The march aims to be more inclusive of all people battling sexual violence
On Sept. 6 at 6:30 p.m. the A Safer Concordia campaign, run by the university’s Centre for Gender Advocacy, hosted a march called “The Night is Not Enough,” which took place at Phillips Square in downtown Montreal. The goal was to demonstrate that the annual “Take Back the Night” march is not inclusive enough, as women are not the only ones who may face sexual violence.
Photo by Ana Hernandez.
According to Jada Joseph, a volunteer for the A Safer Concordia campaign and a Concordia psychology and child studies student, “The Night is Not Enough” aims to be a more inclusive protest for all people who have faced sexual assault, not just women.
Joseph said the march is not only calling out to all genders to participate, but also to all races as well as sex workers and individuals from the LGBTQ+ community.
Spoken word artist Shanice Nicole performing before the march. Photo by Ana Hernandez.
“We’re definitely taking a more inclusive alternative to the ‘Take Back the Night,’” she said. Joseph explained that “Take Back the Night” implies that gender violence only occurs at nighttime, when in fact gender violence is a continuum—it can start with cat-calling and escalate from there. “We are saying that the night is not enough,” she said.
Photo by Ana Hernandez.
“Sexual violence and gender violence is very pervasive in our society,” said Madison Kompagna, a Concordia student majoring in sociology and minoring in women’s studies. She said there is a very strong narrative in our society in which sexual violence only happens to women and only occurs at night. “It’s important that this event exists because it’s more inclusive of everybody,” Kompagna said.
If you or someone you know has encountered sexual violence and would like support, Concordia has resources on campus to help.
The Centre for Gender Advocacy is located at 2110 Mackay St., Sir George William campus. Hours are Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
You can call The Centre for Gender Advocacy at (514) 848-2424 ext. 7431. For peer support call (514) 848-2424 ext. 7880.
The Sexual Assault Resource Centre is located at GM-300.27. Hours are Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. You can reach them at (514) 848-2424 ext. 3461 or ext. 3353. If you are in immediate danger at Concordia University call campus security at 514-848-3717.
Canada’s decision between the extraction of natural resources and saving our land
The Energy East pipeline project is causing conflicts in towns and cities that will be affected by TransCanada’s nation-long pipeline proposal—Montreal being one of them.
The pipeline proposal has reemerged storylines of environmental concerns clashing with corporate interests.
In Montreal, protesters delayed the Aug. 29 Energy East hearings held by the National Energy Board (NEB) until further notice. The hearings, which were scheduled to last all week, were set up for commissioners of the NEB to gain an understanding of the public’s opinion towards the Energy East proposal. The report would then be forwarded to TransCanada to rework issues the public has with the pipelines.
“In the last five years or so—with climate concerns, indigenous rights and sovereignty issues and all these social issues—pipelines have become a lot more controversial,” said Kristian Gareau, a protester at Montreal’s Energy East hearing and a Concordia Masters student in the Individualized Program (INDI). He added that he believes the pipeline project is not fit for today’s reality.
Gareau said he believes some of the population are already dissatisfied with TransCanada’s pipeline project—including environmentalists, scientists and farmers. “On top of that, you see some of these secret meetings that took place with [NEB and former Quebec premier] Jean Charest who is a paid TransCanada lobbyist,” he added. This scandal is a great ammunition for protesters such as Gareau who claim there is a bias within the required NEB report, which must report on the public’s opinion on Energy East at the end of the public consultation process.
“The NEB is supposed to be impartial and issue recommendations in the public interest,” said Alex Tyrrell, leader of the Green Party of Quebec and Environmental Sciences student at Concordia. He said many residents believe the NEB cannot continue with hearings for TransCanada because it has become clear that at least two of the three commissioners tasked with overseeing the hearings and writing a report on public interest concerning the Energy East pipelines have already been promoting it.
Gareau describes the NEB as a powerful entity, stating that as a commissioner or board member there is a responsibility to provide a fair and natural balanced review on public opinion towards pipelines. However, Gareau believes—in regards to meetings between Charest and two of the three commissioners—it is difficult for the NEB to form an unbiased report. “There’s kind of a revolving door between industry and the NEB, so the cultures and interests of the oil and gas industry are very much entrenched in the NEB,” said Gareau.
