At McGill, on October 5th, Students for Palestine’s Honour and Resistance (SPHR) organized a rally at Roddick Gates to emphasize the urgency of solidarity and action for Palestine. These demonstrators joined a Montreal-wide protest at Place des Arts, rallying for Palestinian rights and collaborating with organizations like the Palestinian Youth Movement and ANSWER Coalition, among others.

Hundreds attended the protest outside of campus, bringing to light the number of students advocating for Palestinian rights against Israel’s violence and calling for change from the McGill administration. A counter-protest in support of Israel added to the tense environment, demonstrating the divided opinions on campus. As violence in Gaza has escalated, McGill has seen a surge in student activism – further fueled by the recent violence in Lebanon. From September 11 to October 1 of 2023, the McGill Board of Governors’ Committee on Sustainability and Social Responsibility (CSSR) invited community input on divestment from military-linked companies through a webform. Many students and groups such as SPHR viewed the CSSR’s invitation for community input as a superficial gesture, reflecting institutional resistance to meaningful action on social justice issues, especially given that McGill had previously initiated similar surveys without making concrete commitments to divestment. A student referendum from Fall 2023 showed 79 per cent support for the University’s divestment. This said, the administration’s injunction to prevent the policy’s ratification has only bolstered activists’ resolve.

The encampment on campus at the end of last semester highlighted strong resistance to McGill’s ties to military corporations, prompting intensified discussions on divestment and student opinions regarding the administration’s response. This encampment was established on campus for 75 days throughout the summer, rallying for Palestinian rights, until it was forcibly dismantled by police and private security hired by the university.

Social media, especially Instagram, has been pivotal for student activist groups like SPHR in spreading information about protests and rallying support on campus. Platforms like Instagram allow these groups to share updates, testimonials, and calls to action, amplifying their message within the McGill community and beyond. Hashtags like #PalestinianRights have broadened visibility, empowering activists to critique Western media narratives and address concerns about transparency. Support from groups such as the McGill Indigenous Student Alliance, Independent Jewish Voices McGill, and Divest McGill have further boosted visibility, demonstrating how solidarity among different movements on campus amplifies engagement for the Palestinian cause and strengthens the sense of community.

National and international student organizations called for a “Week of Rage” from October 7 to 11, encouraging students to walk out, rally, and disrupt classes in support of Palestinian justice. Many viewed participation as a moral obligation, framing it as essential for awareness. In response, McGill sought an injunction from the Quebec Superior Court against SPHR, granted on October 8, restricting protests near university entrances. McGill’s actions exemplify how institutions respond to student activism with legal measures, galvanizing activists further in their calls for accountability.

McGill’s Deputy Provost Angela Campbell and Vice-President Fabrice Labeau voiced concern and support for students’ protest rights, while simultaneously framing the injunction as necessary to maintain academic integrity. This mirrors broader trends across North America, where university administrations are balancing support for student activism with enforcing institutional policies. On October 7, protests also erupted at several universities in the U.S. Students from institutions including Columbia University, UC Berkeley, and others voiced opposition to administrative decisions they saw as hindrances to justice-oriented movements. At Columbia, students rallied in support of Palestinian rights, urging the administration to take a stronger stance. Similarly, at UC Berkeley, students expressed frustration with perceived inaction by their leadership, highlighting a shared tension across campuses as students continue to advocate for social justice causes despite institutional challenges.

Over the past year, student protests have highlighted a growing commitment to social justice, often in alignment with broader global movements. At McGill, organizations like SPHR have worked to sustain this momentum by collaborating with faculty initiatives such as Profs4Palestine to host public discussions and conferences. These efforts echo actions at other campuses, where student groups have united under the shared goal of advocating for Palestinian rights as part of a larger push for global justice. One activist remarked to the Daily that “being here today is about standing up for justice and showing that we won’t be silent.”

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“Overwriting Palestine: History, Genocide and Denial Today” is the title of the seventh installation of the “On Gaza” speaker series co-sponsored by the Critical Media Lab (CML) and the Research Group on Democracy, Space and Technology (RGDST). On Monday, October 10, students and faculty were invited to come listen to Dr. Ussama Makdisi talk about the importance of acknowledging the active denial and replacement of Palestinian history and the importance of promoting and supporting Palestinian narratives. Dr. Makdisi, is a Professor of History and Chancellor’s Chair at the University of California Berkeley.

Co-organizer Professor Ipek Türeli emphasized the importance for universities to have an active role in challenging dominant Western narratives. “What has been unfolding before our eyes in Gaza and now in Lebanon on media screens is not an issue that is detached from our campus, nor from our academic communities. Students and faculty demand for events such as the “On Gaza” series which are critical to imagining liberated futures for all of us.”

In the past year the whole world has witnessed the killing of an estimated 43,000 Palestinians, a majority of which are children, women and elderly, and over 2,865 Lebanese people, by the Israeli military. Scholars and media have categorized the ongoing brutal killing of Palestinians as the “first livestreamed genocide in history,” however Dr. Makdisi insisted that facts are not enough. He explained that “Calling history into question helps us understand how colonialism in the name of protecting civilization has been legitimized and what is ethically unbearable becomes morally tolerated.” The lecture he gave provided the answer, shedding light on “the ruthless double standard which underlies Western support of Zionism, with Jewish and Israeli life cherished as part of an alleged enlightened Europe after World War II, while Christian and Muslim Palestinian life and history is devalued.”

