Tag: quebec

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News

Thousands of Montrealers gather to protest violence against the Asian community

One of the protest’s organizers tells us how we can show continued support

Calls to “Stop Asian hate!” echoed through the streets of Montreal on Sunday, when thousands marched to protest anti-Asian hate crimes and to show their support for the Asian community in Quebec and abroad. The protesters marched from Cabot Square to Chinatown, shouting call and response chants.

Store owners along Saint-Catherine Street stood outside their businesses taking photos and cheering on the protestors as they made their way towards Chinatown. The protest ended with a vigil for the six Asian women murdered in Atlanta last week.

Violence towards the Asian community has increased rapidly since the beginning of the pandemic. British Columbia Premier John Horgan recently announced that the Vancouver Police Department has reported a 717 per cent increase in hate crimes against Asian-Canadians since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Protestors walking downtown.

One of the protest’s organizers, a member of Progressive Chinese of Quebec (PCQ) and Groupe d’entraide contre le racisme envers les Asiatiques du Québec (GECREAQ) spoke to The Concordian about the backwards sentiment behind these attacks. The individual wishes to keep their identity private.

“We are being scapegoated for a virus that’s a consequence of climate change, which is a consequence of our capitalist world.” They said that on top of struggling to adjust to life during COVID-19, “We are also feeling anxious to go into work or walk down the street, because getting attacked in broad daylight is becoming more common.”

“Even while we are born here, raise our families here, pay taxes and work here, we are not considered Canadian. We are subjugated to being seen as a ‘forever foreigner.’ When Canadians tell us to go back to where we came from, as if that same sentiment doesn’t apply to them, it’s to remind us that we do not belong here,” said the representative.

Chao Hua, a third-year international student at Concordia, found out about the protest “last minute,” but knew he needed to show his support. Speaking from the heat of the downtown protest, he argued that “You cannot just put your hatred on Asians, on us. We are not your scapegoat.” He pointed to his sign, which read those same words.

“Killing Asians, beating up the Asians, it’s not going to stop the virus. Everybody must work together. If all races, all ethnicities, all countries work together, we can beat up this virus. That’s the only way out.”

Onnie, another protestor, said that she feels sickened, not only by the violence directed towards the Asian community, but also by major media’s willingness to ignore the pervasiveness of the issue.

On the recent hate crimes, she said “They’re willing to put in the effort and energy to go into the fucking profile of a murderer, but not the grand profile of how this reflects on everyone else and our complicitness with the situation.”

Protestors laid flowers to honour those killed in the Atlanta shooting.

As the PCQ and GECREAQ representative stated, “It’s no secret that anti-racist work requires a lifetime

commitment.” To show support in the short term, they said to “Contact your representatives about denouncing the racist laws in this province, for instance loi 21; to continue standing with [the BIPOC community] against their racist relative(s); to ensure that the spaces, especially work spaces, are safe for their BIPOC friends and coworkers, especially women and gender minorities.”

However, in order to see real, actualized change, the PCQ and GECREAQ representative says we must recognize the root of the issue: colonialism, imperialism and capitalism.

“In the long term above all, keep learning about how prevalent racism is in our everyday lives and how it operates as such a fundamental gear in this capitalist machine we are all in.”

To the Asian community in Montreal and abroad, they give an important message.

“While we mourn for those who’ve lost their lives and who’ve been physically assaulted, it’s a great time to remind ourselves that we can’t feel disenfranchised. We have every right to exist. We have every right to be here. We are allowed to take up space and stand together against the colonial enemy.”

Photos by Christine Beaudoin

Categories
Student Life

Canada’s costly new mandatory quarantine unfairly punishes international students

Canada’s latest travel restrictions will incur exorbitant costs for those with student visas

Following a slew of winter vacationers to the Caribbean and Mexico, new regulations for passengers entering Canada have been enforced in an effort to discourage non-essential travel.

In effect since Jan. 30, the new restrictions include a suspension of flights to some sunny destinations enforced through April 30, as well mandatory COVID PCR testing at airports for returning travellers. But most notably, mandatory three-day quarantines at government-approved hotels, with packages that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says could cost upwards of $2,000 per returning passenger, have been the subject of complaint.

Among the chatter from Canadian vacationers who have expressed disdain for the new regulations, international students have begun to voice concerns about the financial and logistical impacts these travel restrictions will bear on their plans to return to Canada.

In multiple public posts to Concordia University’s subreddit, international students wonder whether those with student visas may be exempt. One user commented, “[$2,000] equals the tuition of a whole semester for a Quebec resident at Concordia. If they would [implement] this, why [issue] new study permits to international students?”

Currently, Concordia’s website lists international student tuition fees as ranging between $21,720 to $28,995 for one academic year. Given that Canadian citizens were responsible for the majority of non-essential travel that inspired these restrictions, legitimate concerns are being raised over the inequities in its effects on international students.

