Tag: election

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Don’t write off your right to vote

Graphic by Zeze Le Lin.

On Nov. 5, citizens across the province will have the chance to exercise their democratic power by voting in a municipal election. We at The Concordian would like to take this opportunity to remind our fellow students that they too hold the power and responsibility to cast a vote and be a part of the democratic process.

To start off, it’s important to understand the structure of municipal elections. In Montreal, for example, votes will be cast not only to decide the city’s mayor but the city councillors and 19 borough mayors as well.

Each borough has its own council consisting of at least five members, including city councillors, borough councillors and a borough mayor. This council meets every month and can make decisions about issues pertaining to parking permits, construction work and libraries, among other topics within the jurisdiction of their borough.

The city council, on the other hand, consists of the mayor of Montreal, 46 city councillors and all of the borough mayors. This council can make decisions about urban planning projects, the environment, the city’s budget and other major projects.

As voters, it’s also essential to know about the two major mayoral candidates and what their platforms entail. When it comes to public transit in Montreal, for example, incumbent Mayor Denis Coderre said he hopes to add to the STM’s fleet and invest in more electric buses. Projet Montréal leader Valérie Plante, on the other hand, plans to create a pink metro line that would run from Lachine to Montreal North.

In terms of housing, Plante wants to advocate for provincial and federal investment in housing programs. Meanwhile, Coderre is looking to increase the number of housing inspectors and create a registry to investigate slums and poor apartment conditions.

Among other initiatives proposed by Coderre, there is a plan to develop day and night centres for the homeless in various boroughs, to promote creativity in arts and culture, to expand the cycling network, and to open a new sports complex in Lachine and an aquatic centre in Pierrefonds-Roxboro.

Along with her Projet Montréal team, Plante hopes to make major repairs to transform bike lanes into bike paths, increase transparency when it comes to funding cultural events, increase the amount of time pedestrians have to cross the street and make 300 more homeless shelter spaces available in the city.

On Oct. 23, the two mayoral candidates squared off in an intense debate that tackled topics ranging from the controversial breed-specific ban and bringing professional baseball back to the city to public transit and Bill 62. An article by CBC News described the two candidates as “polar opposites, as night-and-day.”

The same article also highlighted the importance of word choice in politics and provided an analysis by two political science PhD students. “In focusing on word patterns, as opposed to specific utterances, this kind of analysis offers a general sense of how the two contenders are trying to win over voters,” the article stated.

It’s important to understand the stances each candidate takes, to notice their choice of words and observe the tones they used when discussing specific issues. But what’s more essential is recognizing your own power as a citizen and the opportunity voting allows you to make a difference in your community.

Municipal elections may not seem like a high priority for many, but they are arguably more important than larger provincial or federal elections. The changes each candidate is looking to make are about issues that directly impact your community. These are the issues that are closest to home.

When we don’t vote, we don’t see the changes we want. When we don’t vote, we lose the ability to say we live in a democratic and politically active society. So take the time to learn a little bit about what each candidate is offering and, most importantly, go out and vote on Nov. 5.

Graphic by Zeze Le Lin

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The mayoral candidates face off at Concordia

Photo by Alex Hutchins

Plante and Coderre talked construction, Montreal 375 spending and Bill 62

Montreal mayoral candidates Denis Coderre and Valérie Plante faced off on Monday in the campaign’s only English-language debate.

The Oct. 23 debate was organized and hosted by CJAD, CTV Montreal and the Montreal Gazette at Concordia’s Oscar Peterson Hall. Host and moderator Leslie Roberts presented the candidates with questions based on those submitted to each outlet by Montrealers.

Roberts first asked the candidates how they planned to ease the burden placed on Montrealers by construction. Incumbent Mayor Coderre said his administration’s investment of more than $21 billion in infrastructure over 10 years is “short-term pain, long-term gain,” and “a necessary approach that we have to do for the future generation.”

Plante—the leader of Projet Montréal—criticized what she called “a lack of organization, coordination and communication” in construction projects. She said the city needs a “quality squad” to ensure projects are done properly and efficiently.

Both candidates promised compensation for business owners who have been negatively affected by construction.

On the topic of public transport, Plante said her proposed pink metro line from Lachine to Montreal North could transport up to 250,000 people per day. Coderre said the light rail system, the Service rapide par bus (SRB) and an extension of the blue metro line are better transit alternatives.