Tyrrell said the NEB initially denied meeting with Charest. However, once it was revealed the meetings did take place, the NEB was then ordered to admit the meetings had occurred and to release notes taken during the meeting, said Tyrrell. The published notes revealed that the commissioners and Charest discussed how to spin the NEB report in a way that would gain support from Quebec residents. “Their job isn’t to do public relations, it’s to do safety and environmental analysis,” Tyrrell said.
Tyrrell added people should be trained specifically to evaluate these projects on behalf of government organizations and anyone involved in the energy industry due to their loyalties to energy companies should not be hired. “They’re supposed to be evaluating the project on behalf of the citizens,” said Tyrrell. He said it should not be on behalf of TransCanada or on behalf of people who are fixated on prolonging the life of the oil industry to continue its existence into the future.
Tyrrell said similar circumstances led to catastrophes like the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. “The regulators were far too close with the industry and lacked the teeth to really do anything— even when problems were well known,” said Tyrrell.
There are also concerns about the safety and reliability of TransCanada’s plan. Of the 4,550 km of proposed pipeline for this project, approximately 75 per cent of those pipelines will be converted from old gas transmission lines, according to Energy East pipeline spokesperson Tim Duboyce.
Tyrrell said this proposal is problematic. “Not only are the pipes already aged and worn, but they were never designed to carry tar sands oil in the first place,” he said, adding that alterations to existing natural gas pipelines increase the probability of spills.
Duboyce said there are a series of pipelines that cross the Prairies through Northern Ontario. The pipeline splits as some of the pipelines head to the Greater Toronto area, while others continue east towards Ottawa and then South from there.
The new section of the pipeline would run from Iroquois, Ontario and up across the Ottawa river, said Duboyce. In Quebec, the pipeline would cross the North Shore towards Laval and connect with the Suncor Energie refinery. “It would travel beneath the St. Lawrence river about 100 meters below the bedrock in a concrete tunnel we’re going to build adjacent to an existing pipeline that actually crosses the St. Lawrence,” Duboyce said. The pipeline would reach the Valero refinery located in Lévis, Q.C., continuing east towards New Brunswick and then on to St. John’s, N.B. where it will be attached to a marine export terminal.
While TransCanada says the pipeline will give both Quebec and Canada an economic advantage, critics to the pipeline say the advantages of a pipeline like Energy East are, at best, short term.
TransCanada advertises that Energy East will generate a large amount of employment. “During the development and construction phase of the project, Energy East will support, on an annual basis, 14,000 full-time direct and spinoff jobs across the country,” said Duboyce. He said among 14,000 of the full time jobs stated, Quebec employment represents an average of 3,100 full-time direct and spinoff jobs annually during a nine year development and construction period.
However, as Tyrrell points out, the development and construction period will only last nine years, resulting in the predicted high employment rates being limited to that timeframe.
“They claim 14,000 jobs for the overall project … but those are just construction jobs. It’s really short-term,” said Tyrrell. “Once the pipeline is built, even TransCanada will tell you—there’s only 33 permanent full-time jobs in Quebec.”
Tyrrell said his greatest concern for the proposed Energy East pipelines is the level of development of the tar sands the pipelines will permit, ultimately contributing to Canada having a larger oil industry.
Tyrrell said the oil TransCanada will be transporting through these pipelines is not necessarily for domestic consumption. “Once it’s built it’s going to be in the ground for at least 50 years, and it’s going to tie the entire country into the practice of digging up this inherently unsustainable resource and exporting it to other countries,” said Tyrrell.
Duboyce said TransCanada plans to make Canadian crude oil more competitive outside the US markets and expand into international markets. He also said that Energy East will make it possible for refineries to buy Canadian oil instead of oil from Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
“One of the key points that gets lost in this conversation … is that there’s only one thing that drives oil production, oil transportation—and that’s oil consumption by people,” said Duboyce.
Graphic by Florence Yee.
Duboyce stressed the importance of expanding Canada’s oil industry in order to benefit Canada’s economy. Not only do we use oil to fuel our transportation, but we find oil in our cell phones, computers, some clothing, makeup and chewing gum, Duboyce said. “It’s a pretty important component of the economy.”
However, Gareau strongly disagrees. “It’s economic considerations are very short-term,” he said, adding that the economic prospects of how much the oil currently valued may now be overvalued. “This fossil economy is declining.”
“We need to leave a lot of fossil fuels in the ground,” said Gareau. “How we’re actually going to do that—that’s what we need to be talking about.” He said people need to be discussing 21st century energy and economic opportunities, instead of relying on traditional needs—such
as crude oil. “[The pipeline] also locks Canada into a fossil economy that will be defunct in the next decade or two, putting us that much further behind in the emerging green economy,” said Gareau.
