Over 100 people gathered to protest against the curfew that is impacting the homeless and potentially giving more power to the police
In response to the rising cases of COVID-19 in Quebec, the provincial government has enacted a controversial curfew, which is seen to negatively impact the homeless and people in poverty. There has been public outcry and protests against the curfew.
The group responsible for the demonstration on Jan. 16, Pas de solution policière à la crise sanitaire, stated the protest was to push back on the increased power being given to the police.
In a press release, the organization stated they do not affiliate with right-wing groups, such as the anti-mask and anti-lockdown protests that have taken place in recent months.
“This demonstration aims to denounce the political choice of Legault’s government to impose a curfew throughout Quebec in response to the increase in cases, by hospitalizations, and deaths related to COVID-19,” read the statement. “After 10 months of a health crisis, the CAQ is again opting for the police solution.”
In a public statement, the group said that the goal of the protest was to denounce the use of police in a public health crisis, and encourage the government to relocate those funds in a more effective manner.
Let us stand in solidarity in the face of police repression, let us learn not to leave anyone behind,” said the statement.
“The police presence really affects the homeless people in a negative way, because they are trying to avoid the police,” said Jessica Quijano, a spokesperson for the Defund the Police Coalition and a member of the Iskweu Project, an initiative of the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal.
Quijano spoke about the recent death of an Innu man that was living on the streets. According to a CTV article, the man froze to death near the Open Door homeless shelter, which due to the COVID-19 restrictions, was no longer allowed to have clients overnight.
Quijano explained that police presence doesn’t help in a pandemic; she used the criminalization of people during the AIDS crisis as an example.
We can’t trust the police to use their discretion, because we know that the SPVM has a history of racism,” she said.
“At least offer a house to the homeless, and not just shelters, places where people could isolate and be comfortable,” she said, explaining that the best solution to the issue is giving the homeless resources. “Not giving people tickets, not to people that are already in poverty.”
Quijano explained that before the curfew was implemented, there were outbreaks in shelters and homeless people who had tested positive were walking around in public. The curfew has just added to the shelters’ struggles to serve the homeless community in a safe way.
“It makes you really question the legitimacy of the public health [association] when they are making these decisions,” Quijano said.
On Tuesday, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante called for homeless people to be exempt from the curfew, but later that day during a COVID-19 press brief, Premier François Legault rejected it, as he believes people would impersonate the homeless to get out of curfew.
The SPVM said in a statement that officers have to show tolerance and judgement in their interventions with the homeless.
“Before giving a ticket, each situation is analyzed in consideration of the specific context and particularities,” read the statement. “If it’s possible, officers can also accompany these persons to the appropriate resources.”
“These are necessary measures to counter the spread of the virus,” said Marie-Louise Harvey, media spokesperson for the Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux, who explained that the priority of the curfew and the restrictions was to lessen strain on hospitals.
She also stated that while the ministry has no official survey of the population’s view of the curfew, “It does know that a certain percentage of the population is unhappy with the situation.”
How the curfew and ban on certain goods impact lives, despite the efforts to halt the rise in COVID cases
As of Jan. 9, Quebec has put strict confinement measures in place such as the curfew, desperately hoping to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the province. These measures also include the closing of all non essential businesses, and reinforcing the rules regarding indoor gatherings.
The imposed curfew, which runs from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., along with the new measures requiring travelers to test negatively for COVID-19 before coming to Canada, have faced some criticism.
Many civil liberty groups have spoken out against the curfew, questioning its impact on civil liberties, as well as the strain the provincial government is dumping onto its citizens.
According to an article from CBC, the Ligue des droits et libertés has asked Legault’s government to address the more pertinent underlying causes of the hike in case numbers, rather than relying on a curfew. This refers to updating ventilation in old structures such as schools and office spaces, as well as bettering conditions for healthcare workers.
But these are not the only outcries the government is hearing. The curfew — as well as measures put in place limiting the sale of non-essential goods — has also placed significant strain on individual Montrealers.
Shanique Morris, or laveganbaddie on Instagram, owns a local secondhand shop, with a niche Bratz-Y2K aesthetic, reminiscent of the early 2000s. Her shop has seen immense growth since she started in October 2019, but the curfew has put a dent in her business endeavors.
Morris explained how in the past, she regularly made deliveries in the evenings. She would travel to a shipment centre far from her home, as well as to individual clients. However, with the new curfew, she said, “My schedule is all over the place.”
“I didn’t have the time to deliver my packages yesterday so I have had no choice but to come [to the shipment centre] this morning because you know, since curfew, [closing] times change,” explained Morris.
She’s also experiencing difficulty purchasing the necessary materials to run her shop from home. She explained, “If my printer were to break, and I needed one right away, I couldn’t just go to the store and get one. Because that’s deemed as non-essential — and obviously I do need a printer to be able to print out my labels.”
Kassidy Jordan, a second year student at Concordia, has also faced repercussions due to the new safety measures. She explained that she was recently laid off from her job; despite this, she is understanding of the situation.
She said, “In theory, if you’ve been doing what you’re supposed to be doing, none of the new restrictions … really affect you that much. It’s just, like, tiring.”
She expressed her thoughts on the curfew and its impacts on her lifestyle, and said, “It feels like you don’t have very much control over how you want to spend your day.”
Furthermore, Jordan went on to express her beliefs on where Legault should be concentrating his efforts.
“I’ve walked past some elementary and middle schools here. And you can clearly see that the kids are just all over each other, like close together, not distanced, not doing it in a safe manner.”
With over 100,000 Quebecers vaccinated, the province prepares for mass immunization
Two days before Christmas, Agnes Wong walked into the Berkley Care Centre in North Vancouver to begin her usual shift as a cook. Having worked at the senior home for 15 years, she was feeling particularly nervous that day. It was on Dec. 23 when Wong received her first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.
