I used to love that word back in the day. Fantasizing about how we would do whatever we wanted without adult supervision, no curfew. How we would meet up with friends whenever, however, and wherever we wanted.

Of course, I still love this word. It helps me romanticize all the new responsibilities that adulthood brings. Even though I love the friendships I made in adulthood, some part of me will always miss how things were before.

So how do I deal with this? The constant change and transformation in life and in friendships. Obviously, not by being pessimistic. I try to analyse the transformation and adapt myself to it. Live in the moment. Once, a good friend told me that we can never cherish the moment if we always commemorate the past and obsess about the future. Let me dig a bit deeper. I’m sitting in class with all my friends, talking about our library crushes, yapping about a previous drunk night out, complaining about exams… You have no idea if this is about college or high school right? See, that’s the thing. This description could be applied to any time that you want. What makes an experience an experience is the way you look at it.

In fact, as an international student, I was met with even more transformation in my life. If nothing, I shifted from speaking my native language everyday to speaking English all the time. Yet, it has been psychologically proven that people tend to not use their native language when talking about difficult situations — so I might say this helped me, after all. By leaving my comfort zone, I met amazing people who I never would’ve met if I stayed in my hometown. Back in the day, I would never have imagined sitting in class, as a girl hailing all the way from Istanbul, and casually conversing with a girl from Sydney about how our professor’s hair makes him look like the guy from When Harry Met Sally.

All of this is great. Meeting new people, being exposed to different cultures, conversing in different languages yet laughing at the same jokes: the glory of college. Well, what happens to those people that you used to go to McDonald’s with after school, where you would get some fries, dip them in McFlurries, and talk for hours with about your day?

Nothing, and yet everything. They are still there. Only a phone call, a snap, or a text message away. You may not drop by their house spontaneously during your week anymore, but now you have an apartment in London with a bestie who you can surprise spontaneously. You may not be able to grab a coffee every day, but now you have someone to FaceTime whenever you go to class. It is always hard to adjust to change. But as psychological research shows, the impact of change is strongly correlated with how one feels about said change.

So, we do actually control how we are affected by changes to our friendships. As long as you keep updating your besties about Situationship #13, calling them when you miss them, acknowledging each other’s presence even if you haven’t managed to pick up the phone during finals season — and most importantly, if you keep on loving them, maintaining adult friendships becomes a gift rather than a burden.

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One in ten Canadians reported always or often feeling lonely. Among youth aged 15 to 24, almost one quarter experienced frequent loneliness, while 14 per cent of adults aged 75 and older reported feeling lonely. The lasting impact of COVID-19 on mental health has made loneliness an even more pressing issue. According to Vivek Murthy — former U.S. Surgeon General and co-chair of the Commission on Social Connection for the World Health Organization (WHO) — social isolation and loneliness has an impact on health conditions ranging from cardiovascular disease, to cancer, to Alzheimer’s.

Loneliness also impacts education and the economy. Lonely youth are more likely to drop out of university. Isolated employees tend to report lower job satisfaction and higher absenteeism. Older adults incur greater medical costs. These widespread consequences make loneliness a public health issue.

Luckily, this is preventable. A review of 28 psychological interventions suggested one-on-one support, group programs, and phone applications with psychosocial and behavioral techniques are effective in reducing chronic loneliness. However, most of the current evidence is for individual-level interventions, which are difficult to scale up. Systemic strategies are crucial for managing loneliness on a national level.

The UK has recognized loneliness as a population health concern. In 2018, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) added loneliness to its portfolio. The department launched a green social prescribing program where healthcare professionals refer patients to nature-based activities. These include local walks, community gardening projects, and outdoor arts and cultural activities. From April 2021 to March 2023, over 8,500 referrals were made, with interim evaluations showing improvements in participants’ mental health. In collaboration with the Department for Transport, the DCSM also made transport more accessible for disabled and older people. Policies now allow non-profits to apply for a community bus permit instead of a full operator’s license, helping to expand transport services that support social connection.

The UK Office for National Statistics has developed two measures of loneliness. These metrics are now part of the UK Public Health Outcomes Framework and are included in 11 government surveys to better understand loneliness prevalence.

Japan followed the UK’s lead by creating its own Minister for Loneliness and Isolation, working alongside with their British counterpart to share data on the impact of loneliness, exchange policy ideas, and raise global awareness.

In Canada, there’s no unified framework to define and measure loneliness. Various initiatives attempt to tackle loneliness, including the Keeping Connected Program, the GenWell Project, and Canadian Red Cross’s Friendly Calls Program. But their impact remains fragmented. We need a national strategy to unify efforts.

“Loneliness and isolation doesn’t only affect people who may be considered a senior,” said Bill VanGorder, interim chief policy officer of the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, when asked about the possibility of a Canadian Minister of Loneliness. “If that’s what it takes to address the impact of isolation and loneliness on Canadians … A minister would make sure that programs are in place to ease these issues [and] other parts of the government would be accountable to them.”

It’s time for Canada to take this public health problem seriously by adopting a national strategy to unify fragmented efforts, aligning with global leaders like the WHO, the UK, and Japan. Without bold action, we risk falling further behind. We must add loneliness to the government portfolio to ensure it is taken seriously.

Madeleine Wong and Christina Zha are MSc public health students at McGill University. Ben Yeoh is a MSc epidemiology student at McGill University who researches urban green space and youth loneliness.

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Acts of civil disobedience are often met with hostility from the public. During the PATCO airline strike in 1981, travellers directed their anger towards the workers fighting for higher pay instead of the Reagan administration, who forced strikers to accept poor wages. White people in South Africa were in support of the government bans on anti-apartheid activists and protestors, in order to protect their own interests. During the Gilets Jaunes protests, Parisians complained not about the rising taxes but about the increased law enforcement responding to the protests.

The response to the past year of pro-Palestine activism at McGill University is no different. Whether it is online or in person, it is likely that you have encountered at least some frustrations with the increased security presence or cancelled classes – actions taken by the university to dismantle encampments and protests this year. Disagreements on the means used to achieve a common goal are nothing new, as they are a way to promote change and improvements. However, completely ostracizing the protesters demanding for McGill to divest from arms manufacturers can prevent productive discussions from taking place.

When discussing the demands of the pro-Palestinian protests, people often argue that large enterprises are not willing to lose economic gains by severing relationships to violent corporations. In response to this, there are different actions citizens will take to pressure enterprises to divest. Some will act on an individual scale by refusing to consume certain goods or services that have ties to unjust regimes. They will do what they can to not be complicit or contribute to these businesses. Sometimes, they may encourage others to do the same, such as when the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement was launched to economically pressure corporations in occupied Palestinian territories. Others may attempt to sever these relationships through negotiation, working with committees and writing reports. Students for Palestine’s Honour and Resistance (SPHR) initially took this approach to discuss McGill’s divestment from arms manufacturers. Nevertheless, after almost two months, the bureaucratic process was abandoned when McGill called off negotiations with SPHR in June.

Since then, McGill has taken additional measures to restrict SPHR organization. In September, the university demanded that SSMU withdraw SPHR club status. The following month, McGill was granted a temporary injunction banning SPHR demonstrations. Due to these actions, SPHR amplified pressure on McGill to divest. They organized walkouts, blocked classes, and informed new students about the movement.

As a response to these actions, many people may claim that disruptive demonstrations can reduce the university’s willingness to reopen negotiations. Yet, the purpose of civil disobedience is to urge authority figures to meet a group’s demands.

