Tag: montreal

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Podcasts

Concordia For Dummies: Graham Carr’s Apology Explained

Welcome to The Podcast. Cedric Gallant will produce and host this podcast alongside our Section Editors every week. The shows will rotate weekly to cover topics from each section of our newspaper!

This week’s show, Concordia for Dummies, was produced by Cedric Gallant, alongside our News Editor Lucas Marsh Tune in for future episodes of Concordia for Dummies, where we explore topics on students minds throughout the school year.

Graphic by James Fay

In this episode:

Lucas Marsh gives context on why Concordia’s President Graham Carr apologized for the University’s handling of the 1969 Black Student Protest. In addition to his historical explanation, Lucas interviewed Robert Wilkins, a photographer who was present when the fire broke out in the Hall building.

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Arts

PHI Centre’s Horizons VR brings a whole new form to film

Adil Boukind/Centre Phi

The multipurpose venue displays award-winning virtual reality works

The PHI Centre reopened its Horizons VR exhibition on Nov. 9. The installation consists of four different rooms, each designated for a virtual reality exhibit, some including user-interactive elements. These award-winning pieces were all breathtaking in their own unique ways. Each one had me pulling off my headset either in complete awe or in intense reflection on the content I had just experienced.

Goliath: Playing with Reality is about a man who is diagnosed with schizophrenia after losing his parents, after which he spends several years in isolation taking strong medication. The protagonist, who goes by Goliath, finds solace in connecting with the outside world through video games after his return home. 

This piece is a true sensory overload. Bombardments of colours, shapes, and creatures create an intense feeling of hallucination and detachment from reality, all while keeping a video game theme as the virtual world demonstrates pixelated elements over many occasions. A few interactive moments involving first-person shooting and old arcade games allowed an extra level of immersion, and Tilda Swinton’s partial-narration was a soothing contrast to the chaos displayed throughout. 

Adil Boukind/Centre PHI

A following room is designated for the viewing of Reeducated, the animated true story of three strangers who were placed in a Xinjiang “reeducation” camp. The three men were caught in the middle of quite possibly the “largest internment of ethnic and religious minorities since the second world war,” according to The New Yorker. 

Displayed as a 360° VR short film, the memoir strikes emotion visually and through storytelling. The animation, created with a nod to Chinese ink wash painting, exposes the bleak horrors that average citizens must endure if they come from circumstances that aren’t to the government’s liking. As for the narrators, their friendship formed through hardship is poignant and tear-jerking, and it can be felt through the story they recount.

The third VR work, Kusunda, brings the viewer to rural Nepal, where they are placed in an interview conducted as a POW with shaman Lil Bahadur, who has forgotten his dying native dialect of Kusunda. Meanwhile, his granddaughter Hima takes initiative to revive the language of her family and ancestors. 

The heartwarming film tells their story through colourful CGI animation as well as live-action, splitting between informative and artful entertainment. The learning experience is topped off interactively, as the viewer is asked to pronounce words of the Kusunda language in order to resume the experience, which in turn spreads the subtle revival of the dialect. 

Finally, Marco & Polo Go Round tells the story of a couple facing problems in their relationship, which takes a severe anti-gravitational twist. As we follow the couple around their messy apartment, many objects around the kitchen fly up in the air, sticking to the ceiling. This is a reflection of the gradual dissolution of the protagonists’ love. 

Marco & Polo Go Round is about half the length of all of the other pieces, so it only has enough time to strike hard with its surrealism. The message, while not up-front, is especially thought provoking given the minimal context provided. It’s a beautiful animated metaphor.

It’s clear why the PHI Centre selected these four works to display. Each one deserved to win their multiple respected awards. Virtual reality, if done correctly, can definitely be an art form.

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Music

 Hip-hop: a genre of music or society’s scapegoat for gun violence?

Another rapper has been killed in the United States as a result of the gun violence epidemic

On Nov. 1, American rapper Takeoff from the hip-hop group Migos was shot and killed in Houston, Texas. The 28-year-old rapper was outside of 810 Billiards and Bowling Houston when an argument broke out that led to the shooting. 

The news of Takeoff’s death spread rapidly and left many in disbelief because it seemed that he died over nothing. There were no drugs, weapons, or anything criminal found on him, which left many wondering why this happened.

It seems that every year, at least one rapper gets shot and killed and then their death eventually becomes another statistic.

Sadly, Takeoff was the latest victim in this ongoing crisis. 