As a staff member of a long-term care centre, Wong became part of the first phase of Canada’s mass vaccination plan. This phase also includes residents of such care centres, as well as seniors aged 70 and over, frontline healthcare workers, and adults living in Indigenous communities.
Before the procedure, Wong was concerned about the vaccine’s potential side effects, as it was developed in less than a year. Pfizer and Moderna, the only companies whose vaccines have been approved by the Canadian government thus far, have both warned that patients may experience fatigue, headaches, chills, muscle pain, or fever after getting the vaccine.
However, Wong told The Concordian that she only felt slight pain in her left arm, in the area where the vaccine was administered.
“The pain disappeared two days later, so I don’t feel that discomfort anymore. I’m ready to receive the second dose of this vaccine, which should happen in about two weeks,” said Wong.
The World Health Organization recommends people take the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine within 21-28 days. It is expected to cause stronger side effects than the first dose, with 16 per cent of vaccinees aged 18 to 55 having experienced fever after its injection, as well as 11 per cent of those aged 56 and above.
The highest-priority groups are recommended to receive the vaccine before the rest of the population in every province and territory by the National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI). However, each province, including Quebec, is responsible for its own vaccination plan.
Over 115,000 Quebecers have been vaccinated as of Jan. 15, according to Health Minister Christian Dubé. The province has already received 162,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, and this number is expected to reach 250,000 next month.
As of now, Canada has vaccinated 1.1 per cent of its population and thus occupies the 13th position worldwide in terms of the COVID-19 vaccination rate. The current world leader is Israel, where a whopping 25 per cent of the population already received the COVID vaccine.
The estimated cost of Canada’s vaccination process remains unknown. However, it will be fully covered by the federal government, meaning all vaccine doses will be free of charge for Canadians.
Going forward, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Tuesday that the country is “on track to have every Canadian who wants a vaccine receive one by September.” This year, the government expects to receive a total of 80 million vaccine doses from Pfizer and Moderna.
At the same time, Trudeau made it clear that the COVID-19 vaccine will not be mandatory for the general public. The Prime Minister also reassured Canadians that there is no plan to develop a system of COVID-19 vaccine passports, which would act as official proof of one’s vaccination, as he believes it would create a divisive impact on the country.
According to an Ipsos/Radio-Canada poll conducted in late November, 16 per cent of Canadians definitely oppose taking the vaccine, while 64 per cent would be willing to get vaccinated. However, just 41 per cent of Canadians believe that vaccination should be mandatory for all, a poll from the Association for Canadian Studies reveals.
Wong also believes that mass vaccination will help Canada get through such a challenging period and move in a positive direction. She added, “I believe the vaccine should be widely administered because — just like a flu shot — it would give people a sense of security.”
There is no guarantee that all pandemic-related restrictions will be lifted as soon as the vaccine becomes available to the general public. However, mass vaccination is a major step towards returning to ordinary life in Canada.
The quicker everyone gets vaccinated, the quicker we’re going to be able to get back to a semblance of normality,” stated Trudeau.
As the winter semester begins and Concordia students return to classes, the pandemic’s second wave remains in full force. To help students cope through the stress of the pandemic, Concordia University has reintroduced a pass/fail option, which will be available for the fall 2020 and winter 2021 semester.
The option gives students the ability to change one of their grades in an eligible class from a standard letter grade, to a PASS grade. Choosing a pass will allow students to take a grade which does not affect their GPA.
In a statement made to The Concordian the university said, “Concordia has developed a set of compassionate measures to support students … including a pass/fail option for one eligible course for both the fall 2020 and winter 2021, the automatic conversions of eligible F grades to a DISC notation and simplified and flexible final exam deferral requests.”
The University introduced a similar option during the winter 2020 semester with one large difference: students could take advantage of the pass/fail option with as many eligible classes as they liked. But it was only intended as a measure to ease students through the sudden change to virtual classes.
“The unforeseen disruption brought on by the start of the pandemic in March 2020 led to exceptional measures following the unanticipated change from in-person to remote learning and exams in the middle of the winter 2020 term,” said Concordia’s statement.
Students are glad to see pass/fail return, but wish they knew about it at the beginning of the fall term.
“I’m glad that they gave the option but I wish there was more of a comprehensive plan before the end of term,” said Claire Dyment, a second year psychology student.
“I wish they had announced it and seen this was going to happen at the beginning of the term. A lot of people thought they were gonna do bad in certain classes so they dropped them, but they could have just passed.”
The initial removal of the pass/fail option was disappointing to many students, considering classes were still being held online. When a number of referendum questions were posed to students in a Concordia Student Union by-election last November, students were asked if they would like to see the pass/fail option return while classes remained online. With a 17.8 per cent turnout of Concordia’s student population voting to bring back pass/fail, 91.5 per cent of students taking part voted yes.
The change to only allowing one pass per term seems to be a decision that some students think is fair.
“I think one class is pretty good, if we had too much wiggle room kids will start taking advantage of it,” said Dyment.
Some were also worried about how being able to pass/fail all of their classes would affect their future.
“I personally think it’s difficult to say if it’s a good thing or not … we haven’t had the conversation about how pass/fail will impact students in the long term, if having a bachelor’s degree that has a lot of pass/fail courses in it will hinder your chances at employment … or graduate school in the future.” Said Aya Chkirate, a first year finance student at Concordia.
“But at the same time I think it’s a good thing for students. In the short term it lets students focus on courses that might be more difficult.” Chkirate continued.
Students will be able to exercise the pass/fail option for the fall 2020 term as of Jan. 18 on their MyConcordia page. The deadline to request a pass is Jan. 22, 2021 at 5 p.m EST.
How COVID-19 skepticism could lead to the growth of QAnon in Québec
Dominick Jasmin describes himself as an ordinary guy. At first glance, the father of two and a family man, from the off-island Montreal suburb of Repentigny, seems to be just that.