For example, in March 2011, Quebec’s provincial government launched a proposal to incrementally hike student tuition over a five-year period. This proposal led to student advocacy against this raise between 2011 and 2012. Over time, protests grew in size and strength to combat the government’s attempts to end the student movement, such as Bill 78. By requiring students to inform the authorities about upcoming protests, this measure intended to restrict the scale of demonstrations. However, the bill actually resulted in more assertive civil disobedience to exemplify student resistance. Although the protests led to violent escalations with law enforcement, these demonstrations turned out to be some of the largest student protests in Quebec’s history. The unflinching nature of the student movement eventually led to the cancellation of the student tuition increase and the revocation of Bill 78.

The decision to partake in a more forceful method is never made lightly. Protestors understand that by taking on a more confrontational approach, they risk losing the general public’s support and face a crackdown from the authorities. However, despite these two consequences, deviations can open the door for constructive dialogue. A thorough set of demands can enhance the depth and breadth of topics brought up at the negotiation table. Without mass mobilization, the strength of social justice movements will be weakened. Without these positions, we can fall victim to unsatisfactory compromises that fail to address structural violence.

Protests or acts of civil disobedience are meant to disrupt your day. They are meant to take socio-political issues out of the negotiation office and include the public. When directing anger to those with a common goal but a different method of achieving it, one can forget that the core issue is not with the different approaches to achieving justice but the issue of injustice itself. There is so much space for meaningful exchange that can take place on the nature, approach, and goal of student civil disobedience, and we need to ensure that it is being utilized.

It’s okay to be a little upset when a protest disrupts your plans. However, if all acts of resistance were tailored to every individual, nothing would ever get done. Prioritizing comfort and convenience will undermine the primary objectives of a political organization. Therefore, the next time you complain about protesters interfering with your schedule, I ask you to think about how much this disturbance will impact you in the long run. Although you will eventually be able to recover from it and carry on with your daily life, the victims of war, violence, and exploitation that protests are fighting for may not.

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But is that really true? I think this is a passive attitude, one that assumes any kind of political action is out of our hands simply because we do not have voting power. Even outside the context of this specific U.S. election, I find it jarring how the onus of political change is often solely on the electoral process. After all, both the U.S. and Canada are home to millions of green-card holders and legal permanent residents who are affected by the same laws as citizens but are still refused the right to vote for their representatives.

Voting has always been considered the cornerstone of democracy in the West. Coming from India, where huge sections of minority populations are outright omitted from electoral rolls at the whims of the current government, I was not raised with this sentiment. I have always known real political change to come from grassroots movements — from people taking to the streets to fight for what they want. And now, watching the state of the U.S. elections, I am more convinced of this than ever.
Over 700,000 Americans agree with me — these are the people voting “uncommitted,” who are similarly disillusioned with both parties and what they stand for. “Uncommitted” is a voting option that allows citizens to express their dissatisfaction with either candidate, often by choosing “none of the above” on a ballot. While many voters feel obligated to choose between “the lesser of two evils,” the fact remains that “lesser evil” is still evil. Democrats and Republicans have both played a bloody hand in the ongoing genocide of Palestinians, with the Biden administration making more than 100 military aid transfers to Israel since October 7, 2023. Presidential candidate Kamala Harris likewise refuses to budge on her policies that continue to fund Israel’s genocidal campaign. In her recent Presidential Town Hall, she claimed that voters must accept her policies on Palestine if they want to see any kind of change on “other issues.” Harris has also previously responded to pro-Palestine protesters by saying, “You know what? If you want Donald Trump to win, then say that. Otherwise, I’m speaking.”

This dismissive attitude — treating the lives of millions of Palestinians as if they are simply another item on her political checklist — is understandably infuriating to those of us watching these atrocities unfold. Arab and Muslim voters in Michigan have lost faith in the Democratic Party after their continued complicity in Palestinian genocide. As one such voter asserts, “It is their job to earn my vote; it is not my job to fall in line.” And yet, plenty of liberal virtue-signallers continue to fault these citizens for not voting blue. Why should pro-Palestinian voters be blamed for the faults of a system that has failed to represent them? Why should they bear the brunt of scrutiny when the party they are supposed to trust cannot even meet basic demands — to stop funding the slaughter of Palestinians, to stop backing a genocide?

I ask: has a genocide ever been stopped by voting?

Voting is a function of the system, and when the system itself is inherently flawed, trying to “fix” it from within its limits will never work. No matter who wins this election, the United States government will continue sending military aid to Israel and profiting off of Palestinian suffering. It is beyond unfair to force voters to play a part in this genocide through the ballot box.

During this election period, many Americans are instead relying on alternate strategies, such as uncommitted voting or third-party voting, alongside organizing and raising funds for Palestinian aid. For the rest of us, who are not American citizens but understand the importance of stopping U.S.-backed Israeli occupation, we must join the fight on the streets. Montreal-based organizations such as Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) and Montreal4Palestine, as well as transnational ones like the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), are important avenues of activism on campus and beyond. I encourage more students to get involved with such organizations, to take part in demonstrations, and to amplify Palestinian voices wherever possible.

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For 74 days, the student encampment protesting McGill’s ties to industries profiting from the ongoing genocide in Palestine was in full view from our offices at the School of Population and Global Health. At 5:00 a.m. on its 75th day, a private security firm hired by McGill forcibly removed protesting students and dismantled the encampment. In its place was a bulldozer guarded by police cars and officers. McGill justified these actions by claiming the encampment posed health and safety risks. As  PhD students in epidemiology at the School of Population and Global Health, we strongly believe that this weaponization of public health narratives to justify actions against student encampments must stop. The real public health crisis is the one unfolding in Gaza.

For months, McGill failed to convince police and courts to intervene and dismantle the encampment. At the same time, official emails to the McGill community became increasingly false and alarmist. On May 10, McGill sent an email detailing “the risks that the encampment pose[d] to the safety, security and public health of members of the McGill community.” Based on media reports and first-hand accounts of healthcare professionals who were on-site daily, we disagree. These included physicians, including one of whom stated in an affidavit that there was no threat to public health in the camp. In response to McGill’s email, nearly 150 members of our School signed an open letter denouncing the mischaracterization of the encampment as a public health threat and highlighting the dire public health crisis in Gaza. Even after they acknowledged receipt of our letter, the McGill administration continued to flood our inboxes with the same false claims.

The day that McGill dismantled the encampment, President Deep Saini cited an alleged rat infestation as a motivation for its actions. While we have not seen evidence of such a problem, McGill has been ignoring rat infestations across campus for years. If the administration is concerned about rodent infestations, we suggest they pay a visit to its student residences or the basements of any of its libraries.

Saini also claimed that “there [were] fire risks, including a propane canister and flammable materials next to tents.” Ironically, McGill itself partly created this risk. The administration shut off electricity around the encampment, including to the streetlights on lower campus. This forced students to use propane for cooking, leading to potential fire hazards. In fact, the students proactively practice fire safety, keeping fire extinguishers on site.

In the same email, Saini complained that “Unhoused individuals now make up most of the few people who are sleeping in the camp overnight,” elaborating that “two overdoses occurred at the camp (…) Syringes are visible, and illegal narcotics have been sold there.” These claims were not supported by any evidence, and given Saini’s history of making questionable statements to criticize and undermine the encampment, we have doubts about the reliability of these assertions.  Furthermore, the term “unhoused” rather than “homeless” is now used to reduce stigma by emphasizing people’s lack of housing rather than tying it to their identity. In an incredible show of hypocrisy, McGill used this destigmatizing term to justify dismantling the encampment due to its proximity to unhoused people. Authorities have often weaponized narratives related to public health to justify actions against unhoused people. Students at the encampment created a welcoming community, offering free resources (including food and water) to those in need. Blaming overdoses on the encampment and citing them as reasons for its dismantlement is also low. Overdoses are the tragic consequence of individual- and systemic-level factors, but they are not caused by student protests. The housing and drug crises have not disappeared since the encampment was dismantled—they are just no longer visible on campus.