Mayoral candidate Valérie Plante spoke in favour of her proposed metro line at the English-language debate on Oct. 23. Photo by Alex Hutchins

Coderre later responded to criticism about the pit bull legislation he introduced in 2016, saying it’s not about loving or hating dogs but “a matter of public safety.” Plante denounced the legislation, claiming breed-specific legislation creates “a false sense of security,” adding that the legislation is “not even based on science.”

The candidates were then asked about their positions on the renaming of landmarks named after controversial historical figures. Although Coderre said “there are some times where we have to take that kind of decision to recognize the bad things that happened in the past,” he also spoke out against removing John A. MacDonald’s name from buildings and landmarks, saying Canada’s first prime minister “did some great things too.”

Plante said any name changes must be undertaken by “listening, understanding history, connecting with the different communities and finding the proper place for a proper name.”

Coderre was challenged by Plante and moderator Roberts on the lack of English signage on Montreal roads and public transit. Roberts suggested the lack of English signage on Camillien-Houde Way may have contributed to the death of 18-year-old cyclist Clément Ouimet who was struck by a car making an illegal U-turn on Mount Royal on Oct. 4. In response, Coderre said the pictograms along the road were sufficient. “There’s no reason not to understand that a U-turn is illegal,” he said.

On the subject of Montreal’s 375th anniversary celebrations, Plante criticized what she called a “lack of transparency” in the way money was spent. “Right now, it is a non-profit organization that manages the money, and so we don’t have access,” she said, referring to the Society for the Celebrations of Montreal’s 375th Anniversary. “We don’t have access to information, we have no idea where things are at. And so people feel like it’s just this big hole that we’re just throwing our money into.”

Plante pressed Coderre to reveal the total ticket sales for the Formula E electric car race that took place over the summer. “Everybody wants to know, and you have the ability to tell us how many tickets were sold,” Plante said. According to Coderre, a report would be released and “it will show that everything is well transparent.”

Incumbent Mayor Denis Coderre was criticized by candidate Valérie Plante for the lack of organization and coordination at Montreal’s construction sites. Photo by Alex Hutchins

Roberts also asked the panelists about the possibility of baseball returning to Montreal, a project Coderre has been advocating for since his election in 2013. Plante said no such initiative would be undertaken by the city without a city-wide referendum.

Both candidates spoke out against Bill 62, which prohibits the wearing of face coverings by anyone giving or receiving a public service. “To provide services with an unveiled person is OK,” Coderre said. “But to receive services, I think it’s ludicrous, and it won’t pass the court.” He also criticized Plante for not speaking out against the legislation more immediately. Plante said the law is “ill-conceived. It is not connected to Montrealers’ reality. It is not applicable.”

The candidates also had the chance to ask their opponent one question. Coderre asked Plante whether she was for or against the pro-Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement (BDS). Without taking a clear stance, Plante responded with: “I think it is important to understand the international context of this,” adding that it was something that needed to be discussed with “the whole team.”

Plante asked her opponent whether or not he would serve as leader of the opposition if she won the election. “I’m running, and I’m going to be the mayor,” Coderre responded.

Photos by Alex Hutchins

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Concordia responds to the U.S. elections

Photo by Ana Hernandez.

University students mobilize in Montreal after Trump wins the U.S. elections

Since the results of the U.S. presidential election were announced, university groups, such as the Quebec Public Interest Research Group at Concordia (QPIRG Concordia) and Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), have hosted events in opposition of the win of president-elect Donald Trump.

“When I say fuck, you say Trump!,” shouted SSMU president Ben Ger to the crowd gathered outside of Redpath Museum on the McGill campus on Thursday, Nov. 18. “Fuck,” shouted Ger. “Trump!,” shouted the crowd of about 20 students in response. “Not my president!,” Ger yelled back.

 

Concordia community members from all sides of the political spectrum react to the winning of Trump in U.S. presidential elections. Graphic by Florence Yee.

“After the election, I noticed that some of my friends supported Donald Trump,” said Charles Keita, a participant at the event, a McGill student and Florida resident. He said while this is not an issue, as a person of colour, it is concerning to see some of the statements his friends have shared in support of Trump. However, he mentioned there is a need for dialogue between both political spectrums.

“As a society, we should keep in contact with those with differing opinions because it’s the only way we can make the conversation continue,” said Keita. “By communication, we can still make a difference and that’s why we shouldn’t be silent—not today, not tomorrow—because our voices are needed.”

