400 000 protesters walking in Montreal Street

Idris

Drowned Out wrote:

Bill 78 fucking tramples the Charter. The public was told it was passed to prevent looting, stop rioters, and restore order. It accomplishes none of that – it’s sole focus is to quell dissent and outlaw even peaceful protests. Don’t even get me started on the police handling of this, and the media coverage. They pepper sprayed an entire patio full of innocent bystanders the other day - people sitting down for dinner…yet all we hear is how the protesters are harming businesses?? The restaurant owner was nearly in tears, asking ‘who do I call when my customers are abused by the police?’ :evil:

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http://montreal.mediacoop.ca/story/ten- ... ment/10896
Ten Points Everyone Should Know About the Quebec Student Movement

7. The government supports organized crime and opposes organized students

Right on!

brandon10

My brother is a student at Concordia. He has taken to the streets almost every day. I am very proud of him.

Byrnzie

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/ma ... ?fb=native

'...Some student organisers said that the introduction of the bill, far from cowing the demonstrations, had actually brought more support for their cause.

Mathieu Murphy-Perron, who has been helping to organise demonstrations against tuition fees since last year, said: "I would say that I've seen more individuals come out and say: 'You know what? I was neutral on the question of tuition fees, but to bring this draconian law has revolted me and I will take to the streets with you.

"There have been more and more people who recognise that Bill 78 is a breach of the right of freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, and they're not going to have it."

Some legal experts argue that the bill contravenes Canada's charter of rights and freedoms. Montreal constitutional lawyer Julius Grey told the Vancouver Sun that Bill 78 was "flagrantly unconstitutional". Opposition has come from the Quebec Bar Association and the Quebec human rights commission.

In an appearance on NBC's Saturday Night Live in the US on Saturday night, the Grammy award-winning band Arcade Fire, who come from Montreal, wore symbolic red squares of cloth on their chests during their performance, in support of the protests.

Murphy-Perron said the red-hued, four sided shapes were visible "everywhere you go" in Montreal, adding that they show the "inter-generational aspect of this struggle".

Idris

Byrnzie wrote:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/may/24/canada-student-fee-protest-arrests?fb=native

'...Some student organisers said that the introduction of the bill, far from cowing the demonstrations, had actually brought more support for their cause.

Mathieu Murphy-Perron, who has been helping to organise demonstrations against tuition fees since last year, said: "I would say that I've seen more individuals come out and say: 'You know what? I was neutral on the question of tuition fees, but to bring this draconian law has revolted me and I will take to the streets with you.

"There have been more and more people who recognise that Bill 78 is a breach of the right of freedom of speech, freedom of assembly, freedom of association, and they're not going to have it."

Some legal experts argue that the bill contravenes Canada's charter of rights and freedoms. Montreal constitutional lawyer Julius Grey told the Vancouver Sun that Bill 78 was "flagrantly unconstitutional". Opposition has come from the Quebec Bar Association and the Quebec human rights commission.

Oh Canada, its time to really take a look at our country, this is huge, and will set the standard for just what we are, who we are as a nation. "Strong and Free"? We shall see.

Jason P

So they are protesting a tuition hike of 75% over five years?

A website in favor of the protesters says this amounts to an increase of $1625. Which means in five years tuition will cost $3790. Is that the cost of a full year of school or a semester?

And is this the cost for a community college or an accredited university?

Kel Varnsen

FitPearl wrote:

Drowned Out wrote:

I really don’t understand why so many people side with the government in protest situations. There is a constant tug of war between government/corp power, and the people….yet people always seem willing to choose profit over people. That is what this is all about, not just about tuition hikes. Austerity measures are implemented, while corporate pay and profits increase. The government is in bed with, and protecting mafia interests, causing public project costs (and profits) to skyrocket, while wages stagnate. We suffer cuts to services – EI, pensions, education, healthcare etc., while the government throws BILLIONS at unnecessary (and likely useless) fighter jets, unwanted penal system expansions, unpopular wars and ‘training programs’ for foreign forces, ridiculous concessions made to oil companies at the expense of the environment, etc etc,etc…..but lets support the government and throw the people fighting for us under the bus.

“Public funding currently accounts for an average of approximately 57% of university and college operating funding, down from 84% just two decades ago. During the same period tuition fees have grown from 14% of operating funding to over 34%.”

From my understanding, the $375 figure isn’t a semester’s tuition – it is how much the average tuition will increase. No, it’s not THAT much money, and yes, they have the cheapest tuition in the country, but…I applaud these students for taking a stand. If students in other provinces had done the same, they might be on a more level field with Quebec.




These students and their supporters are an example to us all – this is how democracy works. Without people doing what they’re doing, the government and big business would roll right over us.

