CANADA SUPERIOR COURT

PROVINCE OF QUÉBEC
DISTRICT OF MONTRÉAL CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY,
N°: domiciled at 1455 de Maisonneuve
Blvd. West, in the city and district of
Montréal, Province of Québec, H3G
1M8

Applicant

v.

PROCUREUR GÉNÉRAL DU
QUÉBEC, having a place of business
at 1 Notre-Dame Street East, suite
8.01, in the city and district of Montréal,
Province of Québec, H2Y 1B6

Respondent

APPLICATION FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW

February 23, 2024
(art. 529 CCP)

IN SUPPORT OF THIS APPLICATION, THE APPLICANT STATES AS

FOLLOWS:
I. INTRODUCTION
1. This application for judicial review seeks to quash the decision of the
Minister of Higher Education (the “Minister”) to: (a) significantly increase tuition
rates applicable to Canadian university students that are not residents of Québec
(“Canadian non-residents”), only for those enrolled in English-language
universities, as of the 2024-2025 academic year; (b) regulate tuition fees for
certain international students in a manner that results in a net loss of revenue per
student as of the 2024-2025 academic year with disproportionate impacts on
English-language universities; and (c) require the francization of 80% of non-
resident students newly enrolled as of 2025-2026 in undergraduate programs
taught in English by the time they graduate (the “Decision”).
2. The purpose and effect of the Decision is to impose burdens and weaken
English-language universities specifically, including Concordia University
(“Concordia”).

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3. Specifically, the purpose and effect of the Decision is to significantly
reduce enrolment of non-resident students in English-language universities in
Québec, drastically reducing funding available to such universities, and
conflicting with the culture and identity of Concordia as an institution of the
English-speaking community of Québec that celebrates and promotes diversity
and accessibility to higher education.
4. For many years preceding the Decision, there has been a chronic,
structural underfunding of the university network by the government. Concordia,
which is already implementing a recovery plan to redress a deficit caused by
such underfunding, is projected to sustain losses between $54 million and $62
million over the next four years as a result of the Decision, causing a variety of
negative repercussions including material impacts on programs and services.
5. The Decision is unreasonable because the Minister failed to consider and
proportionately balance the values of the Canadian Charter of Rights and
Freedoms (the “Charter”) engaged by the Decision, including in particular the
values underlying the right to equality under s. 15, the values underlying minority
language education rights under s. 23 and the values underlying mobility rights
under s. 6.
6. The Minister based her Decision on stereotypes and false assumptions
about the English-speaking community of Québec and its institutions, and about
non-residents attending English-language universities, without providing data in
support of her conclusions. The Minister failed to meaningfully address and
proportionately balance the Charter values of equality on the basis of language,
disproportionately harming both members of the English-speaking community of
Québec and their institutions, as well as English-speaking Canadian non-
residents.
7. The Minister did not consider the values of preservation and development
of Québec’s official language minority and the objective of “equal partnership”
between both official language communities in the area of education, failing to
meaningfully address and proportionately weigh the impacts of her Decision on
the minority language education system in Québec and on a key institution of the
English-speaking community of Québec, including on its culture, identity and
sustainability.
8. The Minister did not consider the values underlying the mobility rights of
Canadians, failing to meaningfully address and proportionately weigh the impacts
of her Decision on access to higher education and employment in Québec for
Canadian non-residents. The Decision instead sought to deliberately discourage
Canadian non-residents from moving to Québec and studying at English-
language universities.
9. The Minister did not proportionately balance these values with statutory
objectives, including the purpose of the Charter of the French Language, CQLR c
C-11 (the “CFL”) itself which provides that (a) the promotion of French is to be
pursued “in a spirit of fairness and open-mindedness, respectful of the institutions
of the English-speaking community of Québec, and respectful of the ethnic

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minorities, whose valuable contribution to the development of Québec it readily
acknowledges” (preamble); and (b) that the National Assembly “is resolved to
ensure that everyone has access to learning French and to perfecting knowledge
and mastery of that language”.
10. The Minister had an obligation to consider and adopt measures that would
give effect to Charter protections more fully in light of the objective of promoting
the French language. In this context, English-language universities, including
Concordia, presented an ambitious plan to the Minister, consistent with
Concordia’s values and culture of promoting French-language learning for
students of all backgrounds. The plan would have enabled 40% of its non
francophone students to learn French, including by applying and improving their
French skills through work-integrated learning. The plan was consistent with
Charter values and the objectives of the CFL of promoting access to French-
language learning while respecting the institutions of the English-speaking
community of Québec.
11. While the plan submitted to the Minister would have achieved the statutory
objectives while giving effect to Charter protections, the Minister nonetheless
refused this proposal. Instead, the Minister adopted changes to tuition rates
expressly designed to cause a sharp decline in Concordia’s enrolment, and to
thereby purposefully weaken Concordia as an institution, diminishing funding
available to it including funding needed to implement francization measures. To
meet the Minister’s francization requirement, the Minister further told Concordia
that it did not need to teach French, but that it should instead compete with
Québec’s French-language universities for the limited pool of non-resident
students that already master French, measures which neither promote the
French language nor the equilibrium with French-language universities.
II. THE APPLICANT, CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY
a) Concordia: a Québec university promoting access to higher
education since 1974
12. Concordia as it is known today is the result of the merger in 1974 of Sir
George Williams University and Loyola College.
13. Sir George Williams University began as an educational program at the
YMCA in downtown Montréal offering evening courses in English for workers. It
began offering university-level courses as of 1929. The program was later named
the Sir George Williams College after the founder of the YMCA.
14. In 1948, Sir George Williams College was incorporated as a university by
the Act incorporating Sir George Williams College, SQ 1948, c 91, and was later
renamed the Sir George Williams University.
15. Loyola College was a small Catholic college that grew out of the English-
language program of Collège Sainte-Marie and became a separate institution in
1896 offering university-level courses in English.
16. In 1974, Concordia was formed by the merging of Sir George Williams
University and Loyola College.

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17. Concordia continues to be governed by and to grant degrees pursuant to
the Act incorporating Sir George Williams College, which was later renamed the
Concordia University Act.
18. From its very early days and drawing on its roots in the YMCA movement,
Concordia has provided access to higher education to an ethnically and
economically diverse population of students who wish to pursue their studies in
English.
19. A broad range of programs offered part-time or by evening courses at
affordable rates enabled students for whom university education would otherwise
have been unattainable at the time, including women and first-generation
immigrants, to access higher education while working full-time.
20. Today, Concordia offers approximately 400 undergraduate programs and
200 graduate programs to approximately 51,400 students, from its two
campuses: Sir George Williams Campus in downtown Montréal and the Loyola
Campus in Notre-Dame-de-Grace.
21. Concordia continues to honour its tradition of promoting access to higher
education for a diverse population in a variety of ways.
22. For instance, Concordia continues to offer pragmatic solutions to make
higher education accessible to students from a variety of socio-economic
backgrounds, including a robust offering of classes in the evening and on
weekends, online courses, experiential learning and flexible admission pathways
(e.g. the Mature Entry Program).
23. Concordia’s approach also focusses on programs that will offer work
opportunities for students during their studies, by building programs that respond
to priority needs for industry in Québec and offering paid work placements for
credit. Concordia’s programs in computer science, computer engineering,
aerospace engineering, cybersecurity and film studies, to name but a few, train
professionals in key industries of the Québec economy.
24. In 2022, Concordia offered undergraduate students over 4,000 co-op
placements in Québec businesses and organisations (the vast majority of which
are in francophone work environments), regularly leading to employment offers
for those students and supporting Québec businesses in the context of a major
labour shortage.
25. Through its programs and commitment to work-integrated learning,
Concordia trains the workforce of tomorrow, particularly in areas where there are
major labour shortages in Québec. While there are other engineering programs
in Québec, Concordia has the largest number of co-op placements and trains its
students in applied engineering, which means that its students arrive in the
workplace requiring relatively little training to work in Québec. Similarly,
Concordia’s business graduates are highly sought-after by banks and other
companies.
26. Concordia is also home to a start-up incubator, District 3, which
contributed to creating 390 jobs in 2022 within start-ups in technology,

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biotechnology and health, half of which were founded by first generation
immigrants to Québec.
27. In May 2023, Concordia launched a thematic campus on energy transition
in Shawinigan, in collaboration with the City of Shawinigan and the Centre
national en électrochimie et en technologies environnementales, focusing on key
challenges for industry in the transition to a green economy, such as energy
storage, transport electrification, applied artificial intelligence, software
engineering and cybersecurity, all of which are key to Québec’s economy.
Hosting this project in Shawinigan provides unique opportunities for
collaborations with local businesses in the energy sector.
b) Concordia is a key institution for the English-speaking community of
Québec
28. Concordia plays an important role in the development of the English-
speaking minority of Québec.
29. English-speaking Quebecers are an important part of Concordia’s student
body, constituting the single largest linguistic group. Approximately 66% of
Concordia’s students in 2022-2023 are Québec residents, most of whom declare
English as their mother tongue, in addition to allophone students whose first
official language spoken is English.
30. Graduates of English-language CEGEPs and English-language school
boards are the single largest source of students for Concordia.
31. While most of these students’ first official language spoken is English, it is
a false stereotype to assume that they do not speak French well.
32. Contrary to popular myths, English-speaking Quebecers face unique
challenges integrating the labour market in Québec. For instance, based on the
2021 Census:
(a) the unemployment rate for English-speaking Quebecers (10.9%) is higher
than the unemployment rate for French-speaking Quebecers (6.9%);
(b) the median after-tax income of English-speaking Quebecers ($34,000 in
2021) is lower than that of French-speaking Quebecers ($36,800); and
(c) the poverty rate of English-speaking Quebecers (10%) is higher than the
poverty rate of French-speaking Quebecers (5.8%);
as appears from the report of the Provincial Employment Roundtable entitled
“Census 2021 Update: A brief review of the latest data on employment among
Québec’s English speakers”, attached as Exhibit P-1.
33. As described above, Concordia offers access to higher education in key
sectors of the Québec economy and promotes employment opportunities for
English-speaking Quebecers, including through co-op placements and initiatives
to support English-speaking Quebecers in obtaining employment such as the
Vous êtes engagés ! program.

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34. Concordia graduates contribute significantly to Québec’s constitutionally
protected English-language elementary and high schools. More than 1,000
Concordia graduates currently work at English-language school boards in the
greater Montréal area.
35. Concordia is also home to the Quebec English-Speaking Communities
Research Network (“QUESCREN”), a collaborative network of researchers,
stakeholders, and educational institutions and other institutions that improve
understanding of Québec’s English-speaking communities and that promote their
development. QUESCREN collaborates with the Canadian Institute for Research
on Linguistic Minorities hosted at the Université de Moncton.
c) Concordia’s commitment to promoting the French language and
supporting its students’ integration in Québec society
36. While Concordia is an important institution for the English-speaking
community, Concordia is a Québec university that serves members of all
linguistic communities, building bridges between linguistic and cultural groups.
37. In 2022-2023, among undergraduates, 22% declared French as their
mother tongue, 23% declared another language as their mother tongue, and 54%
declared English as their mother tongue.
38. Irrespective of their mother tongue, approximately 75% of all Concordia
students (including English-speaking Quebecers) speak French at an
intermediate or advanced level.
39. Moreover, Concordia attracts Canadian non-residents who wish to come
to Montréal to learn French or to improve their French skills.
40. Concordia supports students in acquiring and maintaining the French skills
they need to fully participate in Québec society.
41. Concordia’s Réussir en français program offers opportunities for students
and staff to learn, improve and maintain their French skills, including by way of
French courses for all levels offered by Concordia’s Département d’études
françaises, and conversation groups enabling students and staff to practice and
improve their French skills.
42. In May 2023, Concordia appointed an Associate Vice-President of
professional education and valorisation du français whose mandate includes
coordinating and expanding Concordia’s French-language training activities.
43. Concordia also supports its students’ preparation for working in
francophone environments through its co-op placements and initiatives such as
the “Vous êtes engagé !” program which helps students prepare for employment
interviews in French.
44. Concordia also offers certain programs in French:
(a) Concordia’s Département d’études françaises offers undergraduate
programs in French language, literature and linguistics, as well as

