Author: George Menexis

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Montreal in a lockout

Canadians are a fairly simple people. We enjoy the small things in life, and most of us have a particular set of common interests that almost never change.

For example, many of us enjoy coming home after an arduous day at work, slumping on the couch, opening a good old Canadian beer, and watching Les Habitants face off one of the other 29 teams in the National Hockey League.

Not this year, Canada.

As of last Tuesday evening, the NHL has announced their fourth lockout since 1992. Gary Bettman, the NHL commissioner, has arguably become one of the most hated people by serious hockey fans, ever.

The disappointment will be most evident in the coming month when the first games were supposed to start, and fans will be forced to entertain themselves by some means other than hockey.

However, in Montreal, there may be a set of people that will be even more on edge than the average fan. Those people are restaurant and bar owners. For the fourth time, they’ll have to feel the economic strain of not having people’s favourite sport playing on every TV in their establishment; a pain that will be felt throughout the hockey year.

“Obviously, it sucks for business,” said Andrew Mackay to the Montreal Gazette. Mackay is a bartender at Ye Olde Orchard Pub & Grill on Mountain St., located a block away from the Bell Centre.

“With hockey we can guarantee that we’re going to be packed. Every night there’s a game, we’re [busy] from start to finish – 4 p.m. until the game’s done, and then there’s the after-rush.”

“We’re usually jam-packed before every home game,” said John Bobotsis, head manager at the Baton Rouge across the street from the Bell Centre. “That’s an income were going to miss as long as this lockout is still around.”

Restaurants won’t be the only ones feeling the economic slump of an NHL lockout. Many merchants in the Montreal area, that usually pre-order a large amount of Montreal Canadiens sports apparel and memorabilia before the end of the season, are mostly sticking with the inventory they currently have.

“I pre-ordered a big zero,” said Phil Morganstein, owner of Édition Limitée Morgan in the Eaton Centre. “I just want to be sure that they’re going to play.”

Montreal is different than most cities when it comes to sports. It doesn’t have other major sports teams that can fill bars and restaurants when the NHL is in a lockout. Most cities will be busying themselves with football, basketball, and baseball. Montreal will, therefore, feel the economic slump to a new level compared to other cities. Although Montreal is bustling with a variety of different entertainment establishments, many individual merchants will feel this strain, and that’s just unfair.

“Individually it might make a huge difference for certain retail stores, restaurants, and the like,” said Michel Leblanc, president and CEO of the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal. “It may result in winners elsewhere, but some will lose out.”

There is only one answer then: Merchants need to ignore the Canadiens for the time being and focus on finding new and innovating ways to give people a reason to leave their homes in the middle of the winter and come downtown. Many business owners are already on the right track.

“We’re looking at ways to provide Montrealers with something else to look forward to,” said Mackay. “We’re coming up with different fun nights, different activity nights. We’ve just gotta come up with ways to work around [the lockout].”

This is precisely what Montreal needs; a nightly entertainment system that isn’t dependant on the ups and downs of a hockey season.

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Addiction 101

According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 1 out of 10 Canadians over the age of 15 will experience a dependence to either drugs or alcohol. Though there are numerous support groups out there to help deal with this disease, the rate will likely only increase unless steps are taken to help doctors learn how to help their patients.

The health care system in this country is not fully equipped to deal with the ever-growing problem of addiction. There are barely any training programs for doctors, nurses, and specialists when it comes to dealing with addiction in its many forms. This desperately needs to change, for it is disheartening to live in a society where people can’t get sufficient treatment for such a common and difficult disease.

Dr. Evan Wood is a Vancouver medical doctor focusing on inner-city medicine. This lack of training for doctors, said Wood, extends beyond the shortcomings of British Columbia’s system.

“The problem is typical of all Canadian provinces,” he said. “Dedicated and caring as they usually are, most Canadian physicians who consider themselves addiction medicine specialists assembled their knowledge about addiction treatment after completing their medical training.”

