The protest ended when the crowd was tear-gassed after vandalizing the Palais des Congrès.
Hundreds of students from Montreal CEGEPs and universities marched on Friday night to protest the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) during its Parliamentary Assembly in Montreal, which took place over the weekend.
According to SVPM spokesperson Mariane Allaire Morin, a 22-year-old woman was arrested for assault on a peace officer and obstructing police work. Two men aged 22 and 28 were arrested for obstructing police work. The three individuals, who were released at the scene, will eventually face court.
Around 85,000 students from 35 student unions across Quebec had voted to strike for Palestine. Hundreds of people began assembling at 4:30 p.m. at Émilie-Gamelin Place near Berri-UQAM metro station. They headed to the corner of Sainte-Catherine St. and Saint-Urbain St. in the Quartier des Spectacles, with more protesters joining the group.
Photo by Félix-Antoine Beauchemin / The Concordian
“This is a class issue, and NATO perpetuates impartial laws that don’t hold war criminals accountable,” said Concordia Urban Planning Association President Alésia Keimi. “I think protesting against NATO is more about protesting against the class like the classist imperial[ist] system. These institutions will only change their ways if we force their hand, and we won’t.”
In 2024, 23 members out of NATO’s 32 countries are expected to increase their military spending to a minimum of two per cent of their Gross Domestic Product (GDP), an agreement originally made in 2006. Canada aims to reach their target of $82 billion by 2032-2033, double the projected military spending for 2024-2025.
The United States has recognized Israel as a major non-NATO ally since 1987, and it is a member of NATO’s Mediterranean Dialogue forum. Two of the points addressed at this weekend’s Parliamentary Assembly were the strengthening of NATO’s integrated air and missile defence, support of Ukraine until victory, and to discuss opportunities for the responsible military use of AI.
“It’s ridiculous that we’re paying for weapons when there are people sleeping in the streets,” said Concordia political science alumnus Jonathan South, who was holding a paper maché effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Look at how big our tent city is. We call ourselves rich. We call ourselves developed. And like Tupac said, ‘They got money for wars, but they can’t feed the poor.’ And he wrote that in the ‘90s. Nothing’s changed.”
A Netanyahu effigy was burnt in the middle of the pavilion, sending the crowd west down Saint-Urbain St.
Riot police followed the crowd out of the square, intervening with the protest just after the intersection at René-Lévesque Blvd. and Saint-Urbain St. after having multiple tense interactions with the protesters. The crowd and police had many exchanges involving flares, projectile launchers, and explosive paint canisters.
Photo by Félix-Antoine Beauchemin / The Concordian
“The strike campaign has been an attempt to show the student body that they have power and to put the power in their hands,” said Concordia Revolutionary Communist Party representative Laurent Cardinal. “In Quebec, it’s been particularly successful because there’s this tradition of grassroots mobilizing, [the 2012 strike on student tuition hikes] obviously being the most recent example.”
The crowd turned onto Viger St. and through the Palais des Congrès underpass, where members broke windows of the convention building. Two minor fires were reported to have been ignited on two separate cars. Shortly after, riot police used tear gas to disperse the protesters.
The protest ended at around 7 p.m. near the Gare Centrale.