Jasmin begins to seem less ordinary when you look at the Facebook page he runs, Actualité Politique du Québec, where he shares his views on provincial politics and, more importantly, his objections to COVID-19 sanitary measures.
Jasmin is part of a growing media ecosystem based on disinformation that many say is leading to a growth in radicalization. According to a recent CROP poll, nearly a quarter of Quebecers believe in some sort of COVID-19 conspiracy theory.
Previously publishing fairly benign political commentary, his content took a sharp turn with the advent of the pandemic. Jasmin doesn’t think COVID-19 is dangerous, saying, “There should be ten times more deaths to justify these measures.”
Jasmin has no scientific training and bases his claims on what he calls common sense. Nonetheless, Jasmin is not your run-of-the-mill conspiracy theorist. “I don’t believe in a New World Order,” he said, also adding that not all vaccines are bad.
Regardless, it is clear that platforms like his are playing an increasingly crucial role in the spread of disinformation that kickstarts online radicalization.
Falling into the abyss
Casey Babb, a Ph.D. student at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs of Carleton University, is currently researching “How malicious actors are exploiting the pandemic to their advantage.”
“I might call them passive conspiracy theorists,” said Babb, talking about people like Jasmin. He explained they don’t necessarily buy into the QAnon worldview but are inherently distrustful of the government and mainstream media, showing there is an increasingly blurred distinction at play.
But Babb said this didn’t make them any less dangerous in the “slow, gradual process,” of radicalization. Someone may at first see a seemingly benign tweet that resonates with them, but quickly fall into a cascading conspiratorial rabbit hole. “Next thing you know, they’re on the 8kun or QAnon website,” said Babb.
The process is compounded by the mechanics of social media’s suggestion algorithms, which feed users increasingly extreme content. This is made evident on Jasmin’s page, where Facebook automatically generates recommendations to more extreme pages like that of Lucie Laurier, renowned Quebec conspiracy theory and QAnon influencer.
Part of the plan
The Counter Extremism Project, based in Berlin, Germany, recently released a study indicating that right-wing extremist groups were leveraging the pandemic to their benefit.
The study showed that these groups use frustration over sanitary measures and pre-existing anti-vaccine sentiment as a gateway to recruitment. COVID-19 is allowing “the extreme right-wing to strengthen its mobilization around anti-government conspiratorial narratives, aimed at criticizing the lockdown measures,” stated the report.
Therefore, previously marginal extremist groups can sell themselves as an anti-mainstream source of information and gain credibility and adherents, according to the study.
Screen capture of far-right Forza Nuova affiliated group posted to Jasmin’s Facebook group.
Jasmin’s page is a direct example of this, where content by users is often taken directly from right-wing extremist groups. For example, one of the anti-lockdown videos posted to the group was initially published by Forza Nuova, a right-wing extremist political group based in Italy that holds openly racist views and promotes violence.
Made clear with the recent storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, online conspiratorial beliefs are now causing real-world consequences. Just this summer, trucker Philippe Côté was arrested for threatening to kill Quebec Premier François Legault and Public Health Director Horacio Arruda, and further found conspiratorial theories on pieces of paper in his truck.
When asked whether he may be contributing to people’s radicalization via his Facebook group, Jasmin said he felt no responsibility for the misinformation he was spreading. “People can believe what they want,” Jasmin said, choosing instead to deride what he sees as an attack on free speech.
Regardless, Jasmin has not seen any form of censorship on his platforms.
Climbing out of the rabbit hole
But deradicalization is possible. According to Margaux Bennardi at the Centre for the Prevention of Radicalization Leading to Violence, it is essential not to ostracize or judge the people who believe in these theories, as it may entrench them further into their beliefs.
“Calling people covidiots does not help,” said Bennardi.
“We reinforce the productive factors instead of targeting the things that are not working,” said Bennardi. This could lead to encouraging them to spend more time doing something that may expose them to a different viewpoint.
Nonetheless, complete deradicalization is tricky, said David Hofmann, a researcher in right-wing extremism at the University of New Brunswick. “It has to happen on an individual basis,” Hofmann said. “Something has to shake their entrenched worldview.”
According to Hofmann, the individualistic argument for ignorance seems to be a common thread among conspiracy theorists and especially with COVID-19 skepticism. The ‘I haven’t seen it so it mustn’t be true’ viewpoint.
For Jasmin, it was clear that the event had not yet occurred.
Photographs are screenshots from social media videos
Over 60 participants attended the council meeting that voted to bar the controversial Canadian intellectual.
Did you hear that rumour during the winter break that the Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) was planning on inviting Jordan Peterson to speak at an event?
It caused quite a stir: hundreds of students spoke out in different ways for, and against, the famed and controversial Canadian clinical psychologist being featured at the university.
But the story of Peterson taking the spotlight at ASFA came to a close at the association’s Dec. 16 regular council meeting, when a majority of the council voted against platforming Peterson, in-person or in any medium, forever.
Minutes of the ASFA executive meeting on Nov. 25 reveal that the initial idea, proposed by Student Life Coordinator Natalie Jabbour, was to invite Peterson as a speaker on mental health during the winter semester.
“One of my ideas was to invite Jordan Peterson as a speaker. I know he’s a controversial speaker but I think he has brilliant ideas on psychology. I messaged his manager yesterday,” stated Jabbour at the meeting.
Curiously, Jabbour later told The Concordian she did not intend on organizing an event that featured Peterson, despite contacting his manager. Her intention was solely to discuss her event ideas during the winter semester, which also included suggesting another enterprise called “The School of Life,” an educational company that gives life advice.
Following the meeting, several executives shared news of Jabbour’s proposal through personal messages, emails to the student media, and posts on social media. The news spread like wildfire.
Various posts, hundreds of emails and signatures on a petition were shared online to support both opinions.
However, Peterson is not available for any guest speaking engagements at the moment, according to his public speaking and engagements contact.