According to a summary of the statistics by CNN, in 2018, XXXTentacion was robbed and gunned down in Florida. In 2019, Nipsey Hussle was shot over 10 times while helping out his community in Los Angeles. In 2020, Pop Smoke was shot during a home invasion in California. King Von was also shot and killed in 2020 during a dispute in a parking lot outside of a hookah lounge. Lastly, in 2021, Young Dolph was fatally shot while buying cookies in Memphis.

However, not everyone feels pity for these rappers. There is crime committed in all communities but when it comes to this genre of music, it’s reported differently towards the public. 

Ben Shapiro is a US political commentator known for his controversial opinions. In 2019, he interviewed a rapper named Zuby and discussed how hip-hop negatively impacts people. “From the outside, when I listen to hip-hop, I don’t hear a bunch of family-oriented messages. In fact, I hear a lot of messages that are degrading to women, I hear messages that push violence, that are disparaging to the police.” 

It seems as though people who blame hip-hop for the violence in Black communities can’t separate fiction from fact. 

Hip-hop and rapping is a form of storytelling and rappers are often talking about their own life experiences and problems, with some exaggeration to make it entertaining.   

Shéyaa Bin Abraham-Joseph, also known as 21 Savage, is a famous rapper who’s respected in the culture. On his 21st birthday, he was shot six times but survived to tell the story. This year in August, he sent out a tweet that was faced with instant backlash. “Atlanta we have to do better, put the f****** guns down!!!!!” the tweet read. 

21 Savage was called a hypocrite because his lyrics depict him shooting, killing and robbing people. He responded back and informed the public about how his music is a narration of his life. “I ain’t never promoted violence. I just rap about what I’ve been through, or what I’ve heard about, what I’ve saw. That ain’t me promoting violence,” the rapper said on Instagram. 

While there are many who advocate against gun violence, the number of rappers who have been killed this year only seems to be growing. 

In 2022, Trouble, Snootie Wild, Tdott Woo, Wavy Navy Pooh, Goonew, Lil Devin, Archie Eversole, JayDaYoungan, FBG Cash, Rollie Bands, Young Slo-Be, Earl Swavey, Money Gang Vontae, PnB Rock, Desto and now Takeoff all are dead due to gun violence. 

Although these rappers were senselessly shot dead, it seems as though because of who they were, how they looked and the fact that they rapped, they were expected to die. In reality, there is a gun control problem in the United States which is constantly left unaddressed when someone passes away in the hip-hop community.

Graphic by James Fay @jamesfaydraws

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Concert Reviews Music

Concert Review: Bright Eyes ends its decade-long hiatus with a stunning performance

Bright Eyes playing at Corona Theater. MARIEKE GLORIEUX-STRYCKMAN/THE CONCORDIAN

The band played in Montreal last week, in one of the last performances of their 2022 tour

The indie rock band Bright Eyes is on its first tour in nine years. Their show in Montreal last week did not disappoint their patient fans.

Bright Eyes went on a hiatus in 2011, after lead singer Conor Oberst announced that they would be retiring the band. However, in 2020, they released new music and started preparing for a world tour. The tour had to be postponed to the summer of 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

After years of waiting, Bright Eyes’ return delighted their Montreal fans.

The opener of the show was Hurray for the Riff Raff, a band created by singer-songwriter Alynda Mariposa Segarra. The songs were beautifully written for the singer’s range, and the style fit perfectly with the rest of the show. Segarra had a nice stage presence, and effortlessly filled the space with their dancing. They brought that same energy when they joined Oberst for the vocals of a song later in the show. The band looked like they were having fun together, and it translated into their music. 

While it took Bright Eyes almost an hour to set up after Hurray for the Riff Raff, their performance was well worth the wait. 

Oberst sang beautifully. His unique, raspy, vulnerable and expressive voice sounded just as good as it did years ago. He perfectly portrayed the emotions of Bright Eyes’ often sad and cynical songs. 

Oberst’s delightful eccentricities entertained the crowd throughout the night. From introducing the audience to the band’s wolf plushie “Wolfy” to revealing his “Conor Oberst Ruined My Life” t-shirt, the singer let his fun-loving personality shine through between the songs. He often got sidetracked while introducing the pieces, and the concert became “The Conor Show” as he told stories about his life and the band. 

