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Quebec's legislature has gathered for a late-night debate onemergency education legislation Thursday night, as student protestswere held in five of the province's biggest cities. The special law, known as Bill 78, was crafted by the Liberalgovernment to defuse the turbulent student tuition crisis. The proposed law lays out strict regulations governing student protests and contains provisions for stifffines. Fines range from $7,000 to $35,000 for a student leader and between$25,000 and $125,000 for unions or student federations if someoneis prevented from entering an educational institution. Bill 78 also lays out strict regulations governing studentprotests. Any group of 10 persons or more to give at least eighthours notice to police for any demonstration. They must include thetime, place and itinerary. Police may change any of the above. The overnight debate at Quebec's legislature is expected to lead toa vote on the legislation on Friday. Student leaders call for new talks Student groups held a news conference ahead of Thursday night'sdebate to slam the special law. They called for new negotiations,while urging return to "social peace." The new law, announced late Wednesday night by the Liberalgovernment, will suspend the winter semester while enforcing"access" to campuses. Premier Jean Charest described the emergency legislation as a wayto provide a cooling-off period for both sides in the tuition hikebattle in Quebec. 'We are more ready than ever to compromise.' CEGEP college student leader L o Bureau-Blouin But the province's most prominent student leaders blasted the legalsolution, accusing Charest of playing partisan politics. "Let him come sit with us, and negotiate a solution to thiscrisis," said Martine Desjardins, spokeswoman for universitystudent association FEUQ. "Let him come show us that he is a headof state, not just a party leader." CEGEP college student leader L o Bureau-Blouin also pleaded for a"negotiated" solution to the tuition crisis, while calling forrestraint from students across the province. "Emotion and the desire for vengeance among some can't overridereason," he said in French at the Thursday afternoon newsconference. "We are this close to arriving at a solution to thiscrisis." Bureau-Blouin called on the Liberal government for an "ultimatenegotiated deal" on tuition hikes to "pacify this conflict," thathe estimates could take "hours of negotiations," not "days andweeks." The FECQ spokesman also addressed concerns about social peace,saying he's "concerned" about the impact student actions have hadon public order. "I'm concerned that the strike has a huge impact on thousands ofstudents across the province, and it's not a matter of being infavour or against the strike, it's a question of saving some partof students' lives. "We are more ready than ever to compromise." The tuition movement's nightly Montreal protest turned ugly late Wednesday night , ending with the arrest of 122 people. The government made another appeal for calm Thursday morning in thewake of the tumultuous protest. The Liberal government says it has exhausted all other options inthe 14-week student strike, which has garnered internationalattention. Quebec's tuition plan Under the latest version of its tuition plan, the Charestgovernment would increase fees by $254 per year over seven yearsand then peg future increases to the level of inflation. That would mean tuition increases of more than 75 per cent forQuebec students, who pay the lowest rates in Canada. The change would still mean some of the country's lowest rates. Charest's legislation would temporarily halt the spring semesterfor the minority of faculties paralyzed by the walkouts; push upthe summer holidays; and reconvene students in August so they cancomplete their session before starting the fall one in October. Education Minister Michelle Courchesne, who was sworn in late Monday to the role , reiterated those details on her way into caucus Thursday morning,but had little comment on the events of the night before. She said that students have the right to protest and to freeexpression in Quebec. "But that protest must be done peacefully, without violence," shesaid, before walking away from the cameras. Ads purchased in papers Polls suggest Charest's unpopular government, facing a long-shotre-election bid, might actually have public support for its tuitionhikes. But the premier has responded angrily in recent weeks whenaccused of encouraging a climate of confrontation for his ownpolitical benefit. Bracing for more of that criticism, the Charest government hasbought ads in Thursday's newspapers explaining how it has alreadymade several adjustments to its tuition plans to soften the impacton the poorest students. The ads emphasize another point Charest is keen for people tounderstand: the majority of Quebec students have quietly finishedtheir semester and aren't boycotting classes. International attention The tumult in Quebec has repeatedly made international news.Foreign media picked up reports about groups of protesters storminginto Montreal university classes and forcing students to get outWednesday morning. The three-month conflict has caused considerable damage withnumerous injuries, countless traffic jams, a few smashed windows,subway evacuations, clashes with law enforcement, a heavy policebill, and of course disruptions to the academic calendar. The protests have even mushroomed beyond the cause of cheaptuition. They have attracted a wide swath of other participants who dislikethe Charest government and represent a variety of disparate causes ranging from environmentalism, to Quebec independence,anti-capitalism and anarchy. They have also prompted one of the most intense left-versus-rightideological clashes in recent Quebec history. The dispute claimed the province's education minister, whoannounced her resignation from politics earlier this week. Herreplacement, Courchesne, said Wednesday she'd noticed a hardeningof demands from student leaders. The antagonists in the dispute are casting this as a battle ofprinciple as of public policy. To the hike defenders, it's about improving the quality ofuniversities, about students' personal responsibility, and aboutsparing Quebec's long-suffering taxpayers from an even heavierburden. To its opponents, it's about defending universal access toeducation against any future attempt to whittle it away. Quebec Education Special Law (PDF) Quebec Education Special Law (Text) With files from The Canadian Press. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as China PCI-E Serial Card , Serial Repeater Manufacturer, and more. 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