Since he is unavailable, Jabbour decided to change the event from being about mental health support for students featuring Peterson, to an event solely about Peterson and freedom of speech.
The new event discussed at the council was called “Diversity of Views in Academics at Concordia University.” Organized by ASFA’s Student Life Committee, the event would have been moderated by a Concordia professor, who would help guide the discussion as students watched, and then critiqued, the subject matter.
It would have showcased Peterson in some format, either through a speech, lecture, or written material.
Before the deciding vote to bar Peterson, the council debated for over three hours whether the association should even consider hosting Peterson. ASFA executives and councillors, several students and alumni, participated in the over-attended meeting to speak on the rumoured event.
Opinions were divided between people who thought Peterson’s rhetoric should be protected by freedom of speech ideals and the need to hear different opinions on campus, versus those that thought the responsible course of action is to ban the speaker, citing his rhetoric as harmful and discriminatory.
This reflected the same debate — and backlash — which the University of Toronto professor became internationally known for in the first place. Back in 2016, he refused to use non-gendered pronouns and spoke out against Canada’s Bill C-16, which was only at it’s proposal stage at the time, to add gender identity and expression to the Canadian Human Rights Act and the Criminal Code.
He feared that refusing to use someone else’s preferred pronouns would be classified as hate speech under the new amendment, and this would infringe on the freedom of Canadians.
Those who spoke in favour of Peterson at the meeting did not address his controversial statements. Instead, they pointed to the importance of having a civil discussion.
According to an ASFA executive who requested to remain anonymous, while these events would feature Peterson, they weren’t about him, they were about freedom of expression on campus.
They told The Concordian they have noticed an increasingly hostile environment at Concordia, particularly in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, with certain groups of students feeling “disenfranchised.” This individual is “concerned over legitimately not being able to say what’s on their mind.”
According to the source, this has become a widespread issue at the university, manifesting as “hostility towards certain ideas … that’s aimed at censoring and blocking people.”
When asked to provide an example of this hostility, or an even example of the types of ideas being ostracized, the source refused.
The purpose of the events, according to the source, would be to encourage ideas, not censoring or suppressing information over people’s feelings – no “cancelling,” with the hope of improving critical thinking and discourse on campus.
The idea of freedom of speech on campus and fighting against the cancelling of other opinions is not new, and Peterson is largely to thank for that.
A large part of Peterson’s platform was about freedom of speech, the end of political correctness, and the attempt to end or discourage Marxist/radical left ideology on campus.
Several gendered-non-conforming people who spoke at the council meeting said their identity was not up for debate.
Many described the harassment they’ve received over their choice of pronouns and lifestyle, and pointed out that rhetoric like Peterson’s had only helped to inflame the discrimination they’ve faced.
In a statement to the The Concordian, ASFA Communications Coordinator Carmen Levy-Milne said showcasing Peterson’s views would contradict the organization’s anti-discrimination regulations.
“It is morally inappropriate to suggest that a speaker who is openly sexist, islamophobic, homophobic, anti-Semitic, racist, and transphobic speak at our university … The suggestion to openly platform a speaker contradicts our Policy against Harassment, Discrimination, and Violence,” said Levy-Milne.
The motion to bar Peterson from being featured at the association followed this reasoning.
Proposed by Payton Mitchell, ASFA’s Mobilization Coordinator, the motion outlines that “Allowing Jordan Peterson to have this space would mean ASFA is directly facilitating an environment in which stochastic terrorism may be fostered here at Concordia.”
Peterson may no longer be platformed at ASFA or any of its member associations.
Peterson’s media representative at Penguin Random House Canada told The Concordian they had no comment.
A nurse long-term care nurse shares her experience of working during the pandemic
With a passion to heal people’s pain and a Christian devotion to serving others, Mary Morcos, 32, has always dreamed of becoming a nurse one day. Little had she known about what the COVID-19 pandemic had in store for her.
Morcos pursued her dreams of becoming a nurse after immigrating with her family to Canada from Egypt in 2011. She put her mind to training to become an orderly. She overcame all barriers possible: she learned French so she could use it to study; she lived on a tight budget while also taking care of her family during her two-year-medical training in Montreal.
After being an on-call orderly at several long-term care homes, she landed a permanent job as a CHSLD orderly at a long-term care residence.
On a typical non-pandemic day, Morcos signs in and checks the daily reports written about the elderly residents she takes care of. Her tasks range from measuring blood pressure rates, to administering medications or disinfecting wounds. She also feeds clients who have trouble swallowing and looks after their cleanliness.
Morcos has quickly grown attached to her clients over the months she worked there.
“I’m a warm person. I can’t live without people. Even when some clients are rude to me, I feel so sad when they are gone,” says Morcos.
A storyteller by default, she remembers the most peculiar details of her clients’ lives and stories. The symptoms and medical cases may vary, but one story will stay in her memory forever.
“It’s the same story. It’s about feeling abandoned by your children after all the years and losing relevance to society and the world,” said Morcos.
At those homes, some residents have mild illnesses, such as diabetes or blood pressure; other patients have complicated illnesses made worse by the ravages of time.
“Alzheimer’s patients are the hardest cases. They can harm themselves and blame it on others. I have seen residents walking naked, or wailing, or talking nonsense. I’ve seen all that,” Morcos said.
When the pandemic broke out, Morcos found herself obliged to do more with less. There was inadequate protective equipment at first, which scared many workers off.
She started obsessing over her temperature or how many times she sneezed or coughed each day. She would shower after work and change her clothes, then shower again at home. She has done several COVID-19 tests and has had to wait in anguish for days awaiting the results.
There were days when Morcos could not go back home because she had to spend some nights at the shelter during times of pressure. At home where her husband and daughters confined themselves completely for four months, she totally refrained from hugging or kissing her children.
In a separate room, she could only talk briefly to them and hear their voices.
“Mina, my husband, is a hypochondriac. He was so anxious and could not eat with me or sleep next to me. The news was grim; knowing that I worked at a place with infected people was too much for him to take,” said Morcos.