The entire band’s chemistry was very warm and inviting. Any listener could see that they loved playing together. The spotlight switched from the vocal line to a trumpet solo, a piano improvisation, or a new violin line. Oberst moved around the stage to play one-on-one with different members of the band, or to listen more closely when he wasn’t singing. 

“First Day of My Life,” one of Bright Eyes’ most well-known songs, was a moment of contrast in the night. Most of the band sat down, leaving only Oberst on the guitar and vocals, Mike Mogis on the mandolin, and the violinist. A new violin line had been added to the song, and it complemented it perfectly without ruining its soft atmosphere. 

During the last song, Oberst and the backup singer danced and sang together at the centre of the stage, and Oberst gave her the mic to finish off the song. 

Photo by Marieke Glorieux-Stryckman

Categories
Community

Animal victims of war Purple Poppy Ceremony

Kimberly Lamontagne helmed the first commemoration ceremony of animal victims of war in Montreal. Dalia Nardolillo/THE CONCORDIAN

Animal Protection Party candidate Kimberly Lamontagne helmed the first commemoration ceremony of animal victims of war in Montreal


On Friday, Nov. 11, people gathered at Parc Lahaie to commemorate the animals whose lives were lost in war.

This was the first ceremony of its kind in Montreal, organized by Kimberly Lamontagne. Lamontagne is an animal rights activist and a candidate for the Animal Protection Party of Canada.

With the sound of the rain in the background, Lamontagne set up some candles around the space. She then stood up among the participants and gave a speech. 

“This event is a part of the Animal Alliance of Canada’s Purple Poppy Campaign, started in 2015 in Victoria, British Columbia. This ceremony is held in recognition of the millions of animals’ lives lost in war, to condemn their ongoing use in war and oppose the act of war internationally,” Lamontagne said.

At the National War Memorial in Ottawa, Lamontagne held the same ceremony earlier that week.

“Steps away from this memorial, in Confederation Park, is an underwhelming animals in war dedication that honours animals that served alongside their human comrades in war,” Lamontagne recounted.

Lamontagne made a point in addressing that there are no such statues located here in Montreal. 

“I choose to hold a vigil here as the equestrian dedication is underwhelming; it is not as inspiring as the display in London England’s Hyde Park,” Lamontagne said. “I want to highlight that our purpose here is to recognize the animals as victims of war; not heroes and not to valorize them.”

As Lamontagne emphasized, these animals’ lives were taken and not given. Purple poppies were being sold so that participants could commemorate the animal lives that were lost.

“We fully recognize that many soldiers were forced into war themselves. Animals cannot consciously decide to engage or abstain from war. Animals are still used by the Canadian military and in modern warfare,” she said.

After the ceremony concluded, Lamontagne offered two minutes of silence to reflect upon the animal lives that were lost.  Lamontagne also gave people the opportunity to come up and speak. 

The Purple Poppy Campaign is complementary to the Red Poppy Campaign. The Purple Poppy is not meant to undermine the Red Poppy or reject its symbolism of the human lives who served and died in the war.

Categories
News

Overcrowded emergency rooms pile on the pressure 

ER crisis puts stress on both patients and medical staff

Long wait times and overcrowded emergency rooms across Montreal are putting a strain onto an already overworked healthcare system, which has left some patients feeling as if they’re not receiving proper care.

According to Santé Montreal daily emergency room capacity reports, emergency rooms on last Thursday were running at an average of 129 per cent capacity, with some emergency rooms reporting rates as high as 179 per cent.

Doctors are feeling the effects of overfilled ERs. “It puts a pressure on us to work faster, because it’s scary to see the amount of people waiting increase,” said Dr. Guylaine Larose, an emergency pediatrician at the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) Sainte-Justine. “There’s a significant risk of giving lower-quality care, which is not something that we like doing.”

“You’re always scared that patients who wait too long will worsen before you’re able to see them. It’s a big worry, for both doctors and nurses,” Larose added.

Patients are feeling the pressure as well. “What I really picked up on was a lack of bedside manner, which I think has a lot to do with how busy hospitals are right now,” said Megan Devoe, a Concordia student who was sent to the ER at the Centre Hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM) after fainting due to low blood sugar. “They ran all these tests on me without telling me what they were doing or why they were doing it. It was really confusing and pretty disorienting.”

Devoe had her blood taken, on top of other tests, and was never given the results to any of them. Indeed, she was not given any discharge information or any way to contact the hospital for a checkup or the results of her tests. She recounts the hospital staff waking her up at 4 a.m. to ask her if she could walk. She was then asked to leave the hospital despite being unsure if she could.

