Tag: quebec politics

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Anglophone universities prepare for education summit

Students of anglophone universities hope to voice their concerns at the upcoming education summit put forth by the provincial government to investigate university governance and management of post-secondary funds.

As part of her mandate, newly elected Premier Pauline Marois of the Parti Québécois abolished the proposed tuition fee increase of $1,778 over the next seven years set by the previous Charest government, and promised a conference to address the concerns of post-secondary students.

The Arts and Science Federation of Associations of Concordia University set precedent in late September by approving a motion that mandated all member associations to consult students on the future of university education in preparation for the summit.

ASFA VP academic-Loyola, Eric Moses, told The Concordian that ASFA is in the process of forming a sub-committee that will examine all details surrounding the consultation of MAs.

“We [ASFA] are excited and in high gear with plans to facilitate our member associations’ process,” said Moses.
Following the consultation of its member associations, ASFA intends on bringing the concerns of their students to the table before the provincial government.

The structure of the summit and the date on which it will be held have yet to be confirmed by the PQ government but the Concordia Student Union’s VP external Simon-Pierre Lauzon explained that the CSU, along with the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec, is lobbying for an open process whereas any student group who desires to, can show up and argue their position.

“This [education summit] is important because we have a government that has shown interest in the satisfaction of the Quebec student body; it would be a disservice to students given our responsibility as representatives to skip that opportunity to provoke more positive change for our student body,” said Lauzon.

Lauzon explained that if he represents Concordia at the summit, he will argue on behalf of undergraduate students from both inside and outside of the province.

“What makes Concordia special is that it is very multicultural, there are a lot of international and out-of-province students,” said Lauzon. “My goal is to push for their interests because I feel if we don’t do that sort of lobbying then it will not be done.”

The Fine Arts Student Alliance of Concordia attempted to have a special general meeting to discuss students’ concerns Thursday but was unable to reach quorum. FASA councillor Erika Couto said that a second special general meeting will likely take place in November.

“We’re looking towards a general assembly, in which we’ll discuss specifically concerns we’re worried about as fine arts students,” said Couto. “A lot of students are concerned because Marois said she’d be cancelling the hike for this year but there are no guarantees about anything going forward.”

Couto sees the proposed summit as a positive development considering the events that took place in the last year surrounding the Charest government’s proposed increase of tuition fees. According to Couto, a consultation between the government and students is a step in the right direction.

“It is good step into educational reform in Quebec. Who better to know what students need and what it’s like to be a student than students.”

According to VP external affairs of the Student Society of McGill University Robin Reid-Fraser, SSMU is hoping to work with the Post-Graduate Student Society on a possible collaborative effort across campuses to gather students’ perspectives on university governance, tuition and the role of universities in society amongst other issues.

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A march for free education

Hundreds of demonstrators marched in the pouring rain Saturday, to celebrate the repealed tuition fee increase and abolished Law 12 while continuing to take a stand for free education.

The newly formed provincial government scrapped the proposed seven-year tuition fee increase of $254 per year Thursday, following months of social unrest from the student strike movement. The Parti Québécois also abolished the controversial Law 12 aimed to limit protests implemented by the former Liberal government.

The Coalition large de l’Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante led the protest through the streets of the downtown core around 2:50 p.m. from Lafontaine Park. Members of CLASSE began the monthly protest with speeches congratulating the student movement on their victory.

“The goal of this protest is to revive the debate about free tuition,” said Jeanne Reynolds, a spokesperson for CLASSE.

Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec and Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec were not present for the march, as both student groups fought for a tuition fee freeze and not free education. Both student associations declared victory following the repeal of the tuition hike.

Concordia University undergraduate student Robin Sas marched in support of the PQ’s decision to stomp out the hike.

“We have to celebrate the victories because they are rare,” said Sas. “That’s not to say I think it’s over but it’s a big victory in a continued fight.”

John Aspler, a recent McGill University graduate, said this was the first monthly protest he did not participate in. Aspler felt that the PQ’s position on universities’ management of funds and financial aid for students remains unclear.

“I don’t even know what we’re protesting anymore,” said Aspler. “I mean, maybe learn to compromise.”