Her mood has gradually started to go down despite her bubbly sociable personality. Morcos faced bouts of anxiety which explained her psychosomatic symptoms such as stomach ulcers and headaches.
But she had a moral obligation to go on.
“If everyone left, who could be there for them? I could not turn my back on them,” Morcos said.
It is still not clear how CHSLD organizations are assisting health care workers as they weather the tough weeks of the pandemic and stay resilient.
Psychologists are growing more interested in understanding how working on the front lines of COVID-19 could be tampering with the personal lives, relationships and sanity of many doctors, nurses and support workers.
According to Dr. Lucille Lufinni, a psychologist residing in Montreal, monitoring the rates of mood, sleep, and anxiety among healthcare workers during such a crisis is key.
“Depression, anxiety and insomnia are commonly cited symptoms among frontline health care workers, and we need to do more research studies if we really want to help those affected workers,” said Dr. Lufinni.
At work, Morcos sensed that things were growing more morbid.
“I remember hearing many desperate residents saying that they wished the virus would come and kill them. Death was their only savior from the prison they were living in,” said Morcos.
Residents were not allowed to leave their rooms, which led many to fall behind on autonomy and mobility. They were soon back in their diapers, glued to their beds.
Reports also mentioned how sanitary conditions in the long-term care homes were deteriorating: residents were hungry, thirsty and reeking with the smell of their urine and feces amidst dirty rooms with fruit flies buzzing everywhere.
Morcos has been able to deal with the job-related trauma. She could also understand her husband’s abstinence. But she could not wrap her head around seeing her friends distance themselves from her.
“They would plan outings and not tell me. They made excuses so they would not see me. If they were avoiding any contact with anyone, I would understand,” said Morcos, adding “but they were socializing with other people who worked at drug stores. Besides, everyone was spreading the virus.”
Morcos empathized with her clients at the nursing home and shared a similar sense of estrangement and disillusionment in humanity when her friends acted that way towards her. Like her clients, she did not receive the nourishing friend-to-friend support she expected and needed.
“It’s like when a man is loved by his wife, then all of a sudden he gets sick, and she asks for a divorce instead of being there for him. A friend who I cannot count on at a time of need is no longer a friend,” said Morcos.
“Nurses and orderlies are doing what many other people cannot do. This is a stressful job. We are frontline workers, and that means we are putting our own lives on the line,” Morcos said.
“We are brave citizens, not monsters. We deserve better treatment and more support.”
The luxury hotel chain backtracked on it’s promise that every share would equal one gift for a sick child
Update:
Ritz-Carlton Montreal spokesperson Katia Piccolino said that the intention behind the campaign was never to deceive the public. Rather, the purpose was to raise awareness and get people to donate to the Tree of Lights campaign for Sainte-Justine, which many people did, she said.
It all came down to the wording of the post itself, she said. “If we would have put a cap on the number of toys we were going to donate, then this problem wouldn’t have occurred.” Piccolino apologizes for and admits to this error.
Finally, the Ritz-Carlton Montreal decided to extend their donation to the Montreal Children’s Hospital as well as Sainte-Justine. Children from both Hospitals are expected to receive toys in time for the holidays.
Ritz-Carlton Montréal’s viral Instagram post was suddenly taken down on Monday morning, Dec. 7, after having been up for less than a day.
The video post featured essential workers in a hospital during the late hours of night, as well as sick children who were unable to be in proximity of their families due to the global pandemic. An inspirational piano tune played the background of the video as the closing caption read “far from our eyes, close to our hearts.”
The heart-warming video was paired with a caption that stated the Ritz-Carlton would be collaborating with Decarie Motors et Vo-Dignard Provost Groupe to deliver toys to the CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation.
The post stated that every Instagram story share would result in one toy donated to a sick child in need.
Due to a high number of shares, the post blew up overnight. Within nine hours, it reached 150,000 views, according to MTL Blog. Representative for the Ritz-Carlton Montréal, who asked to remain anonymous, told The Concordian, “it created a buzz that was so unexpected we had to take it down.”
The representative further explained that the post had reached its goal of 500 shares, a number that would guarantee a toy for every child at Sainte-Justine. The original post made no mention of this 500 share limit.
People who shared the video were not happy about the secrecy that went in taking the post down. The video was put back up after the backlash. Angry social-media users took to the Ritz-Carlton’s latest Instagram post to express their disdain for the alleged questionable campaign.
Accusations that the luxury hotel used sick children as a publicity stunt to better their image were many people’s concerns. One Instagram user said, “got more shares than y’all thought and didn’t want to start having this be a non-profitable venture.” Some threatened to boycott the hotel all together if they didn’t release a statement saying that they would donate all the toys.
A statement was released to the hotel’s Instagram, claiming that the objective was to raise awareness for the children of Sainte Justine hospital. The statement issued an amended goal of donating toys according to the hospital’s needs rather than for every share to Instagram as originally promised.
The controversial video still received 2.1 million views. Over the time of this two-day campaign, the Ritz-Carlton’s Instagram account saw an increase of nearly two-thousand followers, yet the hospital’s Instagram account following remained constant.
The Ritz-Carlton Montréal representative is disappointed that people would assume that the hotel company would not honor their word. But when asked why there wasn’t more transparency behind the campaign and the deleting of their post, he refused to comment.
The representative says the Ritz-Carlton is an annual supporter of the CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation. The luxury hotel chain has previously thrown Breakfast with Santa Claus events and have done similar campaigns in the past. They promise to deliver 500 toys on December 20th.
The CHU Sainte-Justine Foundation did not reply to multiple requests for comment.
The benefits and challenges will most likely persist in the winter semester
With the fall 2020 semester coming to an end, the effects of online school are being felt by many. The semester has presented benefits and challenges for all those involved. How did students handle this, and what did they think of the fall 2020 semester?