“Wait times aren’t new, they are cyclical, and usually higher during the holidays and winter,” said Dr. Larose. “Increased traffic will happen when viral infections increase, usually in winter but for the past two years also during unusual moments. What we’re seeing this year is an increase in viral infections which has been especially high over the past two months.”

Devoe was kept in the hallway on a stretcher the entire time of her stay and had to ask multiple times for food or to be accompanied to the washroom. She believes her negative experience is due to the overcrowded ERs and thinks the “healthcare system is falling apart a little bit.”

Devoe’s experience is not unique. According to data from Santé Montréal, 214 patients were on stretchers for over 24 hours and 73 for over 48 hours last Thursday.

“Healthcare professionals, whether they be doctors or nurses, feel a lot of responsibility towards their patients,” said Dr. Larose. “With the rise in overcrowding in emergency rooms and the heightened risk of giving lower quality care, that responsibility is still there and adds to the level of stress. The patients who wait hours to see us have the patience of angels and many show us gratitude and wish us good luck. It’s incredibly touching.”

Graphic by: Le Lin @spicybaby.jpg

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News

False alarm at Webster Library raises concerns about Concordia’s emergency preparedness

The University’s response to a perceived weapons threat at the Webster Library gave rare insight into Concordia’s security protocols

On Friday Oct. 28, Concordia University issued a shelter in place order at the Sir George Williams Webster Library after the University was notified about a potential weapons threat in the building. Although later determined to be a false alarm, the experience has left many questioning the effectiveness of Concordia’s emergency response protocols.

The incident followed reports of an individual in a face mask allegedly wielding a weapon at the Webster Library late that afternoon. In response, the University initiated a standard “shelter in place” protocol at approximately 4:18 p.m. Emergency messages were broadcast through the University’s emergency notification system requesting students remain in a secure location until further instructions were provided.

Clothilde Vaillant, a third-year finance and international business student at JMSB, told The Concordian she arrived at the library with a friend roughly 15 minutes before the incident occurred. Vaillant recalled being unsure of what to make of the emergency broadcast.

“We were like, oh, what’s happening?” said Vaillant. “We asked the table next to us because we thought it was a test, like in high school.”

Once Vaillant and her friend realized the incident was not a test, they decided to head towards a nearby study room where about 20 other students were hiding. Vaillant believed they would be able to secure themselves inside the study room, however once inside she realized the study room’s door was unable to lock.

“Everyone was laughing in the room,” said Vaillant. “Like how can we lock the door if the door doesn’t lock? I don’t understand how they can really ask us to go into a safe place if we can’t close the door.”

Before panic set in, Vaillant recalled that a police officer entered the study room and reassured students that the situation was under control.

The SVPM confirmed with The Concordian that officers arrived at the library shortly after the shelter in place order was indicated. According to police spokesperson Raphaël Bergeron, officers at the scene were able to confirm the incident was a false alarm after consulting with eyewitnesses and checking video surveillance at the library.

Concordia proceeded to lift the “shelter in place” order shortly after and released a statement confirming the incident was a false alarm at 5:38 p.m. that same day. The entire incident lasted no longer than 15 minutes.

The false alarm at Webster Library has raised many doubts among Concordia’s student body about the effectiveness of the University’s emergency response protocols.

Marc, a second-year commerce student at JMSB who wished to remain anonymous, was on the fifth floor of the Webster Library when he heard the broadcast begin. He stated that he felt caught off guard during the shelter in place order.

“I was terrified, to be honest with you. I had a hard time sleeping that night because I was running through scenarios in my head,” said Marc.

According to Concordia’s Campus Security and Emergency Services, the purpose of the emergency broadcast is “to advise the campus community as quickly as possible that a dangerous situation is unfolding.” For this reason, messages used in emergency broadcasts often contain little to no information about the specific incident.

For many including Marc, this is a major oversight in Concordia’s emergency procedures and should be addressed moving forward.

“I think what’s most important would be to let people know what the danger is because it’s impossible to predict what to do in a scenario where you don’t know what’s coming,” said Marc.

When asked if the University could do anything to help students better react in possible future emergency situations, Marc was skeptical that anything could accurately prepare students for such scenarios.

“But being there, [at the Webster Library] I saw that no one knew what to do. So the reality is, even if there was a protocol, it’s so difficult to train someone to do everything right.”

