Talks over Quebec student protests collapse

The negotiations were aimed at ending weeks of protests over proposed tuition hikes, a development that could lead to a long summer of demonstrations and clashes with police.Charest said the talks reached an impasse and a huge gap remains after four days of talks. Charest said there will be an election in the French-speaking province within 18 months and that it will be up to the silent majority to express itself.Student leaders said Quebecs education minister stepped away from the table, saying it wasnt politically possible to reach an agreement. One student leader called for more street protests and said he planned a large rally in Montreal for Saturday.Student groups called for a tuition freeze, but the government has ruled out that possibility. Students also object to an emergency law put in place to limit protests.More than 2,500 people have been arrested since a student strike at more than a dozen Quebec colleges and universities began in February.At least three demonstrations took to the streets of Montreal hours after the talks broke down, all at one point merging into one that police said was at least a few thousand strong. Two people were arrested. Two demonstrators were also arrested in Quebec City after throwing items at police but police spokeswoman Catherine Viel said more were expected in the city where the talks collapsed.The failed talks comes at a crucial time for the Quebec government, with Montreals peak tourism season fast approaching, a period of international events such as the Grand Prix F-1 race and international jazz and comedy festivals that bring millions of tourism revenue.Charest said he hoped the break would bring some calm to the streets, but student leader Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois called for a return to the streets.Charest said Nadeau-Dubois group had threatened to disrupt the lucrative F-1 racing Grand Prix next weekend, but the student leader said he was merely going to use the publicity generated by the event to make his cause visible.Quebecs average undergraduate tuition $2,519 a year is the lowest in Canada, and the proposed hike$254 per year over seven years is tiny by U.S. standards. But opponents consider the raise an affront to the philosophy of the 1960s reforms dubbed the Quiet Revolution that set Quebec apart not only from its U.S. neighbor but from the rest of Canada.Many Quebecois are more likely to compare themselves to European countries where higher education is mostly free, rather than the U.S.Students said a proposal to drop the yearly rise by $35 to $219 was unanimously rejected.