Kelly Marie, a student in Recreation and Leisure Studies, enrolled in three classes this semester.
Marie stated that she felt “relieved that I didn’t have the added stress of having to go into school everyday and worry about increasing [my] chances of getting the virus,” when she found out that her classes would be remote.
For Marie, one of the biggest challenges of a remote semester is online textbooks. She said, “[my] eyes get tired and I get headaches from it.”
Chloë Lalonde, the creative director of The Concordian and a student in the faculty of Fine Arts and Arts and Science, enrolled in four classes for the fall semester.
When they found out that the term would be going online, they stated that they were “disappointed, but not surprised.”
When asked how the pandemic has affected their work for The Concordian, they stated that, “We typically work remotely so it didn’t change too much.” They also mentioned that there were changes that needed to be made because no print issues were being published this semester.
For Lalonde, the things that they like the least about having a remote semester are “[the] group projects, [the] lack of space to work in fine arts classes, [and] no internships.”
Omnia Gomaa, a student in Software Engineering, who is also a member of the Women in STEM at Concordia group, said that she was “stressed about not being able to study in a team as [she] used to in previous terms.”
For her, the best part about having an online semester was “Not having to go through the struggle of commuting.” The idea of not travelling to work was echoed in Marie’s response as well.
Women in STEM At Concordia is a new student club, and because of COVID-19, the way their group operates is not typical. Gomaa said that the pandemic has impacted the way their activities are run, which is true for all clubs this semester at Concordia.
According to her, “All activities have been done online, resulting in us having late replies from people we reach out to and technical issues. This includes everything from a weak internet connection to people’s busy schedules.”
She also believes that this group is necessary during this time because “It encourages young women to stay motivated and pursue their dreams, even during hard times. Doing this sets a good example for the younger generation, teaching them not to give up easily even when faced with difficulties.”
For Gomaa, the remote delivery of the semester was a bit of a challenge at first. Despite this, she said, “It really helps to always look at the bright side and see how [someone] can benefit from situations like the one we are currently in.”
Each of the students interviewed were asked to rate their semester experience on a scale of one to 10, one being an awful experience and 10 being outstanding. Lalonde rated her experience a six, Gomaa and Marie both rated it a seven. These numbers suggest that while the experience was not perfect, it wasn’t downright awful either.
The choice to go online made by Concordia seemed to be the only real option during the pandemic. This semester, though sometimes enjoyable, also contained challenges that students faced. These benefits and challenges will most likely persist in the winter semester as well.
How front-line staff at the shelter have dealt with the outbreak and overcome challenges
The Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal (NWSM) has had to overcome several hurdles to adapt to the pandemic, and to continue to provide a safe home for Indigenous women in need.
While Executive Director Nakuset has normally been the one to represent the shelter to the public, The Concordian was given access to the shelter in order to report on the front-line workers who support the community.
“[The clients] trust us,” said Anita Metallic, residential support worker at the NWSM, a job that entails admitting new clients and managing services for them. The Native shelter is the only Indigenous women’s shelter in the city. Metallic explains that it’s a safe haven for the community.
“[At] a non-Native shelter, they don’t feel as comfortable, or even sometimes as welcomed.”
According to a survey by Statistics Canada, Indigenous women and children make up 70 per cent of clients in Indigenous shelters, and 20 per cent in non-Indigenous shelters.
In contrast, Indigenous women only represent four per cent of the population of women in Canada, and Indigenous children are eight per cent of the population of children.
Almost three quarters of Indigenous women who sought shelter did so because of abuse, and to protect their children from violence.
Residential support worker at the NWSM Anita Metallic helps to admit new clients and manage different services for them at the shelter.
“I look at them as my sisters and as warriors … [the women are] incredibly strong and resilient to last that long. It’s one of the most rewarding jobs I’ve done,” said Metallic.
The NWSM building has four different levels. Bedrooms fill the top two floors, the main floor includes the kitchen, administration office, and socializing spaces, and the basement has some bedrooms and storage. In total, there are 13 private bedrooms.
“But right now we’re very limited because of COVID,” said Metallic.
Pre-pandemic, all the bedrooms could be safely occupied, and the shelter could hold up to 23 clients, with mothers able to bring their children. Now, the top floor, called the “hot floor,” is where new clients quarantine for two weeks before moving to their designated bedrooms. If all the quarantine rooms are occupied, the shelter cannot admit new clients.
Clients are housed for up to three months at the NWSM. During their stay, the women must look for permanent housing.
If no housing is found, staff can refer clients to another shelter. The NWSM has a three-months-in-six-months-out rule, meaning clients can return after six months outside of the shelter — but clients aren’t abandoned once they leave.
“We don’t just say, ‘okay, bye’ — we will make sure that they’re okay,” says Metallic. Staff keep in touch with the women to know if they need additional services, or if they should plan on welcoming them back.
Most bedrooms have one bed, and Indigenous artwork and a dreamcatcher on the wall.
Le Roy enters an unoccupied family bedroom, reserved for mothers with children. Behind her, the NWSM logo is painted on the wall at the end of the hallway.
A collaboration of sorts: the family bedroom includes a children’s IKEA desk and chair decorated with by past residents.
In the basement, the supply and donations walk-in closet includes items such as bath products and clothing. Bags filled with former clients possessions are labelled with their initials, waiting for pick-up.
Le Roy continues the tour to show us the place where residents go when they are in need of comforting and help, for example, if they go into withdrawal. A beautiful poem of resilience and hope lies on the right of the desk.
This billboard speaks a lot of the fight lead by the shelter’s people. There also seems to be a poem on the left.
Scheduled activities help create a sense of belonging and structure.
Flowers ‘’looking out’’ the window in one of the resident’s bedrooms.
View from the exterior : a symbol of resilience and strength throughout the pandemic, shown outwards.
Marina LeRoy, relief worker at the NWSM, says the shelter has experienced an increase in clients since the pandemic began.