Conversely, since Canadian universities such as Concordia stand to profit broadly from international tuition fees (specifically nearly $6 billion in annual revenue for Canadian universities and nearly $22 billion in expanded economic contributions), candid discussions around the equitable handling of returning international students must be had.

In another Reddit post, one anonymous student remarked, “Concordia has definitely failed us, especially international students as they said last year that we could all go home and that they would adjust consequently…” Concordia and universities across Canada did, in fact, reassure international students flexibility as they collectively navigated distance learning in the pandemic.

However, the latest Canadian travel measures do not exempt international students from the $2,000 mandatory quarantine, which is evidence of universities’ negligence in advocating for their international students.

It is important to note that international students are not asking to break public health guidelines. Rather, given that international students are ineligible for emergency financial support like the Canada Emergency Student Benefit (CESB) or the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), the costly mandatory quarantines exacerbate the already exorbitant costs they face. One anonymous student remarked, “That’s crazy. That’s the equivalent of four months of my rent.” Currently, robust measures to provide equitable travel guidelines for international students are still needed.

Concordia’s international students information page touts Montreal as the “best student city in North America.” With Canada’s failure to consider the unfair impacts on returning international students, Concordia’s claim that Montreal is an “affordable, student-friendly city” appears to leave out international students amidst a global pandemic.

 

Feature graphic by @the.beta.lab

Categories
News

Liberals to move ahead with the introduction of assault weapons buy-back program

Bill C-21 invites controversy from all sides of the gun debate

Following the ban of 1,500 makes and models of firearms in May, the Liberals are proposing new gun restrictions under Bill C-21, which will grandfather out assault weapons currently in circulation with a voluntary buy-back program, should the bill pass.

“Gun violence has had devastating effects on communities across the country, and on too many Canadians who have lost loved ones. According to Statistics Canada, firearms were used in over 40 per cent of homicides in Canada in 2019. This violence must stop,” states a press release from February 16 on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s website.

A two-year amnesty period is in place, which began in May of 2020, to last until April 30, 2022. The goal of the amnesty period is to “protect lawful owners from criminal liability and to enable them to comply with the law,” according to the press release.

The buy-back program is voluntary; those in possession of weapons eligible for buy-back will be able to keep them past the amnesty period but they won’t be able to fire, transport, or pass them on to a new owner. Canadians could hope a new administration will reverse the ban and allow them to retain possession of their firearms.

If Bill C-21 cannot be passed before the next election, it will have to be dropped and reintroduced after the election by the new administration. Trudeau campaigned on stricter gun control in 2019.

“One Canadian killed by gun violence is one too many. The tragedies we have seen in Sainte-Foy and Portapique, and more recently in Toronto and Montreal, should never happen. This is why our government has taken some of the strongest action in our country’s history against gun violence,” Trudeau stated in a press release in February.

But some are questioning whether this current policy is a genuine attempt to achieve stronger gun control, and whether the Liberals intend to pass it before the next election.

One such person is James Hanna, one of the founders and president of the Concordia University Sports Shooting Association (CUSSA) and a Concordia Student Union (CSU) councillor. He is opposed to the buy-back program and the May 1 ban.

“They’re basically doing a giant PR stunt before the election. That’s my personal theory … it allows them to claim victory without actually doing anything on the ground,” said Hanna.

Many people on both sides of the gun debate see the buy-back program as a policy that will be ineffective and simply a piece of electioneering. For anti-gun advocates, the policy allows too many firearms to remain in circulation.

Meaghan Hennegan was injured in a shooting at Dawson College in 2006. She was recently quoted in a press release by PolySeSouvient, “The reason we applauded the Liberals during the last election and told Canadians they are the best party for gun control is because their promise included a total ban. That is why we endorsed them. […] We were used and betrayed.”

Even if the guns can’t be operated legally, the concern on both sides of the issue has always been to crack down on illegal gun use. Some people on the pro-gun side think the best way to do this is to turn the issue to gangs and gang violence rather than gun control.

“We want to look at the source of all this gun violence, which is gang violence, and if we’re targeting gang violence … this is going to have much more holistic positive effects,” said Hanna.

Bill C-21 will also allow municipalities to regulate handgun usage as they see fit, which is another controversial part of the legislation. Those living in areas where handguns are banned could simply travel to somewhere with looser regulations, purchase a gun and return home with it.

“They’re jettisoning responsibility off to the municipalities. So if gun crime continues to rise, the government can just say, ‘Well, we gave municipalities the power to fix it. They’re not using it, it’s not our fault’ and just absolve themselves of responsibility for any issues,” said Hanna.

Bill C-21 will also increase the maximum penalties for firearms trafficking, and provide $250 million over five years to anti-gang programming in municipalities and Indigenous communities throughout Canada.