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 graduate programs in translation and teaching French as a second
language;
(b) Concordia’s graduate diploma in Community Economic Development is
offered in both French and English; and
(c) Concordia’s microprogram in screenwriting and film producing is offered in
both French and English.
d) Concordia’s students from outside Québec
45. In keeping with its culture of promoting diversity as a driving force of
innovation, Concordia values and celebrates the contributions of its students
from outside Québec and supports their integration in the Québec workforce.
46. In 2022-2023, among Concordia’s students enrolled in credit courses:
(a) 24% were international students (approx. 11,000);
(b) 10% were Canadian non-resident students (approx. 4,700); and
(c) 66% were residents of Québec (approx. 30,500).
47. Concordia’s unique approach and programs, which connect students to
the Québec economy, contributes to Concordia’s strong retention rate.
48. Approximately 180,000 Concordia alumni live and work in Montréal.
49. Concordia attracts many international students who pursue higher
education in Québec as part of an immigration plan and who value Concordia’s
partnerships with industry to help them integrate the Québec workforce.
50. In 2022-2023, the top ten countries of origin of its international students
were: India (25%), Iran (13%), France (11%), China (10%), United States (6%),
Lebanon (4%), Bangladesh (3%), Egypt (2%), Pakistan (2%) and Vietnam (2%).
51. In 2022, nearly 20% of Concordia’s international students arrived from
French-speaking countries.
52. Based on 2022 data, an estimated 76% of Concordia’s international
students stayed in Canada after their studies, and an estimated 63% stayed in
Québec.
53. Concordia also offers unique programs in creative fields that attract talent
from across Canada. For fine arts, Canadian non-resident students represent
approximately 24% of students, and represent approximately 40% or more of
students in certain programs, such as contemporary dance and theatre.
e) Concordia’s financial circumstances
54. From its humble beginnings at the YMCA to today as a non-profit public
university, Concordia is not, and has never been, a wealthy institution.
55. As an educational institution at the university level named at s. 1(7) of the
Act respecting educational institutions at the university level, CQLR c E-14.1,
Concordia is eligible for, and indeed relies heavily on provincial grants.

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56. Concordia’s sources of operating revenues are:
(a) provincial grants, representing approximately 53% of operating revenues
for 2022-2023;
(b) tuition fees, representing approximately 35% of operating revenues
for2022-2023; and
(c) other sources, representing approximately 13% of operating revenues for
2022-2023;
as appears from Concordia’s audited financial statements of 2022-2023 attached
as Exhibit P-2.
57. Provincial grants are primarily calculated based on student enrolment.
With approximately 87% of its operating revenues dependent on student
enrolment, Concordia is highly vulnerable to fluctuations in student enrolment.
58. The university sector in Québec as a whole suffers from well-documented
structural underfunding by the government estimated at approximately $1.6 to
$2 billion, as appears from the report of the Groupe de recherche en économie
publique appliquée (GREPA), Révision de la politique québécoise de
financement des universités (2022), at pages 3 and 6, attached as Exhibit P-3,
and the report published by the government of Québec of the data collected from
all universities for 2021-2022 by way of the Système d’information financière des
universités, at page 1B, line 46, column 1 “Fonds de fonctionnement”, attached
as Exhibit P-4.
59. In a context of chronic, structural underfunding by the government,
Concordia has had to rely on growth in student enrolment to sustain itself and
develop as an institution.
60. Despite being the fastest growing university in Québec in the last decade,
government investments in Concordia’s infrastructure have lagged behind,
notably with Concordia being one of the few universities in Québec that did not
receive specific funding from the government for infrastructure projects in the last
ten years.
61. In this context, and notably due to structural and chronic underfunding and
declines in student enrolment since 2021-2022, Concordia was already
implementing a government-approved recovery plan to redress a deficit of
$29.1 million in 2023-2024.
62. This situation is not unusual for Concordia; for decades, it has in fact not
been in a position to accumulate a surplus. Notably, Concordia implemented a
recovery plan to redress a deficit from 2016 to the 2019-2020 fiscal year.
III. MINISTÈRE DE L’ENSEIGNEMENT SUPÉRIEUR (“THE MINISTRY”)
63. The mission and functions of the Minister are notably defined at ss. 2 to 4
of the Act respecting the Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur, de la
Recherche, de la Science et de la Technologie, CQLR c M-15.1.0.1 (“Act re
Ministry of Higher Education”) as follows:

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2. The mission of the Minister is to
support the development and
promote the quality of college
education and university education
in order to facilitate access to the
highest forms of knowledge and
culture, including through skill and
knowledge development, for every
person who has the will and the
ability to pursue them.
2. Le ministre a pour mission de
soutenir le développement et
promouvoir la qualité de
l’enseignement collégial et de
l’enseignement universitaire afin de
favoriser l’accès aux formes les plus
élevées du savoir et de la culture,
notamment par le développement
des connaissances et des
compétences, à toute personne qui
en a la volonté et l’aptitude.

A further mission of the Minister is to Il a également pour mission de

contribute to the development of
research, especially fundamental
and applied research, and of
science, innovation and technology,
including in academic, industrial and
social environments, in
sustainable development
perspective, mainly by promoting
access to knowledge, economic
development, social progress and
respect for the environment. To that
end, the Minister promotes synergy
among the various players
concerned.
contribuer à l’essor de la recherche,
notamment fondamentale et
appliquée, de la science, de
l’innovation et de la technologie,
entre autres dans les milieux
a académiques, industriels et sociaux,
dans une perspective de
développement durable en
favorisant particulièrement l’accès
au savoir, le développement
économique, le progrès social et le
respect de l’environnement. Pour ce
faire, il favorise la synergie des
actions des différents acteurs
concernés.

3. The Minister is to develop policy 3. Le ministre élabore et propose au

directions and policies in the areas gouvernement des orientations et
within the Minister’s jurisdiction and des politiques relatives aux
propose them to the Government. A domaines de sa compétence. Il
national research and innovation élabore notamment une politique
policy is among the policies the nationale en matière de recherche et
Minister is to develop. d’innovation.

The Minister is to coordinate and Il coordonne la mise en oeuvre de

follow up on the implementation of ces orientations et politiques et en
those policy directions and policies. assure le suivi.

4. The functions of the Minister are, 4. Les fonctions du ministre

more particularly, to consistent plus particulièrement à:

(1) promote higher education, 1° faire la promotion de

research, science, innovation and
technology and, in those fields,
foster cooperation between the
various players and cohesive
government action and extend
l’enseignement supérieur, de la
recherche, de la science, de
l’innovation et de la technologie et
favoriser, dans ces domaines, la
concertation entre les différents
acteurs, la cohérence de l’action

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 Québec’s influence both within gouvernementale et le rayonnement
Canada and abroad; du Québec au Canada et à
l’étranger;

[…] […]

(3) promote the development of 3° favoriser le développement des

higher education institutions and see établissements d’enseignement
to the quality of the services supérieur et veiller à la qualité des
provided, in connection with the services dispensés, en lien avec sa
Minister’s mission, by such mission, par ces établissements;
institutions;

[…] […]

64. The Act re Ministry of Higher Education grants the Minister the discretion
to make grants to universities and determine the conditions attached to those
grants:
5. In the pursuit of the Minister’s 5. Pour la réalisation de sa mission,
mission, the Minister may, among le ministre peut notamment:
other things,
(1) grant financial assistance out of 1° accorder, aux conditions qu’il fixe,
the sums put at the Minister’s une aide financière sur les sommes
disposal for that purpose, subject to mises à sa disposition à cette fin;
the conditions determined by the
Minister;
(2) obtain the necessary information 2° obtenir les renseignements
from government departments and nécessaires des ministères et de
any public body to which the Act tout organisme public visé par la Loi
respecting Access to documents sur l’accès aux documents des
held by public bodies and the organismes publics et sur la
Protection of personal information protection des renseignements
(chapter A-2.1) applies, and from personnels (chapitre A-2.1) ou de
any private body; tout organisme privé;
(3) enter into agreements, subject to 3° conclure, conformément à la loi,
the applicable legislative provisions, des ententes avec un gouvernement
with a government other than that of autre que celui du Québec ou l’un de
Québec, with a department or body ses ministères ou organismes, ou
of such a government, or with an avec une organisation internationale
international organization or one of ou l’un de ses organismes;
its agencies;
(4) conduct or commission 4° réaliser ou faire réaliser des
research, studies and analyses; and recherches, études et analyses;
(5) provide any person, group or 5° fournir à toute personne, groupe
body with the services the Minister ou organisme les services qu’il juge
considers necessary. nécessaires.
[Emphasis added]

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65. When attaching conditions to a grant or giving directives to universities
regarding tuition fees, the Minister is required to consult the Advisory Committee
on Financial Accessibility of Education (Comité consultatif sur l’accessibilité
financière aux études, hereafter “CCAFE”), an advisory committee appointed by
the government:

88. The advisory committee is 88. Le Comité consultatif est chargé

responsible for advising the Minister
and the Minister of Education,
Recreation and Sports on any matter
submitted to the committee by either
Minister with regard to
de conseiller le ministre et le ministre
de l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport
sur toute question que l’un ou l’autre
lui soumet relativement:

(1) financial assistance programs 1° aux programmes d’aide financière

established by the Act respecting institués par la Loi sur l’aide
financial assistance for education financière aux études (chapitre A-
expenses (chapter A-13.3); 13.3);

(2) tuition fees, admission or 2° aux droits de scolarité, aux droits

registration fees for educational d’admission ou d’inscription aux
services and other fees relating to services d’enseignement et aux
such services; and autres droits afférents à de tels
services;

(3) measures or policies that may 3° aux mesures ou politiques

affect the financial accessibility of pouvant avoir des incidences sur
education. l’accessibilité financière aux études.

90. The Minister, after consulting 90. Le ministre, après consultation

with the Minister of Education,
Recreation and Sports when the
matter relates to a level of education
within that Minister’s jurisdiction,
must seek the advice of the advisory
committee on any draft regulation
respecting the financial assistance
programs referred to in paragraph 1
of section 88.
du ministre de l’Éducation, du Loisir
et du Sport lorsqu’il y a un lien avec
un ordre d’enseignement sous sa
compétence, doit soumettre au
Comité consultatif pour avis tout
projet de règlement relatif aux
programmes d’aide financière visés
au paragraphe 1° de l’article 88.

The Minister and the Minister of Le ministre et le ministre de

Education, Recreation and Sports
must also seek the advice of the
advisory committee on any
condition they intend to include in
the budgetary rules or in any
directive they intend to give to
educational institutions with respect
to matters referred to in paragraph 2
of section 88.
l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport
doivent pareillement soumettre pour
avis toute condition qu’ils se
proposent d’inclure dans des règles
budgétaires ou dans toute directive
qu’ils entendent donner aux
établissements d’enseignement
relativement aux matières visées au
paragraphe 2° de l’article 88.

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 The Minister or the Minister of
Education, Recreation and Sports,
as applicable, informs the advisory
committee of the time within which
the advice must be sent to the
Minister. That time cannot be less
than 30 days.
Le ministre ou le ministre de
l’Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport,
selon le cas, indique au Comité
consultatif le délai dans lequel l’avis
doit lui être transmis. Ce délai ne
peut être inférieur à 30 jours.

If the advisory committee fails to À défaut pour le Comité consultatif

send its advice within the time
specified, the obligations of the
Minister concerned under the first
and second paragraphs are
deemed to be fulfilled.
[Emphasis added]
de transmettre son avis dans le délai
indiqué, l’obligation du ministre
concerné, dans les cas prévus aux
premier et deuxième alinéas, est
réputée remplie.

66. There are no current members of the CCAFE from English-language

universities, or indeed from any English-language institution.
IV. UNIVERSITY FUNDING AND TUITION FEES PRIOR TO THE DECISION
67. The last major review of the government’s policy on the funding of
universities culminated in the adoption of the Politique québécoise de
financement des universités of 2018-2019, which describes the general structure
of grants to universities and the changes implemented as of that year, attached
as Exhibit P-5.
68. The calculation method for grants to universities prior to the Decision is
described in detail in the Règles budgétaires et calcul des subventions de
fonctionnement aux universités du Québec – Année universitaire 2023-2024 (Mai
2023) attached as Exhibit P-6 (the “May 2023 Budgetary Rules”).
69. The government provides funding to universities in the form of two types of
grants:
(a) a general grant, primarily calculated based on student enrolment; and
(b) specific grants responding to particular situations or needs and grants for
fiduciary institutions.
70. The conditions attached to these grants include terms regarding the tuition
fees charged to students by universities, as appears from s. 3 of the May 2023
Budgetary Rules (Exhibit P-6).
71. There are three main categories of students for the purposes of tuition
fees:
(a) residents of Québec;
(b) Canadian non-residents; and
(c) international students.