While the administration spread false claims about public health threats, it failed to engage in any genuine discussion related to divestment from companies profiting from the ongoing genocide in Palestine. Students organized the encampment in solidarity with people in Gaza, who are facing indiscriminate bombing, organized starvation, disease outbreak, and the destruction of their healthcare system. These are actual public health crises. If McGill cared about public health, it would address this reality and stop funding industries profiting from it.

With contributions from Zeinab Cherri, Phoebe Friesen, Rina Lall, R.L., Y. S. Law, Kaya Van Roost.

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While the sexualization of women in the media is nothing new, its true repercussions became evident throughout Britney Spears’s career. Debuting at the age of seventeen, the young girl quickly became a pop sensation, a status which subjected her to the cruel judgment of the public eye. Spears’ image screamed innocence while her songs placed deliberate emphasis on sexual innuendos. Of course, she wasn’t the only one who played off of the “untouchable creature” stereotype, as Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, and Mandy Moore — to name a few — were also presented through this lens of naivety. In the manufactured entertainment industry of the 90s, it was almost a requirement to appeal to audiences as the virginal girl next door, arguably regressing progress made in women’s sexual independence. In fact, Dr. Jenna Drenten, an associate professor at Loyola University, found that the obsession with untainted female pop stars stemmed from a societal desire to take “control of these women again and get them to literally sign pledges for abstinence” — since “purity and virginity has always been something that’s been intermingled with women in the spotlight.”

Moving forward in time, the widespread popularity of child actors on the Disney channel gave way for another round of mass sexualization in the media, particularly for Selena Gomez. After rising to fame through Wizards of Waverly Place, she turned to a career in music. To thrive in this industry, the innocent young girl narrative was once again used to drive appeal and continued interest in Gomez. Driven by a pressure to succeed, her sexuality was manipulated in album covers, music videos, and public appearances. This multi-layered system of sexualization is dangerously insidious, in that it occurs both on behalf of entertainment companies and the masses who consume their media. Gomez has acknowledged her role in this system as a young girl by saying, “I know they put you through a system and make you feel like this is how you have to do it.” In the late 2000s and early 2010s, however, these structures of sexualization continued to be pushed under the rug. Although feminism was a popular movement during this time, we allowed these young girls to feel helpless at every turn in their career, further perpetuating their sexualization.

Despite growing awareness of the public’s inappropriate perception towards female celebrities, we can’t claim that sexualization is not prevalent in today’s cultural strata. Through the advent of social media, commenting on the bodies of young women has become so easy — drastically unlike how gossip and rumours spread in the 90s. Billie Eilish and Millie Bobby Brown have both spoken out about their struggles and how society has treated them. Brown noticed the shift between the sexualized remarks she received when underaged and those made upon her turning eighteen, which abolished her previous “untouchable” status. One particular moment she noted in an interview with Teen Vogue were the extreme reactions from online users over her wearing a low-cut dress. Such behaviour continues to reflect the stereotypes of pop star virginal identity that was so strongly emphasized nearly 30 years ago: our culture has yet to change.

The roots of our collective ignorance on this issue stem from the proliferation of patriarchal views that are projected onto women and girls in the media and entertainment industries. The “ideal” standards of femininity, such as being docile, naive, and obedient, are pushed onto those in the spotlight, turning these figures into distorted representations of women. It is another effort to control women’s self-expression and individuality by limiting promiscuity and allowing men to believe that these girls hope for their virginity to be taken from them. This toxic coming-of-age narrative is also interwoven into every young-adult plot line — such as Laney Boggs in She’s All That, or Josie Geller in Never Been Kissed — always showcasing the female characters’ desire to engage in sexual or romantic behaviour. Without a critical reassessment of the current social structures where women face perpetual scrutiny for their every opinion and action, misogyny will keep thriving. Dismantling our inherent biases is no easy feat, but it first requires an acknowledgement of the harm being done towards these victims of sexualization.

Although Billie Eilish has been a target of the same sexualization process that most young female celebrities have gone through, her resistance to being seen in such a light has created a slight shift in the overall perception of female musicians. By emphasizing individual choices and freedom — in constantly changing her manner of dress or speaking her mind — she has caused a rift in the image of innocent femininity in the media. Her choice to rebel against roles women have traditionally been forced into opens the door for women to achieve success in ways other than the overt selling of their sexuality. While those gates have not completely widened, this shift can at least provide hope for a future world where women don’t have to face the scathing pain of being sexualized by the male gaze before anything else. For now, the first step entails acknowledging that internalized misogyny within the media has been woven throughout our history like a thread. It exists faintly in our memory: ignored, repressed, and avoided.

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One of the concerns around nuclear power is the handling of radioactive waste. This waste needs to be segregated or diluted in order to render it safe and prevent radionuclides from leaking into the atmosphere. Repositories are one of the current arrangements – a subterranean, excavated facility created, built, and run for the long-term, safe and secure disposal of high-level waste. In Canada, the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) plans to “contain and isolate all the country’s used nuclear fuel – including that created by new and emerging technologies – in a deep geological repository, using multiple-barrier systems.” This will translate into the building of 500 meters (1,640 feet) deep area, called geological repository, which will rely on a multiple-bar- rier system where each barrier is part of the system but provides a higher level of security since each next barrier will come into play if some where to deteriorate. Regretfully, there are hazards associated with them. There is a chance that these repositories will experience breaches and spills that could contaminate the environment and pose long-term health problems since the decay rate for radio- active material is very slow, remaining extremely dangerous for thousands of years, accumulating very rapidly. As Gerald S. Frankel stated: “It’s a societal problem that has been handed down to us from our parent’s generation, And we are – more or less – handing it to our children.” Some age-old containers have begun leaking their toxic contents and, with more than a quarter million metric tons of radioactive waste, it is now time to truly investigate a long term solution to store these harmful chemicals before it is too late and before this becomes a bigger problem than it already is.

Another danger of nuclear power is the risk of major accidents and mishaps. The specter of accidents and meltdowns haunt the legacy of nuclear energy with two notable disasters serving as stark reminders of the possible catastrophic results of using nuclear energy. The shadows of the nuclear meltdowns, such as the Chernobyl disaster of 1986 and the Fukushima Daiichi accident in 2011, haunt the nuclear power industry. These events not only endangered the lives of the workers at the affected power plants but also released large amounts of radiation into the environment, leading to long-lasting damage to the environment and severe health issues for nearby populations. The prospect of future accidents leading to similar magnitudes of disasters continues to cast a dark shadow over the nuclear industry, demanding unwavering diligence and stringent safety when handling such powers if there continues to be a pursuit of nuclear energy to achieve a “greener” world. The high costs of nuclear power plants that are fully safe are difficult to justify. Nuclear power is more expensive than renewables, around $112-189 per megawatt hour (MWh) compared to $26-56 MWh for onshore wind and $36-44 MWh for solar power, while being exponentially more unsafe. Additionally, the slow development of power plants delays the progress to fight climate change as in the meantime we rely on polluting fossil fuels to generate the needed energy for daily activities. All of these factors, in addition to its dangerous nature, form an unjustifiable case to use this energy form to address the issue of greenhouse gasses.

With nuclear energy being so destructive, it has to be considered that some people or terrorist organizations might want to use it as a catalyst for mass destruction. As Zambia’s speaker stated at the UN thematic debate on nuclear weapons: “Nuclear weapons have no place in the modern world and there is no justification for their proliferation, testing and stock- piling. Their destructive power has fuelled international tensions and created an uncertain, unsafe world. Relying on deterrence for security only perpetuates a cycle of fear, where mutually assured destruction looms over the world community.” Terrorist attacks might target nuclear power facilities and the materials they employ, resulting in potential theft of radioactive materials and seriously jeopardizing national security.

