Hundreds of students from across Quebec protested Thursday against freer trade in the Americas, saying it threatens affordable education in Canada.
Large crowds marched through downtown streets waving placards that denounced the proposed Free Trade Agreement of the Americas.
Many students said they're worried about a section of the trade deal that could allow foreign corporations to sue governments to get public funds for private universities.
An organization representing students said the deal will force public universities to charge tuition fees that most Canadian students can't afford.
Nicolas Fournier of the University of Montreal's student federation said universities such as his own as well as McGill University and the University of Toronto could become private institutions that get public funding.
"We have no assurances that those institutions would be excluded from this international free trade agreement,'' Fournier said.
As police stood watch nearby, about 1,000 students gathered at McGill University and then marched off campus to meet another 1,500 students from Concordia University at a downtown park.
Similar protests were held across Quebec in Sherbrooke and in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region, and in Ottawa to coincide with the latest round of trade talks in Ecuador.
The United States is leading the talks to establish a free trade zone from the Canadian Arctic to the southern tip of Chile.
The deal, subject to ratification in 2005, would create the world's largest free trade zone, covering all 34 democratic countries in the Western hemisphere.
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