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 a) Québec residents
72. Students that are residents of Québec pay a base tuition fee per unit of
course credits.
73. The base tuition fee is indexed annually at a rate capped according to the
Act to limit the indexation of several government tariffs, CQLR c I-7.1.
74. For the 2023-2024 academic year, the base tuition fee was $96.03 per
unit, as appears from May 2023 Budgetary Rules at page 112 (Exhibit P-6).
75. At a regular full-time course load of 30 course credits per year, the 2023-
2024 base tuition fee represented an annual tuition fee of $2,880.90.
76. The proceeds from the base tuition fee are retained by universities.
77. Québec resident students are included in the calculation of the general
grant to universities, within the three normalized grants: (a) Enseignement;
(b) Soutien à l’enseignement et à la recherche; and (c) Terrains et bâtiments.
b) Canadian non-residents
78. Canadian non-resident students pay the base tuition fee, as well as an
additional amount (“montant forfaitaire”) per unit of course credits (hereafter, the
“Canadian non-resident additional fee”).
79. For the 2023-2024 academic year, the Canadian non-resident additional
fee was $203.70 per unit of course credits, as appears from the May 2023
Budgetary Rules at page 116 (Exhibit P-6).
80. At a regular full-time course load of 30 course credits per year, the 2023-
2024 Canadian non-resident additional fee represented an annual additional
amount of $6,111, for a total of $8,991.90 when combined with the base tuition
fee.
81. The purpose for the additional amount for Canadian non-resident students
is described, in the May 2023 Budgetary Rules at page 116 (Exhibit P-6), as
follows:
Depuis le trimestre d’automne 1997, les étudiants canadiens et les résidents
permanents du Canada qui ne sont pas résidents du Québec paient des droits de
scolarité globalement comparables à ceux en vigueur dans les universités ailleurs
au Canada. En conséquence, ces étudiants paient, en plus des droits de scolarité
de base, un montant forfaitaire par unité.

82. Although the stated purpose is to ensure that Canadian non-resident

students pay tuition fees generally comparable to those in effect in other
Canadian provinces, the Canadian non-resident fee has been higher than the
national average for several years, as appears from the report of the CCAFE of
May 2, 2022 entitled “Frais de scolarité de la population étudiante universitaire
2022-2023” attached as Exhibit P-7 at pages 17-18, and the report of the
CCAFE of May 1, 2023 entitled “Frais de scolarité de la population étudiante
universitaire 2023-2024” attached as Exhibit P-8 at page 12.

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83. The proceeds from the Canadian non-resident additional fee are
recuperated by the Ministry.
84. However, universities recuperate an amount per student by way of the
general grant to universities, within the three normalized grants:
(a) Enseignement; (b) Soutien à l’enseignement et à la recherche; and
(c) Terrains et bâtiments.
85. Since at least 1997, there are a number of exemptions from the Canadian
non-resident additional fee, notably for students enrolled in courses in the French
language or French literature, whether the program is offered in a French-
language or English-language universities.
86. As of June 1, 2022, with the enactment of Bill 96, An Act respecting
French, the official and common language of Québec, SQ 2022, c 14, for the first
time, the government designated universities as being either “French-language
institutions” or “English-language institutions”, and provided for the designation of
Concordia, McGill University (“McGill”) and Bishop’s University (“Bishop’s”) as
English-language institutions (Bill 96, ss. 60 [enacting s. 88.0.1 of the CFL], 194).
87. Bill 96 also provided that Canadian non-resident students enrolled at a
French-language institution in a program taught in French that is not offered in
French outside of Québec pays the same tuition fees as a Québec resident (s. 19
of Bill 96 [s. 29.6 of the CFL]). As of fall 2023, such students have thereby been
exempted from the Canadian non-resident additional fee.
c) International students
88. As for international students, they fall into two categories for the purposes
of tuition fees: (a) regulated international students; and (b) unregulated
international students.
(i) Regulated international students
89. The tuition fees for regulated international students apply to international
students enrolled in research-based masters’ programs and doctoral programs.
90. Regulated international students pay the base tuition fee and an additional
fee per unit of course credits.
91. For the 2023-2024 academic year, regulated international students in
research-based masters’ programs paid an additional fee of $510.52 per unit, as
appears from the May 2023 Budgetary Rules at page 118 (Exhibit P-6).
92. At a regular full-time course load of 30 course credits per year, the
additional fee for research-based masters’ programs represents an annual
additional fee of $15,315.60, for a total of $18,196.50 when combined with the
base tuition fee.
93. For the 2023-2024 academic year, regulated international students in
doctoral programs paid an additional amount of $449.32 per unit, as appears
from the May 2023 Budgetary Rules at page 118 (Exhibit P-6).

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94. At a regular full-time course load of 30 course credits per year, the
additional fee for doctoral programs represents an annual additional fee of
$13,479.60, for a total of $16,360.50 when combined with the base tuition fee.
95. A number of exemptions to the additional amount for regulated
international students apply, notably the exemption for French and Belgian
students pursuant to international agreements.
96. The additional fee for regulated international students is recuperated by
the Ministry.
97. However, universities recuperate an amount per student by way of the
general grant to universities, within the three normalized grants:
(a) Enseignement; (b) Soutien à l’enseignement et à la recherche; and
(c) Terrains et bâtiments.
98. Universities may also charge regulated international students a further fee
of up to 10% of the additional fee. This amount is kept by the university.
(ii) Deregulated international students
99. The rules on tuition fees for deregulated international students apply to all
other international students, namely undergraduate students and all graduate
programs other than research-based masters’ and doctoral programs.
100. With the adoption of the Politique québécoise de financement des
universités of 2018-2019 (Exhibit P-5), the government adopted three measures
intended to improve international student enrolment in Québec universities (at
page 34):
(a) deregulation of international students’ fees as of fall 2019, enabling
universities to generate greater revenue (which could be used for
measures to promote recruitment and freed up government funding);
(b) specific grants for French-language universities, expected to enable them
to increase their international student enrolment by approximately 15%;
and
(c) an international agreement with Belgium allowing students from the
French Community of Belgium to attend Québec universities at the
Canadian non-resident rate, as was already the case for students from
France.
101. These measures were implemented gradually as of 2019-2020 and were
accompanied by a compensatory funding envelope to ensure a smooth transition
and to prevent any institution from losing revenue as a result of the changes to
the tuition structure, as appears from the Politique québécoise de financement
des universités (Exhibit P-5), s. 5.6, at pages 38-39.
102. Specific grants were provided for French-language universities along with
the deregulation of fees specifically because it was understood at that time that
English-language universities already benefitted from significant international

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student enrolment and would likely generate more revenue from the deregulation
of their fees.
103. As such, the changes to the tuition structure for international students
adopted in 2018 were implemented in a manner consistent with the guiding
principle of doing no harm, through gradual and transitory measures intended to
promote a harmonious transition.
104. As the name indicates, tuition fees for unregulated international students
are not regulated by the government. Universities determine the tuition fees they
charge.
105. The Ministry does not recuperate any amounts, nor does it provide
normalized grants to universities for those students.
106. However, universities are required to charge at least as much as the
tuition paid by Canadian non-residents that are subject to the Canadian non-
resident additional fee. For instance, an unregulated international student for the
2023-2024 academic year could not be charged less than $8,991.90.
107. Concordia sets its fees for unregulated international students based on
market studies with the objectives of providing tuition predictability, maintaining
accessibility, ensuring fiscal responsibility, reflecting the market value of a
Concordia education, and the need to provide additional support and resources
to international students.
108. For the 2023-2024 academic year, Concordia’s tuition fees for unregulated
international students range from $27,000 (for undergraduate fine arts and
engineering programs) to $33,300 (for undergraduate programs in business) per
year.
V. THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS AND DECISION
a) Review of the Politique québécoise de financement des universités
109. The Politique québécoise de financement des universités of 2018-2019
was due to be reviewed after five years (for the 2023-2024 academic year), but
the work was postponed by a year at the request of universities, with work
beginning in the 2022-2023 academic year for application in 2024-2025.
110. In January 2023, the government presented to universities an updated
plan for the review of the Politique québécoise de financement des universités,
which notably identified principles intended to guide the review and key areas of
concern that, from the Ministry’s perspective were to be considered, as appears
from the presentation of January 2023 attached as Exhibit P-9.
111. As was the government’s practice in the review of university funding, one
of the principles guiding the review identified by the Ministry was “[v]iser à ce
qu’il n’y ait aucun perdant globalement” [emphasis added], as appears from
the presentation of January 2023 (Exhibit P-9) at page 7.

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112. The Ministry identified five elements to be addressed in the review, none
of which related to tuition fees for non-resident students, as appears from the
presentation of January 2023 (Exhibit P-9) at page 9:
• La trop grande importance du financement selon l’effectif étudiant laquelle
réduit la stabilité du financement à court terme, la pérennité du financement à
moyen terme et nuit à la collaboration;
• Les coûts moyens de la grille de pondération ont été estimés à partir des
données qui ne reflètent plus les coûts réels et ceux-ci ne tiennent pas
adéquatement compte des coûts pour certains programmes (génie, médecine,
etc.);
• Le soutien de la recherche lequel n’est pas bien circonscrit et pourrait favoriser
davantage la création, l’innovation, la mobilisation et le transfert des
connaissances;
• La complexité de l’enveloppe TB [Travaux et bâtiments] et la nécessité de
prendre mieux en compte les nouvelles technologies et de la transformation
numérique (infonuagique, intelligence artificielle, FAD);
• Une reddition de comptes plus efficace et un meilleur accès aux données pour
assurer le suivi des résultats.
113. Similarly, on February 17, 2023, at a meeting of the coordinating
committee for the review of the Politique québécoise de financement des
universités, the Ministry identified the following as a guiding principle of the
review, as appears from the presentation of February 17, 2023, attached as
Exhibit P-10 at page 6:
8. Aucun perdant globalement - Les modifications au modèle de financement
visent à ce que l’ensemble des décisions prises fassent en sorte qu’aucune
université ne voit son financement global être affecté négativement.
[Emphasis added]

b) Initial exchanges on potential changes to tuition fees for non-

resident students
114. On April 24, 2023, Graham Carr, President and Vice-Chancellor of
Concordia, as well as representatives of McGill, met with the Minister, who
shared her perception that non-resident students at English-language universities
were not staying in Québec, that the government’s funding policy on non-resident
students gave an advantage to English-language universities and that English-
language universities were favouring admission of non-resident students over
Québec students. During this meeting, Concordia explained that most of its
students are from Québec, that Concordia has never been a rich institution and
that it has been running a deficit for the better part of a decade. Concordia
communicated that the working groups established to review the funding policy
should be the forum to discuss any concerns regarding the funding policy. The
possibility of changing tuition fees for non-resident students was not raised at this
meeting.