“[NEB is] going to let the companies continue to exploit them anyway and they’re going to get the public and the environment to absorb the risk.” Tyrrell said. “It’s really short term economic gain vs. long term environmental sacrifice—it’s a question of priorities.” Tyrrell said once these pipelines have been built, there will be tons of subcontractors and companies already specialized in fabricating pipelines. “You can export pipeline parts to some other part of the world,” he said. “But chances are, they’re going to want to build another pipeline locally or as close to Montreal as possible.”
“The strategy of the environmental movement is to shut down the tar sands by blocking all of the exit paths,” said Tyrrell. He said the opposition has managed to block the Northern Gateway for the time being, but now it’s time for Eastern Canada to block the Energy East pipeline. Tyrrell said the resistance is going well so far. “The people protesting are not only speaking for themselves, they’re speaking for huge sections of the population—that includes [speaking for] the mayors of hundreds of different municipalities in Quebec.”
Chance of violence forces police to cancel Canada-Israel relations talk
An event scheduled for Jan. 12 with MP Marc Garneau, was postponed indefinitely because the Montreal Police allegedly alerted organizers that they were anticipating violent protests in response to the talk.
The talk, organized by the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting (CAMERA) and the Canadian Institute for Jewish Research (CIJR), was supposed to look at Canada-Israel relations.
Garneau is the MP for Westmount—Ville-Marie and was one of the first Canadian to go to outer space back in October 1984. He was appointed as the executive vice-president of the Canadian Space Agency in 2001, and became the president in November of the same year.
Bradley Martin, CAMERA Fellow and Representative for Montreal and a student at Concordia, wrote on the event’s Facebook page at around noon on Jan. 12 announcing the talk had been cancelled because the Montreal Police had notified them of a violent protest was set to take place because of this event. At around 7 p.m., Martin posted to clarify what had happened, writing the following: “This morning, the Montreal Police informed CIJR that their cyber division detected a planned protest of the event. This protest was estimated to consist of about sixty demonstrators and considered to be hostile and violent. Under the circumstances, it was determined that the venue could not be secured properly and the safety of attendants would be at risk. It was therefore decided that the event would not take place as planned and be postponed indefinitely.”
In the post, Martin spoke for both organizations and said that they were very unhappy with the situation. “We are very disappointed and outraged about the fact that our rights, and the rights of an elected Member of Parliament, to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly have been compromised,” Martin wrote. “Threats of violence and intimidation tactics are not acceptable behaviors and cannot be tolerated under any circumstances. We live in a beautiful country, where the freedom of speech and assembly are foundational to our way of life.”
The decision to postpone said event was made by the CIJR’s National Chairman
Jack Kinsler. He felt the they had no choice but to cancel the event because the call from the police happened so soon before the talk was set to happen, and because they hadn’t organized the event themselves. The CIJR had allowed CAMERA to use one of their spaces to host the talk, located at 1396 rue Sainte-Catherine Ouest, Suite 218.
Kinsler told The Concordian that he was very unhappy with the situation, especially after this week’s attack on Charlie Hebdo staff this week in France.
“[The threat of a violent protest] shouldn’t have happened in the first place. MP Marc Garneau should have been able to come and speak to people in a civilized manner without threats … as soon as one side intimidates the other something is wrong there, there’s a malice, there’s a problem,” Kinsler said.
The Montreal Police were contacted and said that they were not the ones who contacted the event organizers, although both CAMERA and the CIJR confirmed that they had been contacted by them. According to CIJR, the information concerning the protest came from the police’s information department.
Israel on Campus: Concordia has posted on their page that they are unhappy with the situation. They wrote the following in a Facebook post: “It is extremely disheartening and upsetting that members of our own national government are not given the chance to share their ideas freely for fear of violent consequences. Israel on Campus believes in free speech and the right for a free flow of ideas. We will not be silenced and we will continue to fight for Israel on our campus and in our country.”
Activists and politicians assembled Friday afternoon at Premier Pauline Marois’ doorstep on the corners of McGill College and Sherbrooke Street to show their anger and disappointment at what they consider the rising state-sanctioned exclusion against Quebec’s religious, linguistic, and ethnic minorities.