What Canada really needs are doctors and specialists who know exactly how to approach addiction and have formal training, as well as experience in the field. We need to teach physicians how to help people who are struggling with such deeply personal and psychological issues, using the latest scientific and therapeutic advances.

Wood has familiarized himself with many addiction centres in and around the country and believes that having a trained doctor when it comes to dealing with addiction can make all the difference.

“What was really eye-opening from my visit to [the Boston Medical Center’s Clinical Addiction Research and Education Unit] was the impact that a skilled addiction medicine workforce can have in turning patients’ lives around,” he said.

Canada needs to invest more time and money in the creation of programs where such skills and techniques can be taught and developed. Hope is not lost though, said Wood, referring to a new initiative which could prove game-changing in the fight to improve addiction treatment.

“A potentially ground-shifting opportunity has emerged with the recent establishment of the American Board of Addiction Medicine,” he said. “The board has created guidelines for the development of addiction medicine fellowship programs enabling Canadian medical schools to create programs that are eligible for full accreditation.”

Now it’s Canada’s turn to invest more money and time, in order to create effective addiction training programs, and stop ignoring the larger problem at work.

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Adapting to the university way of life

Photo by Marilla Steuter-Martin

So, it’s your first week of classes. You don’t know quite what to expect. You’re excited because of the change, yet also very nervous. You attend a few orientation sessions, desperately trying to make eye contact with some of the friendlier faces. It’s a nerve-racking process.

You also know that you are officially beginning one of the most important phases in your life. These years can make or break your chance at a future career, and the last thing you want to do is mess it up. Most of us have been through this process already.

Welcome to university.

Concordia is officially opening its doors on Sept. 5, and gearing up for yet another long and weary school year. For most, this may seem deathly after a summer filled with long tanning sessions and drinks by the pool. Others, however, have been looking forward to it for months.

In my experience, there is one distinct characteristic one must have to find success in university: organization. As you mature, you realize that you need an organized schedule in order to succeed in this part of your education. A study conducted by the University of California showed that cramming information due to a lack of organization can lead to a serious lack of sleep, thus directly affecting many students’ grades.

“Students should balance their studying across the week and anticipate what is going on,” said Andrew J. Fuligni, the UCLA professor who conducted the study. “Try to have a regular study schedule so that you’re not going to have those nights spent cramming.”

However, there is much more to the university experience than just grades and classes.

Marlene Gross from Concordia’s counselling and development department advises students to “get informed and get connected. The best way to learn about university—to know what to expect, to be prepared and to get the most out of your experience—is to connect with people.”

Speaking from experience, this is the best advice one could receive. I first entered my program last year knowing no one. A year later, instead of feeling nervous, I feel excited to see those familiar faces.

“I made lifelong friends at Concordia,” said Concordia Alumni Dimitri Volis. “People I still see to this day and that made my university years unforgettable.”

But how does one connect? A barrier many people have a hard time breaking upon entering university is their ability to ask questions. Concordia recognizes this problem in many students and offers a variety of services to help students integrate into the community.

One of the greatest services offered at Concordia is the Student Success Centre. Here, new students will have the opportunity to meet student success mentors. These are experienced students that give advice and tips to the newer generation of students. It’s a great place to get started, or even just hang out. Second-year Concordia student, Essam Shomali, said the centre was a great help last year.

“It would’ve been different if they had not been around,” said Shomali. “They really helped me out and they were very nice about it.”

If there’s one statement I keep hearing, it’s that we should make the most out of our university years because they are the best times of our lives. Get off on the right foot, and take advantage of all the services Concordia has to offer. So welcome, first-years and good luck. To everyone else, welcome back!

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Think hard before you vote PQ

Image via Flickr.
PQ chef Pauline Marois. Photo courtesy of Flickr.

Excitement is growing for the upcoming provincial election.

Concordia has closed its doors, leaving students with one less excuse not to go out and cast their vote. As of September 4, people will be rushing to the polls to decide who will be the next premier of Quebec. Can Jean Charest join a legend like Robert Bourassa and become the premier of Quebec an incredible four times? Only time will tell. I am, however, sure of one thing: we cannot have Pauline Marois and the Parti Quebecois lead Quebec.