Nuclear power facilities have sturdy engineering facilities built to survive catastrophic natural calamities like hurricanes, tornadoes, and earthquakes. But because they aren’t built to resist strikes from missiles and airstrikes, they are the golden target for war crimes. Only a little over a year ago, Russia attacked Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure with a series of airstrikes. Of the forty-three cruise missiles used in the strike, thirty-six were shot down by Ukrainian air defense troops and the remaining missiles struck western and central Ukrainian energy infrastructures. This shows how the use of hybrid warfare tactics, more specifically on energy infra- structures, is a growing concern in the modern world. While the Russian attack on Ukraine was largely contained, it serves as a stark reminder of the vulnerabilities in our energy systems, particularly highlighting the need for diversified energy sources and a strong focus on its security. Nuclear energy, while capable of providing a significant power output, is also susceptible to similar attacks and poses a far greater set of risks. Such large-scale attacks would have resulted in catastrophic consequences if the attacked infrastructures were nuclear, resulting in flying debris and radiation. In the face of such threats, it is crucial to prioritize the development and implementation of alternative and renewable energy sources that are less vulnerable to geopolitical conflicts and sabotage, ensuring a more stable and resilient energy future as we can- not afford for these accidents to happen.

In the next few years, as we search for more sustainable energy sources, we must carefully weigh the trade-offs related to nuclear power. Developing a comprehensive strategy to tackle climate change without sacrificing environmental responsibility, safety, or security requires finding a balance between the benefits and drawbacks that come with it. Amidst all the information and confusion, it is also important to acknowledge that even if nuclear energy isn’t an ideal solution for a perfectly green future, the current widely used methods like fossil fuels, coal, and oil still represent a threat and silently kill millions of people every year worldwide.

The post Is Nuclear Energy Really the Solution for a Greener Future? appeared first on The McGill Daily.

On August 20, the Spanish women’s soccer team triumphed 1–0 over England and lifted the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time in its history. This landmark victory is the second time Spain has won a World Cup since the men’s team’s victory in 2010. However, the women’s team’s victory was immediately overshadowed when the head of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF), Luis Rubiales, gave player Jenni Hermoso an unconsensual kiss when celebrating the team’s victory. Hermoso is the top goal-scorer in the history of Spain’s women’s team and was a pillar in leading the team to victory.

Following the outrage on social media and from media outlets, the RFEF immediately downplayed the gesture by quoting Hermoso, stating: “It was a completely spontaneous mutual gesture due to the immense joy of winning a World Cup. The president and I have a great relationship; his behavior towards all of us has been exemplary, and it was a natural expression of affection and gratitude.” Meanwhile, Rubiales was seen on video laughing about the gesture, saying that he would take the team to Ibiza to celebrate his wedding to Hermoso. 

The quote attributed to Hermoso by the RFEF is false. She has never stated that she consented to the gesture or that she was comfortable with Rubiales’ actions. Instead, Hermoso bravely published a statement on social media where she wrote that she felt disrespected and violated by Rubiales due to his violent and misogynistic act. Moreover, she declared that she had faced significant pressure from the RFEF to publish a statement condoning Rubiales’ actions. Hermoso also insisted in her statement that this accident is inscribed in a long list of abusive behaviours that players have been reporting for years. 

Hermoso received huge amounts of support from fellow Spanish players, with 81 players going on strike to protest the aggression she faced but also their working conditions. The players declared that they would not return to their teams unless there were significant changes in the leadership. Meanwhile, Rubiales has been suspended – but not dismissed from his functions by FIFA – because he publicly refused to resign while continuing to defend his gesture. Hermoso has lodged a formal complaint against Rubiales for sexual assault and he risks a criminal case.

In the weeks since, Rubiales has received support from the women’s team coach, Jorge Vilda, and the men’s coach, Luis de la Fuente, who were both seen clapping during a speech in which he called his detractors “fake feminists.” The support that Rubiales has garnered from people within the RFEF and the organization itself isn’t surprising, as the organization has historically dismissed the concerns of its women players.

Clearly, the RFEF is an organization that protects men in positions of power when they abuse women. In her statement, Hermoso wrote: “attitudes like these have been daily occurrences in our national team for years.” The women’s team victory hasn’t come without personal cost to the players. They have had to endure sexist and abusive behaviour from coaches supported by the RFEF. 

Abuses of power seem to be commonplace in the Spanish Football Federation. In fact, the recently dismissed head coach, Jorge Vilda, was only appointed after the RFEF shamefully dismissed Ignacio Quereda. Quereda had held the position for more than 27 years but was replaced due to players’ complaints of sexist, homophobic, and abusive behaviour. The players were able to have Quereda replaced, but only after speaking to the press about the abusive behavior they faced. When they complained internally to the RFEF, the federation’s ex-president, Angel Villar, dismissed their concerns and enabled Quereda’s behaviour. 

The RFEF continued to dismiss players’ concerns when fifteen players spoke out against the management and coaching staff of the women’s team in 2022. They described feeling emotionally and physically overwhelmed and stressed that they would not return to the team unless some changes were made. Instead of supporting its players, the RFEF shamed them by making their private statement public and by declaring that the players could not return to the team unless they “asked for forgiveness.” The federation also publicly declared its support for Vilda and condemned the “pressure” they faced from the players. By downplaying grave concerns about the mental and physical health of its players, the RFEF has continued to uphold an abusive and unsafe work environment. 

Over the years, the women’s team’s concerns have consistently been dismissed by the same federation supposed to support and protect them. This situation proves that, once again, institutions would rather protect men who abuse their power than the women who suffer from their abuses. Spain in particular is a country that still has to reckon with its long-standing culture of machismo. Despite advancements in promoting equality and reforms to sexual assault laws, there are still significant cultural remnants of the Franco regime within the country. Women only regained the right to vote and have bank accounts in 1975, after enduring the “permiso marital” that legally made them their husband’s property. 

Rubiales’s refusal to resign and his reprehensible actions have opened a floodgate in Spain, where people are openly protesting against the RFEF. Under the hashtag #SeAcabo, supporters of Hermoso are declaring that they are fed up with the culture of abuse and silence perpetuated by Spanish institutions and are calling for the complete removal of Rubiales from his responsibilities. Hermoso has also received support from multiple members of the government, who have expressed their dissatisfaction with Rubiales’ behaviour and the handling of the situation by the RFEF. 

The outpour of support Hermoso has received from the general public and her teammates has been inspiring because it demonstrates a shift in our culture where women’s voices are finally heard and are not dismissed as being irrational or exaggerated. However, the support that Rubiales has garnered from far-right parties and soccer executives showcases that men will stand together when they see other men being accused of abuse. Indeed, acknowledging that these behaviours are reprehensible implies a reflection on one’s behaviours that many men in positions of power are not ready to have.  

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One way that the government hoped to achieve this was by permitting such businesses operating in the province of Quebec to follow either the Official Languages Act or the province’s Charter of the French Language – known as Bill 101 –which entrenched French as the official language of Quebec and restricted the use of English in the province. In May 2022, Bill 96 was passed in Quebec, amending parts of Bill 101 and causing further problems with the bill. To pass Bill 96, the government of Premier François Legault, used the Notwithstanding Clause – a constitutional mechanism that allows a government to override certain parts of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms – to preemptively shield the law from any potential court challenges. By making explicit reference to Quebec’s Charter of the French Language, Bill C-13 now effectively endorses the preemptive use of the Notwithstanding Clause in federal law, something that the federal government has never done before.