Photo by: Lily Cowper

Categories
News

Quebec Superior Court in favour of prohibiting police from conducting random traffic stops

The ruling will be implemented within six months. In the meantime, activists are wondering what this means for the fight against racial profiling

On Oct. 25, Quebec Superior Court judge Michel Yergeau ruled the power of the police to stop drivers at random to be unconstitutional and discriminatory, in a challenge brought to court by Joseph-Christopher Luamba. Luamba, a black Montrealer who has been pulled over by the police without reason numerous times, decided to challenge this power, arguing that it violates certain constitutional rights. 

Laura Berger, a lawyer with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, said this issue has been on the association’s radar for a long time because of overpoliced communities, namely Black and Indigenous communities, speaking up against racial profiling. The association jumped on the constitutional challenge when Luamba decided to take this issue to court.

“Over the course of a very short amount of time [Luamba] was stopped by the police on different occasions while in a vehicle and he chose to initiate a challenge,” said Berger. “Before [the ruling], the police could stop you if you’re driving even if there is no reason at all and request your license, registration and proof of insurance.”

Berger explained that random traffic stops are disproportionately used to arrest Black and Indigenous drivers when compared to white drivers.

“Even though on its face that power is neutral, what we know from social sciences and experiences of individuals is that this power gets used disproportionately against Black drivers,” said Berger. 

The Concordian spoke with activist and writer Christophe, who wished to remain anonymous, about his experiences with racial profiling while driving in Montreal a month ago. Though he didn’t receive a ticket, for him this is a clear example of how the police in Quebec use their power to act on their personal biases. 

“I’m a six foot Black man who speaks English, I don’t speak French so right away I’m intimidating to them because of my stature and they cannot speak to me so that creates tension,” explained Christophe. “So there’s a lot of different factors and variables that we need to consider. When you give the police this much power, they operate without impunity, they do whatever they want because for them to be punished is very difficult.”

Christophe is skeptical that the recent ruling will change the way the police treat Black and Indigenous people. 

“This decision is not going to change the fact that they can pull people over for any reason they want,” argued Christophe. “They could say ‘we smelled marijuana coming out of your car,’ they could say anything arbitrary.”

While Christophe believes the decision is a start, he argues that police officers needs to be held accountable when instances of racial profiling occur.

“I think we could start by defunding the police, giving them less funds, and start sanctioning them when they pull people over for no reason,” Christophe said. “If you suspend them with pay, they’re never going to change but when you start touching their pockets they’ll straighten themselves.”

Berger admits that, while Yergeau’s decision is not a substantial initiative, it is a necessary one. 

“This decision is not going to end racial profiling from one day to the next but he said that, as a society, we need to show racial profiling to the door and that is one step in the right direction,” she said. “But it is absolutely clear that this decision is not sufficient.”

Berger elaborated that this decision only deals with a very specific case of racial profiling and that racial biases, on the other hand, affect all aspects of policing. 

“We know that at every juncture of the judicial police system […] there are race-based disparities at every stop especially for Black and Indigenous folks,” said Berger.

However, for Berger this decision fits into a broader movement propelled by activists and communities speaking out. She says that even though this decision will not stop racial profiling overnight, it could inspire more changes in this direction.

“We have seen an increasing amount of research that highlights these disparities, we have seen recommendations across government bodies,” said Berger. “This helped inform [Yergeau’s] decision and I think it can be used outside of this specific context, other courts might take inspiration, policy-makers might look at these findings to try to incorporate them.”

The Superior Court’s Oct. 25 ruling will come into effect in six months in order to give the government and the police enough time to respond to the changes.

Graphic by Carleen Loney

Categories
News

Advocate organizations gathered in support of the regularization of immigrants without status

The protest was led by speakers Carole and Suzanne. CATHERINE REYNOLDS/The Concordian

While the federal government is working on a regularization program for immigrants with precarious status, immigrant advocacy groups demand that they be inclusive of all people in Quebec

Immigrant advocacy groups gathered at Peace Park on Sunday Nov. 6 for a protest demanding that the new federal regularization plan be fully inclusive of all immigrants without status. The program that the federal government is currently working on would allow non-status workers to become permanent residents. 

Advocates for the rights of people with precarious status are skeptical whether or not this program would be sufficient. On Nov. 9, various Quebec-based organizations dedicated to supporting migrants gathered in front of the office of Christine Fréchette, the Minister of Immigration, Frenchisation and Integration to demand the plan be expanded to include all undocumented immigrants.