 

Graphic by Lily Cowper

Categories
News

Film production students demand action against structural racism in Concordia’s Film department

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Faculty commits to changes incited by Film Production Students for Inclusivity and Action organization

In fall 2020, the Film Production Students for Inclusivity and Action (FPSIA) drafted a letter of demands, clearly outlining their recommendations to address structural racism within Concordia University’s Film department. After collecting over 100 student and alumni signatures, their initial demands were met and accomplishments outlined in a recent Instagram post.

FPSIA demands

  1. Transparency and accountability in the department’s recognition of the demands and concerns raised in the letter.
  2. Transparent hiring process for new faculty members from diverse backgrounds.
  3. Increased BIPOC perspectives and subjects within the department’s curriculum.
  4. Increased responsibility for teaching assistants within the department.
  5. Clarity in the admissions process and that the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema work together in collaboration with students towards inclusivity in the film industry.
  6. A redefined jury system for Filmmaking II & III (FMPR 332 & 432), with a redistribution of roles and resources, in favour of “real world experience.”
  7. Refreshed training for faculty, staff and students regarding the Code of Rights and Responsibilities, and that the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema makes a commitment to handling complaints filed underneath the Code.
  8. Future equipment purchases be made with accessible, affordable options, and that money acquired through donations can be distributed as grants or bursaries to students who need it most.

Faculty commitments made thus far 

  1. The Film Department has formed an Equity, Diversity and Inclusion committee to address the FPSIA’s demands listed in the letter. The committee holds seven seats, with two reserved for students. Two seats are currently occupied, one by the co-chair of the department, along with Assistant Professor in Cinema, Marianna Milhorat. Three committee seats are also reserved for a full-time, part-time and technical staff member.
  2. The faculty, who has previously committed to annual artist-in-residence positions, is reserving this position for a person who self-identifies as BIPOC or who is otherwise deserving through rich community engagement experience.
  3. Workshops, training programs, and funding opportunities have been implemented.

In a conversation with Flora Nwakobi, member of Film Production Students for Inclusivity and Action (FPSIA), Video Editor at The Concordian and Film Production student Adam Mbowe framed the need for diversity and inclusion at the Mel Hoppenheim School of Cinema. Watch the interview below.

The FPSIA will be hosting a discussion on the topics of Film, Gender, and Education with Dr. Tracy Ying Zhang, Alexia Roc, and Whitney Norceide on Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m. For more information or to attend the event, visit their Facebook page.

 

Feature graphic courtesy of Flora Nwakobi.

Categories
Opinions

The kids are not alright: why we need existential crises

How spirituality and mental health intertwine

We’ve heard Premier François Legault say it enough times: implementing secularism in our province’s legal framework was an “important moment” that “doesn’t go against the freedom of religion.”

Whether a state’s democracy rests on its relationship with religion is a debate as old as time. Throughout history, people have gone to war because of the power of religion over the state and over other religions.

This is a contentious issue that no one has an answer to, but one of the expected consequences of secularizing a state is that of having a society that doesn’t think of religion as having an integral role to play in the way our country is run.

Our secular society tells us that it’s unbecoming to talk and think of religion as anything other than a private, individual matter, and that other social aspects of politics should take precedence over it. Legault wasn’t wrong in saying his Bill 21, which banned religious symbols for public workers and mandated that one’s face must not be covered in order to receive some public services, was an “important moment” in Quebec.

Instead of making it a norm to see people practice their religions, we’re pushing people to foster their own religious beliefs within their own homes, on their own, away from their community, which is the complete opposite perspective to how most religions have been structured.

Young people are raised not to think about questions central to religion with as much seriousness as past generations. For some time now, the percentage of the population who are religiously committed has been declining, while the proportion of Canadians who are “spiritually uncertain” or who simply reject spirituality have been escalating. Even those who have faith in religion don’t practice it nearly as much anymore.

On the other hand, our country is going through a mental health crisis, and one which disproportionately affects young people.

We can’t dismiss the downward trend in adherence to faith as being completely disconnected from the rise in mental health issues in the country. The cosmogonic theories and ideologies that religion is so good at starting conversations about, and that science so often leaves open-ended, are quintessential to the human experience.

It’s not a coincidence that every single civilization that has existed has created a system of beliefs to explain where things come from and what the universe is. Since we’ve become sentient and self-aware beings, it’s been a natural instinct of ours to look for answers and to rationalize the world we live in beyond sensory perception.

It’s also no coincidence that all religions have traditions and habits that centre around bringing people together: we know that community is a basic human need. Living beings don’t do well with loneliness; it’s instinctual to want to build relationships with those around us.

It’s not surprising to see the attempts by a government to reduce religions down to something we can leave at home ends up making its population more depressed and less grounded. Our leaders have such a key role to play on culture, and they’re now building one where fraternity and existentialism are considered peripheral to self-reliance and science.

Maybe what we need isn’t a more secularized state but a more spiritual and inclusive one. Human beings weren’t made to let go of their desire to understand the unknowns of the universe.

