Concordia and McGill universities say they are abandoning their legal challenge against the Quebec government’s decision to maintain a 33 per cent tuition hike for out-of-province students.
The English universities won a ruling last April after the Superior Court overturned the hike of about $3,000, finding that it was unreasonable.
But the province formally entrenched the tuition increase in a revised framework published in January, saying the government wanted to ensure Quebec taxpayers weren’t subsidizing the education of out-of-province students.
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Premier François Legault has said the tuition hike is in part to reduce the number of English-speaking people in Montreal and protect the French language.
McGill University says that while it doesn’t believe the government’s response respects the 2025 court ruling, the school has decided that further litigation would undermine the university’s objectives.
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A spokesperson for Concordia University says the school doesn’t have the financial means to continue the challenge and hopes it can work productively with the government.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 27, 2026.
Researchers at McGill University say they’ve made progress in improving a technology that can convert human urine into electricity.
The study examined how microbial fuel cells (MFC) perform when supplied with different concentrations of urine.
According to Vijaya Raghavan, professor at McGill and co-author of the study, these systems use bacteria to break down organic waste while producing small amounts of power.
While microbial fuel cells are already known for their ability to treat wastewater and generate electricity, researchers say there has been limited study into how urine concentration affects their performance.
“While MFCs are known to clean wastewater and generate electricity, the specific effects of different urine concentrations on their function and pollutant removal efficiency are still not well understood,” said Raghavan.
“This study addresses that gap by systematically examining how varying urine proportions affect the system.”
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For the experiment, researchers built four microbial fuel cells and supplied them with mixtures of synthetic wastewater and human urine at concentrations of 20, 50 and 75 per cent.
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Over a two-week period, the team monitored electricity production, pollutant removal and overall treatment efficiency.
They found that higher urine concentrations, particularly between 50 and 75 per cent, improved power generation and supported stronger microbial activity.
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“Urine contains essential ions and organic compounds that support rapid microbial growth, which improves power generation and pollutant breakdown,” Raghavan said.
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Raghavan said the findings could have practical implications in regions where traditional wastewater treatment or energy infrastructure is limited.
He said the technology could eventually be used in rural sanitation systems, disaster relief operations and off-grid communities.
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Because microbial fuel cells produce measurable electrical signals in response to pollution levels, researchers say the systems may also function as low-cost wastewater monitoring tools.
Beyond energy production, researchers say the approach aligns with broader sustainability efforts by turning waste into a usable resource.
“Using urine as a resource supports sustainable sanitation and nutrient recovery, reducing pressure on freshwater systems,” Raghavan said.
He added that scientific advances continue to demonstrate how collaboration and innovation can address global challenges.
“It is very encouraging. Being exposed to global systems as a professor working within Canada, I see the importance that science and technology bring,” Raghavan said.
“Today the ozone hole is closing, which is a very positive example of how global efforts can come together to solve humanitarian problems. I have many more hopes for how we can use science and technology for sustainability.”