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115. On or about May 15, 2023, Concordia received a letter from the Minister,
also addressed to McGill and Bishop’s, expressing preoccupations regarding the
following three alleged issues, and requesting that English-language universities
propose solutions to them:
(a) concern about a low retention rate for international and Canadian non-
resident students enrolled in English-language universities in Québec after
their graduation in the context of a labour shortage;
(b) concern about the francization of non-resident students that choose to
establish themselves in Québec; and
(c) concern that the deregulation of international students’ fees had primarily
benefited English-language universities;
as appears from the letter of May 15, 2023, attached as Exhibit P-11.
116. On or about June 8, 2023, Graham Carr, President and Vice-Chancellor of
Concordia, responded to the Minister’s letter of May 15, 2023 (Exhibit P-11),
highlighting: (a) that Concordia’s international students contribute positively to
Québec and that Concordia’s rate of retention compares favourably to other
universities; (b) various francization initiatives underway at Concordia, including
offering French courses to out of province undergraduate students; and (c) that
the question of tuition fees should be considered in the broader context of the
review of university funding based on concrete data, as appears from the letter of
June 8, 2023 attached as Exhibit P-12.
117. In its letter of June 8, 2023, Concordia proposed continuing discussions to:
(a) review the funding policy for universities based on quantitative and financial
data and taking into account the funding policy as a whole; and (b) explore
improvements to programs for French-language learning in collaboration with the
Office québécois de la langue française and Francisation Québec.
118. On June 20, 2023, Concordia submitted its brief to the Ministry on the
review of the government of Québec’s policy on university funding, as appears
from the brief of June 20, 2023 entitled “Soutenir le réseau des universités
québécoises dans toute sa diversité et sa complémentarité, comme levier de la
main-d’oeuvre, de la vitalité, de la croissance durable et du rayonnement du
Québec”, attached as Exhibit P-13.
119. On general concerns regarding the funding of universities, Concordia
notably highlighted:
(a) the well-documented structural under-funding of universities in Québec;
(b) the decline in student enrolment and increases in costs;
(c) the need to reduce the funding formula’s dependency on student
enrolment; and
(d) the need to take into account institutions’ funding needs rather than
historic costs, amongst others.

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120. Concordia advocated for changes to the calculation formula for grants that
would reduce dependency on the number of students and establish a minimum
funding level for each institution.
121. Regarding non-resident students, Concordia notably highlighted the
contributions of its non-resident students to Québec society and indicated that:
(a) in 2021-2022, international students (21%) and Canadian non-resident
students (9%) represented approximately 30% of Concordia’s enrolment,
placing Concordia 3rd in Canada for the highest proportion of international
students in graduate programs; and
(b) approximately 54% of Concordia’s international students stay in Québec,
which is much higher than the rate of retention in Canada of international
students graduating from Canadian universities of around 30%
(percentage of international students arriving in Canada since 2000 who
obtained permanent residency).
122. In its brief, Concordia specifically warned against an approach regarding
international students that would pit universities against each other on the basis
of language (“[n]e pas mettre en opposition les universités sur la seule base de la
langue”) or that would involve taking from one network to give to another (“[n]e
pas déshabiller l’un pour habiller l’autre”).
123. On June 27, 2023, representatives of Concordia met with the Minister
primarily to discuss francization initiatives at Concordia. Concordia emphasized
two of its particularities: (a) its commitment to experiential and work-integrated
learning; and (b) the high rate of retention in Québec of its international students
after graduation. Concordia expressed its commitment and willingness to
promote French competency among its students, based on an approach
intended to incentivize French-language learning, rather than mandating it.
Concordia presented to the Minister a number of its francization initiatives,
including the Réussir en français program, and measures to support students in
preparing for co-op placements in French-language environments.
124. During the meeting, the Minister raised concerns about the deregulation of
international student fees. Concordia explained that pursuant to the funding
formula, it did not receive grants for those students, that it did not set its
international students’ fees unduly high, and that French-language universities
already received particular, offsetting grants that were not available to Concordia.
The possibility of changing the tuition fee structure of non-resident students was
not raised at this meeting.
125. In parallel, the Ministry also established a working group, the Table
permanente de concertation pour discuter des enjeux et des réalités des
étudiantes et étudiants internationaux, composed of university, CEGEP and
Ministry representatives, that would examine the situation of international
students in the network (“International Student Working Group”).
126. The International Student Working Group held its first meeting on
September 19, 2023, at which was discussed the launch of a study to examine a

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number of issues relating to international students (projet CIRANO), including the
effect of the deregulation of international student fees, as appears from the
agenda of the meeting, the presentation on the mandate and structure of the
working group, the presentation of the statistical portrait of international students,
and the presentation of the CIRANO project, attached en liasse as Exhibit P-14.
127. Based on the data presented by the Ministry at that meeting, the
proportion of international students in Québec universities that were enrolled in
English-language universities has decreased since deregulation, from 43% in
2017-2018 to 37% in 2022-2023, as appears from the presentation of the
statistical portrait of international students at page 34 of Exhibit P-14.
c) Announcement of October 2023
128. On or about September 29, 2023, Premier François Legault suggested
that there could be upcoming changes to tuition fees for out of province students,
stating: « Est-ce normal qu’un étudiant de Toronto vienne étudier à Montréal
parce que c’est moins cher, mais qu’un étudiant de Montréal qui va étudier à
Toronto, il paie quatre fois le prix? », as appears from the article of September
29, 2023 by Radio-Canada attached Exhibit P-15.
129. As appears from the reports of the CCAFE to the Minister of May 2022
(Exhibit P-7) and May 2023 (Exhibit P-8) which demonstrate that Québec’s fees
for Canadian non-resident have been above the national average for several
years, this statement was unfounded.
130. On October 10, 2023, representatives of Concordia met with the Minister
by videoconference, who announced that changes would be made to the tuition
fee structure for non-resident students. For international students, the
government would re-regulate fees for undergraduate and professional masters’
programs such that a minimum of approximately $20,000 would be charged, with
an unspecified amount to be recuperated by the Ministry and redistributed to
francophone universities. For Canadian non-residents, tuition fees would be
increased to approximately $17,000. The Minister stated that Quebecers should
not pay for the costs of Canadian non-residents’ education. Concerns were
expressed by Concordia regarding the important impacts on Concordia, and the
Minister invited Concordia to provide information on the impacts of these
measures.
131. On October 12, 2023, in an article published by La Presse, Jean-François
Roberge, Minister of the French Language, revealed that the government would
be announcing measures to address a “great imbalance” (“un grand
déséquilibre”) between English-language and French-language universities.
Regarding the number of out of province students attending Concordia, McGill
and Bishop’s, which he indicated was about 32,000, Minister Roberge stated:
C’est beaucoup de personnes qui viennent au Québec, qui fréquentent une
université anglophone et qui bien souvent s’expriment en anglais au quotidien, dit-
il. Si on veut changer le profil linguistique de Montréal, arrêter le déclin à Montréal,
il faut s’intéresser à la question du rééquilibrage des réseaux universitaires.

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as appears from the article of October 12, 2023 in La Presse at Exhibit P-16.
132. On October 13, 2023, the Minister and Minister Roberge held a joint press
conference formally announcing the changes to tuition fees for non-resident
students that had been communicated to Concordia on October 10, 2023,
namely that: (a) Canadian non-resident students’ fees would increase from
$8,992 to approximately $17,000; and (b) fees charged to international students
enrolled in undergraduate and professional masters’ programs would be
regulated, with an approximate fee of $20,000, a part of which would be
recuperated by the Ministry to support international student recruitment at
French-language universities. It was specified that these increases would not
apply to students subject to international agreements, such as French and
Belgian students, as appears from the press release of October 13, 2023
attached as Exhibit P-17 and the article of October 13, 2023 entitled “Québec
haussera les tarifs pour les étudiants universitaires non résidents” published by
Radio-Canada online and attached as Exhibit P-18.
133. The stated objectives of these measures were ostensibly to:
(a) cease subsidizing non-resident students that attend English-language
universities, an alleged majority of which do not stay in the province;
(b) to use the revenues to support French-language universities; and
(c) to contribute to preventing the decline of French in Québec.
134. Still on October 13, 2023, Minister Roberge explained that the measures
would contribute to preventing the decline of French in Québec (“freiner le déclin
du français”), and in Montréal in particular, meaning that they would discourage
anglophone non-resident students from coming to Québec. As appears from the
article of October 13, 2023 at Exhibit P-18, Minister Roberge stated:
Lorsque des dizaines de milliers de personnes arrivent sur l’île de Montréal sans
maîtriser le français, c’est évident que ça peut avoir un effet anglicisant sur la
métropole.

135. On October 16, 2023, Concordia provided the Ministry with calculations of
the estimated financial impact over the next five years for Concordia based on
two scenarios: an optimistic scenario based on a reduction of 66% of Canadian
non-resident enrolment over four years and estimating losses of approximately
$54 million, and a more pessimistic scenario based on a reduction of 90% of
Canadian non-resident enrolment over four years estimating losses of
approximately $62 million, as appears from the email of October 16, 2023 and its
two attachments, attached as Exhibit P-19.
136. On October 17, 2023, during a press conference, Premier François
Legault defended the tuition changes by stating that Québec taxpayers did not
need to subsidize university tuition for non-resident students, that “when I look at
the number of anglophones students from outside Québec, it threatens the
survival of the French language” (“Quand je regarde le nombre d’étudiants
anglophones au Québec, ben, ça menace la survie du français.”) and that “in

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increasing the tuition fees for the rest of Canada, for the people studying in
Québec, it will be another move to reduce the number of anglophone students”
(original statement in English), again meaning that the measures would
discourage anglophone non-resident students from coming to Québec, as
appears from the video excerpts of Premier Legault’s responses to two questions
during the press conference of October 17, 2023 attached as Exhibit P-20 and
Exhibit-21 respectively.
137. As such, the very purpose of the changes was to cause a substantial
decrease in enrolment of non-resident students in English-language universities.
In a context of well-documented structural underfunding of universities, in which
universities depend on growth in student enrolment to make ends meet, the
purpose and effect of the changes is to cause harm to the stability and
development of English-language universities.
138. Furthermore, these announcements were made at the most damaging
time possible, i.e. in the heart of the recruitment cycle for fall 2024, and with an
effective date in the fall of 2024. This provided no time for Concordia to adapt to
these changes and prepare for a recruitment cycle based on a new tuition
structure, in contrast to the approach taken in 2018 when international students’
fees were deregulated as of the 2019-2020 academic year.
139. On October 23, 2023, Concordia provided data to the Ministry regarding
the 13.21% drop in attendance of Canadian non-resident candidates at
Concordia’s open house and reported that the message heard by recruiters from
Canadian non-resident candidates was that if fees increased to $17,000, they
would look elsewhere, as appears from the email of October 23, 2023 attached
as Exhibit P-22.
140. On November 3, 2023, the Premier gave an interview in English on CJAD
radio regarding the announced changes to tuition fees in which he stated that:
Right now, in total, we see that 25% of places in universities in Québec are with
anglophone universities, and I remember in Québec we have 9% of anglophones.
We’ve put a cap of 17.5% of places in our colleges. In universities, it’s 25%. So I
think, to be fair, that we have to reduce this 25%. Right? So, in order to do that,
what we suggested – and I want to discuss with them, maybe they have other
solutions – is to increase tuition fees from $9,000 a year to $17,000 a year for
Canadian students coming from the rest of Canada. In doing so, we think that we’ll
reduce by 25% these students that come and pay very low tuition fees financed by
the Québec government and then they go back to their province. And in the
meantime, we talk about something like, in total, they are 78,000 students in
McGill, Concordia and Bishop’s and – yes, they are in Montréal […] so they have
an impact on the presence of French and English in Montréal.
d) Exchanges between Concordia and the Government
141. On November 6, 2023, the Presidents and Vice-Chancellors of Concordia,
McGill and Bishop’s met with the Premier and the Minister. The Presidents and
Vice-Chancellors explained that the announced increase to tuition fees for non-
resident students would discourage a large number of such students from

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enrolling in Québec’s English-language universities, threatening the very survival
of Bishop’s and causing combined estimated losses of over $100 million per year
to Concordia and McGill. The three English-language universities instead
presented a proposal to implement various initiatives to improve francization of
non-resident students, aiming to enable at least 40% of non francophone
students in undergraduate programs to achieve a level 6 in French language
competency pursuant to the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en
français, as appears from the proposal of November 6, 2023 attached as
Exhibit P-23.
142. The proposed plan of implementing various measures to enable
approximately 40% of non francophone students to learn French reflects
Concordia’s culture and values of promoting the French language and
contributing to students’ integration in the Québec economy and society, by
encouraging students of all backgrounds to learn French, including by offering
opportunities to apply and improve their French skills through work-integrated
learning.
143. During the November 6, 2023 meeting, the Premier emphasized statistics
showing a decline in the percentage of Quebecers whose first official language is
French, whose language spoken most often in the home is French, and whose
language spoken most often at work is French. He also emphasized that
approximately 25% of university students in Québec attend English-language
universities, whereas anglophone Quebecers only represent around 10% of the
population. He stated that about 75,000 students (referring to the total number of
students attending Concordia and McGill) was “far too much” (“c’est beaucoup
trop”). The implication was clearly that there were too many students enrolled at
Concordia and McGill, the assumption being that Concordia and McGill’s
students are all unilingual anglophones that are contributing to a decline in the
use of French in the home and at work in Montréal.
144. Still during the November 6, 2023 meeting, Concordia, McGill and
Bishop’s responded that the impacts on their institutions were major. For
Bishop’s, the changes threatened the very survival of the institution. Concordia
explained that it is not a rich institution, that it has been running a deficit for which
it has a recovery plan in place, and that the announced increases would cause
dramatic cuts. The three universities explained that the tuition increases were not
just high, but that they were prohibitive, particularly for arts programs where the
previous rate for Canadian non-residents of around $9,000 was already higher
than the Canadian average. They further explained that the timing of the
announcement – just as the recruitment process for 2024-2025 had begun – sent
a message that was already negatively impacting recruitment and that would be
difficult to reverse.
145. At no time did the Premier or the Minister provide data in support of their
claim that Concordia’s non-resident students do not speak or learn French, do
not stay in Québec, or that they have otherwise contributed to the decline of
French.