“We are a sovereigntist party,” Marois once told reporters.

The PQ wants a sovereign Quebec. It is no secret and Marois has publicly said that she is ready to spend taxpayers’ money to promote her party’s vision of an independent Quebec, should they be elected.

The Liberal candidate for Nelligan, Yolande James, told CBC that she thinks this is absolutely preposterous.
“Not only will they be spending people’s tax money on working toward sovereignty studies, it’s not going to be clear what they will be doing,” said James. “They’re hiding their referendum because they’re afraid of losing the election.”

That being said, the Parti Quebecois has stated that they plan to implement news laws such as extending Bill 101 to apply to small businesses and introducing mandatory French language tests for civil servants. This is the type of legislation that could potentially limit people’s rights and freedoms in this province.

People living in Quebec should have more access to bilingualism, not less. They should be able to send their children to whichever school they want, to be able to open a business without their every move being scrutinized.

Over the course of the year, Marois appeared to be hoping to score many student votes by sporting a red square during her speeches, as well as supporting the student strike over the tuition hikes proposed by the Liberals. Where is the red square now? In late June, she decided to drop it, telling media stations that she will be sporting the fleur-de-lis instead.

Many students didn’t buy it.

“If she doesn’t wear the red square, she’s won the championship of hypocrisy,” said Charest to the Canadian Press when she stopped wearing it.

It seems quite unlikely that Marois will appeal to students much more than Charest in the upcoming election. Taking off her red square is a sign that she could end up taking the same position Charest did on the tuition hikes if elected, despite claiming to support the movement.

It’s no secret that Quebec is bleeding money of late, and at a time when we desperately need our funds to go to more urgent matters, who would choose to have it thrown away to promote a referendum that is so unlikely to pass?

It is clear that the PQ is the wrong choice in this upcoming elections, but far less clear who may be the right one. Whatever the case, don’t take a back seat on election day.

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No more strike general assemblies planned

The Concordia Student Union does not plan to hold any further general assemblies to vote on a strike, opting instead to work very closely with some departmental associations who will continue to hold their own GAs.

“Our message is clear, we want to negotiate, but the government won’t even do that,” said CSU President Lex Gill. “We’re so proud to have a little over 15,000 supporters within the community.”

The CSU, however, is not planning to hold another general assembly to solidify Concordia undergraduates’ position on the strike. Unless, of course, the students demand one.

“If a petition is formed in question of another general assembly, we will definitely look into it,” said Gill.

The CSU has been working very closely with some associations on organizing departmental GAs and funding striking activities. Gill said she is proud of the communication between these associations and the CSU.

“Most of our time consists of working with departments and keeping everything organized, funding them, and helping them all the way through,” said Gill. “They’ve done an excellent job in giving students the opportunity to express their opinions.”

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CASA and ECA vote against strike

FASA students vote on the 7th floor of the Hall building. Photo by Marilla Steuter-Martin
FASA students vote on the 7th floor of the Hall building. Photo by Marilla Steuter-Martin

