Canadian student's "Spring of Discontent"

[Sam Lord]

Wowee, protests in Canada! I am amazed; don't remember too many of those... Sure even the hockey games had electronic displays indicating when it was appropriate to cheer. Jeez, imagine those at a footy match on these islands...mind boggles, doesn't it ??

The youth in Canada are politically years ahead of those in Ireland.

Shameful (for Ireland) .. but true.

[Count Bobulescu]

Cross posting with In Focus thread.

Beginning in February, students throughout Quebec began protesting against a proposed 75 percent hike in the cost of their tuition. Demonstrators staged strikes, sit-ins, and marches, in some cases drawing hundreds of thousands of participants and incurring hundreds of arrests. Quebec's government responded by passing a controversial emergency law, Bill 78, that places strict limits on free assembly, including a provision that requires demonstrators to submit protest plans and receive police approval. Reacting to the new law, hundreds of thousands more took to the streets to join the broadening protest. Now, four months later, nightly demonstrations continue across Montreal. These marches are called "casseroles," as participants use pots and pans to create noise and call for attention. [39 photos]

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...ths-in/100315/

[Sam Lord]

Cross posting with In Focus thread.

Beginning in February, students throughout Quebec began protesting against a proposed 75 percent hike in the cost of their tuition. Demonstrators staged strikes, sit-ins, and marches, in some cases drawing hundreds of thousands of participants and incurring hundreds of arrests. Quebec's government responded by passing a controversial emergency law, Bill 78, that places strict limits on free assembly, including a provision that requires demonstrators to submit protest plans and receive police approval. Reacting to the new law, hundreds of thousands more took to the streets to join the broadening protest. Now, four months later, nightly demonstrations continue across Montreal. These marches are called "casseroles," as participants use pots and pans to create noise and call for attention. [39 photos]

http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2...ths-in/100315/

Great photos. Thanks.

[C. Flower]

This is a very serious movement, and the students have drawn in tens of thousands of older supporters.

As in Ireland, the student movement is going beyond the basics of protesting raising of fees, and is campaigning for free third level for everyone qualifying. And now, they have support for their stand to defend the right to protest and strike.

Amazing that this has not been reported at all in Ireland... or maybe not.

[C. Flower]

Stopthehike website of CLASSE, the biggest of the student organisations.

Organising a General Strike.

http://www.stopthehike.ca/

[C. Flower]

http://www.radioreference.com/apps/a...p&feedId=11700





Montreal Police Live Audio Feed

[morticia]

The youth in Canada are politically years ahead of those in Ireland.

Shameful (for Ireland) .. but true.

That was seriously untrue when I lived in Alberta; but those were prosperous times. No one showed any interest in anything political until 911 happened and even then, that faded quickly enough. However, Alberta is so prosperous that perhaps it was unrepresentative both then and now.

[Sam Lord]

That was seriously untrue when I lived in Alberta; but those were prosperous times.

Seriously untrue? When was the last time students in Ireland put up any sort of serious struggle on any issue? Determining that might be a good starting point for the discussion.

[fluffybiscuits]

That was seriously untrue when I lived in Alberta; but those were prosperous times. No one showed any interest in anything political until 911 happened and even then, that faded quickly enough. However, Alberta is so prosperous that perhaps it was unrepresentative both then and now.

In order for a lot of people here to give a damn they must not be comfortable. Its almost like an awakening for some people when they see how much abuse they are being subjected to financially as they didnt notice they were getting bent over and raped in the Celtic tiger. I imagine the same is the case in Alberta, money is that plentiful that until they have to tighten the purse strings they dont mind what happens at the moment.

I remember students here in the union when I was in college didnt care. They saw positions in the union as being more of a status symbol rather than helping anyone.

[C. Flower]

Seriously untrue? When was the last time students in Ireland put up any sort of serious struggle on any issue? Determining that might be a good starting point for the discussion.

The students who invaded the Department of Finance two years ago, when it was first being infiltrated by the Troika, and got their heads battered, were at the forefront of struggle in Ireland. They were after the same thing as the Canadian students - it wasn't just a protest about their own fees - they were campaigning for the right of all young people to free third level education, and were very conscious they would get no personal gain from what they were doing.