Bill 78 fucking tramples the Charter. The public was told it was passed to prevent looting, stop rioters, and restore order. It accomplishes none of that – it’s sole focus is to quell dissent and outlaw even peaceful protests. Don’t even get me started on the police handling of this, and the media coverage. They pepper sprayed an entire patio full of innocent bystanders the other day - people sitting down for dinner…yet all we hear is how the protesters are harming businesses?? The restaurant owner was nearly in tears, asking ‘who do I call when my customers are abused by the police?’ :evil:

..............................
http://montreal.mediacoop.ca/story/ten- ... ment/10896
Ten Points Everyone Should Know About the Quebec Student Movement

7. The government supports organized crime and opposes organized students

thank youuuuuuuu THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!

What poeple dont get, is that a lot of those protesters are not even in school anymore. They dont give a shit about those fees, because they wont have to pay it anymore.They are doing it exactly for those reasons above. Our taxes increased about 5% (I think) since this prime minister has been elected, but our national debt as doubled. WHAT HAPPENED THERE???!!!

What is sad about those who agree with the government? Its always meeeeeeee myself and I; oh no, my semester, oh no my time, oh no my work, oh no my diploma.

WTF? wake up and think about childrens (maybe yours??!!) in a few years.. Do it for them.

(i wish i'd be perfectly bilingual right now... not so easy for met to write in english. :( )

How many protestors actually feel like that and are protesting for that reason, and how many do you think are protesting because an increase in tuition means a decrease in their beer budget. Honestly to me with all the other fucked up things in the world, having massive protests about what is really a very small increase in tuition, when people who get to go to university are generally better off then a lot of people in the world comes off as incredibly entitled. To it it would be like people protesting an increase in the price of a latte at Starbucks.

And as far as the comment about 'me, me, me' you could say the same thing about the protestors who are actually protesting so that they don't have to spend more money on their education.

Personally I think becuase a university education is so valuable it something you should have to work for not something that should be handed to you just because. I know I value my degree more because I worked my ass off pretty much since I was 16 to be able to pay for it.

This whole thing reminds me of when I was in University in BC (at UVic) in the mid to late 1990's. On the one hand it was great because the provincial governement had frozen tuition, so it didn't cost a lot to go to school. On the other hand with tuition frozen the school had to cut costs so for a bunch of years all of our lab equipment was the same crap they had used for years and years and they didn't have the budget to buy new stuff. Plus the fact that university was so cheap, meant that instead of school being full of people who wanted to be there and learn, it was full of people taking degrees in whatever, and just being there to hang out and play hackey sack in front of the library, because being a student was cheap and easier than working. I really got the feeling that if tuition was just a bit higher these people wouldn't be there, and the university would have more people who would actually want to learn.

blueandwhite

Byrnzie wrote:

blueandwhite wrote:

The real losers in this situation are those students who are trying to complete courses without the tortious interference of a smaller minority of protesters who are using them to gain political clout.

400,000 = a small minority?

I admit that maths was never my strong point, but...

Clearly math is a stronger point for you than it is for me.

I still don't agree with these protests, but then again I'm not opposed to protesters expressing themselves so long as it doesn't severely interfere with others. Bill-78 on the other hand is a bit much. It seems like a heavy-handed response that won't get the government anywhere.

lukin2006

Jason P wrote:

So they are protesting a tuition hike of 75% over five years?

A website in favor of the protesters says this amounts to an increase of $1625. Which means in five years tuition will cost $3790. Is that the cost of a full year of school or a semester?

And is this the cost for a community college or an accredited university?

That would be University...tuition in Canada is somewhat reasonable, however, some people would not be happy till it's free. From the people I know with children in university they say the cost of text books and rent and all cost associated with that is what really drives up the cost of university.

I could get behind protestors if they were protesting government corruption, cuts to healthcare, cuts to seniors etc., but not this.

FitPearl

lukin2006 wrote:

Jason P wrote:

So they are protesting a tuition hike of 75% over five years?

A website in favor of the protesters says this amounts to an increase of $1625. Which means in five years tuition will cost $3790. Is that the cost of a full year of school or a semester?

And is this the cost for a community college or an accredited university?

That would be University...tuition in Canada is somewhat reasonable, however, some people would not be happy till it's free. From the people I know with children in university they say the cost of text books and rent and all cost associated with that is what really drives up the cost of university.

I could get behind protestors if they were protesting government corruption, cuts to healthcare, cuts to seniors etc., but not this.

we may have lowest tuition in Canada but we also have one of the lowest salary... And, we pay more taxes than any other province.... We should not think about it without looking at everything else around...

Drowned Out

As Naomi Klein said yesterday:
"This is why radical movements are mercilessly mocked. They can win."



http://oncampus.macleans.ca/education/2 ... n8.twitter

It’s official: Quebec tuition hikes are history
By The Canadian Press | September 20th, 2012 | 4:27 pm

Price will return to $2,168


The tuition increase that triggered such social strife in Quebec was cancelled Thursday during an action-packed first full day in office for the Parti Quebecois government.

The new government repealed the fee hike, by decree, in its first cabinet meeting less than 24 hours after coming to power.

Student leaders cheered the news.

“Together we’ve written a chapter in the history of Quebec,” said Martine Desjardins, head of the more moderate university student association.

“It’s a triumph of justice and equity.”