On the morning of the U.S. election, QPIRG Concordia announced a public community meeting to be held the following day, said Jaggi Singh, the programming and working groups coordinator for QPIRG Concordia. “There were more than 100 people who showed up—all of whom were in some way critical of or opposed to the policies of Trump and what Trump represents.”

There are plenty of reasons why Trump’s win would anger people and create fear, said Singh. “Trump is someone who ran a campaign on demonizing and marginalizing migrants,” Singh said, adding that he openly proposed to ban an entire minority group and bragged about sexually assaulting women.

SSMU president Ben Ger photographed outside of Redpath Museum on McGill campus following the Trump mobilization event. Photo by Ana Hernandez.

Singh said there were many ideas put forth by community members to QPIRG Concordia, including monitoring hate crimes and using popular education to inform people about the policies being implemented, said Singh. Popular education is described as education aimed at empowering those who feel marginalized and encourage them through their learning to generate social change.

“Some people emphasized being able to [converse with] some people who might be empathetic to Trump’s ideas,” said Singh. “We, as Canadians in general, can’t live in this bubble. People just can’t be like, ‘Well I’m not that type of person so I’m just going to ignore them’—we need to engage people.”

Concordia journalism student Julian Krajewski, who is eligible for an American citizenship, said he feels QPIRG is not providing that opportunity to develop dialogue between the left and right, as he was banned from commenting on QPIRG Concordia’s first post-election “Resist Trump!” event on Facebook.

“I got banned from one of the events for just asking a question about my safety if I showed up in a MAGA hat,” said Krajewski, referring to his Make America Great Again (MAGA) hat.

“It sounds troll-y to them—I wasn’t trying to be troll-y. I was just asking what would happen if I showed up because, in their description of the event, it just says they are organizing to come together in resistance against the Trump movement.”

Student mobilize on McGill’s campus on Friday, Nov. 18. Photo by Ana Hernandez.

Singh responded to The Concordian about the instance, stating the “Resist Trump!” community meeting was for people who oppose Trump and his far-right, anti-immigrant, racist and misogynist policies. “Julian Krajewski clearly supports Trump and openly expresses far-right, anti-immigrant views, so it makes no sense for him to join the group except to troll it,” said Singh. “He is, of course, free to set up a “Support Trump” Facebook group for people who share his views, or to try to organize a public debate about Trump.” Singh said he does not recall Krajewski trying to join the group.

“I have serious concerns about the safety of my ideas and my ability to openly express them in the very institution of our society that is supposed to house and encourage such discussions,” said Krajewski. He said the QPIRG members he has interacted with have treated him with hostility and unjustified skepticism and belittling. “The attitude that anyone who doesn’t [agree] with left-wing politics on campus needs to be resisted or ignored or excluded is the very same attitude that they are accusing Trump supporters of,” he said.

“There are definitely very quiet Trump supporters on campus. I’m definitely the most vocal that I’ve ever seen,” said Krajewski.

Krajewski said the Trump movement has been labeled as racist due to the media. Trump himself has been identified as a racist, a white supremacist and a misogynist, which Krajewski said is because the media attempted to find anything to portray him negatively, and denied manipulating video and audio footage of him. “In all his rallies, he has said ‘I want to help Americans, if you pay your taxes—doesn’t matter what skin colour, what gender you are,’” said Krajewski.

“Trump is the pro-American guy and he’s the first pro-American politician to actually have a chance to be elected [in my lifetime],” said Krajewski. “It was the great American resurgence, the way I see it. We’re going to have to see how it plays out.”

Protesters bear signs in protest of Trump on McGill’s campus. Photo by Ana Hernandez.

Graham Dodds, an associate professor from Concordia’s political science department, offered his opinion on the U.S. election results, particularly on how Trump’s win will affect Canada-U.S. relations. He said, while it will not be like the “bromance” portrayed between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Barack Obama, the US-Canadian relationship is more institutional than based on leaders and their political leanings. “Presidents and prime ministers come and go, but the strong Canada-U.S. relationship largely persists,” said Dodds. “Even though Trump might greatly strain the relationship, the relationship is strong enough that it will endure, hopefully.”

“Trump is going to be inaugurated on Jan. 20. He is not perceived as the actual president of a huge segment of the population, so there’ll be protests,” said Singh. “I think it’s fair to say Montreal [will] join into those protests.”

Singh said Prime Minister Trudeau extended an invitation for Trump to come to Canada. “It’s fair to expect Trump to be in Ottawa or the Ottawa area in the early months of 2017,” said Singh.

