The immigration minister Jean-François Roberge, however, is adamant that it will not be possible to allow an exception to the cap on international student enrollment proposed by the provincial authorities to educational institutions in the province. The provincial bill known as bill 74 was last month and is awaiting consideration in the national assembly.

The objective of this bill is to place upper limits on the complete number of foreign students allowed in different parts of Quebec depending with the schools and the fields of study. The advocates of the bill have presented these explanations, concerning the sharp increase in foreign tourists on the territory of the province which has been growing at the rate of 140% within a decade period resulting in over one hundred and twenty-four thousand foreign students.

The higher education sector in Quebec, notably four of the largest universities in the province, is concerned that the proposed caps will have a detrimental effect on their efforts to recruit the best of the best foreign scholars. These institutions emphasize that the presence of such students enriches academic standards, aids research progress, and boosts the economy. They further claim that enrollment restrictions imposed on foreign students will diminish Quebec’s stature on the global scale as well as its capacity to provide education of international standards.

However, Minister Roberge, who introduced the bill, made it clear that it is not reasonable to suggest that any capacity limits should not apply to universities and public colleges. Roberge has positioned the bill as a measure of last resort in order to maintain the credibility of the immigration system. He describes schools as playing a part in “selling” Canadian citizenship by permitting a large influx of foreign students who plan to stay in Canada for only a short period.

Advocates of the bill profess that controlling the influx of foreign nationals is a necessary tool the state can use to control immigration levels and limit abuse of the student visa category. Nonetheless, the province’s academic leaders have pushed back, maintaining that their institutions are not responsible for the influx of international students and that they should be given greater latitude to manage their enrollment.

With the discussions on Bill 74 taking place this week at the National Assembly, the conflict between the state and Quebec’s educational organizations is bound to heighten.