 

Graphic by @the.beta.lab

Categories
News

Concordia professor uses racial slur during a class

The Black Student Union advocates for students to be heard

 

On Feb. 3, just a few days into Black History Month, a Concordia faculty member who guest lectured in an undisclosed class said the N-word. The faculty member and the class in which the incident took place have not been named in order to avoid any ill-treatment.

Pierrette Manege, a student in Women’s Studies and Immigration Studies, and Amanda Asomani-Nyarko, an English Literature major, came forward last week after hearing the slur uttered in their class room.

They said that during a conversation pertaining to feminism and the power that certain words hold, the white lecturer gave a trigger warning and then listed a couple of words that could be considered offensive.

“She was like, ‘oh, words such as coloured’, and then she said the N-word, and then she said Black … It was just words that targeted the Black community,” said Manege.

Surprised and confused, Manege recognized that this was not okay with her.

“I’ve had instances where I haven’t said anything and I felt really guilty. So this time I was like, I’m going to put it into the chat and just let her know that I don’t feel comfortable with what she just said. Specifically, her saying the N-word fully as a white woman,” said Manege.

Asomani-Nyarkowhen noted this isn’t the first time she’s heard a professor say the N-word in class.

Reflecting on this particular incident, she said, “I was numb, and then my numbness turned into anger, and then confusion as to why this is happening. And then I wanted to say something, but then I also felt like, they’re gonna think I’m just being sensitive or the angry Black woman, you know?”

In the end, Asomani-Nyarko decided to express her agreement with Manege’s comment in the chat, stating the two were not okay with a white professor using the N-word in any context.

When the speaker saw that there were messages in the chat, she asked them to either turn their mics on or she’d read the messages aloud. When she got to Manege and Asomani-Nyarko’s comments, the speaker got “visibly uncomfortable,” said Manege.

She said, “She became very defensive, and, in her defense, decided to justify her use of that word.”

Often, white professors will use the ‘academic context’ armour to get away with saying this slur in classrooms. Amaria Phillips, a co-founder and president of the Black Student Union disagrees with this defence.

She said, “There’s no tolerance, not even in an academic setting to say, a slur that …  not only has been used in the past, but it’s still used in the present. It’s still used now, in this day and age against Black people, to demean them and to hurt them.”

Not only does this seem like common sense, said Phillips, but in the political climate that we find ourselves in — with the uprise of the Black Lives Matter movement and now during Black History Month — Phillips finds it unacceptable that Black students should have to feel unsafe in classrooms.

Phillips added that Black students are already discriminated against outside of school. She added, “Coming to classes, still [having to] hear the N-word, and then be told, ‘Oh, your opinion doesn’t matter about the N-word.’”

Phillips spoke about how the N-word never needs to be said out loud. She said, “Why not just say “the N-word”…. I don’t understand why you have to pronounce the whole word. And again, it goes back to kind of like proving that [white professors] could do it.”

Tanou Bah, co-founder and Vice President of the BSU, and Phillips explained why this word should be banned from campus. Phillips said, “I think that Black students especially, and Black people in the Black community have been telling non-Black people ‘can you stop’ for years, and yet, just again, it’s like they don’t care.”

Concordia University has responded to this incident, stating, “Our goal is to work collaboratively towards a resolution and prevention plan that recognizes the concerns and experiences of our students and supports the discussion of difficult knowledge.”

They have implemented the Black Perspectives Office and a Task Force on Anti-Black Racism, in an effort to give Black students the agency they deserve. While these have been helpful, the Black Student Union, a non-profit organization that is not currently registered with the CSU, has taken the main stage in advocating for Manege and Asomani-Nyarko, as well as other Black students.

 

The BSU’s role at Concordia 

 

At Concordia, all undergraduate clubs and fee levy groups (one funded by students for students) fall under the CSU’s umbrella. These groups have to register through the CSU.

For the BSU, this process has yet to take place. Phillips explained that when the idea for the student association came to mind, the initial goal was to form a group to celebrate and advocate for Black students with no ethnic specificity.

She said, “So there was just one for Caribbean or African [students]. But there was not one for, you know, Black people, and Black students. And like, if you are American, where do you fall into?”

The group recognized that many predominantly white universities have Black student unions, or something similar to ensure representation, and decided to pursue this goal. At Concordia, this representation would fall under the CSU if it wasn’t for the Black Student Union.

Isaiah Joyner, the general coordinator at the CSU, explained that the BSU approached them to try to start the process of being a registered student association. He said, “So typically, what you would see is organizations, or like a lot of fee levies would start off as a CSU club.”

However — and this may just be a case of miscommunication through Zoom and dozens of emails — the BSU decided to go down a different route. They are currently a non-profit organization, bypassing the CSU — for now.