Singh announced yesterday QPIRG will be visiting Ottawa if Trump accepts Trudeau’s invitation. Though the details have not been finalized, as Trump has not yet responded to Trudeau, QPIRG plans to mobilize if a visit from the future president is scheduled.

QPIRG Concordia will be hosting the next “Resist Trump!” community meeting on Nov. 23 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. at QPIRG Concordia, at 1500 de Maisonneuve. If there are too many attendees, they will meet in the CSU lounge on the seventh floor of the Hall building.

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For Concordia students—Community Matters

Outcome of the CSU general elections

The Community Matters affiliation took the vote in the CSU general election, with candidates from their team filling all eight executive positions after approximately 3, 100 students voted this past week.

CSU’s Chief Electoral Officer, Andre-Marcel Baril stated that it was “the best voter turnout in three years.”

Votes for Community Matters affiliation were double or more for almost every position.

The 2014-2015 CSU executives will be; Ben Prunty for president, Heather Nagy for VP Finance, Jessica Cabana for VP Sustainability, Terry Wilkings for VP Academic, Katherine Bellini for VP Clubs & Internal Affairs, Charles Bourassa for VP Student Life, Gabriel Velasco for VP Loyola, and Anthony Guertin-Banton for VP External & Mobilization.

For CSU Council the spot for independent councillor has been filled, all three Fine Arts positions have been filled, all five John Molson School of Business positions have been filled, all 14 Arts & Science spots have been filled. For Engineering & Computer Science all four spots have been filled; however, ENCS councillor Kyle Arseneau may be disqualified after Baril accused him of violating rules and regulations of the campaign via Facebook. The decision is now in the hands of the CSU Judicial Board, with a decision expected within the next few days.

Community Matters leader and newly elected CSU President Ben Prunty believed strongly in his affiliation as a team and not just in himself. While a mixed executive team was what students and current council had predicted, Prunty was ecstatic to have his entire team elected in together, placing a firm sustainable future in the CSU’s hands.

“It was really great to see such congruence between our vision for the CSU and that of the students which we’re here to represent and work for,” said Prunty.

Community Matters presents themselves as a cohesive team that are all on the same page and who have had experience working together in the past.

“This means that we are well positioned to play to our individual strengths for the benefit of student projects, and student based-projects,” explained Prunty.

With promise of a community-based approach the affiliation explains that that is exactly what they will bring.  The main plan for the future is to empower and unite the student-base by including as many individual students and student groups as possible in the CSU’s processes and discourse.

With such a dominant win over the election, Community Matters feels they won because they reached the largest number of students.

“We think it is a combination of being active and consistent all year, being confident in our own qualifications for each of our positions, having teammates that are connected to the community-at-large, having projects that we are already working on steadily, and our emphasis on one-on-one conversations with students,” said Prunty on behalf of the team.

This past campaign was one the most competitive the CSU had seen in years with three complete affiliations and two independent councillors running.  Community Matters said that is was an honour to run against such dedicated students.

“We hope that people are not discouraged, and that those with aspirations of further civic engagement continue to refine their skills and build leadership in society where they see it lacking,”said Prunty.

To the high number of students who went out and voted in the general election Prunty said, on behalf of Community Matters;

“Thank you for the privilege you have granted us, and you can count on us to do our best all year to fulfill the projects that we spoke about during our campaign, and to bring as many benefits as possible to students for the short and long term.”

For a more information on the outcome of the CSU elections please visit: csuelections.wordpress.com/category/csu-elections-2014/ .

 

(Councillors listed in highest to lowest votes per faculty)

Arts & Science:

Emily Fisher

Jenna Cocullo

Gemma Acco

Matthew Palynchuk

Chloe Williams

John Talbot

Thomas Radcliffe

Alanna Stacey

Lucy Marshall Kisparissis

Paul Jerajian

James Tyler Vaccaro

Marcus Peters

Angelica Novielli

Jeremy Tessier

JMSB:

Michael Richardson

Caroline Messier-Gemes

Virginia Law

Kabir Bindra

Vicky Rodgers

 

ENCS:

Anita Sarkissian

Kyle Arseneau

Rami Yahia

Nicholaos Mouzourakis

Fine Arts:

Emma Wilson

Jeremy Blinkhorn

Marion Miller

Independent:

Terry Ngala

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Choose your ASFA executive team

Graphic by Jenny Kwan

Arts and science students are encouraged to come out to the ballot box for the ASFA Annual General Elections from March 4-6 to vote for the 2014-2015 executive team.

