Students and teachers of LaSalle College in Montreal rallied Thursday demanding the Quebec government to reach an agreement with LaSalle College in order to resume classes.
The protest came after the college suspended classes for a second year in a row just days before the school year was set to begin Thursday.
Earlier this week, LaSalle College was granted creditor protection by the Quebec Superior Court while it tries to reach a deal over the $47 million the institution owes the government. The amount includes nearly $30 million in fines for exceeding the English-Language enrollment caps and another $17 million in government subsidies that Quebec wants repaid.
One of the student organizers of the protest Maynard McKinnon, said students were left frustrated in the dispute between the government and the college.
“I feel let down by my school and the government,”Mckinnon said. “We were back in school on (Aug. 26) last year. This year we have no clue when we’re going to be back, if we’re going to be back at all, it is a lot more precarious.”
Maynard said while LaSalle College was supportive of the student protests, they need to be more transparent with the students.
“We were told (about class suspensions) over Instagram posts and by the news,” Maynard said. “The school did not give us an email, did not contact us to tell us directly that this was happening (…) which is not ideal.”
LaSalle College student Maynard McKinnon at a protest demanding Quebec Premier Fréchette’s intervention as the college delays classes, in Montreal on Aug. 27, 2026 (Arthur Henault, CityNews)
Maynard demanded the Quebec government to negotiate with the college.
“We just want the school to be open and we want some kind of (deal) to be made where it can benefit both the government and the school,” Maynard said.
Maynard added that the students shared the government’s concerns about protecting the French language.
“We work hard to learn French, to pass our French exams, to be francophone as much as we can, be bilingue. And we are on the side of French we’ve protected, but we cannot protect our language here if there is no school.”
LaSalle College teacher Lara Jaber at a protest demanding Quebec government’s intervention as the college faces a $30 million fine and delays classes, in Montreal on Aug. 27, 2026 (Arthur Henault, CityNews)
The uncertainty over the resumption of classes has also left teachers at the school concerned.
Lara Jaber, who teaches finance and accounting at LaSalle College, was the protest in support of the students.
She says she and her colleagues were preparing the teaching activities even though they have not received a clear timeline from the school.
“We’re preparing everything as if we’re starting our classes next week,” Jaber said. “However, if they do not reach an agreement we’re not going to be able to give our classes.”
“But everything is ready, we’re ready to give the classes, we prepared our courses, we prepared everything on our side.”
Jaber also echoed the students’ call for the government to come to the negotiating table, adding that political parties should do more to provide clarity to anglophone institutions.
“We know that there’s a law that’s very clear at the beginning before the recruitment season,” Jaber added. “Stop this change of policies every now and then.”
Maynard said students would continue to speaking out until classes resumed.
“We want to be back in class,” Maynard said. “We’re not going to let this happen without our voices being heard.”
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