Conceived by Canadians for Coexistence (CfC), a group advocating for full Canadian inclusion, only a handful of the planned 200-some individuals came out to brave the wind and the rain. Although the weather might have chilled bodies it certainly failed to dampen the fiery rhetoric.
“We’re a group that believes in diversity in inclusion and the PQ is against our beliefs. They’re a group that very clearly believes in exclusion and division,” said founding member Norma O’Donnell, highlighting in particular the rights of Quebec’s religious and anglophone minorities.
When asked on her thoughts as to why anglophone rights aren’t more visible, she said there were many reasons; from sympathetic francophones who remain quiet because of social pressures, to an inability to connect with students.
“It’s seems like students in Quebec are more concerned about their tuition than their rights and freedoms, which is extremely disappointing,” she said about the number of youth protesters, and referring to the recent Charter of Values which would prohibit ostentatious religious displays and clothing by government employees, and last year’s failed Bill 14, which would have strengthened the primacy of the French language.
“We’ve spoken to students, we’ve encouraged them to participate in these rallies. Students don’t seem to be interested … and that’s where we have to try and bring the two together.”
Photo by Keith Race
Though interviewed well before Monday’s elections, O’Donnell said that one way or another, whoever wins, her group’s ambitions were only just beginning.
“Canadians for Co-Existence, as well as several of our other groups, are very much going to be working alongside these politicians … because we don’t plan to accept the same-old, same-old. We plan to see that whichever party gets into power, that things will be very different. We’re not going to be the same old Anglo groups who sat by quietly and let this happen.”
Echoing O’Donnell’s sentiments was Montreal’s Reverend Darryl Gray, former Kansas state senator and head of English rights group, Alliance Quebec, and current pastor of the Imani Family and Full Gospel Church.
“The reality that there needs to be a stronger voice in the anglophone community is something that concerns me. I think there are those who acknowledge that the PQ government has failed the anglophone community, it has failed communities of faith, it has failed students, it has failed people in ethnic and cultural communities. I think that somebody needs to show up and stand up and speak up,” said Gray.“I’m not concerned about the Bills themselves. It’s about the mindset that would create such a thing.”
Gray, who says he has supported civil rights movements for decades, was careful to draw distinctions and not paint everyone with the same brush.
“There are many people in the PQ … that do not submit or believe in the policies and the behavior and the attitude of their leadership. I think that it’s important to say that. But, having said that, the leadership too often reflects and speaks on behalf of the body — and that is unfortunate.”
“I’m not here to represent the Liberals, or the Green Party, or the NDP. I’m here to represent the person who best speaks to the human condition. Mrs. Marois will have to understand that she’s going to have to stop running away from Montreal, that she’ll have to embrace Montreal for the diversity that it is. I’m here because I need to be here, I’m here because I want to be here.”
Additional speakers included, amongst others, Green Party leader Alex Tyrell and Muslim community activist, Salman Shabad Saidi, who organized Montreal’s first World Hijab Day back in February and has been, like Tyrell, a very vocal critic of the Charter.
“When they introduced the ban on religious symbols, I began to see what direction they [the PQ] were headed,” said Saidi of his motivations. “They were […] laying out the platform for the right demographic — and by right demographic, I mean white, purlaine, speaking the same language.”
Saidi calls the PQ tactics cheap attempts at raising division for political reasons, and mocked Marois’ vision of Quebec.
“We have our own ideas that are based on tolerance, intelligence, diversity, and productivity,” Saidi said, adding that his strong words were necessary to reflect the very real undercurrents in Quebec which are only now beginning to be voiced.
“They’ve unleashed a campaign of hate and intolerance against minorities, [ and these tactics] never embodied any true Quebec values and went against much of the tolerance that this province has been showing.”
Opposing the measures implemented by provincial and federal governments
Photo by Keith Race
On March 4, people gathered outside Mont-Royal metro at 6:30 p.m. for the protest “Together Against Austerity” (Ensemble contre l’austerité! Harper, Marois, même combat!) organized by the Comité d’action solidaire contre l’austerité (CASA).
According to the Financial Times Lexicon, “Austerity measures refer to official actions taken by the government, during a period of adverse economic conditions, to reduce its budget deficit using a combination of spending cuts or tax rises.”
CASA encouraged people to bring pans, placards and noisemakers, which people did. The protest had about 50 participants.
One of the protestors present, a foreign worker and also a member of the Immigrant Workers Centre (IWC), explained that in his home country of Spain, austerity has put a lot of people in debt.