Bill C-13 has received second reading and is now in front of the Standing Committee on Official Languages, which is reviewing the bill and considering proposals for amendments. A number of Liberal Members of Parliament representing ridings on the island of Montreal—including Anthony Housefather, Emmanuella Lambropoulos, and Marc Garneau—have raised concerns about this apparent endorsement of the Notwithstanding Clause in a federal law. They have also raised concerns about the possibility that the inclusion of a reference to the Charter of the French Language in the Official Languages Act could limit access to English services in federally regulated businesses in Quebec. The Charter of the French Language explicitly guarantees service in French – but does not guarantee service in English. The old Official Languages Act, on the other hand, guarantees access to services in both English and French. 

In Committee, the Bloc Québécois has introduced a number of amendments intended to further entrench the Charter of the French Language in any updated version of the Official Languages Act. The Conservative Party has joined the Bloc Québécois in its attempt to weaken the rights of English-speaking Quebecers, most recently when Joël Godin, Member of Parliament for a riding in the Quebec City region, introduced an amendment that would have the federal government recognize Quebec’s distinctive character when formulating language policy. Another member of the Committee – Liberal Francis Drouin, who represents an Eastern Ontario riding – dismissed the concerns of English-speaking Quebecers when he tweeted “the island of Montreal does not have a monopoly on Canada’s linguistic policy.” Niki Ashton, meanwhile, a NDP member on the Committee who represents a northern Manitoba riding, finds it “extremely concerning” that Liberal members are expressing reservations about a bill that originated from their own party. Why it is “extremely concerning” that a Liberal member might wish to fix or improve a bill put forward by their own party is not entirely clear. Furthermore, Arielle Kayabaga, a Liberal committee member who represents a riding in London, Ontario, seems to agree with the Bloc Québécois, Conservatives, and NDP when she says it is imperative that the House of Commons pass the bill “as soon as possible.”

The problem with Bill C-13 is that it entrenches the Charter of the French Language – and by extension the use of the Notwithstanding Clause – into federal law. It also introduces into the Official Languages Act the principle of asymmetry when it comes to language rights. Under the original Official Languages Act, the English and French languages were accorded equal status across the country. Should Bill C-13 pass, however, the Official Languages Act would be amended in such a way as to define Quebec as a French-speaking region of the country with a special responsibility to promote the use of the French language according to the terms of the province’s own Charter of the French Language. In the rush to advance the rights of French-speaking Canadians to access services from federally regulated businesses, the members of the Subcommittee on Official Languages, and the overwhelming majority of the rest of the House of Commons, appear intent on forsaking the rights of English-speaking Quebecers to access services in their language in their province. 

In addition, Bill C-13 seems to put forward the notion that Quebec should be treated in federal law as a distinct society when it comes to matters of language. Especially given that the Meech Lake Accord was defeated in large part over this issue three decades ago,this is a significant development that warrants further reflection and that should not be rushed through Parliament “as soon as possible.”

This  debate is also extremely troubling for another reason. If we, as a society, decide that it is acceptable to limit the rights of English-speaking Quebecers today, we are also opening the door to one day limiting the rights of French-speaking Canadians elsewhere in the country. The principle of asymmetry leads us on this path of revoking the rights of a minority group when that minority group no longer has the means to defend itself. 

It is thus time for members of the Subcommittee on Official Languages, Members of Parliament from all parties, and all Canadians, to stand up for the rights of linguistic minorities across the country. It is time for us all to slow this process down and to think about how minority groups across this country will be adversely affected by the proposed amendments to the Official Languages Act.

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I don’t think feeling was meant to be coupled with a rigorous capitalistic education. Despite classes and readings not technically taking up all 24 hours of our days, the importance it claims over our lives allows it to be pervasive in all corners of our mind and being. Oftentimes, our brains have been working at such academic intensity that our means of relaxing need to be absolutely brainless. This might manifest in the form of drugs, Netflix, going out, or mindless scrolling. After these “relaxing” yet silently stimulating activities, reflecting on our day or week appears futile. There are no emotions or stresses at present, so there is nothing to reflect on. These activities seem to act as means of detachment from the real world and its pressures, allowing us to briefly un-exist for the two hours watching Instagram reels while our eyes dry up into a crust. While that sounds like the type of break we need from a full day of thinking and working, it doesn’t provide us with rejuvenating, unadulterated rest that allows us to process emotions, or merely interactions, that we have experienced in our day. Instead, the feelings ignored end up under your mucky aforementioned carpet. It is questionable that educational institutions – subjects of authority that claim to teach us everything we must know – appear to ignore, or even discourage, this important exploration and processing of emotions.

Universities and schools assert that they maximise our wellness, though this claim overlooks the importance of students firstly addressing how they feel and how they can learn to truly feel. For example, our universities acknowledge the urgent requirement of mental health support for students; their effort is displayed by the mental health services stickers that often stare at me while I’m sat on the toilet. Yet, it seems as if some toxic ways of thinking that students aim to address through support (eg. unhealthy coping strategies) could have been initially prevented if it were addressed at its roots. Viewing this during our developmental years, schools do not explore introspective activities that encourage being honest about emotions and promote mindfulness, such as practicing meditation or journaling – those that dive deeper than economically-driven aptitude and career tests. To argue that it is an activity we must explore on our own contradicts the 24/7 nature of school and its self-asserted authority. A school often claims to teach most things we should know: “anti-bullying week” is thinly echoed through school corridors while my gym teacher shows me how to put a condom onto a banana. 

The lack of importance placed on introspection and reflection may have led students to neglect its value. What a school asserts as “important” is enough for our entire childhood to be based around it. A school’s  influence on our time and over our thoughts profoundly shapes our beliefs; the values it views as “preferable” are bound to influence what we as impressionable children judge to be desirable. The values we adopt as children are integral to what jobs we look for, which are also known as the jobs we hate the least that make the most money. It is unsurprising that a question I encountered more than once at school was, “Would you rather be rich or happy for the rest of your life?” The apathy that schools express towards the emotional realm unsurprisingly translates to our indifference when it comes to feeling, seemingly ignoring the craving felt from our bodies and hearts. This indifference may also permeate our decisions we make about the future: inability to self reflect leads us to jobs that make us unhappy. Hopefully, those of us who have had the privilege of schooling now understand that safe sex is good and making fun of people is bad, though self-exploration remains unexplored.This is perhaps why all 18 year old white kids flock to Bali to find themselves.

For the extremely privileged, our aptitude test results feed directly into higher education — one that claims high success and, therefore, high happiness. This trajectory appears to have placed us in autopilot mode wherein the end goal is graduation. On autopilot mode, any interventions that might divert this trajectory are raked to the side to promote a safe and efficient journey. With an ever increasing unemployment rate for graduates, the fear of stepping out of autopilot — a near-guaranteed state of monetary comfort — and coming face-to-face with an alternate, possibly happier, reality might be hampering this shift.

An important question to explore is: Why do academic institutions take part in this demonization of the emotional? Most institutions strive to be the best; they long to be considered prestigious, or to make it into the QS World University Rankings. To compete with other institutions, schools look to their students to compete with one another, searching for geniuses to plaster in their newsletter. To achieve this, the institutions’ environment must be stripped of fruitless distractions and replaced with logic, order, and discipline. At its core, many academic institutions merely convey its role in the betterment of society to mask its mechanical pursuit of profit. As an example, we can turn our heads to the mere cost of tuition at McGill, not to mention over $65 million of which has been invested in oil and gas.

The characteristics of most educational institutions seem to mirror the values that underlie our capitalist mode of production: efficiency, development, and alienation. For example, the disparity between funding towards disciplines that are considered more and less “economically fit” — often disciplines that support less  self-expression — is tangible. Schools have endorsed “valuable tools for life” through methods such as standardised tests and extreme penalties for deadlines. These methods not only emotionally and mentally threaten the general student population, but also disproportionately target those who are considered “lazy,” “slow learners,” and students with diagnosed and undiagnosed learning disabilities, almost as if to eliminate those unfit for the rigour of money-making through a mechanism of “academic natural selection.” While schools make certain efforts to accommodate the emotional and mental stress suffered by “the less ambitious” in a fast-paced world of “the gifted,” these efforts remain ineffective under a system like ours that perpetuates the admiration of acquiring academic success above all else.