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146. After the meeting on November 6, 2023, the Minister posted on her
Twitter/X account, recognizing that English-language universities had expressed
a commitment to contributing to francization, but stating that “on reste fermes sur
nos principes : ce n’est pas aux contribuables québécois de financer la formation
de milliers d’étudiants canadiens hors Québec” and that “on doit aussi corriger le
déséquilibre financier dans le réseau universitaire”. The tweets concluded with:
“On va poursuivre nos discussions avec les universités anglophones pour la
mise en œuvre du nouveau modèle de tarification et trouver une solution
spécifique à la réalité de Bishop’s”, as appears from the screen shot of the
Minister’s three tweets dated November 6, 2023 attached as Exhibit P-24.
147. Concordia understood from these tweets that the Minister did not accept
its proposal.
148. On November 7, 2023, the Ministry requested clarifications from
Concordia, McGill and Bishop’s regarding their proposal of November 6, 2023, as
appears from the email of November 7, 2023, attached as Exhibit P-25.
149. On November 9, 2023, Concordia, McGill and Bishop’s responded to the
request for clarifications, as appears from the letter of November 9, 2023
attached as Exhibit P-26.
150. On November 13, 2023, Concordia, McGill and Bishop’s met with the
Minister to discuss the clarifications made in the letter of November 9, 2023. The
Minister reiterated that Quebecers did not need to pay for Canadian non-
residents to study in Québec. She also indicated that she might maintain the
announced tuition increases and require that English-language universities meet
the proposed target of ensuring that 40% of non francophone students learn
French by graduation.
151. At no time did the Minister provide any data to support the claims that
Canadian non-residents do not stay in Québec or that they do not speak or learn
French.
152. On November 14, 2023, Concordia, McGill and Bishop’s jointly wrote to
the Minister with the Premier and Deputy Minister of Higher Education in copy, to
follow-up on the November 13, 2023 meeting. In this letter, they emphasized that
the new tuition fees announced by the government would be incompatible with
the implementation of the francization measures proposed by the three English-
language universities on November 6, 2023, because the increase in tuition fees
would seriously compromise their ability to maintain the integrity and quality of
existing services and infrastructure, preventing investment in new francization
services, as appears from the letter of November 14, 2023, attached as Exhibit
P-27.
153. On November 17, 2023, the coordinating committee on the review of the
Politique québécoise de financement des universités held a meeting. The
coordinating committee at that time was co-chaired by Sylvain Périgny, Associate
Deputy Minister at the Ministry, and Daniel Jutras, Chair of the Bureau de
cooperation interuniversitaire (“BCI”), and attended, among others, by Denis

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Cossette, Chief Financial Officer of Concordia in his capacity as Chair of the sub-
committee on administrative and financial affairs (“VRAAF”). The topics of
discussion included new tuition rates for non-resident students.
154. At the meeting, Mr. Périgny identified the objectives of the Ministry’s
funding policy regarding the new tuition rates for non-resident students as
follows:
• Promouvoir la langue française ;
• Dans une moindre mesure, répondre aux enjeux de main-d’œuvre et
contribuer au développement économique, social, culturel et durable du
Québec.
as appears from the presentation of November 17, 2023 attached as Exhibit P-28
at page 7.
155. Mr. Périgny further identified potential additional measures regarding
tuition fees, including the possibility of granting further exemptions to the
additional tuition fees for Canadian non-residents attending French-language
universities and to francophone Canadian non-residents, as appears from the
presentation of November 17, 2023 (Exhibit P-28) at page 8.
156. However, the Minister moved forward with her plan to change the tuition
rate structure without waiting for the results of the work that was to be conducted
by the committees and working groups established to review the Politique
québécoise de financement des universités, including the International Student
Working Group, based on a no-harm principle.
157. On November 17, 2023, a conference call took place during which the
Minister presented to the three English-language universities a modified proposal
for tuition fees for non-resident students whereby an obligation to teach French to
40% of non francophone students would be added, and in exchange, the new
tuition fee structure would only come into force two years later.
158. On November 18, 2023, Concordia, McGill and Bishop’s responded by
letter to the Minister’s proposal of November 17, 2023, explaining that these
changes did not attenuate the anticipated negative impacts on the functioning of
their institutions, as appears from the letter of November 18, 2023 attached as
Exhibit P-29.
159. Also in the letter of November 18, 2023 (Exhibit P-29), the three English-
language universities:
(a) reiterated their call for a study to establish the retention rates of non-
resident students and obtain data to guide future action;
(b) proposed to establish a working group to study a new tuition fee policy
with differentiated rates by program to maintain the competitiveness of
Québec universities compared to other Canadian universities and maintain
student enrolment, that would come into force no earlier than 2025 given
that the recruitment process for fall 2024 was already underway; and

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 (c) proposed to hold discussions on international students’ fees within the
broader review of the Politique québécoise de financement des universités
based on the principle that if asymmetric changes are made, no university
suffer a reduction in financial resources as a result.
160. On or about November 19, 2023, the Minister proposed to Concordia,
McGill and Bishop’s a differentiated tuition fee structure for Canadian non-
resident students whereby students in certain programs (fine arts, arts and social
science) would be charged $12,000, students in certain programs such as
engineering would be charged $15,800 and students in certain programs such as
medicine and law would be charged $21,000, while non research-based masters’
students would be charged $21,600. No data was provided to explain the
proposed tuition fee structure, which remained prohibitive especially for students
in programs such as fine arts, arts and social science. The majority of students at
Concordia are in programs such as arts, fine arts and science.
161. On November 27, 2023, Concordia, McGill and Bishop’s met with the
Minister, who announced that the government would (a) reduce the tuition
increase for Canadian non-resident students to approximately $12,000 per year;
but that (b) it would require in return, and as a condition of funding, that by 2025-
2026, 80% of non-resident students newly enrolled in an English-language
undergraduate program reach level 5 in oral expression in French according to
the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français by the time they
graduate. The Minister also indicated that Bishop’s could enrol a fixed number of
Canadian non-resident students (825 students) at the current rate, and that it
would have the same francization target, but that its funding would not be
conditional on achieving it.
162. Concordia, McGill and Bishop’s responded that a target of 80% starting
with the 2025-2026 cohort was impossible to meet. They asked how the Minister
had arrived at this number and on what data these measures were based.
163. The Minister stated that the proposal was based on the Ministry’s
calculations on the origin of international students at Concordia, McGill and
Bishop’s, and that the target was reasonable considering the percentage of
students arriving from francophone countries. She made clear that she expected
that the target could be achieved not by teaching French to students, but by
recruiting more international students from francophone or “francotrope”
countries. The Minister did not provide the data which she stated her proposal
was based on.
164. The suggestion that English-language universities would be expected to
compete with Québec’s French-language universities for francophone
international students as a condition of their grants was shocking to Concordia.
While Concordia does engage in some international recruitment in francophone
countries, it has always understood that any major efforts to recruit substantial
numbers of students from francophone markets, in competition with Québec’s
French-language universities, would be seen as unwelcome both by French-
language universities and by the government and as being counterproductive to

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the goal of establishing an equilibrium between English-language and French-
language universities with respect to international student enrolment.
165. Approximately 20% of Concordia’s international students arrive from
francophone countries. The changes required to attain an 80% francization target
by changing the countries of origin from which its international students are
recruited cannot take place overnight; a new marketing and recruitment strategy
would need to be developed and implemented over several years to attempt to
significantly alter Concordia’s recruitment base.
166. Furthermore, the Minister’s announced changes were an unprecedented
interference in Concordia’s institutional autonomy with respect to student
recruitment, curriculum and assessments. To even attempt to reach a
francization requirement of 80% of non-residents, even at level 5, Concordia
would have to (a) substantially modify curriculum of certain programs in a
manner that would significantly lengthen them and discourage students who do
not already master French from enrolling; and/or (b) dramatically reorient its
student recruitment activities to privilege students that already master French. In
either case, the approach is inconsistent with Concordia’s values and culture of
welcoming students from diverse backgrounds while promoting French-language
learning for all.
167. On December 2, 2023, Concordia, McGill and Bishop’s responded to the
Minister’s proposal of November 27, 2023 by letter, explaining that
(a) the 80% francization target was unattainable; and
(b) even at $12,000, the proposed rate for Canadian non-residents remained
prohibitive for most programs, costing approximately two times more than
comparable programs at the University of Toronto or the University of
British Columbia;
as appears from the letter of December 2, 2023 attached as Exhibit P-30.
168. In the letter of December 2, 2023 (Exhibit P-30), Concordia, McGill and
Bishop’s proposed that:
(a) changes to tuition rates for Canadian non-residents be postponed to the
fall 2025, to enable a working group of representatives from English-
language universities and the Ministry to develop measures that would
meet the government’s objectives while preserving the universities’
missions, which could complete its work by May 2024; and
(b) changes to the regulation of international students’ fees be examined in
collaboration with French-language universities as well to find sustainable
solutions for the university sector as a whole.
169. No response was received to the December 2, 2023 letter.
170. On December 9, 2023, a press conference took place at which Concordia,
McGill and Bishop’s announced a proposal to:

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 (a) establish differentiated tuition fees for Canadian non-residents by program
to maintain competitiveness of their programs, charging approximately:
(i) $9,000 for students in programs such as arts, sciences, education;
(ii) $14,000 for students in programs such as engineering; and
(iii) $20,000 for students in medicine, pharmacy and law;
(b) cancel all changes to international students’ fees and discuss changes
that would not result in the reduction of any institutions’ resources based
on the principles of the review of the Politique québécoise de financement
des universités; and
(c) implement measures to enable 40% of non francophone undergraduate
students to achieve a level 6 in French language competency pursuant to
the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de compétence en français by
graduation;
as appears from the press release of December 9, 2023, attached as Exhibit P-
31.
171. On December 11, 2023, Concordia, McGill and Bishop’s communicated
their new proposal by letter addressed to Premier Legault and the Minister,
explaining that:
(a) the government’s announcement on tuition increases had already caused
considerable damage over the last two months;
(b) the tuition increase to $12,000 for Canadian non-residents remained
prohibitive for most programs (the majority of students at Concordia are in
programs such as arts, fine arts and science); and that
(c) the 80% francization target was unattainable considering that achieving it
would require adding at least 18 credits (6 courses) for each student over
three years;
as appears from the letter of December 11, 2023, attached as Exhibit P-32.
172. Concordia, McGill and Bishop’s proposed that:
(a) for the fall of 2025, a differentiated tuition rate structure be established for
Canadian non-residents which would maintain the competitiveness of
programs at Québec’s English-language universities, charging
approximately: (i) $9,000 for students in certain programs, such as arts,
sciences, education; (ii) $14,000 for certain programs, such as
engineering; and (iii) $20,000 for students in medicine, pharmacy and law;
(b) Concordia, McGill and Bishop’s implement measures to reach a target of
40% of non francophone undergraduate students that achieve a level 6 in
French language competency pursuant to the Échelle québécoise des
niveaux de competence en français by graduation; and
(c) measures for international students be examined in collaboration with the
BCI and the Ministry to ensure that the measures chosen will be
sustainable and equitable for the whole university network, consistent with