Over 300 undergraduate students attended the ECA general assembly on March 15 on the 7th floor of the Hall building to vote on an official stance on the strike.
“It’s the first time we’ve held a general assembly in over two years,” said Ali Talhouni, VP internal of the ECA. “Many people came up to us and asked for this, so we felt compelled to give the students their own choice.”
The meeting started with some confusion as ECA President Nathanael Occenad had to call for order many times, trying to organize the sea of students waiting to vote. The meeting came to a close with over 200 ECA students voting to stay in school and not strike.
Not everyone in attendance agreed with the result however.
“I don’t understand how we voted against the strike,” said first-year engineering student Laura Cerrahyan. “Money is being seriously mismanaged and it’s saddening that we aren’t joining the rest of Quebec.”
At the CASA assembly held on March 14, 843 students showed up to vote. JMSB students voted overwhelmingly against the strike, with 710 students against and 123 students for.
FASA’s general assembly on March 16 didn’t go as well as expected. The lack of turnout and the loss of quorum prevented the final vote to be be taken, resulting in a continuation of the strike for fine arts students. Quorum is approximately 315 students and before students began to leave, the assembly was able to pass several motions, including the establishment of a committee to handle all strike-related issues.
“We have a very high quorum and we lost it about three hours in,” said FASA President Paisley Sim. “The meeting was orderly, as legitimate as it could be, and productive given the fact that we know we have a strike committee.”
Other students who planned on voting to end the strike were more disappointed with the outcome.
“I was hoping in the end that those of us who have been on strike for two weeks were going to vote to end the fine arts strike, so that we’re technically done with the strike the same time the CSU is,” said Peter Shaw, a first-year theatre student.
Another FASA general assembly is set for Friday, March 23, at 3 p.m,
A petition had been circulating to call for an Arts and Science Federation of Associations GA, but organizer Cassie Smith explained that since the CSU would be calling another GA on March 23 to vote on prolonging the current undergraduate strike, there would be no need for it.

ASFA has since released a statement saying that “the last thing ASFA wants to do is to put a whole faculty ‘on strike’ when there is a clear lack of solidarity on the issue.”
Instead, ASFA encouraged students to organize on a departmental level and vote in the upcoming CSU GA.

With files from Marilla Steuter-Martin

Upcoming general assemblies:

Urban planning — on strike since March 8
GA Tuesday, March 20, time and place TBA

Sociology and anthropology — on strike since March 12
GA Tuesday March 20, 4 p.m., location TBA

Communication studies — on strike since March 15
GA Friday, March 23, time and place TBA

Faculty of Fine Arts — on strike since March 5
GA Friday, March 23 at 3 p.m., Hall Building, 7th floor lounge

Women’s studies and sexuality studies — on strike since March 5
GA Friday, March 23, location TBA

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City in Brief

Falling apart at the seams
People always joke that Montreal is falling apart, but an eight-by-twelve block of concrete collapsing is no laughing matter. The city’s Olympic Stadium has seen its fair share of structural mishaps but, this time, the concrete slab hit the parking lot several hundred metres from the building. On Sunday, a chunk of concrete was dislodged and came crashing to the ground because of nearby construction in the area. Government officials confirmed that the stadium itself was not affected and no one was injured in the incident.

St-Mathieu exit to close
Guy-Concordia metro station’s St-Mathieu exit will be closed until Aug. 26 so that many of the exit’s features such as concrete slabs, floor and wall coverings, staircases and lighting systems can be upgraded. Guy-Concordia is the third busiest metro station in Montreal, with over eight million passenger rides recorded in 2011. The station will remain open, but only the Guy Street exit will be available to commuters.

Dawson strike vote postponed
Amid allegations that college administrators have “interfered” in the democratic process, the Dawson Student Union postponed their strike vote, reported Canadian University Press. DSU officials are upset that a university administrator emailed the ‘No’ committee to inquire as to how prepared they were for the strike. More than 1,500 students turned up to a special general assembly on Thursday evening, which was set to take place in a cafeteria with the capacity for 500 to 600. (The quorum for special GAs at the 10,500-strong CEGEP is just over 500.) Instead, Dawson students will vote in a referendum on Tuesday. Last week, other anglophone CEGEPs like Vanier, Marianopolis and John Abbott Colleges decided to not strike or not hold a strike vote.

Finals coming up for candidates for JMSB dean
Two open meetings that will see each of the two shortlisted candidates compete for the position of dean of the John Molson School of Business have been scheduled. Steve Harvey, associate VP, research and dean of the Williams School of Business at Bishop’s University and Michel Magnan, professor and Lawrence Bloomberg chair in accountancy at JMSB, will compete on March 7 and March 13, respectively. The one-hour long meetings will allow each candidate to make a 15-minute presentation and answer questions from the audience. Both meetings will run from 12 to 1 p.m. in H-110. The previous JMSB dean, Sanjay Sharma, resigned a year ago to take a position at the University of Vermont, Burlington, that paid nearly $320,000.

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