“The facts are that after four years of austerity, there is 27 per cent of children in Spain that are below the line of poverty. This was the 12th economy of the world or so they say, like six or seven years ago.”
“The tax system is for the rich and against the poor.” (Fiscalité pour les riches et contre les pauvres). “The solution would be to not do like Martine Desjardins.” said Justin Arcand, one of the spokesperson of the association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (ASSÉ). Desjardins, the former president of the University Student Federation of Québec (FEUQ) spent months fighting against the tuition increase during the Maple Spring in 2012. However, she has decided to join the Parti Québecois. Arcand does not understand how she fought against tuition increase and now joins a party who is proposing increases.
As the protesters left the metro area to walk on Mont-Royal Avenue, the police declared the march illegal. Police cars surrounded the area. The protest ended shortly after 7:30 p.m. on Mont-Royal Avenue just by De Lorimier Street.
The ASSÉ will be organizing another protest against austerity on April 3 at 2 p.m. at Émilie-Gamelin Park by Berri-Uqam metro.
On Friday, Nov. 22, Jaggi Singh, a member of several associations at Concordia University, started the process of launching a constitutional challenge to Montreal’s P-6 bylaw which prevents protesters from demonstrating without providing the city with an itinerary prior to the rally.
Thousands of protesters have been arrested and fined under the P-6 bylaw. Since the Maple Spring in May 2012, hundreds more have been detained and fined under new P-6 provisions raising first-time fines to more $600. It also penalizes a refusal to share demonstration routes, and wearing a mask over one’s face.
Singh characterized it as, “a vague law that is applied arbitrarily.” He described a common police tactic known as “kettling,” in which protesters are herded together by police, arrested and fined. Many demonstrators besides Singh have been ticketed and jailed under this law, using this technique.
Singh was fined under the P-6 bylaw on June 9, 2012, in downtown Montreal during the Grand Prix. Though he was not participating in a demonstration, Singh was arrested, jailed, and fined $634.
After a 17-month delay, Singh went to court last Wednesday in front of Judge Sophie Beauchemin at Montreal’s municipal court. According to a Singh’s press release, he succeeded in securing a second pro-forma, to begin the process of contesting the P-6 bylaw.
Besides, QPIRG, (Quebec Public Interest Research Group), Singh is a member of No One is Illegal, Solidarity Across Borders and Convergence des luttes anticapitalistes (CLAC). Among these groups, more than 84 others joined in signing a community declaration stating, “We will not submit to municipal bylaw P-6.” Singh believes P-6 will be defeated in the streets, not the courts, by groups not posting their itinerary ahead of demonstrations making “P-6 unworkable” for the city.
“It’s not in the courts or at city hall that P-6 will be defeated, but in the streets, as community groups organizing demonstrations continue to openly defy the P-6 bylaw, and make it inapplicable by street-level resistance,” stated Singh.
Furthermore, Singh claims that police profile and target certain groups for arrest. For example, while many demonstrations were not ticketed (Harper Mutiny, Status For All, A qui la ville) last spring, two CLAC-organized protests were allegedly targeted for mass arrests and tickets on April 5 and May 1, 2013.
Along with 400 others, Singh was also charged under the P-6 bylaw on May 1, and will also be contesting that ticket on constitutional grounds.
A press release is available on his website with links to the sections of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms allegedly being violated. He can be followed or reached through QPIRG, Facebook and Twitter.
Thousands of people flooded Montreal’s streets Saturday, Sept. 14, to protest against the Parti Québécois’ proposed Charter of Quebec Values, which would “prohibit the wearing of overt and conspicuous religious symbols by state personnel.” The route taken spanned over two kilometers down de Maisonneuve Blvd. from Place Émilie Gamelin (UQAM) to Place du Canada.
Photo by Laura Marchand.
Protesters donned multiple religious symbols, such as hijabs, kippahs, and crucifixes through the downtown core in a march to voice their opposition to the controversial legislation. The crowd chanted slogans such as “PQ values are racist values” and “No to the charter of hate”.
“We came together in unity to send a strong message to Madame Marois to let her know that there are so many Quebecers opposed to this bad idea,” said Salam Elmenyawi, President of the Muslim Council of Montreal. “She is trying to solve some imaginary problem to divide the country, and making the stupid claim that it is for women’s equality. In fact, it destroys their equality […] in an exclusionary way.”
