Students protest QC termination of the Perspective Québec scholarship program

Last week, cégep and university students across Québec protested the provincial government’s decision to end the Perspective Québec scholarship program. The program, which the Government of Québec cancelled in February, provided financial aid to students in disciplines facing labour shortages, such as health and education. Students went on strike in Montréal, Québec, Terrebonne, L’Assomption, Rouyn-Noranda, Sept-Îles, La Pocatière, and Saint-Hubert, asserting that terminating the program will worsen students’ financial precarity. Some, including the student association for the Cégep de Sept-Îles, questioned QC’s motivations for cutting the program. Others, such as the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec, urged the province to reinvest the scholarship funds to ensure all internships in Québec are paid.