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 the government’s usual practice and the guiding principle of causing no
harm (“viser à ce qu’il n’y ait aucun perdant globalement”), as appears
from the presentation of January 2023 (Exhibit P-9) at page 7.
173. Concordia, McGill and Bishop’s recognized that an asymmetric approach
to international students’ fees could be considered, provided no university would
suffer a reduction in financial resources presently available to it, in compliance
with the principles applied in the review of the Politique québécoise de
financement des universités.
e) The Minister’s letter of December 14, 2023
174. On December 14, 2023, Concordia received a letter from the Minister
communicating the Minister’s decision to:
(a) require that English-language universities begin to implement francization
measures in 2024-2025 and modify their linguistic policies to clearly reflect
their commitment to that effect;
(b) require as of 2025-2026 that 80% of non-resident students newly enrolled
in an English-language undergraduate program reach level 5 in oral
expression in French according to the Échelle québécoise des niveaux de
compétence en français by the time they graduate;
(c) increase tuition for Canadian non-resident students to approximately
$12,000 per year, except notably for students enrolled in a program
offered in French, in a French-language university;
(d) reregulate international students’ fees as previously announced for the
2024-2025 academic year; and
(e) partially exempt Bishop’s from these measures by allowing the university
to charge the current rate for up to 825 Canadian non-resident students,
and providing that while Bishop’s was also required to meet the 80%
francization requirement, its grants would not be conditional on achieving
that requirement;
as appears from the letter of December 14, 2023 attached as Exhibit P-33.
175. The letter of December 14, 2023 also advised that the government would
establish a working group in January 2024 to operationalize the francization
requirement, and that it would proceed as soon as possible with the adoption and
publication of the new tuition fee structure.
176. The letter was made public by the Minister on her Twitter/X account
around the same time that it was communicated to Concordia.
177. Still on December 14, 2023, the Minister claimed in interviews that the
80% francization requirement was reasonable because 50% of international
students enrolled in English-language universities purportedly came from
countries “avec une certaine connaissance du français” and that 17-18% came
from France and Belgium. She also explained that she did not expect
international students at English-language universities arriving from countries

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such as China and India to learn French by the end of their undergraduate
degree (“on ne va jamais demander de franciser un étudiant chinois ou indien là,
il y en a pas de connaissance du français puis ça prendrait 10 à 12 cours pour
pouvoir y arriver”); her expectation was that English-language universities would
meet the 80% francization requirement by attracting francophone international
students (“l’important c’est de les pousser et de les encourager à changer de
modèle de recrutement, à aller chercher davantage d’étudiants qui ont justement
une connaissance du français”), as appears from the video excerpt of the
interview of December 14, 2023 on TVA attached as Exhibit P-34 and the audio
excerpt of the interview of December 14, 2023 on Radio-Canada Midi-Info
attached as Exhibit P-35.
178. By December 14, 2023, the Minister had communicated the key elements
of the Decision, but the statutorily required consultation of the CCAFE on the
changes to the tuition fee structure had yet to unfold.
f) The CCAFE
179. On December 14, 2023, the Minister gave notice to the CCAFE that it was
seeking its advice on the new tuition rates and structure for Canadian non-
residents and international students enrolled in undergraduate and graduate
programs other than research-based master’s and doctoral programs, requesting
to receive its advice within 30 days (by January 15, 2024), as appears from the
letter of December 14, 2023 from the Minister at Exhibit P-36.
180. On January 19, 2024, the CCAFE provided its advice to the Minister,
opposing the Minister’s changes, for the following reasons:
(a) there was a lack of data provided in support of the increase of
approximately 33% to tuition fees for Canadian non-residents;
(b) the rate for Canadian non-residents in Québec was already outpacing
tuition fees in other provinces (with an average undergraduate tuition rate
outside Québec of $7,797), a problem that would be substantially
aggravated by these changes;
(c) the CCAFE was concerned that the new structure for international student
rates, whereby the Minister recuperates a greater part of the fees than the
amount returned to universities through normalized grants, would result in
universities recuperating the loss in revenue from students by increasing
tuition rates;
(d) the changes would create significant financial barriers for students and
risked depriving them of a quality education based on their place of
residence, which was contrary to fundamental principles of equal
opportunity (“ce qui va à l’encontre du principe fondamental de l’égalité
des chances”) and the principles of inclusion and equity that the CCAFE is
intended to promote;
as appears from the letter of January 19, 2024 from the CCAFE to the Minister
attached as Exhibit P-37.

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181. The CCAFE invited the government to reevaluate the tuition changes,
emphasizing the importance of adopting solutions that do not negatively impact
accessibility, diversity and attractiveness of Québec’s institutions.
182. The CCAFE’s advice was later reported in the media, and a spokesperson
for the Minister indicated that the CCAFE’s advice would not be taken into
account because it had been submitted past the deadline of January 15, 2024,
and that the decision had already been officially adopted on January 15, 2024, as
appears from the article published by the Montreal Gazette on February 2, 2024
attached as Exhibit P-38 and the article published by La Presse on February 7,
2024 attached as Exhibit P-39.
g) The Minister’s letter of January 24, 2024 and new budgetary rules
183. On January 23, 2024, Concordia received a letter from Paule De Blois,
Deputy Minister of Higher Education, inviting the three English-language
universities to designate representatives for the working group on the
implementation of the francization requirement referred to in the Minister’s letter
of December 14, 2023, as appears from the letter of January 23, 2024, attached
as Exhibit P-40.
184. On January 24, 2024, Concordia received a letter from the Minister
advising of the changes to tuition fees as of fall 2024 and of a new version of the
Règles budgétaires et calcul des subventions de fonctionnement du Québec
pour l’année universitaire 2023-2024 approved by the Treasury Board
implementing the changes communicated in her letter of December 14, 2023, as
appears from the letter of January 24, 2024 and attached table of tuition fees at
Exhibit P-41, and the Règles budgétaires et calcul des subventions de
fonctionnement du Québec pour l’année universitaire 2023-2024 (Janvier 2024)
attached as Exhibit P-42 (“January 2024 Budgetary Rules”).
185. As previously announced, the January 2024 Budgetary Rules modify the
tuition fee structure for non-resident students as of fall 2024.
186. The base tuition rate is adjusted to $96.03 per unit of course credits,
based on an indexation rate of 3%, which at a regular full-time course load of 30
credits represents an annual base tuition fee of $2,880.90.
187. For Canadian non-residents enrolled in undergraduate and graduate
programs other than research-based masters’ and doctoral programs, the
Canadian non-resident additional fee is increased to $303.97 per unit of course
credits, which at a regular full-time course load of 30 credits per year represents
an additional annual fee of $9,119.10, for a total annual fee of $12,000 (January
2024 Budgetary Rules, at pages 117-118).
188. The increase does not apply to Canadian non-resident students enrolled in
programs offered in French in French-language universities; these students
continue to pay a Canadian non-resident additional fee of $203.70 per unit of
course credits, which at a regular full-time course load of 30 credits per year
represents an additional annual fee of $6,111, for a total annual fee of $8,991.90.

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189. The increase applies to Canadian non-resident students attending
English-language universities, even for programs offered in French. For example,
the increase applies to programs offered by Concordia’s Département d’études
françaises such as translation programs (except for French language and French
literature courses specifically), as well as to the graduate diploma in community
economic development and the microprogram in screenwriting and film
producing (offered in French).
190. As such, one of the main reasons given by the Minister for the change to
Canadian non-residents’ fees, (namely, that Quebecers should not pay for
Canadian non-residents to study in Québec who allegedly do not stay in
Québec), is belied by the fact that the additional fee does not apply to Canadian
non-residents attending French-language universities.
191. Additionally, at no time did the Minister provide data in support of the claim
that Canadian non-residents attending English-language universities do not stay
in Québec, nor any data to suggest that the rate of retention is higher for
Canadian non-resident students attending French-language universities.
192. The increase also does not apply to Canadian non-residents that have
already begun their course of study until graduation, up to a maximum of 5 years,
and provided that they do not change programs.
193. Bishop’s is entitled to charge the previous rate ($8,991.90 per year) to a
maximum of 825 Canadian non-resident students over the next four years.
194. For regulated international students, the additional fee is indexed at a rate
of 3%, such that:
(a) international students in research-based masters’ programs pay an
additional fee of $510.52 per unit of course credits, which at a regular full-
time course load of 30 credits represents an annual additional fee of
$15,315.60, for a total of $18,196.50;
(b) international students in doctoral programs pay an additional fee of
$449.32 per unit of course credits, which at a regular full-time course load
of 30 credits represents an annual additional fee of $13,479.60, for a total
of $16,360.50.
195. Universities are entitled to charge a further fee of up to 10% of the
additional fee to international students in research-based masters’ and doctoral
programs.
196. For international students in undergraduate and graduate programs other
than research-based masters’ and doctoral programs, their tuition fees are now
regulated (January 2024 Budgetary Rules, p. 120, 127).
197. Universities are required to charge an additional fee of $591.23 per unit of
course credits, which at a regular full-time course load of 30 credits represents
an annual additional fee of $17,736.90, for a total of $20,617.80.

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198. The increase does not apply to international students that have already
begun their course of study until graduation, up to a maximum of 5 years, and
provided that they do not change programs.
199. The increase does not apply to students who benefit from international
agreements allowing undergraduate students to pay the same fee as Canadian
non-resident students prior to the increase ($8,991.90), including students from
France and the French community of Belgium, nor to graduate students who pay
the Québec resident fee ($2,880.90).
200. The additional fee for international students is recuperated by the Ministry.
201. Universities are also entitled to charge a further, unlimited discretionary
fee, which they keep.
202. The Minister includes these students in the calculation of normalized
grants. However, universities recuperate much less than $17,736.90 by way of
normalized grants. Concordia receives an average amount of $11,445 per
international student (undergraduate and graduate programs other than
research-based masters’ and doctoral programs) in normalized grants.
203. As a result of these changes, universities will not truly benefit from grants
per student for international students; rather, they will incur a loss of revenue per
student. On average, Concordia will be losing $6,291.90 per student (being the
difference between the additional fee recuperated by the Minister of $17,736.90
and the average amount received by Concordia per student in normalized grants
of $11,445 per student). While the rules do not prevent Concordia from
recuperating this loss by charging international students higher fees, doing so
would further discourage international student enrolment.
204. These changes disproportionately impact Concordia, notably due to the
greater proportion of its international students that are enrolled in undergraduate
and graduate programs other than research-based masters’ and doctoral
programs compared to French-language universities, and the lower proportion of
its international students arriving from France and Belgium compared to French-
language universities.
205. French-language universities continue to benefit from specific grants for
international student recruitment that are unavailable to English-language
universities, in particular the Allocation aux universités francophones pour le
recrutement d’étudiants déréglementés (s. 2.1.7), and a portion of the Appui au
recrutement d’étudiants internationaux, ainsi qu’à leur accueil et leur integration
(s. 2.1.6).
206. The disproportionate impacts on English-language universities will be
aggravated by the Minister’s anticipated redistribution of the proceeds of the new
tuition fee structure to French-language universities, creating a further imbalance
between French-language and English-language universities’ funding. The
manner and extent to which the Minister will in fact redistribute the proceeds of
the new tuition fee structure to French-language universities is not indicated
either in the letter of December 14, 2023 or the January 2024 Budgetary Rules.