“I want to be able to live in this province,” said Sybil Riopelle, a convert to Islam who drove to Montreal from Gatineau for the protest. “If [the charter] happens, they’ll tell us we’ll have to live in another province if we want to wear our scarves. Just for the scarves. It doesn’t make any sense.”
Many took to shouting “Quebec is not France”, referring to the 2004 French law that banned veils, crosses and turbans from state schools, in addition to the 2011 law that banned the niqab in public places.
“Quebec is not France but Marois is Sarkozy,” said Mohammed, a masked protester who preferred to remain anonymous. “What France is doing is racist. What has their law done for them? We will not make the same mistakes they did.”
Others agreed that the proposed charter is not only infringing on the rights of religious minorities, but was racist as well.
“Christians are not affected by this law as much as others. It’s obviously pointed at immigrants who have different faiths,” said Sarena Santilly, who moved to Montreal from Toronto. “The Christians and people without faith who are passing the law are failing the population.”
Participants repeatedly took to shouting “Marois: racist”, an accusation that many did not approve of.
“I don’t think we should use such explosive language,” said Ehab Lotayes, who carried a sign criticizing Marois’ stance on the issue. “I think we should focus on the point itself, and not on cheap shots.”
André Lévesque was one of the few seen carrying a crucifix to the protest.
“I don’t want anyone telling me how big I can wear my cross,” said Lévesque.
While opposed to the charter, he saw no reason why the crucifix in the National Assembly should be taken down. “Canada was built on Christianity. This is a Christian civilization, and if they’re not happy, they can move somewhere else.”
Marois has previously said that the crucifix in the National Assembly in Quebec City would not be removed under the new rules. A poll by survey firm SOM places support for the charter at 66 percent, or two-thirds of all Quebecers, according to CBC News.
However, opponents of the charter are willing to fight the legislation, should it pass.
“We will take it to the Supreme Court,” said Elmenyawi. “All the way to the United Nations, if we have to.”
Following the end of the education summit, over 10,000 protesters led the way through downtown Montreal last Tuesday in the largest protest since last summer.
The protest was organized by the Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante in response to the exclusion of any discussion about free education at the education summit and the provincial government’s subsequent proposal to index university tuition fees. While it was largely peaceful, the protest was eventually broken up by police following incidents of snow, rocks, eggs and glass being thrown at police and their horses.
Premier Pauline Marois declared at the end of the two-day conference that the civil unrest of last spring was over but nonetheless thousands marched through downtown Montreal for hours shortly afterwards.
The demonstration officially began at 2 p.m. at Victoria Square, the former location of Occupy Montreal, opening with speeches and rallying cries before proceeding slowly but peacefully through the downtown core. The protest was deemed illegal almost immediately because an itinerary was not provided, violating a Montreal bylaw. Some protesters repeatedly pelted Service de police de la Ville de Montréal officers with snowballs whenever they approached, in some cases causing them to retreat.
By the time protesters reached Berri St. police had formed barriers and fired stun grenades to break up the protest. After charging the crowd, police followed protesters down Berri where they divided the demonstrators and attempted to disperse the crowd.Tear gas and stun grenades were used at certain points against protesters, as was a weapon the SPVM identified as a 40mm gun which fired green paint. The SPVM declined to elaborate on the purpose of the green paint saying that they cannot discuss strategies.
After being divided repeatedly by police lines and charges, the protest finally came to an end not far from the Berri-UQAM metro station around 5 p.m., with individuals still lingering and small contingents roaming nearby streets.
The SPVM confirmed 13 arrests once the protest was over for reasons including damaging police cars, attacking police officers and illegal assembly. According to the SPVM two individuals were also found to be carrying molotov cocktails.
Benjamin Prunty, a councillor for the Concordia Student Union who attended the protest, explained he was pleased with the turnout and with the message they sent, but was critical of the actions of the police.
“I am a peaceful person, and I felt very much provoked. There were way too many riot police and they were way too close to us,” he said. “[The police] represent the use of force and the protesters represent discontentment. Discontentment should be allowed to express itself freely and loudly without the looming threat of being beaten back by batons or burning chemicals.”
Prunty also said that he hoped the goal of free education continued to be a part of the conversation going forward.
“I think that having free education, combined with a responsible free press, is one of the surest methods of equalizing all segments of our society,” he said. “We need to worry far less about the people on the top and far more about the people on the bottom, all the while bringing each side closer to the other within a framework of healthy, diverse, and inclusive dialogue.”