Bishop’s University student Matt O’Neil believes that the student strike movement already won their victory and that the demonstration was unwarranted.

“It’s ridiculous, they already got their freeze,” explained O’Neil. “Now it’s getting down to greed.”

“CLASSE is leading the way in the fight toward free education, a model I personally agree with,” added Sas. “Why have any barriers based on income to education?”

“As long as there is a fee, some will be excluded, regardless of ability. Loans and bursaries are often insufficient, and student debt can be crippling,” Sas explained.

The demonstration ended with the arrest of two protesters and a police officer was injured on Sherbrooke St. after being pelted with a projectile outside of Loto-Québec. The Montreal Police declared the protest illegal around 4:30 p.m. and asked demonstrators to disperse.

“I think the protests will continue but with the most radical elements involved which could be awful,” said Aspler. “All of the 22nd protests have been peaceful except for this one.

Anthony Kantara, a Vanier College student, said that students must put pressure on Premier Pauline Marois because of her plan to index tuition fees.

“She’s not perfect,” said Kantara. “That’s why we have to keep fighting.”

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Tuition fee increase officially repealed

MONTREAL (CUP) – The Parti Québécois’ cabinet meeting last week was the first time Pauline Marois executed her actions as premier of the province, spelling out the end of solidarity within the student movement and heralding a new structure of government-student relations.

Marois announced the abolition of both the tuition hike as well as the controversial Law 12, save a few provisions largely in connection to the scheduling of the disrupted winter semester.

She also announced her cabinet, making public a new ministry – the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology – which will be led by Pierre Duchesne.

Marois’ announcements mark the fulfillment, at least verbally, of some of her campaign promises made by herself and other PQ candidates leading up to the Sept. 4 election.

Division at the base

Despite claiming the seven-month long student strike victory, the abolition of the hike signals the parting of ways for the student associations Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec and Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec, and the Coalition large de l’Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante, which had collaborated, despite a historically tense relationship.

All three representative bodies publicly claimed a tuition freeze as the goal fueling the strike, however, for CLASSE, the goal represented a compromise on their members’ part – a compromise they are no longer willing to make.

“We had adopted a negotiating stance during the strike for a freeze on the 2007 basis – it was seen as a compromise to mobilize more easily and to perhaps win more easily,” explained Jérémie Bédard-Wien, an executive of CLASSE, addressing students at McGill before Marois abolished tuition.

He said that the end of the strike permits CLASSE to focus on some of its own major political projects like their campaign for free education, one of the core objectives for CLASSE and its larger supporting organization, Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante.

Bédard-Wien said that for the Sept. 22 demonstration – a routine of protest held on the 22nd day of each month – the theme was to support free education. For the student federations, however, FEUQ President Martine Desjardins said that the association would not be participating in the Sept. 22 demonstration as FEUQ supports the objective of a tuition freeze, not free education.

“There’s no tuition fee hike, there’s no Law 12 and, so we think, now we have a minister who’s more open to discussion – we need to take this path,” she continued. “We won yesterday.”

Though CLASSE has also publicly deemed the student strike a victory, Bédard-Wien explained that the choice was made in order to emphasize the seven months of mobilization on the part of students.

“We want to make clear that now if the PQ cancels the tuition fee hike and cancels Law 12 it’s because we have risen and we have put intense political pressure on these political parties and they are afraid of us,” he said.

According to him, CLASSE takes a different approach to relations with the newly-elected PQ government than the student federations’ collaborative approach.

“The PQ has a long history of making promises that they don’t keep and are certainly no friends of any progressive social struggle,” he explained. He said that CLASSE is on alert for the tuition hike to return in the coming weeks and months.

A ministry devoted to higher education
First-time MNA Duchesne, a former Radio-Canada journalist and journalism professor at Université Laval, will be the first minister for the newly created Ministry of Higher Education, Research, Science and Technology.

Staff within the Ministry of Education, Leisure and Sport said they have yet to receive directives from the PQ as to how responsibilities will be divided between it and the new ministry.

The veteran PQ MNA Marie Malavoy will be the new Minister of Education, Leisure and Sport, a position formerly held by Liberal MNA Line Beauchamp, who resigned in the midst of the student strike before Michelle Courchesne was appointed to take her place.