“The program that we heard about is being built for migrants with precarious status and is going to be a regularization plan,” said Aboubacar Kane, a member of the advocacy group Solidarity Across Borders. “So us being actors and living the situation and being faced with the reality, we just wanted to prevent it from being a selective program but for it to be an open program to all migrants so everyone has access to it.”

During the demonstration, advocates denounced the living and working conditions of people without status in Quebec. Until undocumented immigrants are regularized, it will be impossible for them to access fundamental rights and services. 

Carlos Rojas-Salazar, Director Operations and International Affairs for the Association for the Rights of Household and Farm Workers (RHFW), explained that immigrant workers who are overrepresented in the agricultural field in Quebec possess fewer legal rights than Canadian workers despite facing harsher working conditions. 

“Without them, the whole agricultural industry would be nothing,” said Rojas-Salazar. “When people come here, they find themselves living in crowded rooms, we have seen beds stacked on four levels, with minimal maintenance and that’s just terrible.” 

Rojas-Salazar explained that the inadequate working conditions of undocumented workers was brought to the RHFW’s attention, including amid the pandemic when workers got sick at a much higher rate when compared to the rest of the population. The RHFW has found that, because of the labour and a lack of services, immigrant workers are at greater risk of developing chronic health problems.

“What we’re doing is we’re importing healthy people and we are sending back to their countries people with dramatic conditions, with chronic diseases, people at 45 years old that have the back of an 80-years-old,” explained Rojas-Salazar. “This is the case for men, which in Quebec account for 90 per cent of the workers and for women it’s even worse.”

According to Rojas-Salazar, immigrant workers are also more at risk of being exploited compared to their Canadian counterparts since they have no legal recourse and might fear being deported or detained if they speak up. “Why should Canadians care about this? Because when you have people who are being paid less, who don’t have rights, you open the doors to crime, to abuse, people don’t have the right to go complain because they are afraid, they’re afraid of losing opportunities so they shut up,” he said. 

Kane added that in making its proposal for the program, the federal government should be careful not to think solely in terms of immigrant workers but also include those who cannot work. 

“The government is always speaking of the workers, the people that can contribute but they forget that there are elders, children inside of it too — people that cannot necessarily work that need to be included too,” said Kane. 

He believes that a fully open regularization plan would allow immigrants without status not only to have access to the fundamental rights and services that permanent residents and Canadians are entitled to, but also to feel overall more included in the society.

“It is a solution because it’s going to allow access to healthcare, to coverage, to services that people don’t have,” Kane said. “The psychological state of the people is also going to change, it’s going to relieve stress from them, all the trauma that they lived from being excluded from society is not going to be gone but at least taken care of and it’s going to help them feel equal, well-treated and part of this society fully.”

Categories
Opinions

Innocent man arrested without motive?

CARLEEN LONEY/The Concordian @shloneys

Calling the police into question and their ability to do their job right

A man named Brice Dossa was handcuffed by Montreal police on Thursday, Nov. 3 in the parking lot of Montreal’s Central Market. Police suspected him of stealing a vehicle which was later proven to be his own. The plainclothes Detectives who specialise in car thefts, however, were unable to release Dossa immediately because they had misplaced the keys to their handcuffs and needed backup officers at the scene to release Dossa.

In a video that has since gone viral, Dossa is seen asking officers if he was arrested because he’s Black. While the two officers deny that this unjustified arrest has anything to do with race, many on social media are concerned that this is just another case of racial profiling.

If not, why was the man suspected of car theft and arrested for it by police, prior to the officers verifying who the vehicle belonged to?

In the questionable sequence of events which led up to Dossa’s wrongful arrest, the unfortunate historical trend in which the Black community is faced with unwarranted and unjust policing has, yet again, resurfaced in the headlines.

The video segment of the arrest is truly abhorrent. It calls into question these cops’ ability to perform their duties. 

One major inconsistency in the officers’ discretion was that the car theft under investigation on Nov. 3 involved a vehicle which was reported to have visible signs of damage. However, CBC independently confirmed that Dossa’s car showed no traces of such damage. Yet, when Dossa arrived at the scene where the police were still examining his vehicle for evidence, they promptly arrested him.

Dossa claims he is left traumatized by the experience, which could easily have been avoided with proper due diligence from the police. This puts into question whether law enforcement can ensure equal treatment for all. 