Another protest is planned for Tuesday night at 8 p.m. from Place Émilie-Gamelin, where more than 3,000 individuals have already confirmed their attendance.
Waves of demonstrators weaved through the streets of Montreal last week to protest against Quebec’s economic development project Plan Nord, intertwining with the collective and growing movement of Idle No More.
Approximately 200 protesters marched through Old Montreal Friday afternoon in the midst of a blizzard starting from Victoria Square around noon. Protesters made their way to gather outside the Palais des Congrès, the city’s convention centre, where a two-day job fair to promote the natural resources sector took place. Many donned red feathers and red squares in symbolic solidarity.
The Plan Nord, first introduced by former Premier Jean Charest in May 2011, is a controversial initiative aimed to access the natural resources north of the 49th parallel. The $80-billion plan encompasses a slew of multi-faceted proposals that is expected to create more than 20,000 jobs in 25 years. The plan has drawn criticism however, for opting to build on native territory.
The demonstration was declared illegal from the start since an itinerary was not provided and police cruisers were damaged. The next day, a second peaceful protest gathered outside the doors of the Palais des Congrès. When some tried to enter the building Saturday morning, it ended in 36 arrests.
Alex Tyrrell, a Concordia University student, said that following the dispersion by the Montreal Police on Friday, he was able to gain access to the Palais des Congrès and explored the job fair.
“The police asked for identification and searched us,” said Tyrell. “In the room there were about 30 booths set up.”
Tyrell and his friend were able to participate in a question period following a presentation on the mining of a community in northern Quebec where he wasn’t sure the best interests of the native population were being represented.
The Parti Québécois has yet to move forward with the Plan Nord, despite a passionate plea from Charest to continue it during his concession speech in September.
Recently, environmentalists and indigenous residents expressed their concerns over the initiative.
“The Plan Nord is an evil plan as far as I’m concerned,” said Ellen Gabriel from Kanesatake, a Mohawk human rights advocate for indigenous people during a panel at Concordia in September 2012. “Politicians always talk about job creation – creation of jobs at what cost? Why always the land?”
The fight against the Plan Nord intermingled with Idle No More, a developing movement that advocates for the rights of indigenous people and denounces exploitation of native land, where a third protest stretched on during Sunday. Idle No More gained momentum and international support during the winter months that triggered mass protests nationwide.
Concordia University students and supporters protested outside the annual meeting of the Canadian Bureau for International Education Wednesday, to denounce the alleged mistreatment of Chinese international students in homestay programs and at the hands of recruitment officers associated with the university.
A rally of approximately 30 people stood outside the Sheraton Hotel at noon to demand Concordia be held accountable for the allegedly questionable recruitment practices of Peter Low, the director of the Concordia China Student Recruitment Partner Program.
This issue first came to light in an article published in the Sept. 25 issue of The Link.
The international students who spoke of their experiences went only by their first names out of fear of repercussions. Many described situations where their money disappeared, they were poorly treated in homestay programs, and they were lied to by Low.
Lydia, the first student to speak, explained how she paid her tuition to Low, only to find that more than $2,000 of it vanished without ever reaching her Concordia student account.
“I understand paying money but not why it disappeared,” she said. “I paid money to Peter Low because he is the person who is on Concordia University’s website. I trusted him but now it seems like he has taken my money away.”
Gloria, a Chinese exchange student, said that despite the promises of what her homestay experience would be like, her time there left her feeling angry and betrayed by the university.
“I was not eating well, I was not receiving the food I was promised,” she said. “I feel cheated because I came here thinking Concordia University would take care of me and they didn’t.”
Nadia Hausfather, VP external of the Graduate Students’ Association and an organizer of the event, said that it was unfair to offer what she felt are unrealistic expectations to international students.
“Unfortunately providing these kinds of expectations is not new to Concordia, such as in 2009 when the Board of Governors raised tuition for certain international student programs by up to 50 per cent without warning them even before they came to Canada, so some students did not find out about this huge increase until they got off the plane.”
Concordia Student Union President Schubert Laforest confirmed Monday that he had seen documents in which Low implied to a student that the homestay program, which is independent of Concordia, was mandatory when that is not the case.
Walter Tom, the CSU’s legal information clinic’s co-ordinator, stressed the need to hold an investigation in conjunction with student groups like the CSU and GSA, because an investigation by the university alone may not be seen as credible.