If the BSU wants to become a fee-levy organization, the process may not be so straightforward. Joyner explained, “Concordia is a little tricky, because one, they don’t collect race-based data … We wouldn’t be able to just levy the Black students, we have to levy all students for a certain credit to give [the BSU] a budget and let them operate, and do all that good stuff.”

This would pose issues with any students wanting to opt out of the Black Student Union, because typically students can not opt out of representative organizations.

However, the BSU is something that would be beneficial to overall student life, no matter how complicated it may be to institute it.

Phillips expressed there may have been some apprehension when the idea of the BSU was first brought up. She explained that the goal of the BSU was to ensure representation of Black students at a higher academic level, among other things.

“When we voiced that, that’s when we got a lot of opposition. And you know, we got advice, but it wasn’t as helpful as we wanted it to be. And, yeah, I think that that opposition kind of discouraged us a little bit too,” said Phillips.

Joyner explained that this is a tedious process that all organizations must go through. He said, “We gave them all the information, we let them know the different processes, so as to why they haven’t followed up and tried to do it, like, through the CSU channels … I guess it’s not what they’re envisioning.”

“We’re still here with open arms and we want to support it. These are important issues that Black students are facing,” said Joyner.

Categories
News

JMSB student starts petition to turn Grey Nuns Residence into temporary homeless shelter

In just four days, the petition collected over 3,000 signatures

After the recent deaths of homeless people in Montreal, David Desjardins, a third-year John Molson School of Business (JMSB) student at Concordia University, wanted to do more than just raise awareness about the city’s growing homelessness crisis.

Since the start of the pandemic, Montreal’s homeless population has increased from a pre-pandemic figure of around 3,000 to hundreds, maybe thousands, more. While experts have not been able to pinpoint the exact figure, the increase has manifested at homeless shelters, with staff reporting that they are operating at full capacity, though this is not enough to adequately serve the city’s increasing homeless population.

Meanwhile, several student residences in the city remain closed due to the pandemic. At Concordia, the Grey Nuns Residence — a heritage student residence and hotel building located near the downtown campus — is closed, with almost 600 beds unoccupied since the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year.

Desjardins decided to call on Concordia University to step in, and started a petition on Jan. 28, directed towards President of Concordia University Graham Carr, to turn the Grey Nuns Residence into a temporary homeless shelter.

Part of Desjardins’ motivation for starting the petition includes believing that “we need to act with urgency to find these people somewhere to stay, at least temporarily, or else we will see bloodshed.”

The petition, which started off with a goal of 150 signatures, currently has over 3,000.

“It’s been pretty impressive, I’m very happy to see all the support we’re getting,” said Desjardins.

In addition to it’s high occupancy rate, the Grey Nuns Residence boasts a cafeteria space, several multipurpose rooms, and 234-seat silent reading room. There are no specific plans on how this space would be used; instead, Desjardins said his petition is meant to get the ball rolling.

He believes new resources made available for the homeless during the pandemic, such as the Old Royal Victoria Hospital being converted to a homeless shelter in August 2020, “was a great first step.”

However, Desjardins believes that, in many ways, efforts to help the homeless have fallen short.

“I wouldn’t even say the government is doing much to be quite frank.”

Since enacting stricter lockdown measures on Jan. 9, Legault did not exempt the homeless population and homeless shelters from the 8 p.m. curfew. That decision not only meant that homeless people could incur fines up to $1,500 for being outside after curfew, but that shelters could no longer accept new clients past the curfew as well.

Even after the death of Raphael “Napa” Andre, a 51-year-old homeless man who froze to death in a portable toilet just a few metres away from a shelter after curfew, Legault said he would continue to refuse exempting the homeless population from curfew regulations.

“You have to understand that if we put in the law that a homeless person cannot get a ticket, well then anyone could say “I’m homeless,” explained Legault.

Severe backlash followed Legault’s stance, with politicians and community members calling on the premier to have compassion towards the homeless. On Jan. 26, a Quebec Superior Court judge reversed Legault’s regulation, ruling the homeless were no longer subject to curfew.

Following the government’s rocky commitment to the issue, Desjardins looked for new solutions to help with the homelessness problem. He believes more organizations and businesses should be willing to help.

“I think that anybody who does not take action in these times where it’s needed, are going to be guilty and are going to have blood on their hands,” said Desjardins.

If the project is approved, Desjardins thinks the university would have to find creative ways to fund the project. While he would allow a portion of his own tuition to fund the project, he believes many students would be against their own tuition being used.

“Once we have a green light, we can look at finding ways to get food, clothing, personal protective equipment … and all kinds of other things that are going to require funding for this project,” said Desjardins.

For now, he has contacted staff from the Grey Nuns Residence, and says he would be open to being involved with the project if it goes forward.

“I’m just doing everything I possibly can to make this happen at the moment,” said Desjardins.

 

Photograph by Christine Beaudoin

Interview conducted by Hadassah Alencar and edited by Adam Mbowe.

