Students at LaSalle College said they were relieved and excited as they learned they would be able to return to school on Friday following a week of uncertainty during which the fate of their school hung in limbo.
“I feel ecstatic. I’m just super happy. I don’t know, I felt like I was holding back tears almost for the past five days,” said Dominique Goulet, a second-year fashion design student, outside Montreal’s courthouse.
About a dozen students, teachers and administrative staff chatted on the steps of the courthouse next to a quilt students had been sewing to read “No school, no future. Keep our doors open.”
On Thursday, a judge prolonged LaSalle College’s creditor protection as the school faces close to $30 million in fines from the Quebec government. Government subsidies to the college will also be reinstated as the school negotiates a payment plan with the province.
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The fines stem from a 2022 language law passed by the provincial government, which imposed limits on the number of students in English-language college programs.
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Students at LaSalle College ask for help to save academic year after school files for bankruptcy protection
In the 2023-24 school year — the first year the new limits were applied — LaSalle College exceeded its quota by 716 students and received a fine of $8.8 million. The following year, the college surpassed its quota by 1,066 students, and was fined an additional $21 million.
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Last year, the college delayed the beginning of classes by one day because of these fines.
LaSalle College is a subsidized private school and one of the few institutions in Quebec offering both English-language and French-language programs.
On top of these fines, LaSalle College must reimburse $17.9 million in subsidies it received last year, bringing the total debt to close to $48 million.
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During the hearing, Judge Martin Castonguay, who presided over the case, accused the provincial government of failing to give LaSalle College an exit ramp to repay its debts and of trying to “create new rules of the game.”
“Why would the government be above the rest of the world?” he questioned.
He highlighted the need to consider the 3,000 students and the college employees whose lives would be affected by a potential closure.
“I’m being asked to throw out the bathwater and the baby with it. After only 10 days. I won’t do that,” he said.
The Quebec Superior Court had first granted the college a 10-day window of protection on Aug. 24. That protection has been extended to Sept. 24, at which time the school and government will have to provide an update on a payment agreement.
Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette kept her remarks short from the campaign trail.
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“We’re going to take the time to analyze the judgment, but we will follow up on it,” she told reporters.
Outside the courtroom, Camille Dorvilier-Schell, a student who had been attending the hearing, said she was excited to go back to class.
“It’s absolutely incredible, and it’s what we’ve been asking for since the beginning. We want to keep going to class while the government and the college negotiate behind the scenes,” she said.
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Nathalie Simard and Lara Jaber, president and vice-president of the Lasalle College teachers union, said they were relieved and that teachers were ready to start the school year.
“We’re also happy for students who have been in some kind of uncertainty for the last two weeks, that at last they’ll get their peace,” said Jaber.
The question of the money owed by LaSalle College to the provincial government remains up in the air. On Thursday, Claude Marchand, director of LaSalle College, once again called the fine “disproportionate.”
“But for what is the most important — delivering our core mission, our students going back to the classrooms — that’s assured until the end of the school year,” he said.
Dorvilier-Schell said she isn’t nervous that she and her classmates might go through this again next year. In her eyes, the judge’s language against the fines, as well as the surge of support the students have received, should shield them going forward.
Outside the courthouse, Goulet, the fashion student, said she was still worried about what would happen at the next back-to-school.
“I’m ready to fight again next year if we need to,” she added.
And if it comes down to it, their protest quilt will be ready to go.
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“We can just reuse it again next year, add some stitching,” she said, laughing.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 3, 2026.
— with files from Patrice Bergeron