“[The university] recently launched an external review regarding the compensation of executives at Concordia, why not do the same thing with this question,” Tom said. “This is even more fundamental, it’s about how students are affected directly, students they have brought over here, students they have recruited and are supposed to be cared for.”
Concordia responded to some of the allegations in a press release Friday, stating that they had received the full co-operation of Peter Low and that he “has adhered to the highest standards while helping students from China begin their studies at Concordia.”
The release states that contrary to the reports from some exchange students, Low only suggests homestays as an option, and receives no remuneration from homestay providers. According to the release, Low provided the university with evidence suggesting “that the complaints reported on by the media are likely the result of miscommunication.”
Jennifer Humphries, Vice-President, Membership, Public Policy and Communications for CBIE, told The Concordian that the role of the bureau is to provide guidelines for its members to follow, not to investigate its members actions, and that they trusted the university to act appropriately.
“Our sense is that Concordia will and is keeping us informed of the situation,” she said. “Frankly it’s just our role to work with them, and at this time we believe that they are working very hard to make sure that the students who have raised some concerns are responded to.”
A call for the dismissal of Constable Stéfanie Trudeau and a condemnation of police brutality was the message of protesters that took to the streets of the downtown core Friday night.
Trudeau, better known by her badge number 728, was temporarily suspended from the police force last week following the release of a video showing her use foul language and excessive aggression against a civilian during an arrest, Tuesday, Oct. 2.
“That incident was thankfully recorded but we don’t know how often this happens,” said protester and second-year nursing student at Dawson College, Geoffrey Graham.
Graham believes that Trudeau overstepped boundaries and her behaviour was unacceptable.
Photo by Marie-Josée Kelly“I tend to be optimistic and hope that it does not happen very often but I just want it to be as widely known as possible that this is not what we believe our police should be doing, they should be protecting us,” he said.
Trudeau also gained notoriety during the student conflict when a video posted online showed her pepper-spraying individuals who appeared to be non-threatening during a protest. She is suspended pending the results of an internal investigation into the allegations made against her.
Michael Arruda, a Montreal Police mediator followed Friday’s demonstration and was on hand to resolve any conflict that might arise.
“I know a lot of the people present here tonight,” said Arruda. “I’ve walked with them this summer [in the protests] and I say we’re going to have to give the system a chance, see what they have to say. I haven’t lost faith in the system yet and I think justice will be done.”
The march ended around 11 p.m. with no arrests reported.
A contingent of students moved through the streets of downtown Montreal on Friday, Aug. 31 to denounce the tuition increase and support striking students that clashed with university administration earlier in the week.
A group of approximately 100 protesters left Place Émilie-Gamelin around 9 p.m. Students weaved through lanes of vehicles slowing traffic on St-Denis St. to kick off a protest that lasted nearly three hours.
As the group headed west, the Montreal Police followed and directed traffic away from the protest. At around 10 p.m., demonstrators joined a crowd on University St. emerging from the Percival Molson Stadium following a Montreal Alouettes football game.
Eric Pagé, a McGill University undergraduate student who was at the game, said he feels the student protests have run their course.
“I think they have the right to protest but not to goad cops or damage public property,” said Pagé. “I don’t think they should be protesting with an election coming up. The more publicity the protests get, the more it annoys people,” added Pagé. “It affects the odds of voters casting their ballots in favor of the party who will hold their ground about tuition.”
The student movement has slowed down in recent weeks following the announcement of the provincial election coupled with several failed initiatives to continue student strikes in French CÉGEPs. The upcoming election on Sept. 4 will ultimately decide whether the tuition fee increase will stand and if the controversial Law 12 will be abolished.
“For me, the solution to the problem isn’t the elections,” said Anthony Kantara, a Vanier College student at Friday night’s protest. “We could have accomplished a lot more as a movement if we had continued with the strike.”
The protest fizzled out after midnight when protesters and police clashed outside of Concordia on the corner of De Maisonneuve Blvd. and Mackay St.
“No major incidents happened that night,” said Montreal Police spokesperson Anie Lemieux. “Three people were arrested. One individual was arrested for intimidation while two others were arrested for assault.”
Andréanne Proulx, a CÉGEP du Vieux-Montréal student, said she believes the results of the upcoming election will shape post-secondary institutions and guide the student movement.
“It really depends on which party will form the next government and the decisions it will make,” said Proulx. “But if nothing changes, the protests will continue.”