“COVID has been a little bit harder for some families, and we’ve had a few more kids than maybe we would normally,” said LeRoy.
Even as other shelters closed during the beginning of the pandemic in March, the NWSM stayed open. Staff knew the high risk of contracting the virus at the time, but did not want to abandon the task of serving women who found themselves in difficult situations.
“We knew there was a really high probability we were going to get sick and we were comfortable with that,” said LeRoy, adding, “we feel this responsibility to stay open for the women and make sure that we can keep them safe.”
The risk of contamination was high not only because workers came in contact with several people in a closed environment, but because the shelter had no government support for equipment and cleaning services to appropriately accommodate their clients.
Marina LeRoy, relief worker at the NWSM, showing one of the bedrooms.
For two months, the shelter faced great challenges as they adapted to constantly changing health safety guidelines with little to no supplies. Four younger workers–who are at less risk of developing complications from the virus–worked at the shelter overtime. LeRoy was one of those staff members.
As with other industries, she describes how, in the beginning, they had no clear guidelines on how to deal with the virus. From navigating difficult traumas some of the women faced, some with suicidal thoughts confined in their room, and trying to help mothers with their children, Leroy said it was extremely difficult.
“It was a very isolating time,” she said.
Clients had to remain in their rooms at all times while staff members delivered meals to their doors three times a day. All of the services usually provided, like mental health support and help with personal needs like medical appointments, couldn’t be given from March to June.
“We were limited in the services we could actually provide for them, and I think a lot of us took that to heart because it felt like our mandate was not completely fulfilled,” said LeRoy, adding that, “it was heartbreaking.”
“It became a job where often we had to cater to basic needs and it was very difficult to kind of promote the womens’ well being and make sure that their mental health was okay,” said LeRoy.
It was only when an outbreak occurred in mid-May, two months after the start of the pandemic, that the requested supplies and services were provided. For two weeks, staff quarantined at home while clients were housed in a hotel.
Now, the shelter is running smoothly compared to the experience during the initial lockdown. Staff practice social distancing while moving around the shelter and there’s a limit to the number of people who can be in a room. There are curfews, specific mealtimes, and a “clean house” policy is enforced, with drug and alcohol use prohibited.
In the basement, the walk-in storage closet is lined with miscellaneous supplies, boxes and bags for the women. Among the most donated items are period products and bath supplies, and LeRoy says the shelter is always in need of good running shoes (in any size) and winter coats.
In fact, everything provided in the shelter is entirely funded by community donations. This year, all their fundraising efforts will be online.
One of the cooks at the shelter, Rhonda Beaulieu, relaxing outside on her work break.
One of the cooks at the shelter, Rhonda Beaulieu, says she has wanted to work at an Indigenous organization since moving to Montreal from Manitoba three years ago.
With over 15 months cooking experience at the shelter, Thompson’s motives are quite clear: “I want to serve my people … I know what they’re going through.”
Thompson said she’s been through an abusive marriage, but has since left that relationship. She says her experience has helped her to connect and relate with women who face the same hardships.
The shelter provides help for a variety of different needs, from medical appointments, filing for ID, help with youth protection services, mental health support, and more.
Having an advocate is fundamental to Indigenous women’s safety in several of these institutions, according to many of the workers at the shelter.
When asked about Joyce Echaquan’s death at Joliette hospital, LeRoy said no one was surprised, as there are “certain hospitals in Montreal we know to not bring clients to.”
“If I get in an ambulance and they tell me about the availability, I have to fight for them to go to different hospitals because I will not have a woman admitted in the hospital where we know that there’s discrimination and racism, because it’s really counterproductive to them actually getting the help that they need,” said LeRoy.
LeRoy has witnessed Indigenous women who are diagnosed with cancer adamantly refuse to go to the hospital. She has also witnessed this behaviour among women who have been sexually assaulted and need medical attention.
Family care worker Camille Panneton says she advocates for Indigenous women who are involved with youth protection services.
“Nothing can make them go to the hospital because of the discrimination that they faced and the violence that they face there,” said LeRoy.
Staff who accompany Indigenous women to medical appointments help to advocate for their needs and monitor their treatment. Even so, LeRoy has witnessed medical staff demean clients and refuse to give treatment.
“You hit so many barriers no matter how hard you work to promote their well being,” said LeRoy.
Women are also helped with any youth protection-related services they require. Family care worker Camille Panneton accompanies women to their appointments, and says Indigenous women also face obstacles in the youth protection system.
“I advocate for them. There’s a lot of problems and flaws in the system,” she said.
She makes sure mothers are treated equally. She’s witnessed the clients being mistreated and talked down to in a condescending and confrontational manner. Ultimately, she describes an environment where Indigenous women don’t receive a fair treatment.
“They [youth protection services] don’t respect their rights,” Panneton said.
Despite the challenges, staff work to provide for all the women’s needs.
On the day The Concordian visited the shelter, the residents had begun beading in the afternoon. Multicoloured beads were spread over the table, and while they worked on different projects, they spoke and shared with each other. There was a calm atmosphere as staff left the room.
“This is their time,” said Metallic, “we give them their space.”
Photographs by Christine Beaudoin. Feature image is an artwork found in the entrance of the shelter.
The two politicians played the online game to raise money for a variety of charity organizations in the U.S.
Jagmeet Singh, leader of the New Democratic Party, joined U.S. congressperson Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Nov. 27 for a five and a half hour live stream of the popular online game Among Us, with a rotating group of popular online streamers.
Ocasio-Cortez used the online stream as a way to fundraise for eviction defence legal aid efforts, food pantries and community support organizations in the United States. With a peak of over 100,000 people watching Ocasio-Cortez’s stream, around $200,000 was raised.
Among Us is an online multiplayer game, where players are crew members on a spaceship, and the goal is to keep the spaceship intact and return to earth. The catch is that one or two of the crew members have been replaced by a shape-shifting alien, The Imposter, whose goal is to sabotage the ship and kill crewmates.