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207. In sum, the Decision was communicated to Concordia on January 24,
2024: the tuition fee structure had been given final approval following the 30-day
period for consultation of the CCAFE and the government was moving forward
with the implementation of the 80% francization requirement by establishing the
working group.
h) The impacts of the Decision
208. The sharp decline in enrolment predicted by Concordia and which had
already begun to materialize in a decline in open house registration from non-
residents, as reflected in data provided to the Ministry in October 2023, has
begun to materialize in the form of a notable decline in applications.
209. By February 12, 2024, Concordia’s applications had dropped by
approximately 23% compared to the previous year on the same date. The
decline is particularly felt in Canadian non-resident applications in undergraduate
programs, with a decline of approximately 28%, and in international student
applications in graduate programs, particularly engineering and computer
science, with a decline of approximately 45%.
210. This decline is consistent with the projections provided to the Ministry on
October 16, 2023, estimating losses of approximately $54 million over four years
due to the Decision, including approximately $13 million in the first year (Exhibit
P-19).
211. Whereas the anticipated decline in enrolment will immediately diminish
operating revenues, the majority of Concordia’s costs are fixed, for instance in
the form of salaries of tenured or unionized staff.
212. The substantial losses caused by the Decision will necessarily aggravate
Concordia’s financial circumstances, requiring further recovery measures in
addition to those already in place as a result of structural underfunding by the
government. The measures required may include measures impacting academic
and non-academic staff, services to students, infrastructure, programs and
course offerings, as well as various initiatives.
213. As a result of the Decision, Concordia’s credit rating with Moody’s is under
review, which if reduced, would negatively impact the cost of borrowing for
Concordia, further affecting its ability to pursue various activities such as
infrastructure projects and compounding the financial harm of the Decision. With
a substantial portion of Concordia’s debt being guaranteed by the government,
Concordia’s stability also impacts the government of Québec.
214. As a result of the Decision, declines in enrolment from non-resident
students are expected to impact programs and services. For instance, Concordia
offers unique and highly regarded programs, notably in fine arts, that attract a
large proportion of non-resident students, and which are at risk due to the
anticipated decline in enrolment caused by the Decision.
215. The Decision has impacted Concordia’s reputation, affecting the
confidence of prospective students, and potential donors and investors, which

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harm will continue and is likely to be aggravated as Concordia works to
implement measures to address its deficit.
VI. THE DECISION IS UNREASONABLE AS THE MINISTER FAILED TO
TAKE INTO ACCOUNT AND PROPORTIONATELY WEIGH CHARTER
VALUES
216. The effect of the Decision is to: (a) significantly increase tuition rates
applicable to Canadian non-residents, only for those enrolled in English-language
universities, as of the 2024-2025 academic year; (b) regulate tuition fees for
certain international students in a manner that results in a net loss of revenue per
student as of the 2024-2025 academic year with disproportionate impacts on
English-language universities; and (c) require the francization of 80% of non-
resident students newly enrolled in undergraduate programs taught in English as
of 2025-2026 by the time they graduate, which is reflected in the letters of
December 14, 2023, January 23 and 24, 2024, and in the January 2024
Budgetary Rules.
217. The Decision is unreasonable because the Minister failed to consider,
meaningfully address and proportionately weigh the Charter values engaged by
the Decision, including in particular the values underlying ss. 15, 23 and 6 of the
Charter.
a) Administrative decision makers must consider and proportionately
weigh Charter values
218. Pursuant to the framework established in Doré v Barreau du Québec1 and
recently unanimously affirmed by the Supreme Court of Canada in reasons
drafted by J. Côté in Commission scolaire francophone des Territoires du Nord-
Ouest v Northwest Territoires (Education, Culture and Employment),2
administrative decision makers have an obligation to:
(a) consider the values underlying the Charter relevant to the exercise of their
discretion in making their decisions; and
(b) meaningfully address and conduct a proportionate balancing of those
Charter values and the applicable statutory objectives.
219. This framework applies “not only where an administrative decision directly
infringes a Charter right, but also in cases where it simply engages a value
underlying one or more Charter rights, without limiting these rights”.3
220. The Charter values engaged by a decision may be identified based on the
nature of the governing statutory scheme, because the parties raised the value
before the administrative decision-maker, or because of the link between the
value and the matter under consideration.4

1 2012SCC 12 [Doré].
2 2023SCC 31 [CSFTNO].
3 CSFTNO, at para 64.
4 CSFTNO, at para 66.

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221. In order for the decision to reflect a proportionate balancing of the Charter
values and statutory objectives, the decision “must show that the decision maker
‘meaningfully’ […] addressed the Charter protections to ‘reflect’ the impact that its
decision may have on the concerned group or individual […]”.5
222. A decision that “has a ‘disproportionate impact’ on Charter protections can
in no way show that the decision maker meaningfully considered these
protections or that its reasoning reflects the significant impact that the decision
may have” and is therefore unreasonable.6
b) The Decision engaged Charter values
(i) The values underlying the right to equality are engaged
223. Section 15 of the Charter protects the right to equality before and under
the law, without discrimination, in particular, based on race, national or ethnic
origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability.
224. The purpose of s. 15 is “to prevent the violation of human dignity and
freedom through the imposition of limitations, disadvantages or burdens through
the stereotypical application of presumed group characteristics, rather than on
the basis of merit, capacity or circumstance”.7
225. Discrimination has been defined by the Supreme Court of Canada as a
distinction, based on an enumerated or analogous ground to those identified at
s. 15 of the Charter, that creates a disadvantage by either: (a) perpetuating
prejudice to the members of a group on the basis of those grounds; or
(b) stereotyping on the basis of those grounds that results in a decision that does
not correspond to the group’s actual circumstances and characteristics.8
226. In addition to the grounds of discrimination enumerated at s. 15, the
Charter also prohibits discrimination on the basis of analogous grounds, which
are defined as a “personal characteristic that is immutable or changeable only at
unacceptable cost to personal identity”.9
227. Language, including one’s mother tongue, first official language spoken
and belonging to a linguistic community, is a personal characteristic that is
immutable or changeable only at unacceptable cost to personal identity.
228. Linguistic identity and belonging to a linguistic community can be
interconnected with place of residence, such as one’s identity as an English-
speaking Quebecer.
229. The Decision engages the values underlying equality rights, in particular,
as they relate to discrimination based on language.

5 CSFTNO, at para 68.

6 CSFTNO, at para 69.
7 Miron v Trudel, [1995] 2 SCR 418 at para 140 per McLachlin J., cited in Québec (Attorney

General) v A, 2013 SCC 5 at para 149.

8 Withler v Canada (Attorney General), 2011 SCC 12 at paras 29-32.
9 Corbiere v Canada (Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs), [1999] 2 SCR 203 at para 13.

page 36 of 47
230. The differential treatment based on language was squarely raised before
the decision-maker and arises from the very nature and purpose of the Decision.
231. With respect to Canadian non-residents, the Decision establishes:
(a) a direct distinction based on language between Canadian non-resident
students who attend French-language universities, and those who attend
English-language universities, charging a significantly higher tuition rate to
students who attend English-language universities, based on the
assumption that they do not speak or learn French or are otherwise a
threat to the French language in Québec; and
(b) a distinction based on language by requiring that English-language
universities achieve a francization rate of 80% of non-resident students, a
measure that, in purpose and effects, will impose additional burdens on
Canadian non-resident students and negatively impact enrolment of
Canadian non-resident students at English-language universities.
232. The Decision engages s. 15 values in two crucial ways. First, the above-
distinctions, which in purpose and effect create barriers for Canadian non-
residents to access English-language universities, disproportionately impact
English-speaking Canadian non-residents.
233. Second, the Decision negatively impacts the enrolment of Canadian non-
residents at English-language universities, including Concordia, a key institution
of the English-speaking community of Québec, as well as its stability and
development, both academically and financially, the whole to the detriment of
English-speaking Quebecers.
234. With respect to international students, the Decision establishes:
(a) a distinction based on language by regulating tuition rates for international
students in a manner that, in purpose and effects, has disproportionate
impacts on the revenues of Concordia compared to French-language
universities; and
(b) a distinction based on language by requiring that English-language
universities achieve a francization rate of 80% of non-resident students, a
measure that, in purpose and effects, will impose additional burdens on
international students and Concordia, and negatively impact enrolment of
international students at Concordia;
all of which is to the detriment of Concordia, an institution of the English-speaking
community of Québec, and English-speaking Quebecers.
235. The purpose and effects of the Decision are to negatively impact the
academic and financial stability and development of Concordia, a key institution
of the English-speaking community of Québec, to the detriment of English-
speaking Quebecers.

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 (ii) The values underlying minority language rights are engaged
236. Section 23 of the Charter protects the right to instruction in the official
language of the minority in the province.
237. The purpose of s. 23 is to: (a) “prevent the erosion of official language
communities”; (b) “redress past injustices and promote the development of those
communities”; and (c) “accommodat[e] mobility by enabling citizens to move
anywhere in the country without fearing that they will have to abandon their
language and culture”.10
238. Section 23 was designed to “give effect to the equal partnership of
Canada’s two official language groups in the context of education”.11
239. The preservation and development of minority language communities are
among the values underlying s. 23 of the Charter and which must be taken into
account in exercising discretionary decision-making powers.
240. The preservation and development of the English-speaking community of
Québec as a Charter value was engaged by the Decision.
241. Indeed, the Decision targets a key institution of the English-speaking
community of Québec, with the purpose and effect of diminishing its enrolment
and its stability and development, both academically and financially.
242. The single largest linguistic group at Concordia is English-speaking
Quebecers, notably those arriving from English-language CEGEPs and English-
language school boards. Concordia contributes significantly to the staffing of
English-language school boards. The values underlying minority language
education are clearly engaged.
243. Further, the Decision, by discouraging the arrival of Canadian non-
residents and international students from non-francophone countries, conflicts
with the culture and identity of Concordia as an institution of the English-speaking
community of Québec, as well as the purpose of s. 23 in promoting the mobility
of Canadians across the country without leaving behind their culture.
(iii) The values underlying mobility rights are engaged
244. Section 6 of the Charter protects the right of every Canadian citizen and
permanent resident to move and take up residence in any province and pursue
the gaining of a livelihood in any province.
245. The Decision engages the values underlying mobility rights by
purposefully discouraging the mobility of Canadian non-resident students,
creating barriers for Canadian non-residents to access higher education and
employment in Québec.

10 Conseilscolaire francophone de la Colombie‑Britannique v. British Columbia, 2020 SCC 13 at

para 15.
11 Association des parents de l’école Rose‑des‑vents and Conseil scolaire francophone de la

Colombie‑Britannique v British Columbia (Education), 2015 SCC 21 at para 27.

page 38 of 47
 c) The Minister failed to consider the relevant Charter values
(iv) Values of equality
246. The Minister did not meaningfully consider the Charter values of equality
based on language reflected in s. 15.
247. At no time did the Minister express consideration for the negative and
disproportionate impacts of the Decision on English-language universities and
the English-speaking community of Québec and English-speaking Canadian non-
residents.
248. Rather, the Decision reflects stereotyping on the basis of language.
249. Indeed, the Decision is based on a number of false premisses that do not
reflect the actual needs and circumstances of Concordia, the English-speaking
community of Québec and English-speaking Canadian non-residents:
(a) that the government should not fund out of province students because
they do not stay in Québec, whereas Concordia’s estimated rate of
retention of 63% in 2022 is much higher than the Canadian rate of
retention in Canada of international students of around 30% (percentage
of international students arriving in Canada since 2000 who obtained
permanent residency);
(b) that tuition fees for Canadian non-residents are lower than what they
would pay in other Canadian provinces, whereas the tuition fees charged
in Québec to Canadian non-residents were already well above the
national average;
(c) that students at English-language universities, from out of province or
generally, do not speak French or are unwilling to learn French and
constitute a threat to the vitality of the French-speaking community, which
is unsupported by data; and
(d) that the English-speaking community and its institutions are wealthy and
that taking resources from its institutions will not have negative
consequences, despite the English-speaking community and Concordia’s
actual financial circumstances.
250. The Minister did not communicate to Concordia the data on which she
purportedly based the Decision.
251. While the Minister’s stated objectives include promoting the French
language and establishing an equilibrium in revenues from international students’
fees between English-language and French-language universities, substantive
equality is not achieved by diminishing the circumstances of a group; it is
achieved by advancing the circumstances of official language communities as
contemplated at s. 16(3) of the Charter.
252. In reality, the Decision is designed to provoke a sharp decline in non-
resident enrolment in English-language universities, negatively impacting the
academic and financial stability and development of Concordia in violation of the

page 39 of 47
“no harm” principle (“viser à ce qu’il n’y ait aucun perdant globalement”), on the
basis of the government’s unsupported claim that the non-resident students
attending English-language universities are a threat to the vitality of the French-
speaking community in Québec and should be discouraged from coming to and
staying in Québec.
(v) Values of preservation and development of minority language
communities
253. Likewise, the Minister did not meaningfully consider the values of
preservation and development of minority language communities underlying s. 23
of the Charter.
254. At no time did the Minister express consideration for:
(a) the role of Concordia in the development of the English-speaking
community, including its contributions to English-language elementary and
secondary schools;
(b) the negative and disproportionate impacts of the Decision on Concordia
and the English-speaking community of Québec more broadly; and
(c) the negative impacts on the culture and identity of Concordia and the
English-speaking community, including the values of promoting diversity.
255. The Minister did not take into account the needs and concerns of the
English-speaking community in making the Decision.
256. The Decision is designed to cause harm to Concordia, a key institution of
the English-speaking community of Québec, contrary to the purpose of s. 23 of
the Charter.
(vi) The Minister failed to consider the values underlying mobility
rights
257. The Minister did not meaningfully consider the values underlying mobility
rights of Canadian citizens and permanent residents pursuant to s. 6 of the
Charter.
258. The Minister did not express consideration for the impact of the Decision
on s. 6’s purpose of promoting the mobility of Canadians across the country.
259. On the contrary, as reflected in particular in the statements of the Premier
and Minister Roberge to the effect that the presence of non-resident students in
Montréal threatens the survival of the French language, the purpose of the
Decision is to discourage Canadian non-residents from coming to Québec
because they allegedly constitute a threat to the survival of the French language
in Montréal.
d) The Minister failed to meaningfully address and proportionately
weigh the relevant Charter values
260. The Decision does not proportionately weigh the Charter values engaged
with the statutory objectives.