Ironically, this event comes shortly after the Quebec Superior Court ruled in a racial profiling case that police could no longer pull over drivers without a valid reason, as it constitutes a violation of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom. Officers who are not dutifully impartial in service to the law might finally incur sanctions when these newly-established regulations become viable six months from now.

Meanwhile, instances of police brutality and racial profiling frequently continue to make headlines, yet our premier continues to deny the existence of systemic racism and bias. 

As he claimed in 2020, when addressing protests in response to George Floyd’s murder, “I think that there is some discrimination in Quebec, but there’s no systemic discrimination.” More recently, during the last electoral campaign, Legault again reiterated his stance that systemic racism does not exist. 

It is appalling that the government or law enforcement institutions in this province refuse to acknowledge the pernicious consequences of systemic racism. The foundation for such beliefs — and the inaction that follows — normalizes and legitimizes the abuse of power by the state in ways that undermine democracy, justice and equality for all citizens.

Following Dossa’s wrongful arrest, new policies need to not only be incorporated within the practices of law enforcement, but also should be made effectively operational.  Let’s hope that the recent decision ruled by the Quebec Superior Court will yield change in the years to come, so that everyone is guaranteed equal freedom and safety.

Categories
Briefs News

Canada removes interest on federal student loan payments 

Employment and Social Development Canada announced updates to help students repay their loans

On Nov. 1, Carla Qualtrough, Minister of Employment, Workforce Development and Disability Inclusion announced changes to the Canada Student Financial Assistance (CSFA) Program’s Repayment Assistance Plan to support young Canadians in better starting their careers. The changes are as follows: 

The zero-payment income threshold for Canada Student Loans and Canada Apprentice Loans will increase from $25,000  to $40,000. 

Payment is not expected until borrowers are earning an annual income of at least $40,000. 

The threshold will vary based on household size. 

The cap on monthly affordable payments will be lowered from 20 per cent to 10 per cent of a borrower’s household income.

Monthly affordable payments will be reduced to ensure that nobody “has to pay more than they can reasonably afford.”

These changes are expected to affect approximately 180,000 students each year. However, these updates will not be implemented in Quebec, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut since they do not participate in the CSFA Program. However, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia will also introduce the same changes to their Repayment Assistance Plans.

Photo by Lily Cowper

Categories
Hear me out Opinions

Hear Me Out: Coffee isn’t that good — you’re just addicted to caffeine

JAMES FAY/The Concordian @jamesfaydraws

I get it though, coffee is such a mood

Describe your perfect morning.

For me, it would be waking up to light rays of sun hitting my face, my body all wrapped up in a fluffy duvet, to the smell of warm coffee.

Now this might not be what you would answer, but does your perfect morning ritual include coffee?

For the longest time, I didn’t drink coffee. I just never liked the taste.

Now, approaching 26, I can say I’m an avid coffee drinker, but only for a year or so. And let’s be real, if you pour me a cup of coffee, I probably wouldn’t drink it.

My coffee is not even considered coffee for certain people. *cough, cough* Hi, dad.

I like my coffee with a good amount of flavoured creamer and oat milk.

With that being said, I use a coffee face mask religiously and my favourite candle is called Paris Cafe. So, I get it.

For me, there’s also something about getting hot coffee on a cold morning. Which is why I started to wonder if what I liked was really the coffee or if any hot beverage would suffice.

Coffee is different though, and there’s a reason why it’s the drink of choice for most adults in the morning. Caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant that helps reduce sleepiness, which makes it the most consumed psycho-active drug in the world.

Ever since the late 17th century, caffeine dominated popular consumption which corresponds to a rise in the capitalist economy.

Today, with our lives being defined by our work and productivity, it makes sense that a beverage with such effects on the body and mind would be so popular.

However, it’s just not that good. Just admit it already.

If you say coffee is your favourite drink, stop lying to yourself and realize that a part of what makes coffee so popular is the addictive effects of caffeine.

According to a study conducted by researchers from the Université de Nancy on the effects of caffeine on the central nervous system, the human body does not seem to have developed a tolerance to the effects of caffeine, though signs of dependence and withdrawal symptoms have been present.

Coffee addiction is not a new discovery though, and most people are aware that their love for coffee is just blinded by their dependence on it. Although I appreciate the self-awareness, can we stop with the quirky and sometimes cringy “but first, coffee” merch?

How about a “but first, central nervous system addictive stimulant that doesn’t actually taste good?” Just an idea.

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