The taboo of self-expression that schools foster for receptive, developmental minds to absorb produces implications for introspection and healthy emotional processing. The expression of emotion that departs from what schools deem acceptable is often punished, and attempts to understand these, perhaps “atypical,” expressions are rarely made. As we are disciplined to push through, to keep working, despite not feeling up to standard, it is plausible that our neuro-plastic brains adapt to pushing negative emotions to the side in the name of success; pushed so far to the side that looking for them becomes a task in itself, let alone processing them. It appears that this would be less of a dilemma provided that therapy wasn’t $150 an hour and considered shameful in many cultures.

Though likely insufficient (without, in my opinion, a reform of the academic system), a potential way forward is for educational institutions to accept individuality and invite their students to look inwards to allow self-expression, self-reflection, and self-exploration during the developmental years of school. This would require a deliberation of the current disciplinary measures that claim to promote productivity and defeat laziness, which, in reality, only produce fear, anxiety, and stress in students; which, in turn, preserves a cycle of un-feeling. More fundamentally, this would require a reevaluation of exceedingly capitalist values of efficient development upheld by the institutions, as values are what seem to underlie action.

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Apartment-hunting tips and red flags: 

1. Dwelling Unit By-Laws: While dense, it might be a good idea to familiarize yourself with Montreal’s By-laws concerning the sanitation and maintenance of dwelling units to make sure the apartment you’re looking at is safe and adheres to these regulations. 

2. Pests: If you can spot mouse traps, droppings, or other signifiers of pests, chances are those pests will still be there when you move in! While pests can be fairly common, it’s important to keep in mind, and might be important to ask the current tenants about the severity of the problem, and how their landlord has helped them. Landlords are required to take corrective action within 10 business days upon alert of the presence of vermin, harmful insects, rats, or mice. 

3. Ventilation and mold: Old buildings – particularly those with poor ventilation – tend to be more susceptible to mold and other water damage related issues. When touring the apartment, the presence of mold can be indicated by spots in all colors (though often black or green) on walls, ceilings, carpets, around windows, in closets, etc. An earthy smell can also indicate the presence of mold, along with the presence of stains, buckling, peeling, or other signs of water seeping through walls or ceilings. When touring, notice if there is a build up of condensation on ceilings or windows, which could be a sign of poor ventilation. While exposure to damp and moldy environments may not cause any adverse health effects, some people are particularly sensitive and can experience a reaction to a “mold allergy” – an overall unpleasant experience! According to the City of Montreal’s by-laws, there may be no accumulation of moisture causing damage to the structure of the building, nor may there be visible presence of molds. Furthermore, ensure that bathrooms are installed with a window or mechanical ventilation, in line with the city’s by-laws concerning sanitation and maintenance of dwelling unitsunit. 

4. Heating, air conditioning, and insulation: With hot and humid summers and cold frigid winters, climate control is a crucial consideration to make when apartment-hunting. Notice if the apartment is properly insulated – are the windows double-paned? Do the walls feel thin? Can you feel a draft? Are there radiators, or another form of heating, throughout the apartment? The cost of hydro is also important to consider. Some landlords include the cost of heating and electricity in their rent, while others don’t. With the former option, you’d likely be paying a fixed cost month to month. With the latter, however, depending on the rate you pay with Hydro Quebec, you may be paying depending on your consumption for the months. In the winter, with the cost of heating this bill may go up significantly (which is why it’s especially important to make sure your apartment is well-insulated!). Pro-tip: after having been subscribed to Hydro Quebec for one year, you can enroll in the Equal Payments Plan, wherein the invoice will be the same price month to month regardless of consumption. Whether or not you can control the heating is also an important consideration to make. 

5. Light and Windows: Light and windows can be an overlooked yet very important factor to consider when looking for an apartment. A not-so-fun fact is that in Montreal, landlords can rent apartments with “bedrooms” listed that do not have a window. Rather, in bedrooms in Montreal without windows are only required a partition that allows for “borrowed light” from another room. 

What to look out for on the lease: 

1. Repairs: Ensure that the landlord is assuming responsibility for all repairs in explicit terms, and not using coded language to slouch off responsibility. Considerations for repairs should also extend to furniture as well, if the apartment is already furnished, considering that the furniture has likely been used by many tenants before you. 

2. Payment: The lease should clearly specify an agreement on the terms and conditions for paying the rent. However, notably in Quebec it is illegal for landlords to require postdated checks and/or charge additional amounts in the form of a security deposit or other charges. 

3. Rent: In Quebec, when a lease is signed, it is within your right to ask for a written notice stating the lowest rent paid in the 12 months before the start of the lease, or the rent set by the Tribunal Administratif Logement (TAL). However, this request must be made within 10 days of signing the lease. 

4. Subletting: Are you going on exchange for a semester or want to go back home for the summer? Subletting your room or apartment allows for this flexibility without having to pay rent for a place you are not staying in. A lease cannot state that a tenant is not allowed to assign or sublet the unit. 

Know and protect your rights: 

1. Visiting rights: Have you ever had your landlord or repairman randomly knock on your door? You should know that landlords must give 24 hours notice before entering the apartment – whether that’s inspecting the dwelling, or doing minor repairs. The same rule of 24 hours notice applies to scheduling visits for future prospective tenants, which can only be scheduled between 9 AM and 9 PM. 

2. Major repairs or renovations: Generally, major repairs or renovations must respect the tenant’s right to stay in their home – it is illegal for landlords to violate the “right to maintain occupancy.” If major work is being done, landlords must notify the tenant in writing at least 10 days before the work begins. This notice must include: the type of work being done, the date it will begin, an estimate as to how long it will take, and other conditions under which the work will be done. Also, work can also only be completed between 7 AM and 7 PM. Furthermore, tenants may ask to postpone the work and to reduce their rent while work is being done.

3. Heating: In an apartment wherein the heating is controlled by the landlord, the landlord is legally required to maintain an appropriate room temperature regardless of the time of year. There is actually no law nor municipal bylaw that specifies a temperature apartments should be kept at, but it is generally accepted that around 21 degrees celsius is a comfortable temperature. If you find that your landlord is overheating your apartment, you can file an appeal with the TAL. 

4. Rent increase: Landlords must notify you of rent increases within 3-6 months before the lease ends for leases of 12 months of more. For leases of less than a year, you must be notified within one or two months of the lease ending. Did you know, you can refuse a rent increase? By notifying your landlord that you refuse a rent increase, they can either accept your refusal, try to enter a friendly negotiation, or contact the TAL to rule on the change of rent. 

Finally, it’s always good practice to keep a copy of your lease as well as dated proof of all communications with your landlord.   

If you have any concerns or are wanting to appeal any changes your landlord has made, access the Tribunal administratif du logement where you have access to your rights as a tenant and can contact an informations clerk to aid in your applications and documents. You can also find resources with the Syndicat de locataires MTL; they meet biweekly every week on Saturdays at 3 PM, in person and over zoom. You can also consult educaloi.qc.ca, which has a useful guide for navigating housing and property law. 

The post Renting 101: Montreal Tenant’s Rights appeared first on The McGill Daily.

Canada continues to fall short of its climate commitments. Despite pledging to “tackle climate” when signing onto the Paris Climate Agreement (PCA) back in 2016, Trudeau is only fractionally closer to honouring such commitments as Canada continues to be graded “highly insufficient” by all PCA metrics. All the while, the Prime Minister’s actions suggest that Canada might actually be moving further backwards, rather than forwards, on meeting its legally binding goals. 

