MONTREAL -- A new political party hoping to contend for power in the upcoming Quebec election moved Monday to claim the middle ground in the province's rowdy tuition debate.
The Coalition For Quebec's Future, led by Francois Legault, said it would set tuition hikes at $200 per year over five years, somewhere between the government's planned increase of $254 over seven years and the rate-of-inflation increases proposed by the opposition PQ.
Legault would also delay implementing the hikes for another semester, only bringing them in next January. He said one way to pay for the changes would be to pare back a tuition tax credit.
He also proposed scrapping parts of the province's controversial anti-protest law -- a law his own party voted for -- which would set severe fines for anyone blocking a school.
Legault cast his proposals Monday as a reasonable alternative, compared to the more hardline stance of the Charest Liberals and the PQ's supportive approach to the student strikers.
"We're offering a compromise," said Legault, making his announcement surrounded by education professionals planning to run for his party.
"The objective is to put behind us this crisis -- which is perhaps among the worst crises Quebec has undergone in recent years."
The issue could flare up again in the coming weeks, as an election campaign gets under way while striking students are supposed to go back to class in mid-August.
Polls suggest a three-way election race is possible, although Legault's party has lagged in popularity in recent months.
Legault's party actually voted alongside the government when it introduced its controversial Bill 78 this spring.
The legislation, which has yet to be seriously applied, sets out penalties that reach tens of thousands of dollars for people who block schools.
But while the government's tuition increases appear to have relatively strong public support, its protest legislation may have been less popular.
The instant it was adopted, street protests got bigger and the crowds began to include families and participants ranging from toddlers to elderly people.
Legault said the emergency law "poured oil on the fire."
The protests have quieted down, for now, although they may ramp up again as the debate reaches its critical juncture over the next few weeks.
As for the major political parties, while their short-term approaches differ significantly all of them say they would, over the long term, set tuition increases to the rate of inflation.
In another concession to the students Monday, Legault said he would make universities submit plans for limiting administration costs before they can touch any new funding.
Legault's plan was rejected by some students on Monday and questioned by Premier Jean Charest, who said Legault needed to take a closer look at his numbers.
Charest said what Legault is proposing will actually cost students more in the long run. By diminishing the yearly hike while cutting the tax credit, Charest said, students will end up footing a larger bill.
"It would be in his interest to spend a little less time on Twitter and a little more time with his calculator," Charest told reporters in Burlington, Vt., where he was attending a meeting of New England governors and Eastern Canadian premiers.
The premier is expected this week to call an election for Sept. 4.