According to Desjardins, Malavoy will not be involved in settling outstanding issues related to the student strike or the organization of the upcoming summit on higher education, which the premier has committed to organizing. Desjardins said the summit is likely to occur in February or March 2013.

Impact on students

Though now abolished, the tuition increase was already billed to students attending Quebec universities.

Circumstances vary depending on the institution: at the Université de Montréal tuition billing was delayed so no students will need reimbursement. At the Université du Québec à Montréal, the period to pay tuition ranges from mid-July to Nov. 2 so the number of students affected is undetermined, whereas, at McGill University, the deadline for fall 2012 tuition payments was set for the end of August. At Concordia, students were instructed to pay tuition including the hike weeks ago.

Spokespeople from Concordia, McGill and UQÀM confirmed that the universities have yet to receive any official direction from the government as to how and when reimbursements to students are to be provided.

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Kiss the hike goodbye

After holding office for only one day, Quebec Premier Pauline Marois is following through on her campaign promise to cancel the university tuition hikes imposed by the outgoing Liberal government.

Students and accessible education activists are celebrating this highly anticipated move, after months spent protesting the controversial hikes implemented by former Premier Jean Charest.

Marois said Thursday that her Parti Québécois minority government plans to maintain the $39-million increase on student financial assistance set up by the Liberals prior to the election. She went on to say that tuition for the school year will be capped at $2,168.

“The increase is cancelled for this year, for 2012-13 and for the next years, we will have the discussion at a summit on education,” said Marois during a news conference.

This summit is expected to happen within the first 100 days of the PQ taking power.

Her second order of business upon taking office was to put an end to Law 78, another controversial piece of legislation which limited the legality of protests taking place almost nightly within the province. CBC Montreal reported that the law would officially “come off the books” Friday.

More to come.

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New government ushered in with violence

Pauline Marois and the Parti Québécois were elected to form a minority provincial government in a night that ended with a fatal shooting Tuesday, Sept. 4.

The victory party for the newly elected sovereignist government was interrupted when security rushed Pauline Marois off-stage at the Metropolis venue on Ste-Catherine St. in downtown Montreal.

Two colleagues who were working the event, Denis Blanchette and Dave Courage, were shot just outside the concert hall minutes before midnight as Marois delivered her speech onstage to a sea of supporters.

Blanchette, a 48-year-old lighting technician, died at the scene after being shot at close range while Courage suffered severe injuries. The gunman then set the stage door on fire with hundreds of people still inside the building.

The alleged suspect, Richard Henry Bain, was taken into custody by Montreal Police shortly after the shooting. Dressed in a blue bathrobe and escorted into a police car, Bain screamed in French that it was “payback time” and that “anglos are waking up.”

The final results

After a 35-day campaign run, Pauline Marois will become the first female premier in Quebec history as soon as she is sworn in.

The Parti Quėbécois won the provincial election with a total of 54 seats in the National Assembly while the Liberals obtained 50, and the Coalition Avenir Quėbec gathered 19 seats.

In order for a political party to form a majority government in Quebec, they must have a minimum of 63 seats out of 125 in the National Assembly.

The Liberal party is the official opposition after nearly a decade in power. Quebec’s outgoing premier Jean Charest lost his own seat in his home riding of Sherbrooke by a landslide of nearly 3,000 votes to former Bloc Quėbécois MP turned Parti Quėbécois MNA Serge Cardin. Charest’s loss came 28 years after he won a federal seat as a Progressive Conservative member of parliament.

Leader of the CAQ, François Legault, secured 19 seats in the National Assembly and came in third place overall.

Québec Solidaire, led by Amir Khadir and Françoise David, gained a seat. The party now has two seats while Jean-Martin Aussant of Option Nationale, lost his only seat.

The undoing of Charest

After a nine-year era, Charest and the Liberal party were defeated and shelved to become the official opposition to the new PQ government.

Following months of social discontent, Charest called a provincial election August 1., which led to his defeat and resignation.