For Trudeau’s climate policy, the devil is truly in the details. Eager to reduce personal consumption, the Liberals have consistently tightened regulations surrounding individual usage either via regulations, such as a federal carbon tax, or through various incentives, like electric car tax rebates. And while such initiatives are certainly steps in the right direction, it seems rather strange that the Prime Minister is choosing not to crack down on industrial consumption in a similarly forceful fashion.

Back in February, some Canadians might have been shocked to learn that much of the country’s waste intended for recycling wasn’t actually being recycled at all. A report conducted by Enquête, a series that airs on Radio Canada, revealed that tonnes of recyclable trash were secretly being sold and shipped to India, where they were ultimately burned. But for many, stories like this play out much like a broken record, repeating every two years or so. Indeed, Canadian firms secretly burning goods intended for recycling seems to be an all too common occurrence in recent years. Canadian recycling companies were first caught doing so in the Philippines back in 2013, and since then instances have only increased. A Politico report found that since 2017, Canadian recycling firms have illegally shipped more than 2,300 metric tonnes of garbage to a plethora of Asian countries, including Malaysia, Hong Kong, India, and Vietnam. 

You would imagine that any Canadian firm that breaks the country’s environmental regulations would most certainly face the most severe repercussions at the government’s disposal, especially given  our repeated verbal commitment to “tackle climate change.” But that simply has not been the case. As firms illegally shipped tonnes of garbage to various countries around the world, the federal government mostly chose to officiate by the sidelines, offering mere warnings as a primary remedy to try and resolve the crisis. Even in the rare instances when the federal government chose to actually issue fines – which they did in just 21 “exceptional” cases – these fines averaged a measly $400 or $2,000, a negligible number for essentially all firms involved.  

Unfortunately, the Prime Minister’s environmental oversight doesn’t look like it will stop anytime soon. In March, Canadian officials met with Indian representatives with the purpose of potentially negotiating a free trade deal. While such a move would undoubtedly benefit both parties economically, it is nonetheless surprising to see Canada engaging in such talks given our lofty environmental goals. After all, India’s environmental laws have historically been dodgy at best; reports of mass pollution and stories of mass dumping have long tainted the country’s environmental reputation. With this in mind, one cannot help but ponder the global environmental ramifications of a deal that would likely only further increase India’s exports, and thus its carbon footprint. One cannot help but wonder why Justin Trudeau suddenly feels the need to reward a country whose notoriously bad environmental behaviour has frequently been the epitome of what not to do with a free trade deal. 

Too often it feels like the prime minister is implementing policy not to strengthen Canada’s position on climate change but merely to give off an illusion that he is working for change. Since taking office back in 2015, Trudeau’s Liberals have taken repeated shots at trying to limit Canadian oil and gas output. From a pledge to “cap [local] oil and gas sector emissions” in an effort to reach net zero emissions by 2050, to legislation that has restricted oil tankers’ export capacity in northern British Columbia, the Prime Minister’s efforts have unsurprisingly received praise from around the world. 

However, these efforts mean absolutely nothing if the country continues to operate in its current economic framework. A reduction in local production does not mean that Canada is simultaneously seeing a similar fall in demand. Quite the contrary. But rather than force Canadian firms to seek greener ways to export oil, the Prime Minister has simply met demand by swapping Canadian oil for foreign imports.

In 2021, Reuters reported that Canadian oil imports from Nigeria increased to nearly 40,000 barrels per day, signalling the largest year-on-year change of imports from any country. As of 2022, Canada now imports over 110,000 barrels of oil per day – nearly 25 per cent of all Canadian production – from Saudi Arabia and Nigeria alone. 

Ultimately, swapping Canadian oil for foreign oil cannot be the plan climate activists envisioned when they championed Justin Trudeau’s desire to implement real environmental change. And yet that’s exactly what we’ve gotten. Too often the prime minister has voiced a desire to implement change, but too little has he been willing to go the lengths required to create a tangible difference.

Back in 2016, Prime Minister Trudeau promised that he would help transform Canada into a leader in fighting climate change. Six years on from that promise and with Canada falling behind, the only leader that Justin Trudeau’s pseudo-environmentalist agenda has turned Canada into is one defined by hypocrisy.   

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Five short years ago, Ye, formerly Kanye West, made his right-wing political debut, clad in a “Make America Great Again” hat. This, mind you, was not his first political debut. That could be said to have occurred long before the Graduation rapper was ever caught with that red cap. West broke into the music industry with overtly political intentions, sporting an early lineup of songs that focused exclusively on the racial consciousness of America. His music had style, it had plenty of arrogance, and it had an irresistible appeal. After a slow whittling away of once unquestionable respect – beginning with that red cap and ending with statements too inappropriate and numerous to fit between these dashes – West has finished his descent. He was once honourable, for a while contentious, and now not much more than an utterly prejudiced, capricious celebrity with dangerous reach.

This October – having already exhausted the patience of many fans – Kanye began to evince to the world his support for the long-recycled conspiracy that Jewish people run the world, displayed without a vestige of his usual provocative irony. This, despite previous contributions to the proliferation of racially- and self-conscious subject matter in hip-hop, is indefensible. Donning a MAGA hat has never seemed so harmful.

The man who had once railed at his own cost against institutional racism throughout the 2010s is now, older and apparently not wiser, at the furthest possible point from his former self. On a feed interspersed with delirious Twitter posts, West voices his intention to “go death con 3 On [sic] JEWISH PEOPLE.” (One could speculate the extent to which West’s frequently alluded-to habit of skipping meds was the cause of these tweets, but that’s a discussion for another time). The Twitter feeds of 31.8 million people were made a virtual bulletin for this statement, about 31,000 liked it before it was taken down, and the whole of American pop culture was exposed to it. Unsurprisingly, Kanye’s display of antisemitism has found a warm place, if it can be said to exist, in the hearts of neo-Nazis. In Los Angeles, a group of such Nazis waved a sign over the 405 highway, reading “Kanye is right about the Jews.” A similar instance occurred at a college football match between the Georgia Bulldogs and Florida Gators, where this same message was projected onto the main entrance of the stadium.

For those with the conviction that the United States, with all its internal struggles, is entirely self-contained, I’d remind you that ideas are gaseous things. They do not stop at a Vermont-Québec border crossing and wait for a surly immigration officer to kick them back south. The hate-speech laws that are currently on the books in Canada – which are, notably, responsible for the recent conviction of the former leader of the now-defunct Nationalist Party – may be sufficient at preventing some domestic promotion of antisemitism. However, an impressionable teen, or a forum-surfer waiting to be radicalized, or even your everyday McGillian are not shielded from international vulgarity. Without much help from West, instances of antisemitism on this campus and this city have persisted: 17 per cent of Canadians, according to a 2018 study, believe Jews “talk too much” about the Holocaust; a further 23 per cent are proponents of the Zionist Occupation Government conspiracy theory, which purports that Jewish people have too much control over financial institutions; and hate crimes across Montreal have increased year after year.

Kanye ranks as Spotify’s 21st most popular artist, and in a pool of 11 million artists dead and alive, that is certainly a seat at the top. Even after all that has been said about him and all that he has said himself, Kanye holds an indelible place in global and Canadian culture. On this campus, we should be wary of where that influence crops up. West, with all his multitudes, has in him the ability to inspire a generation – and the ability to inculcate antisemitic rhetoric in, say, McGill students.

As a final note, I would caution against the “cancellation” of those who stand by West’s music, especially his early works, in which can still be heard a pivotal voice for Black America. I, for one, am an ever-devoted listener, and like many admirers of his music, frequently remind myself that he did write Graduation. Where the artist diverges from his art, however, his words are not so protected. A bigot is as a bigot does, and there looks to be no further pleas for this one, lest he wake up, Mr. West.