Categories
News

Montrealers struggle to cope with ongoing COVID-19 measures

How the curfew and ban on certain goods impact lives, despite the efforts to halt the rise in COVID cases

As of Jan. 9, Quebec has put strict confinement measures in place such as the curfew, desperately hoping to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the province. These measures also include the closing of all non essential businesses, and reinforcing the rules regarding indoor gatherings.

The imposed curfew, which runs  from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m., along with the new measures requiring travelers to test negatively for COVID-19 before coming to Canada, have faced some criticism.

Many civil liberty groups have spoken out against the curfew, questioning its impact on civil liberties, as well as the strain the provincial government is dumping onto its citizens.

According to an article from CBC, the Ligue des droits et libertés has asked Legault’s government to address the more pertinent underlying causes of the hike in case numbers, rather than relying on a curfew. This refers to updating ventilation in old structures such as schools and office spaces, as well as bettering conditions for healthcare workers.

But these are not the only outcries the government is hearing. The curfew — as well as measures put in place limiting the sale of non-essential goods — has also placed significant strain on individual Montrealers.

Shanique Morris, or laveganbaddie on Instagram, owns a local secondhand shop, with a niche Bratz-Y2K aesthetic, reminiscent of the early 2000s. Her shop has seen immense growth since she started in October 2019, but the curfew has put a dent in her business endeavors.

Morris explained how in the past, she regularly made deliveries in the evenings. She would travel to a shipment centre far from her home, as well as to individual clients. However, with the new curfew, she said, “My schedule is all over the place.”

“I didn’t have the time to deliver my packages yesterday so I have had no choice but to come [to the shipment centre] this morning because you know, since curfew, [closing] times change,” explained Morris.

She’s also experiencing difficulty purchasing the necessary materials to run her shop from home. She explained, “If my printer were to break, and I needed one right away, I couldn’t just go to the store and get one. Because that’s deemed as non-essential — and obviously I do need a printer to be able to print out my labels.”

Kassidy Jordan, a second year student at Concordia, has also faced repercussions due to the new safety measures. She explained that she was recently laid off from her job; despite this, she is understanding of the situation.

She said, “In theory, if you’ve been doing what you’re supposed to be doing, none of the new restrictions … really affect you that much. It’s just, like, tiring.”

She expressed her thoughts on the curfew and its impacts on her lifestyle, and said, “It feels like you don’t have very much  control over how you want to spend your day.”

Furthermore, Jordan went on to express her beliefs on where Legault should be concentrating his efforts.

“I’ve walked past some elementary and middle schools here. And you can clearly see that the kids are just all over each other, like close together, not distanced, not doing it in a safe manner.”

 

Photograph by Kit Mergaert

En français, s’il vous plaît!

The Charter of the French Language, revisited

A recent Journal de Montréal report has reignited the evergreen debate about the use of English in Quebec’s businesses. Even more than that, it has reignited the flood of articles crying shame upon those whose primary language isn’t French, and has even initiated talks in the provincial parliament to bring reforms to the controversial Bill 101.

This report, aimed at exposing how prevalent English is in the city’s establishments, stated that one out of every two businesses don’t greet customers in French, and some even have workers who are unable to speak it. This conclusion, of course, fails to note that the downtown area’s high concentration of immigrants, tourists, and international students have heavily skewed their results.

Don’t get me wrong — contrary to many who attend anglophone universities, I don’t disagree with the concept of imposing the teaching of French on those who grew up here. I’m not totally opposed to the idea of preserving a part of our culture that makes us stand out from the rest of the country. Learning French is incredibly useful, and I find myself lucky that I was raised in a country that promotes multilingualism in this way.

Further than that, I don’t think English should become an official language of our province. We have built a culture around our language, which still represents a core part of our heritage — and I’m saying this even though both my parents are immigrants. To me, Quebec wouldn’t be Quebec without the dominance of French.

This being said, the war between languages can still be quite problematic in some aspects. I’ve conveniently compiled some definitions of commonly used terms to help you navigate all the articles you may come across when reading up on this debate.

Loi 101

n.f.

Also known as Charte de la langue française, this legislation asserts French as Quebec’s sole official language. Its articles outline specific rules, such as:

  • the use of French on product labels, packaging, and instructions manuals (Article 51);
  • the use of French on advertisements, public signs, coupons, receipts, and job application forms (Articles 57 and 58);
  • the requirement of sending children to primarily francophone schools, with the exception of those who have at least one parent who is a Canadian citizen and who has received most of their education in English (Article 73).

Many articles of this bill have been challenged on grounds of xenophobia and racism. Not only has it been widely used to assimilate children from ethnic backgrounds and discourage them from speaking their parents’ mother tongue, some consider it to create a lot of division among newly arrived immigrants.

Office québécois de la langue française

n.m.

Provincial organization that aims to enforce the use of French as the official language in Quebec. Over the past year, it has processed 3665 complaints relating to the observance of Bill 101, and whose inspectors ensure the proper punishment of offenders, such as a small bakery owner who used the word ‘espresso’ and a family restaurant named Kitchen 73, which contains an English word.

