For the life of me, I cannot figure out PQ math.

It seems to be a pretty straightforward case of arithmetic but I wonder who is doing their ciphering.

Let’s look at the evidence.

Quebec’s new tuition fee increase will mean each student will pay $1.35 a week more, or less than the price of a coffee at Tim Hortons.

This will mean universities will get an additional $12 million a year.

On the other hand, the deep thinkers in government are slashing university funding by $250 million.

Further, it is estimated that Quebec universities are underfunded by $850 million a year, or $4,000 a student less than universities elsewhere in Canada.

 

At the higher education summit this week, where the fix was in from the get-go. Pauline Marois proclaimed social peace has been achieved.

Of course whether the summit was a success at all depends on who you listen to.

But it is coming at a tremendous price. We are taking short term gain for long term pain because we are all are going to pay and are all going to lose in the end.

Although the Liberals managed it badly, they were right in their goal of giving lifeblood to our universities.

The Parti Quebecois is acting as if there is no problem of underfunding, no problem of services being cut, no problem of research not being done, no problem of professors not wanting to come here.

But the Pequistes joined the students with their red squares last year, and were helped to an election win, so it was payback time.

If you really look at it nothing was settled. Marois bought some time and the next battle is just around the corner.

We are left with the lowest tuition fees in Canada and the highest debt ratio of any province. Something has to give, and that’s something even Jethro could figure out.

 

Double standards

Quebec’s pasta gate has gone viral and we are looking dumber and dumber with each boneheaded move from the language cops.

Case in point: a Quebec City restaurant owner who had to spend thousands of dollars to change his sign and all of his wine glasses because he had one f too many in the word coffee.

He spelled it the Italian way, caffe, which makes sense for an Italian bistro.

But look at our friends at that government cash cow the SAQ.

It seems the word PASTA is fine for them as long as you buy some overpriced wine to down it with.

In fact it wouldn’t surprise me at all this language nonsense was some sort of plot by the PQ to make us drink more.

I think it’s working.