page 40 of 47
261. First, the Decision is incompatible with the statutory objectives expressed
in the Act re Ministry of Higher Education and the CFL.
262. The Act re Ministry of Higher Education provides that the Minister’s
functions include “support[ing] and promot[ing] the development of higher
education institutions and see[ing] to the quality of the services provided, in
connection with the Minister’s mission, by such institutions” (s. 4(3)).
263. The CFL provides that the government intends to pursue the objective of
promoting French as the common language of Québec “in a spirit of fairness and
open-mindedness, respectful of the institutions of the English-speaking
community of Québec, and respectful of the ethnic minorities, whose valuable
contribution to the development of Québec it readily acknowledges” (preamble).
264. The CFL also provides that the National Assembly “is resolved therefore to
ensure that everyone has access to learning French and to perfecting knowledge
and mastery of that language” (preamble).
265. Second, the Minister was presented with multiple “reasonable possibilities
that would have given effect to Charter protections more fully in light of the
objective[…]” of promoting the French language, while generating funding to
support French-language universities’ recruitment of international students.
266. On November 6, 2023, the Minister was presented with a plan to achieve
francization of 40% of non francophone students in English-language
universities. This was an ambitious plan that English-language universities
assessed would nonetheless be realistic and would not cause important negative
impacts on enrolment, while, at the same time, taking ground-breaking steps
towards French-language learning. This plan was consistent with Concordia’s
values and culture of welcoming students from diverse backgrounds and
promoting French-language learning for all, and in keeping with the objective of
the CFL of ensuring that “everyone has access to learning French”.
267. The Minister rejected this proposal.
268. Instead, the Minister imposed a plan that would require that English-
language universities aggressively compete with French-language universities for
francophone international students and that would interfere with Concordia’s
institutional autonomy, rather than encouraging Canadian non-residents and
international students to learn and speak French.
269. On December 11, 2023, the Minister was presented with a plan to
establish differentiated tuition rates for Canadian non-resident students by
program, which Concordia assessed would significantly reduce impacts on its
enrolment by maintaining competitiveness with other major Canadian
universities, while enabling the government to generate additional revenue from
the higher fees charged to students in certain programs. It was also reiterated
that changes to international student fees should be postponed by a year and
discussed in collaboration with French-language universities at the table.
270. The Minister gave no consideration to the proposal of December 11, 2023
and went ahead with the previously announced changes, as reflected in the

page 41 of 47
letters of December 14, 2023 (Exhibit P-33), January 23, 2024 (Exhibit P-40) and
January 24, 2024 (Exhibit P-41), without any justification.
271. For all of these reasons, the Decision is unreasonable.

WHEREFORE, MAY IT PLEASE THE COURT TO:

272. GRANT the present application;
273. QUASH the Decision, as reflected in the December 14, 2023 letter, the
January 23 and 24, 2024 letters and the January 2024 Budgetary Rules;
274. ORDER provisional execution notwithstanding appeal;
275. THE WHOLE with costs.
Montréal, this 23rd day of February
2024

(s) Power Law

POWER LAW
Perri Ravon
Audrey Mayrand

460 Saint-Gabriel Street, 4th floor

Montréal, Québec H2Y 2Z9
Tel./Fax.: 514-367-0874
pravon@powerlaw.ca
amayrand@powerlaw.ca

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 SUMMONS
(articles 145 and following C.C.P.)

Filing of a judicial application

Take notice that the plaintiff has filed this originating application in the office of
the Superior Court of Quebec in the judicial district of Montreal.
Defendant’s answer
You must answer the application in writing, personally or through a lawyer, at the
courthouse of Montreal situated at 1, Notre-Dame Street East, Montreal within 15
days of service of the application or, if you have no domicile, residence or
establishment in Québec, within 30 days. The answer must be notified to the
plaintiff’s lawyer or, if the plaintiff is not represented, to the plaintiff.
Failure to answer
If you fail to answer within the time limit of 15 or 30 days, as applicable, a default
judgment may be rendered against you without further notice and you may,
according to the circumstances, be required to pay the legal costs.
Content of answer
In your answer, you must state your intention to:
· negotiate a settlement;
· propose mediation to resolve the dispute;
· defend the application and, in the cases required by the Code, cooperate with
the plaintiff in preparing the case protocol that is to govern the conduct of the
proceeding. The protocol must be filed with the court office in the district
specified above within 45 days after service of the summons or, in family matters
or if you have no domicile, residence or establishment in Québec, within 3
months after service;
· propose a settlement conference.
The answer to the summons must include your contact information and, if you
are represented by a lawyer, the lawyer’s name and contact information.
Change of judicial district
You may ask the court to refer the originating application to the district of your
domicile or residence, or of your elected domicile or the district designated by an
agreement with the plaintiff.

page 43 of 47
If the application pertains to an employment contract, consumer contract or
insurance contract, or to the exercise of a hypothecary right on an immovable
serving as your main residence, and if you are the employee, consumer, insured
person, beneficiary of the insurance contract or hypothecary debtor, you may ask
for a referral to the district of your domicile or residence or the district where the
immovable is situated or the loss occurred. The request must be filed with the
special clerk of the district of territorial jurisdiction after it has been notified to the
other parties and to the office of the court already seized of the originating
application.
Transfer of application to Small Claims Division
If you qualify to act as a plaintiff under the rules governing the recovery of small
claims, you may also contact the clerk of the court to request that the application
be processed according to those rules. If you make this request, the plaintiff’s
legal costs will not exceed those prescribed for the recovery of small claims.
Calling to a case management conference
Within 20 days after the case protocol mentioned above is filed, the court may
call you to a case management conference to ensure the orderly progress of the
proceeding. Failing this, the protocol is presumed to be accepted.
Exhibits supporting the application
In support of the originating application, the plaintiff intends to use the following
exhibits:

P-1: Report of the Provincial Employment Roundtable – Census

2021 Update: A brief review of the latest data on
employment among Québec’s English speakers
P-2: Consolidated Audited Financial Statements of Concordia
University, 2022-2023 (in English and French)
P-3: Report of the GREPA, Révision de la politique québécoise
de financement des universités, 2022
P-4: Government of Québec, État de la situation financière -
Ensemble des universités, Système d’information financière
des universités, 2021-2022
P-5: Government of Québec, Politique québécoise de
financement des universités, 2018
P-6: Règles budgétaires et calcul des subventions de
fonctionnement aux universités du Québec, 2023-2024
(May 2023)
P-7: Government of Québec, Report from the Advisory
Committee on Financial Accessibility to Studies (CCAFE),

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 Frais de scolarité de la population étudiante universitaire
2022-2023 dated May 2, 2022
P-8: Government of Québec, Report from the Advisory
Committee on Financial Accessibility to Studies (CCAFE),
Frais de scolarité de la population étudiante universitaire
2023-2024 dated May 1, 2023
P-9: Ministry of Higher Education, Presentation to university
administrators, updated in January 2023, Révision de la
Politique québécoise de financement: proposition de
démarche
P-10: Government of Québec, Presentation dated February 17,
2023, Coordinating Committee, Gouvernance, objectifs et
principes guidant les travaux de la revision de la Politique
de financement
P-11: Letter of May 15, 2023 from the Minister to Concordia,
McGill and Bishop’s Universities
P-12: Letter of June 8, 2023 from G. Carr to the Minister
P-13: Concordia University, Brief of June 20, 2023 to the Minister
of Higher Education entitled Soutenir le réseau des
universités québécoises dans toute sa diversité et sa
complémentarité, comme levier de la main-d’œuvre, de la
vitalité, de la croissance durable et du rayonnement du
Québec
P-14: Document package for the September 19, 2023 meeting of
the International Students Working Group (en liasse)
P-15: Article of September 29, 2023, Radio-Canada, Les frais de
scolarité pour les Canadiens non résidents du Québec
pourraient augmenter
P-16: Article of October 12, 2023, La Presse, Québec serre la vis
à McGill et à Netflix
P-17: Government of Québec, Press release of October 13, 2023
P-18: Article of October 13, 2023, Radio-Canada, Québec
haussera les tarifs pour les étudiants universitaires
non résidents
P-19: Email of October 16, 2023 from P. Lebel (Concordia
University) to V. Chamula (Ministry of Higher Education)
P-20 Video excerpt #1 from the Press conference of October 17,
2023
P-21 Video excerpt #2 from the Press conference of October 17,
2023
P-22: Email of October 23, 2023 from P. Lebel (Concordia) to V.
Chamula (Ministry of Higher Education)

page 45 of 47
P-23: Proposal of November 6, 2023 by Concordia, McGill and
Bishop's to the Government of Québec
P-24: Posts from X (formerly Twitter) of November 6, 2023 by the
Minister of Higher Education’s account (@PascaleDery)
P-25: Email of November 7, 2023 from V. Chamula (Ministry of
Higher Education) to representatives of Concordia, McGill
and Bishop's Universities
P-26: Letter of November 9, 2023 from Concordia, McGill and
Bishop’s Universities to V. Chamula (MES)
P-27: Joint Letter of November 14, 2023 from Concordia, McGill
and Bishop’s Universities to P. Déry (MES)
P-28: Government of Québec, Presentation dated November 17,
2023, Coordinating Committee, Révision de la Politique
Québécoise de financement des universités
P-29: Letter of November 18, 2023 from D. Saini (McGill) to P.
Déry (MES)
P-30: Joint Letter of December 2, 2023 from Concordia, McGill
and Bishop’s Universities to P. Déry (MES)
P-31: Press Release of December 9, 2023 by Concordia
University (English and French versions)
P-32: Letter of December 11, 2023 from Concordia, McGill and
Bishop’s Universities to Premier F. Legault
P-33: Letter of December 14, 2023 from P. Déry (MES) to
Concordia, McGill and Bishop’s Universities
P-34: Video excerpt of the Interview with the Minister on
December 14, 2023, TVA, Le Canal Nouvelles, Première
heure
P-35: Audio excerpt of the Interview with the Minister on
December 14, 2023, Radio-Canada, Midi info
P-36: Letter of December 14, 2023 from the Minister to the
Advisory Committee on Financial Accessibility to Studies
(CCAFE)
P-37: Letter of January 19, 2024 from the Advisory Committee on
Financial Accessibility to Studies (CCAFE) to the Minister
P-38: Article of February 2, 2024, The Gazette, Rescind
out-of-province tuition hike, advisory committee tells Quebec
P-39: Article of February 7, 2024, La Presse, La ministre Déry
contredite par son comité consultatif
P-40: Letter of January 23, 2024 from P. De Blois, Deputy Minister
of Higher Education to Concordia, McGill and Bishop’s
Universities, with attachment

page 46 of 47
 P-41: Letter of January 24, 2024 from the Minister to Chairs of
University Boards of Directors, with appendix
P-42: Government of Québec, Règles budgétaires et calcul des
subventions de fonctionnement aux universités du Québec
Année universitaire 2023-2024 (January 2024)

These exhibits are available on request.

Notice of presentation of an application
If the application is an application in the course of a proceeding or an application
under Book III, V, excepting an application in family matters mentioned in article
409, or VI of the Code, the establishment of a case protocol is not required;
however, the application must be accompanied by a notice stating the date and
time it is to be presented.

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