According to a New York Timesarticle, Among Us was created in 2018, but gained popularity during the pandemic. Influencers such as James Charles and Felix Kjellberg — commonly known as PewDiePie — have streamed the game on Twitch, attracting millions of views.
Ocasio-Cortez first live streamed Among Us on Oct. 20, with over 400,000 views. According to a Voxarticle, this was one of the 20 most-watched live streams in Twitch history.
According to the article, Ocasio-Cortez is known for using media platforms and games such as Animal Crossing to reach young audiences in fun, organic, unconventional ways.
During the recent game with Singh, Ocasio-Cortez stated that she was trying to get Bernie Sanders, an American politician known for his progressive ideologies, to participate in a future game.
“I could see him getting cranky with this game,” said Ocasio-Cortez during the live stream.
Singh had over 30,000 people watching his stream, and during the game he talked to his viewers about his policies and the pandemic. He often played as The Imposter, and even had a round where both him and Ocasio-Cortez were imposters.
“Do you believe we need to bring in a wealth tax?” asked Singh while simultaneously killing other players in the game.
He mostly talked about issues affecting young people, such as how he saw that younger people were being scapegoated for going to parties and spreading the virus, while in reality young people were putting themselves at risk to work service jobs.
“I think it’s great to see politicians courting young people,” said Ethan Cox, editor and co-founder of Ricochet Media — a public interest news platform. “But to really engage younger generations, politicians need to be unabashed champions of the policy they want, such as a Green New Deal, racial justice, wealth taxes and strong social programs.”
“Playing Among Us is a great way to reach younger voters with a strong message, but you need to do more than just show up. You need to show that you will fight for the priorities of younger people,” he said.
For JMoSB’s Movember fundraiser, all its members chose their own way to raise money and spread awareness for men’s health, particularly mental health.
Some members of the John Molson School of Business Movember team, a subsidiary of CASA Cares, sold pins, some found sponsors and prizes for raffles and competitions, and others did push-ups. But they all had the same goal: raising funds for the John Molson School of Business Movember fundraiser.
Sally Vu, the co-director of external relations for JMoSB, is majoring in Human Resource Management. Her mental health awareness project consisted of sharing video journals of 22 different men, each talking about their experience with and opinion on men’s mental health.
Jason Lobasso, a third-year finance student at JMSB, contributed to Vu’s video journals. He said that men’s mental health should be a subject that’s more talked about.
“I think it’s great that we, as a society, are collectively engaging in conversation about it more and more as time passes,” he said. “No one should ever be ashamed to open up and speak up on what’s on their minds. We should be prioritizing dialogue as much as we can.”
Vu received many donations with the help of her campaign, but since she wanted to do more, she decided to collaborate with Mary Colombo, the owner of a small Montreal-based online business, @artxfeels. Colombo sells customized accessories through her Instagram account. She graduated from Concordia in 2018 and has previously participated in another fundraising initiative.
“A couple months ago, I decided I wanted to raise money for the MUHC [McGill University Health Centre] foundation,” Colombo said. “So, I designed Ça va bien aller pins, and 100 per cent of the profits went to the foundation.”
Colombo said that when Vu asked her to collaborate, she was more than happy. She made mustache pins and sold each pin for $5, with all profits going to the fundraiser.
Karim Hatem, co-director of external relations, is in charge of media presence, as well as finding sponsors to provide prizes related to mental health care or self-care in general, including spa packages from Bota Bota. Hatem is in his second year at JMSB, doing a double major in Marketing and Human Resource Management. He will be posting a video of him doing push-ups, depending on how much money he raises.
“If I raise $100, then I’ll do 100 push-ups,” he said.
Neil Kafidi, vice president (VP) of external for JMoSB, is majoring in International Business with a minor in Finance. His role also consists of finding sponsors and prizes for different competitions and raffles, similar to Hatem’s role. To do that, Kafidi gets in touch with companies and asks them for monetary or material donations, which would be used for the raffles.
He received a $1,000 donation from Imperial Tobacco, and many products from Pharmaprix, including a laptop, a tablet, and a camera.
Most members joined the Movember team because they wanted to help raise awareness and funds for an important cause, but they also have more personal reasons for why they decided to apply.
“It’s a bit more personal for me,” Hatem said. “A friend of mine has mental health issues, so I wanted to help raise awareness, and that’s why I joined and decided to focus more on the mental health aspect of Movember,” he added, referring to the self-care prizes he acquired for the competitions.
For Kafidi, joining JMoSB was just about giving back.
“I feel like when you’re lucky enough to be in a good situation and when you can help, it’s always important to help because not everyone has the same luck,” he said. “And I believe in good karma too. If you do something good, then something good is always going to come back to you.”
He also explained that he initially applied for the VP internal position, which consists of communicating with the team and organizing their meetings. However, he was offered the VP external position, which allowed him to talk to more people, including possible sponsors. He said he was happy to take on a more challenging position.
“I got to discover a new way to get out of my comfort zone,” Kafidi concluded.
“For me, the most important part is mental health,” Vu said. “The more I reached out to people during the pandemic, the more I realized we’re going through a lot, everyone individually. That’s why I wanted to do this campaign, to share everyone’s stories.”
Colombo loved Vu’s idea of sharing testimonies of men.
“I feel like I’ve never seen that being done,” she said. “And I think that in regards to men’s health, it’s something that’s often overlooked, and because of that, I feel like they were extremely strong for talking about it on social media.”
All the members learned something different from their experience fundraising for men’s mental health.
“I learned a lot about myself, about the cause and about how people really feel,” Vu concluded. “It’s a great initiative and I plan on reapplying next year.”
“I think I’d like to participate next year too, but maybe have another position, to see things from a different angle and learn new things,” Hatem concluded.
Logo courtesy of John Molson School of Business Movember team