Premier Pauline Marois has acted on a promise that she had made during the election campaign. She announced the decision at a news conference after the cabinet meeting.

Marois said tuition will go back to $2,168 — the lowest in Canada. With the planned increases, it would have been $600 higher this year and would have kept growing each year.

Marois said she will not decrease funding for universities and will make good on a promise to hold a summit on how to fund universities within her first 100 days as premier.

The government policy entering that meeting will be to suggest indexing future fee increases to the rate of inflation.

That would raise tuition by a rate of around one to three per cent most years — compared with the 84 per cent increase over seven years planned by the previous Charest government.

But Marois’ inflation-index policy is not set in stone. Some students are pushing for zero tuition, as exists in some other countries.

“That’s a proposal I’m putting on the table,” Marois said. “It’s a debate we need to have.”

Marois said she will also cancel the Charest Liberals’ controversial protest legislation. Huge protests erupted across the province this spring in reaction to the fee hikes, originally planned at $325 per year over five years and later changed slightly to $254 over seven years

The events — dubbed by some the “Maple Spring” — drew international news coverage.

The increases were part of the Liberals’ 2011-12 budget and were cast as a way to put public finances on a more sustainable footing, while guaranteeing better-funded universities.

University fees have remained frozen in Quebec for most of the last 40 years.

However, opponents of the fee hikes warned that they could reduce access to higher education, and do serious social harm, while contributing relatively little to government coffers.
...

Jason P

You crazy Canadians would crap your pants if you ever looking into going to a university in the states.

$2,100 .... that would maybe get you two to three weeks of education down here (up here is you live in Windsor).

Hmm, imagine going to college and not putting yourself into debt for life. :think:

josevolution

StevieG wrote:

Kel Varnsen wrote:

Honestly, living in Ottawa and hearing about these protests pretty much every night on the news (since there are regular protests across the river in Gatineau) I am starting to get tired of it. As someone who had to work a part time job, while in an engineering program to pay for my university (then two jobs sometimes while I was off in the summer) I don't really have a lot of sympathy for these students. Especially since Quebec has the lowest tuition rates in the country, and tuition rates in Canada are relatively cheap to begin with. On the local Ottawa news after one of the protests in Gatineau they actually interview a parent of one of the students who was arrested, and he actually said that if tuition is raised he doesn't know what he is going to do since he was retired and he is not sure how he is going to pay for his son's university. I was practically yelling at the TV "how about you tell your son to pay for his own damn university". I really think it would be awesome if the government just said classes are on, and if you don't show up, you fail.

Exactly!!! My wife spent 7 years in University and graduated with a Masters Degree absolutely debt free.

Here's how she did it:

Getting good grades in high school thus resulting in scholarships, working part-time and saving her money to pay for her tuition, rent, groceries and other living expenses. Maintaining her high marks and receiving more scholarships and awards. Working in the summer and saving her money. NOT going out to the bar 4 days a week and partying her way through school. Not buying a car with her student loans or an iPad, iPhone, etc..

It's called being responsible and making the right decisions. Her tuition was a hell of a lot more than it is in Quebec by the way.

If it was up to me I would send out the riot cops and beat these fuckers senseless!!! Pretty pathetic that they are allowed to interfere with the students that want to finish school and get on with their lives.

SEND IN THE COPS WITH THEIR BATONS PLEASE!!!!

Well i guess the students are lucky you're not in charge then ha sure beat and injure people because they wan't to stand for what they believe and because your wife did it her way is that like a template so everyone should be able to follow it :fp: ....

Thirty Bills Unpaid

Jason P wrote:

You crazy Canadians would crap your pants if you ever looking into going to a university in the states.

$2,100 .... that would maybe get you two to three weeks of education down here (up here is you live in Windsor).

Hmm, imagine going to college and not putting yourself into debt for life. :think:

I don't mind such protests. Instead of just shrugging the shoulders, getting railroaded, and having to deal with 'the man' living anyway they please by setting the conditions and forcing us to deal with them... the commons bonded together and ensured a 'fair' way of life for themselves. I say fair because universities are basically a license to print money- the gatekeepers to several careers... despite inter-competition, they have a monopoly on the 'career market'.

As mentioned earlier, tuition rates are low compared to unbelievably high tuitions elsewhere. But, maybe they are where they really need to be. Once you lose something- you don't get it back. Good for them for committing the energy to preserve their lifestyle.

You crazy Americans would crap your pants the moment you walk into one of our beer and wine stores to purchase 12 beer. $20. Yup. $20. For 12. I go south and drink a bottle of Seven Deadly Zins for $10. I drink horse piss up here because the same bottle of Seven Deadly Zins in my country costs $35 (plus deposit and taxes which would bring it to a smooth $40). Horse piss costs about $14 a bottle.

This situation begged an addressing back when our fine white-collared elite sector initiated exorbitant taxes on liquor... and then more... and more. Whether good or bad... Canada will always pay dearly for its liquor. We're screwed though. We've proven that we'll still pay despite the ridiculous prices compared to, say, the US.