the threat of a cancelled semester puts the government in a position wherein they must either meet student demands or be forced to pay for students to retake their semester or year. We view mounting strike tactics as a middle ground in this sense. Wherein we are evidently threatening a general unlimited strike, where the above economic threat will hold true, however, we are attempting to NOT have to cancel the semester. We hope that striking for increasing periods of time will pose adequate threat to the government for them to give in to our demands.

It is important to draw attention to the fact that Students Against Tuition hikes is very much a grassroots student movement. We are all young academics, and many of us are well accomplished students. The administration amongst other dissenting parties have very eloquently painted our organization of strikes as an elaborate ploy to skip classes. Not only is this simply false, but also very disparaging, especially since a large aspect of this movement is recognizing the sacrifice that has to be made by students to ensure the continuity of the university as well as preserving staff and faculty jobs.

Striking has garnered significant visibility. An important aspect of any movement is that it is public. In order for those outside of the university sphere to be sympathetic to our cause, we must keep tuition hikes relevant in the discussion of the daily lives of Quebecers. Oftentimes, intense actions such as strikes and protests provide adequate “buzz” for individuals to engage with our movement and learn more about our demands. There is also the unspoken understanding that the CAQ has imposed numerous austerity measures disguised as divisive language laws. The appearance of numerous movements (teacher strikes, bill 31 protests, bill 96 mobilization) sends the message that many Quebecers are tired of the current administration. Civil unrest is an important step in inciting actual change at the governmental level, as the population is able to come to a consensus on the fact that it is time to elect a government that better represents their interests.

Since a strike is a collective decision to suspend academic labour, there needs to be mechanisms in place to ensure this decision is being respected and that classes are not occurring. Picketing is a method used to enforce a strike. There are two general types of picketing. Typically, the type of picketing that will be employed by a particular student association will be decided upon at the time of their strike vote.

1. Hard picket: A hard picket requires the blocking of a classroom’s entrances physically. This type of picketing typically ensures that a class does not occur, students and faculty members alike are prohibited from entering the classroom. Students are encouraged to join the picket line and engage their peers in healthy discussion.

2. Soft picket: Soft picket does NOT involve the blocking of a classroom. Oftentimes, students soft picketing a class will employ alternative measures to dissuade students from attending class. Such measures include flyering, leading discussions or offering food or other activities. Unfortunately, soft picketing does not guarantee the cancellation of a class, and students that choose not to enter their classroom may miss material if the class still takes place.

We’re in this together. When we picket classes, we collectively ensure that nobody loses marks for participation or exams. This is because it is very difficult (arguably impossible) for the professor to punish everyone. Our strength is in our numbers. Pickets are also essential to have classes cancelled as professors’ collective agreement stipulates they must show up to teach, but there are no expectations to risk physical safety by crossing pickets. So we’re in solidarity with each other as well as faculty, particularly part time faculty. Pickets are not organised and carried out with the intention of creating divisions against students and faculty. Oftentimes, divisiveness is a result of inadequate sharing of information, and is resolved through establishing dialogue between all parties. The role of an organising body is made exponentially more difficult when professors do not stand in solidarity with their students. Openly speaking out against strikes, or encouraging students to cross picket lines by threatening academic penalties for missing class is in fact the root cause of divisiveness amongst students. The choice to partake in the movement to save higher education in Quebec should not come at an individual cost. Picketing classes should remove the moral dilemma of “I want to go to this protest/sit in/rally for the benefit of my university, but if I stand in solidarity, my professor will fail me.” It is counterintuitive to all of us when striking is perceived as a tactic used by “weaker” students. In fact, the association of disruptive displays of dissent with a lack of academic prowess undermines the creation of spaces for conversation and discussion, values on which institutions of higher education were founded.

Yes, student strikes have been employed as a pressure tactic several times in the history of Quebec. These strikes have often resulted in the government meeting the demands of the students.

1968 (October): The CEGEPs (junior colleges) have just been founded in Quebec and it's a dynamic period for social movements in Quebec and around the world. More than 4,000 students are refused admission into university in Quebec due to the lack of space and professors. Students demand accessibility for working class youth and francophones in post-secondary institutions; clarification about the Minister's position on the loans and bursaries program; and more democracy in the university, within a general critique of global capitalism. Fifteen (out of 23) CEGEPs go on strike for around one month. The strike speeds up the creation of the Quebec university network (UQ) and the construction of UQAM, and achieves the abolition of mandatory class attendance for students enrolled in CEGEP -a first step towards recognizing the right of students to strike by not attending class.