Graphic by Jenny Kwan

From 10 a.m. until 8 p.m. polling booths will be up at Sir George William Campus in the first floor of the Hall building and in the Library building lobby; and at the Loyola Campus in the Vanier Library lobby and the atrium of the SP building.

The Arts & Science Student Association (ASFA) is the largest student association representing nearly 18,000 students. ASFA is made up of member associations who represent the individual departments of the arts and science faculty.

ASFA is responsible for organizing events, for managing their member association’s funds and for trying to engage in various initiatives to better the experience of arts and science students at Concordia.

While 700 students voted in last year’s general election, ASFA’s Chief Electoral Officer, Trevor Wilkinson, would like to see that number increase:

“Voting, for me, is like a statement to the organization and the University about who we believe is best suited for the job of representing our rights, managing the funds we give them, and ensuring that our interests and voices are heard.”

Beyond voting in student elections Wilkinson suggests students should take the opportunity to get involved in student life.

“There are multiple advantages of joining a student executive like ASFA. For one, it provides those who are successful at acquiring the position a chance to effect change, which can benefit their fellow students. For another, the steep learning curve required of first-time executives as well as the ability to manage one’s studies, the executive position, and work outside of school as many of the current executives do, provides one with a set of skills that many employers look for in recently graduated students.”

Paul Jerajin, ASFA’s current president, is running for re-election for the second year in a row with no competitors. Jerajin explains that his favourite part of the job is seeing fellow executives and councilors get together and discuss change they want to implement in the university and then actually working together to achieve it.

“The multidisciplinary aspect of ASFA is unmatched. Having so much diversity within a faculty is a great way to see many opinions and expertise come together and have a critical yet constructive discussion on various topics,” said Jerajin.

Jerajin explained that working for ASFA has been not only essential to his university experience, but also to his life experience.

  

Candidates for the 2014-2015 ASFA Executive

President

Paul Jerajin

VP Internal:

Jenna Cocullo

Veronic Godbout

Peggy Kabeya-Honeyglow

Pauline Sarah Pfingsten.

VP Finance:

Melina Ghio

Parisa Mehrabi

VP Communications:

Justin Caruso

Haroon Mohar

Tiffany Thompson.

VP Social Affairs:

Farhana Jumki Haque

Sean Nolan.

VP Academic & Loyola Affairs:

Patricia Martone

VP External Affairs & Sustainability:

Charles Bourassa

Damian Skulic

There are eight students running for five independent councilor spots:

Crystal Harrison

Léa Lacroix

Alex Longinotti

Basma Ben Moussa

Justin Occhionero

Javier Eduardo Valbuena Ramírez

James Vaccaro

Nikitas Vekris

For more information on the candidates visit www.asfa.ca/asfa-general-elections-get-to-know-the-candidates.

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Municipal candidates address student concerns

Montreal’s city councillor candidates for the Peter-McGill and Loyola districts spoke with The Concordian about how students’ concerns of employment and affordable housing would work into their plans if elected.

Jimmy Zoubris, Projet Montreal’s candidate for the Peter-McGill District, in which Concordia’s Sir George Williams campus is located, spoke about the possibility of increasing the job market for students.

“The main role of a municipal government is to create a competitive environment and establish certain conditions that will promote economic development and job creation,” said Zoubris.

He ensured that Projet Montreal’s municipal administration would include youth representatives. “It is important for us that youth is represented and that their voice is heard. Decision-making bodies of the city must reflect the character of the city.”

Zoubris stated the use of new technologies and social media will be implemented to promote career opportunities in the city. To develop employability, he explained the city must continue to foster its links with training centres and stay involved with Hooked on Montreal. This organization, as it states on its website consists of a group of 30 partners “dedicated to work together and to keep youth and families at the center of their efforts to increase school retention.”

Zoubris said that internship programs between the city and Concordia would be beneficial for both partners.

Like Zoubris, Margaret Ford, Coalition Montreal’s candidate for the Loyola District, told The Concordian that establishing partnerships between the Côte-des-Neiges and Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough, as well as Concordia would have a positive impact for both students and the community.

According to Ford, hundreds of students are already being hired by the city of Montreal and its local partner organizations.

She noted it can be difficult to recruit enough students for summer jobs, where local job recruiting is often limited to posting a notice on electronic or physical bulletin boards, where they hope an interested student will stumble upon the notice.

“Regular contact and established relationships would provide students with timely information about job opportunities in their field and organizations with direct contact with potential employees,” said Ford.