Bonjour/Hi

n.m.

Greeting used by many service workers to ensure the representation of both languages in their workplace. Also the root of a continuous debate about the prioritization of French in businesses that has caused many to support making English greetings illegal in the province, a decision which was ruled out in favour of public awareness campaigns.

I hope these definitions will help as you scroll through the Journal’s home page and find yourself impressed with their pro-Charte rhetoric. Though important, Quebec nationalism isn’t as ideal as they make it out to be.

 

Graphic by Taylor Reddam

High school students struggle to keep their masks on

 Who is enforcing the rules?

When the school year began at the end of August, it was believed that healthy youth were at low risk for contracting COVID-19 and that schools could open confidently and safely. Now, in the midst of an extended lockdown during the second wave of the pandemic, schools have become the driving force of transmission in Quebec. According to Santé Montreal, by the end of October, among the highest number of reported cases was in youth between the ages of 10 to 19. As a result, the government is contemplating shutting down schools during the winter term.

Living near a local high school, this outcome is not all surprising. Since the beginning of the school year, I have often seen high school students huddled closely together, without masks on, walking to and from school.

The Government of Quebec provided a document detailing how students should conduct themselves on school grounds in accordance with health and safety measures. Initially, secondary students were not required to wear masks in their classrooms so long as they were with students from their own class. Now, students who attend schools in red zones must wear masks in their classrooms regardless. Outside of the classroom, masks are required in communal spaces like hallways, cafeterias and on public and school transportation.

Physical distancing has not been made mandatory for students who are in the same class as one another. However, when interacting with students from other classes they must keep a one-metre distance, except in red zones where a two-metre distance must be maintained. Perhaps this is easy enough to enforce on school grounds, but once the school day is over there’s no way to prevent the intermingling of students off of school property.

At College de Montreal, for example, the high school students display different behaviour depending on the time of day. At 8:30 on a Monday morning, teenagers can be seen walking along Sherbrooke Street towards the grand grey stone building that was once a Roman Catholic seminary. Nearly all of these high schoolers are wearing masks as they make their way onto the school grounds. The black masks appear to be just another garment added to their school uniform, blending in fittingly with the charcoal grey and navy tones of their skirts and slacks.

The end of the school day, however, shows an entirely different scene. About a dozen students stand at a bus stop across the street from the school on the corner of Sherbrooke and Saint-Marc Streets. The majority of them wear their masks around their chins or have them dangling between their fingers as they enjoy their after-school snacks of AriZona Iced Teas and assorted bags of chips.

While observing the scene, I see a middle-aged woman wearing a mask and big black sunglasses exiting the 24 Sherbrooke bus. She wanders over to a group of teenage girls, about 14-years-old, who aren’t wearing their masks as they cluster together. If you’re not standing six feet apart you must keep your masks on, she tells them.

“Don’t you care about your parents? Your grandparents?” she appeals to them.

“Our parents aren’t here,” one of the girls retorts to the agreement of her friends.

“Yeah, they’re not even here,” they repeat in unison.

Exasperated by the seemingly futile conversation, the woman turns her back on the group and walks the other way. Invigorated by their triumph, the girls brainstorm alternative comebacks.

“My grandparents are dead,” one of them exclaims followed by a fit of giggles.

Becoming increasingly animated with every retelling of the confrontation, their group creeps closer and closer together. One girl with a high ponytail stands on the periphery of the group and laughs with the others while subtly putting her mask on.

The girls spot two schoolmates across the street and call them over. With her mask securely on, the girl with the high ponytail pushes herself to the centre of the circle and is the first to tell the newcomers the tale of their perceived victory.

For those of us who have been strictly following the proper protocols, the event that unfolded is concerning and rather obnoxious, but we must be careful not to judge these young people too harshly. The rules keep changing for these students depending on where they are and who they are with, and they’ve had to continuously alter their behaviour accordingly. Despite a verbal dismissal of the woman who confronted the high school girls, once she left, some of them began to adhere to her request. The issue is not simply a matter of teenagers resenting being told what to do, but a lack of consistency in what has been expected of them.

 

Feature photo by Christine Beaudoin

1995: The independence we almost had

The 25th anniversary of Quebec’s bitter defeat

The first time I ever heard the words “vote ethnique” was during my high school Monde Contemporain class. My teacher, a not-so-secret diehard Quebec separatist, explained that it was one of the reasons that many voters felt robbed of a “Yes” majority during the 1995 referendum.

It was claimed that the federal government had rushed the process for immigrants to obtain their citizenship right before the vote in hopes of skewing the results — an accusation that has left a lasting bitterness towards foreigners and minorities.

My teacher also brought up the hundreds of thousands of dollars unlawfully spent by the federal government on their conservative campaign, though failed to mention the ballots illegally rejected by the “Yes” camp.

