MONTREAL -The Quebec government has answered the College de Maisonneuve’s pleas for help, announcing Sunday that it would give the CEGEP financial aid to kick-start the “living together” pilot project.
On top of the $500,000 recently allocated to the Centre for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence (CPRLV), Quebec announced it will add $400,000 to help the CEGEP implement specific measures to support “living together.”
READ MORE: The Centre for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence officially opens
At a press conference Sunday, Quebec’s Minister of Higher Education, Helene David, explained that the money would be used to hire on-site personnel to help diffuse tensions and find solutions to existing conflicts.
The school has been grappling with issues linked to radicalization.
According to recent revelations by La Presse, there have been fights at the college linked to one or more radical students, as well as an “occupation of the school’s library.”
Last year, four students from the school were arrested at Montreal-Trudeau airport as they were preparing to depart for Syria to join Islamic State militants.
According to the CEGEP’s director, Malika Habel, the school is now dealing with the backlash of those events.
“We now have to become closer to our 7,000 students and our 1,000 employees,” she said, adding that some of them have been shaken in their core beliefs and values.
Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre for his part said the initiative was a preventive measure meant to promote living together.
In a tweet he mentioned that the allotted resources would allow to give the college back to its community.
While the details of the pilot project have yet to be hammered out, it is hoped that the information and experience gained throughout the programme will help deal with similar situations within the community at large.
WATCH BELOW: College de Maisonneuve and radicalization