Discussing what initiatives can be implemented to help students financially, Ford explained Coalition Montreal is committed to keeping taxes to the level of inflation, which will have a direct impact on lowering rent increases.

“Restructuring municipal services and re-investing budget surpluses into stabilizing infrastructure and transportation would also help keep the cost of monthly bus passes down,” said Ford.

Steve Shanahan, Montreal’s Vrai Changement candidate for the Peter-McGill District, discussed making more affordable housing possible.

“The city of Montreal has plans to make affordable housing for 30,000 families,” said Shanahan. “Every borough in Montreal should have a policy where 15 per cent of all development is for affordable housing. Students who don’t have any money could qualify for it.”

In addition to affordable housing, Shanahan emphasized the importance of quality living conditions. Bedbugs are a current problem in the Peter-McGill district, which he described as unacceptable and is looking to involve landlords in addressing this issue.

His opponent, Damien Silès from Équipe Denis Coderre, addressed the need to determine how to build more spaces for students to live in.

“In Montreal we have 200,000 students, and right now there are around 5,000 bedrooms,” said Silès.

Silès told The Concordian Equipe Denis Coderre has spoken with student associations and wants to work with them to acknowledge student issues and determine exactly what is required to build more spaces.

“It’s possible to do anything,” he added. “But before we build something, [we need] to see if it’s possible to work with the students, to know what [the students] want […] The idea is to be able to mix the people who live here with the students, to see a better way to exchange ideas.”

Shanahan, however, said labeling groups in Montreal is not productive. “We are all people who live in Peter-Mcgill and we all have to work together.”

http://www.reseaureussitemontreal.ca/spip.php?rubrique16

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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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Executive and JMSB positions acclaimed in GSA election

Incoming Graduate Student Association President Daria Saryan.
Incoming Graduate Student Association President Daria Saryan.

The Graduate Students’ Association general elections set to take place from April 3 to 5 have attracted a record number of candidates this year.
While the three executive positions and the John Molson School of Business directors’ positions have already been acclaimed, eight candidates are running for a total of six seats in arts and science, and nine are running for the six in engineering and computer science. Also, for the first time in recent history, there will be a competition for the single fine arts seat on the council of directors with two candidates running.
According to GSA chief returning officer Roddy Doucet, there will be no ballots for the executive positions in the upcoming election with a “Yes” or “No” option because the association’s constitution stipulates that as long as one candidate is running for the position, they will automatically be acclaimed.
Many of the candidates running for council are affiliated with the elections’ sole slate, Your Voice, which took the majority of seats in last year’s election. Doucet noted that the ongoing tuition hikes debate has been a recurring theme during the campaign period.
“The primary concern is about tuition and where it’s going,” Doucet said. “A great number of our members that have come forth have put this as a centrepiece of their election campaigns.”
As for the team of executives, Daria Saryan, who helped put together the Your Voice slate, ran unopposed for president of the GSA and was automatically given the position, as was the case with the new VP internal Roya Azarm and VP external, Nadia Hausfather.
“I think we’re going to work really well together especially given that we’re all three women executives,” said Saryan. “I don’t know that this has ever happened before.”
One of Saryan’s main goals is to improve and expand on the services that the GSA offers, such as French language courses.
“The current GSA has laid the groundwork for some really great things and my goal is to keep up with what they’ve started,” she said.
Dominic Leppla, a first-year PhD student in film and moving images studies, got involved with Your Voice because of the strike and is running for fine arts director. He recently became impressed with the GSA’s ability to represent the graduate student body’s interests.
“Fine arts students are particularly affected by [tuition increases] because what fine arts students are giving society is not something you can quantify,” said Leppla. “We feel that the fight against the tuition hike is also part of larger movement, for a larger goal to protect knowledge as a public good and fight against this kind of instrumentalization and corporate mentality.”
Giulietta Di Mambro is in her first year of graduate-level translation studies and is running to be an arts and science representative on council. Having completed her first degree at Université du Québec à Montréal, Di Mambro observed a contrast in the levels of student participation in campus politics which motivated her to run for council.
“My goals are to strengthen ties between associations, facilitate better participation and better communication between associations and all graduate students,” she said.
In addition to voting on student representation, graduate students will be asked to vote on two fee levy questions. Both Le Frigo Vert and the 2110 Centre for Gender Advocacy are appealing to the graduate student body for support by asking for fee levies of $1.50 and $0.50, respectively, per semester.
The new GSA team will assume office June 1.

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