I’ve been looking back on all this political drama, as the last referendum turned a quarter of a century old on Oct. 30. The separatist ideology has since fallen considerably out of popularity, with 82 per cent of Quebecers siding with remaining Canadians in 2016.

Despite the dwindling sentiment of nationalism, independence remains a major talking point in provincial elections, which brings us to wonder what even still drives this conversation 25 years later.

The economic implications of obtaining sovereignty are almost always the first objection to this matter. Despite Quebec representing just under 23 per cent of the country’s population, our share of Canada’s total debt — which sits at around 37 per cent — would be a major obstacle to our success without the federal government’s help. Our debt to capita and to GDP ratios have also been some of the highest in the country at the time of both referendums.

When the 1995 votes were cast, it was also uncertain whether the Clinton administration would’ve even recognized Quebec’s independence and accepted it as a member of the

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Without a free trade agreement with its neighbours, it would be nearly impossible for Quebec’s economy to survive.

Not to mention the friction this would cause with Indigenous nations, who would have to renegotiate their position in the country, and with ethnic minorities, for whom the rule of the French tongue may pose an even greater challenge.

But the Bloc Québécois and advocates for secession also do make some good points. Independence would allow us to focus our resources on the development of renewable energy sources like hydroelectricity, and to build up our economy in an environmentally-friendly way.

Less reliant on oil and with full control of major ports like Montreal and Quebec City, the new country could make a name for itself on the international stage and form its own economic and political alliances.

The Bloc’s argument for the inclusion of immigrants is also particularly interesting because it asks newcomers to integrate into Quebec culture — by learning French, for instance — so that they can contribute to a general culture, rather than follow the current Canadian model that they claim encourages foreigners to stay within their bubbles. What they call the “children of Bill 101,” or the second and third generation immigrants who were proudly raised as Quebecers, are proof that this is an achievable and desirable objective.

For now, I’m not sure many expect the third and final referendum to be called. Yet, we can still speculate on what could have happened just 25 years ago, and whether there is still hope for Quebec to regain its sovereign ideology.

 

Feature graphic by Taylor Reddam

Categories
Concordia Student Union News

CSU hosts second event of BLM Campaign: Know Your Rights, Legal Info 101

The virtual workshop helped students to understand their constitutional rights when fighting for change

On Nov. 5, the CSU hosted a virtual workshop as the second part of their Black Lives Matter campaign. The event focused on educating attendees about their basic legal rights when participating in activism and social justice work.

The workshop was given by Arij Riahi, a Montreal lawyer who focuses on cases of racial profiling and works with grassroots communities, students, and individuals from marginalized communities. Riahi has been involved with social justice and anti-racism work for as long as she can remember.

Riahi’s presentation covered the constitutional rights one has if detained, the different crimes that people participating in demonstrations can be charged with, and how to “cop watch” safely and legally.

Riahi hoped the event would equip its attendees with the ability to make informed decisions in their activism.

“I am a firm believer that knowledge is power,” she said. “I am a firm believer that every single person should evaluate for themselves the level of consent when they enter a political action.”

She also advises activists to think of others when protesting. She said, “Come from a perspective of care, and always be mindful of the people around you.”

Put your own political practice within a broader scheme, and make sure that you understand who is involved, and why they are involved.”

While she believes strongly in the importance of sharing legal knowledge and understanding one’s rights, Riahi acknowledges the complexities of the law.

“It’s a learning curve,” she said. “There’s always room to learn more, to know more.”

The event concluded with a presentation from Walter Chi-yan Tom of the CSU’s Legal Information Clinic (LIC). Tom discussed different tickets that can be given at demonstrations, including social distancing infractions, and the ensuing court process, with information about the rights of immigrants and international students when receiving a ticket or a criminal charge.

Tom encouraged students who have legal questions to contact the LIC, a free service for students to receive legal information and referrals.

Jessica Quijano, a spokesperson for Montreal’s Defund the Police Coalition, agrees that it is important for everyone who attends demonstrations and advocates for BLM to understand their legal rights, but emphasizes the importance of centering minorities to ensure safety at protests.

She urges allies to remember the communities that will be targeted and focus on helping the movement.

“It’s really important to not take the voices away from the people that are the most affected by police violence,” she said.

Is this about you or is it about a collective movement?” Quijano asked people to consider.

In addition to attending protests and informational events, Quijano encourages those who want to help the movement to try to do six actions after every protest they attend.

“It could be making phone calls or sending emails to your local representatives … educating people around you, and your family,” she said. “The protests and education part is one piece of it, but then it always has to go further than that.”

The series of virtual workshops provided by the CSU’s #BLM Campaign aims to equip students to participate in anti-racism work. They will be occurring regularly throughout the rest of the fall semester.

Riahi is currently working to allow her workshop to be accessed online.

 

Graphic by Taylor Reddam

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