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Many first-generation immigrants of the past 20 years left China amid a period of extraordinary economic growth. They perceive the centralized power of the CCP as the unequivocal drive behind China’s rise as a major world superpower. Those who received an education in China acknowledge the social contract between the government and the people; in a “country-first” mentality, personal freedoms and individuality were sacrificed for economic prosperity. Further, as most first-generation immigrants and recent arrivals are fluent in Chinese, they receive their news from Chinese state-run newspapers or social media. China’s government-controlled media is often obsequious in the portrayal of its leadership during pivotal moments. Meanwhile, the children of those same immigrants have been brought up in a completely different institutionalized learning environment. The emphasis on the West’s definition of democracy and populism is irreconcilable with the CCP’s doctrine. Younger generations who have not spent significant time in China gain insights into Chinese society, its norms, values, and traditions through the lens of Western media. Nonetheless, Western media can also be highly biased, with some failing to recognize their double standards and hypocrisy concerning human rights and democracy. 

First-generation immigrants may view Xi’s re-election as a stabilizing reinforcement of the Chinese market dominance on the world stage, whereas second-generation immigrants are more concerned with the CCP’s authoritarian abuse. Ultimately, many parents encounter intergenerational acculturation differences with their children. They face a communication barrier and lack a common language to share facts and opinions. The divide is also clear between international students from China and local students of Chinese descent. Those who were educated or have spent significant time in mainland China might closely correlate their ethnic identity with patriotism while those who grew up abroad can retain a strong heritage identity without apparent loyalty to the government. The two groups are highly segregated within their social circles, creating an ideological echo chamber. Moreover, both circles are mutually afraid of sharing their views for fear of being stigmatized   by one another.

Regardless of political affiliation, the two groups can see eye to eye when it comes to the mistreatment of Asians in Canada. Asian-Canadians have long been an underrepresented group in the economic and political sphere. With the onset of COVID-19, negative sentiments about Asians have surged by over 700 per cent. Asians in North America have been plagued with degrading stereotypes such as “easy” or “model minority” who never voice their opinions. The history of Asian Americans and Asian Canadians as the model minority dates to the 1960s, when newspapers often glorified them as “complacent law-abiding citizens who never complained.” Asian Americans were often used against other races in the United States’ political agenda of leading a racialized democratic free world. With multiple accusations of land gentrification, perpetuating the housing crisis, and corporate espionage, the continuing tensions between North America and China are inadvertently fostering ethnic divisions.

The debate surrounding Xi’s reelection may appear dichotomous, with a clear line separating advocates and critics. However, digging deeper into the issue shows a variety of beliefs shaped by education, family ties, language proficiency, travels, cultural relations, and so much more. When overseas Chinese stay silent on the political and social reality of China, there is no platform to nurture different points of view. Whether or not an individual supports Xi’s re-election, there are many advantages to building your own critical and nuanced perspective on the subject. Critical thinking can help limit the spread of misinformation and decrease instances of racial discrimination. The community must foster a culture of tolerance, the mutual sharing of knowledge, and an open channel for political discourse. We must navigate our ideological divide and support the broader Asian community in Canada. As students, we can raise awareness by joining or volunteering with political and civil organizations. We can publish in local Chinese or English newspapers that our parents or grandparents read. We can promote platforms combatting Anti-Asian hate platforms such as the Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice or mental well-being networks such as the Asian Mental Health Collective. It is time for us to become a driving force to actively shape our society the way we envision it. And only through better communication can we raise the Chinese voice in North America.

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Nineteen-year-old Bassam Ali (whose name has been altered for his safety) is a Syrian refugee  who fled the war-torn country in 2015 via smugglers. Bassam escaped to Lebanon in the hope of  providing an income for his family who remained in Syria. His father, like many Syrians, was  allegedly killed in an airstrike by Assad forces on December 10, 2016. Seven years later, Bassam  sleeps at the restaurant where he has been working since 2015 and his prospects for economic  mobility remain obsolete. Earning a mere $120 a month, Bassam is unable to pay for rent or a  mode of transportation, and his third-grade level education means employment opportunities are  negligible. He left Syria because he rejected the brutalizing and murderous regime of Bashar al Assad. He remains unyielding in his denunciation of the regime and will not return until Assad,  who he holds directly responsible for his father’s death, is removed. Bassam is a reminder of the  suffering and dispossession that the civil war in Syria created. Yet his generosity and compassion  to me when I ate breakfast at his restaurant spoke to the kind-hearted nature of defenseless  civilians caught in between the crossfire of a war they had no part in creating but whose suffering they shoulder each day.  

Before concluding our conversation, Bassam told me that he believes ‘the world has  failed the Syrian people”.His story is a testament to the colossal damage the civil war has had  on ordinary people. He spoke teary eyed about not being able to support his mother and younger  brother because of the plummeting economic crisis in Lebanon. His life in exile and as a refugee shows no end in sight – he hopes to leave Lebanon to a new place of refuge where he will be better able to support his family in Syria. The cycle of dispossession, exile, and persecution  continues to permeate the lives of Syrian refugees who are sprinkled across the region and live in  a constant state of fear. Where Bassam will go from here remains unknown, and the same goes for many Syrian refugees who have entered Lebanon since the war broke out. 

The Syrian civil war has evolved into a frozen conflict, with Assad’s forces reclaiming  over 65 to 70 percent of Syria. Rebel forces have fragmented and have no unified command  structure to hold on to resistance. Moreover, Arab countries like the United Arab Emirates and  Saudi Arabia have begun normalizing Assad who is known as the ‘butcher’ due to the regime’s  barbaric attacks on its own people. The International Chemical Weapons Watchdog told the  United Nations Security Council that its experts concluded 17 cases where chemical weapons  were likely or definitely used against civilians.  

The normalization of the Assad regime in Syria is an abandonment of Syrian people like Bassam and their democratic aspirations. It is crucial that Western governments oppose such  normalization and exert pressure on neighboring countries to push for a peace settlement that  provides hope for millions of Syrians who fear reprisal if they were to return home. The Syrian  refugee crisis will not end so long as the Assad regime remains unaccountable for its crimes against humanity. A UK-based monitoaring group called the Syrian Observatory for Human  Rights (SOHR) cited at least 159,774 civilians killed, with the Syrian government and  its allies responsible for most of those deaths. The argument that Assad is the ‘better of the evils’  ignores the fact that the Syrian revolution’s sole objective was the removal of Assad and his apparatus of oppression. The children of the revolution remain in every street corner of the  Middle East – whether in Syria, Lebanon, or Turkey. The Gulf countries’ attempt to rekindle their  relations with Syria represents narrow, opportunistic geopolitical objectives based on realpolitik.  However, in doing so, the Gulf countries are legitimizing a regime that is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Syrians.  

11 years on, Syrian refugees remain abandoned by their  ‘Arab brethren’, and Western  governments’ indifference to their suffering is equally worth noting. The war in Ukraine and the ensuing refugee crisis has revealed the double standard that exists for refugee protection.  Western governments, especially in Europe, have embraced Ukrainian refugees with a  humanitarian approach but the same cannot be said for their response to the Syrian refugee crisis. Apart from Germany  –and to a certain extent Turkey –Syrian refugees have been left to fend for  themselves in a region that rejects their presence and is dealing with a host of domestic issues. The only way forward is to place the Syrian people’s democratic aspirations at the forefront, and focus on an accountable and transparent peace process that is inclusive of all Syrians – whether  in Syria or in exile as refugees. 

An earlier version of the article stated that Bassam Ali’s age was nine. In fact, his age is nineteen. The Daily regrets the error.

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