There was a shameful silence from the trade union leadership (including the Students Union leadership) and from the media about the brutal attack on them, batoned over the heads as they sat on the floor. One girl was knocked out cold, thrown out onto the road and kicked by the Gardaí and spent two days in hospital.

Statement here from Michael Vipperman, Canadian student (Toronto) who turned down his degree in protest at the commodification of education.

Why I Must Refuse My Degree (short version)

I, Michael Vipperman, intend to renounce the degree I am being offered from the University of Toronto on June 14, 2012, in protest over the ongoing commodification and bureaucratization of education at this University, best exemplified by the increasingly intimate relationship between the University and such venemous institutions as Barrick Gold and the World Bank.

Education is an ongoing process, not a product which can be sold or received. However, the degree I am being offered represents an expensive end goal, accessible only to an elite few, not on the basis of whatever academic merit we may possess, but on our access to wealth and on our willingness to play by the rules of bureaucracy. It is a symbol of the priorities and values of this University, which in recent years has increasingly sacrificed quality on the altar of efficiency, constricting the freedoms both of students and of faculty. Meanwhile, funding priorities have emphasised generating wealth for industry over providing a quality education. This is the norm whenever such commodification takes place. One simply needs to observe the classroom sizes on this campus, where now even some tutorials are held in Convocation Hall, to be convinced of the extent of the damage done to the educational experience.

I stand in solidarity with the courageous students of Québec, who have been mounting fierce resistance against such political/economic warfare. They are clearly cognizant of where this road leads. Knowing that it is possible for us to do better, I would like to call upon my peers, in Canada and globally, to oppose the neoliberal hegemony that continues to deny what is rightfully ours: barrier-free education.

By rejecting my degree I mean no personal offence to either my peers nor the faculty at the University. I have fond feelings and the highest of respect for many who remain at this institution, and hold no ill will towards those who do not refuse their degree. However, I cannot stay true to my personal values and at the same time accept a degree from an institution which also honours and supports Barrick Gold and the World Bank. The values of this university are clear, and they are not mine. As graduating students, whether this is our first, second or third degree, we are all getting burned.

Thank you.

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/...cation-protest

http://michaelvipperman.wordpress.co...use-my-degree/

[Sam Lord]

Up to 10,000 turned out for the 100th consecutive nightly demonstration in support of the students in montreal.

[C. Flower]

Thanks for posting that. I read last week that these damn students just won't go away.

[20 yards of linen=1 coat]

Up to 10,000 turned out for the 100th consecutive nightly demonstration in support of the students in montreal.

Wow i didnt know that was happening at all! I remember reading stuff from people in France in October/November 2010 saying that they would wake up day after day, meet up in some common space to have breakfast and decide the days actions and then go from there. In order to be anything other than symbolic, marches need to happen on a regular basis, without any one group (like a union or political party) instigating them, and to be more than minimally disruptive.

Was on the critical mass in London the day the olympics opened and it was great fun, but it needed to happen every day that the olympics were running to have any kind of impact IMO.

[C. Flower]

Wow i didnt know that was happening at all! I remember reading stuff from people in France in October/November 2010 saying that they would wake up day after day, meet up in some common space to have breakfast and decide the days actions and then go from there. In order to be anything other than symbolic, marches need to happen on a regular basis, without any one group (like a union or political party) instigating them, and to be more than minimally disruptive.

Was on the critical mass in London the day the olympics opened and it was great fun, but it needed to happen every day that the olympics were running to have any kind of impact IMO.

Chile too -
http://www.politicalworld.org/showth...ilean+students

Most student campaigns are quite short lived, but these have real stamina.

[Dr. FIVE]

Students win! for now

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...?newsfeed=true

The Liberal government led by Jean Charest, which ran on a law-and-order platform against the students, has been defeated. Its plans to implement an 82% tuition fee increase are shredded for now, and the harsh emergency legislation it passed to quell the upsurge is history. Charest is resigning from politics. Two members of the leftist student group, Québec Solidaire, have been elected, and the party gained more than 6% of the popular vote.