Flanked by family, Charest congratulated Marois publicly and expressed gratitude for the continuous strength and contributions from his colleagues and supporters on election night.

“I want to say to all of you tonight and all of you interested in the future of Quebec that the result of this election campaign speaks to the fact that the future of Quebec lies within Canada,” he said.

Charest bid his opponents good luck but did not announce his resignation the same night. He officially resigned as the leader of the Quebec Liberal Party and from politics Wednesday, Sept. 5.

Ending his 14-year tenure as party leader and nine-year term as Quebec’s premier, Charest said he had no regrets.

The student movement

Léo Bureau-Blouin, former president of the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec, won his riding of Laval-des-Rapides to become the youngest MNA ever elected to the National Assembly at the age of 20.

Bureau-Blouin joined Marois in July as rumours swirled about a pending provincial election.

Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, former Coalition large de l’Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante co-spokesperson told The Concordian Wednesday night that this win was a step forward for the anti-hike cause.

“It’s a beautiful day for the student movement,” said Nadeau-Dubois. “We have forced the Parti Québécois to take a position on the tuition increase, we have forced them to promise they will cancel it. So, it’s a pretty big victory for us today.”

Alleged suspect charged

Richard Henry Bain, the man allegedly behind the attack on election night, was formally charged with first-degree murder and 15 other charges Thursday, Sept. 6.

The other charges against Bain include weapons violations, three counts of attempted murder, arson-related offences and aggravated assault.

Police seized 22 weapons from the accused, all of which except for one were registered. Two were recovered from the scene, three were in Bain’s vehicle and the rest were found at his home in La Conception. Bain’s next court appearance is set for Oct. 11, 2012.

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National Assembly in a deadlock

On Sept. 4, Pauline Marois, leader of the Parti Québécois, was the first woman to be named premier of Quebec.

However, she will be at the head of a minority government, having won only four additional seats than the incumbent Liberals. A minority government cannot fully operate and respect their campaign promises without the help of a second party to back its ideas up. Luckily, neither the Coalition Avenir Québec nor the Liberals are looking to support any of Marois’ controversial campaign promises, if proposed in Quebec’s National Assembly.

Marcel Danis, a political science professor at Concordia University and former vice-president of the House of Commons, said he knows that nothing will come out of this provincial government.

‘‘I don’t think much will go on under this government because of the policies and the promises that she’s made,’’ said Danis.

The dynamic of a minority government dictates that the PQ can only pass legislations into law with a majority support. The party’s two most emblematic plans are a sovereignty referendum and the redistribution of wealth – and both must go through the National Assembly to be voted on by the entire government. According to Danis, attempts to follow through on these plans will in all likelihood be rejected.

The PQ’s promise of a referendum was actually in the form of a bill they wished to pass, which would give the people the power to call their own vote.

‘‘For example, under this new law, if 800,000 people, 15 per cent of Quebec’s population, want a referendum across the province, the referendum would have to take place,’’ said Danis.

The PQ’s plan for redistribution of wealth consisted of “abolishing the health tax of roughly $200 per person, and replacing that with an increase in taxes for people making over $130,000,” said Danis. According to Quebec law, all monetary legislation must go through the National Assembly, including raising taxes, and Danis doesn’t expect the opposition to throw their support behind the plan.

Marois does, however, have one alternative for passing her legislation. As premier, she can now pass executive decrees, which in other words, is mainly the power of appointment.

She will thus be able to go forth with her promise to reverse the tuition fee increase, which had a provision admitting executive decrees. Bill 78 does not; therefore, Marois will have to either pass a law through the National Assembly to abolish it, or simply let it expire itself on July 1, 2013.

“It’s surprising when you look at the results; nine more seats [for the PQ] would have made a huge difference,” said Danis. “We would have had a referendum, and we would have had some redistribution of wealth. None of that can take place now.”

As you can see, Marois has barely any space to move. Until the next election, the National Assembly will be in a deadlock.

Marois’ election should be seen as a symbol of Quebec’s need for change. Quebecers have decided to remove Charest from power, yet have only given the PQ a minority government, disabling the possibility for them to do as they please. It’s a symbol of exasperation and frustration from a majority that has felt unheard for too long. ….

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