1974 (October & December): There are two general strikes during the same semester, against two different reforms. The first strike in October opposes new aptitude tests for university studies (TAEU) that are required only of francophone students. With CEGEPs on strike for one month, the government cancels the TAEU.

• The second strike in December 1974 is sparked after 300 students have to quit CEGEP due to financial difficulties because of changes to the loans and bursaries program. The strike includes 40 institutions on strike during its peak (mostly CEGEPs, but also universities and high schools), for around 2 weeks. Demands include substantial improvements to loans and bursaries, notably abolishing the parental contribution (the expected amount that all parents should pay). This second strike is also quick and effective, resulting in a promise on the part of the government to abolish the parental contribution in loans, and diminish the parental contribution in the case of bursaries.

1978 (November): With the promises from 1974 not completely fulfilled, students demand free education and substantial reforms to the loans and bursaries program. The strike lasts around three weeks, reaching 100,000 striking students once UQAM joins the ranks of the 33 CEGEPs. The movement grows so quickly that the government makes concessions: Significant improvements are made to the loans and bursaries program.

1986 (October): Responding to the Liberal Government’s threat to increase tuition and to make cuts to loans and bursaries and to education budgets, students launch a strike. Thirty student associations (mostly CEGEPs) go on strike. After only 5 days of strike, they force the government to retreat from its plan to increase tuition for both university and CEGEP, to open negotiations about loans and bursaries, and to stop ancillary fees from being imposed at universities in the UQ network.

1988 (October): Disappointed with the stagnated progress of the loans and bursaries negotiations, and fearing upcoming tuition increases, students strike up to 2 weeks, with 25 student associations for the strike (all CEGEPs except two), and 25 against it. Not enough CEGEPS participate: The Liberal government announces a tuition increase, though the pressure to improve the bursaries and loans program (AFE) indirectly contributes to most of students' demands about the loans and bursaries program being realised in 1989.

1990 (February-March): The government increases tuition (from $500 to $1200) and allows universities a 10% margin to include ancillary fees. Ten thousand students hit the streets for a province-wide demonstration on February 14th. Yet the student movement is badly organised at this point, still recovering from a defeat two years earlier. Sporadic strikes take hold in a dozen student associations, including universities. The Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR) declares an Unlimited General Strike, becoming the first university association in Quebec history to go on strike for more than a week. Some associations call for a general boycott of tuition (encouraging students not to pay), but only 1% of students answer that call, so this strategy fails.

1996 (October-November): The government plans to increase tuition by 30%. With more than 40 student associations on strike, including 100,000 students at its peak, it is a success: Tuition is frozen and stays frozen until 2007. Yet $700 million dollars are cut, loans and bursaries become more restrictive, tuition fees increase for non-Quebec residents, and a tax is imposed on CEGEP students who fail classes.

2005 (February-March): This is the most important general student strike in Quebec history. In 2004, when the government decides to transform $103 million from loans into bursaries, students start organizing protests and other tactics, and start striking. It lasts 8 weeks and at its peak 230,000 students are on strike. It ends in a partial victory, preventing $103 million in annual bursaries from being converted into loans starting in 2006 (yet completely losing the $103 bursary funding for 2004 and partially losing it for 2005). Considering it was the longest and most popular student strike in Quebec history, the provincial student union that negotiated with the government could have asked for more.

2012 (February-September): The globally known “Maple Spring” was one of the largest student movements in Quebec history. The Quebec government announced its plans to increase tuition by $1625 total. Students at several universities within the province went on strike for over 100 days. Hundreds of thousands of students took to the streets in a series of day and night demonstrations. At the peak of the strike, 420 000 out of 500 000 university students were on strike. What we can conclude from this timeline is that every time there has been a major setback to accessible education, the strategy of a Unlimited General Strike was potent enough to scare the government into changing its mind. Never has the government backed down when it only faced demonstrations, petitions or symbolic actions. It was when the student movement was strongly combative and united in strikes that massive political victories were possible.