Makdisi continued his lecture by discussing the history of Palestine, the rise of Zionism and the systematic work of Western liberal leaders and thinkers for the past hundred years to not only deny Palestinians of their history, but also substitute it with Eurocentric visions and racist portrayals. He emphasized that we should go beyond obvious denial of history, and focus on what it has been substituted for. What is actually chosen to be talked about? And how does this play into the passivity we see around us?

The central issue discussed in the talk was how we approach history, emphasizing the need to recognize the instrumentalization of historical narratives and misinformation in shaping public opinion and influencing the international community’s response to the genocide in Gaza.
“The obvious reality is that long before October 7, there was October 6, and October 5, going all the way back to 1948, and before that 1917, and before that 1897 when European Jewish Zionist nationalists met in Basel to put Herzl’s vision of a Jewish State in motion […] even when they knew that there were people living on that land,” explained Dr. Makdisi.

While the Holocaust was a turning point in solidifying international sympathy to the Zionist cause and led to a massive displacement of European Jews, Dr. Makdisi pointed out that neither the U.S. or Britain allowed for big waves of migrations into their territories. Instead they pushed for European Jewish survivors to settle in Palestine in the name of “decency and humanitarianism.” This led to the 1947 UN partition plan, “which gave the Jewish minority a majority of Palestine.” The Nakba followed as a result of this partition plan, with Zionist militias expelling between 750,000 and one million Palestinians from their homelands and forcing them into refugee status.

He explained in this partition plan western leaders “rationalized the idea that the creation of a Jewish state trumped the suffering of Palestinians, and that the natives of this land were irrational, primitives, and aggressive, because they opposed what Western philosophers and politicians thought of as a fundamentally decent and good thing.” Before adding that for the next 60 to 70 years the “consistent denial of the Palestinian relation to Palestinian land and the substitution of Palestinian history with a different narrative had profoundly corrosive moral, political and ethical effects.”

Dr. Makdisi concluded his presentation by highlighting three dominant dogmas. The first is that, in the liberal West, questioning Israel as a Jewish state — regardless of its actions or history — is proscribed, as it challenges the West’s self-perception as having moved beyond its antisemitic past. The second is the philo-Zionist view of Israel as an extension of an idealized West. The third dogma is that Palestinians are increasingly erased—not only stripped of historical context but also depicted as incompatible with Western humanism. Except when they are considered “negative value” as expressed by Palestinian scholar Edward Said, and any attempt to challenge this narrative is framed as violent or antisemitic.

The lecture was aimed at helping us understand the “self-righteous morality” that has been widespread since October 7, 2023. Makdisi highlighted how despite the clear evidence of genocide most Western leaders and politicians are reluctant to acknowledge this history and condemn Israel’s genocidal actions.

Dr. Diana Allan, associate professor in Anthropology at the Institute for the Study of International Development at McGill and co-founder of the Critical Media Lab, told the Daily that “Ussama Makdisi’s scholarship has done so much to illuminate the richness of Palestinian civilization in the multireligious Ottoman Mashriqi region prior to the Nakba, and to trace how the historical arc of Zionism — a European solution to a European problem — began in racist ignorance and erasure of that world, and bends now toward its complete destruction.” She added that “his talk was a rigorously detailed reminder of the devastating cost of mainstream anti-Palestinian colonial ideology, which our governments and institutions continue to uphold.”

Another point Dr. Makdisi touched upon was the crucial role of students in the creation of new narratives. “The students in particular who have not been indoctrinated in the same way into this liberal language and narrative […] who are empathizing with people that they can see suffering, and are not overwriting that suffering with a completely ideological narrative, are outraged. And the students represent the future,” he told the audience.

Will Roberts, co-organiser alongside Professor Türeli, wrote to the Daily saying that “the importance of Dr. Makdisi’s talk — and of the “On Gaza” series in general — is that there is far too little basic truth-telling in the academy about the ongoing genocide in Gaza.” He denounced the McGill administration for making “the University into a space hostile to basic public scholarship and truth-telling, stoking people’s fears and inciting paranoia.” One example of this hostility was the vandalization of posters promoting Dr. Makdisi’s talk, even during the event itself.

“It is so clear, once you know some history, that racism, apartheid, [and] the weaponization of charges of antisemitism will not succeed in making Palestinians disappear as people, nor stop them or their allies around the world of all faiths from fighting and advocating for liberation,” Dr. Makdisi concluded. “But until that future is achieved each of us has a fundamental choice to make. Each of us has to decide on which side of history we want to stand.”

The livestream of the event is available on YouTube: www.youtube.com/live/ORq2yUC1dd0. You can follow the Critical Media Lab on social media to stay updated with their upcoming events.

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Pow Wows are colourful celebrations gathering First Nations communities. Deeply rooted in the traditions of Indigenous peoples in North America, they allow individuals to socialize, dance, and sing whilst honouring their cultures.

Dancers flowed into the centre of the Fieldhouse during the Grand Entry and MCs Lance Delisle and Marie-Celine Charron delivered their opening remarks. Flags including that of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy were pinned up and honored. The participants at the event could not be more eager to kick off the day.

The agenda outlined a variety of cultural dancing such as Haudenosaunee social dancing and Métis jigging. People gathered around to watch performances of Inuit throat singing and drumming by the RedTail Spirit Singers, Ottawa River Singers, SpiritWind, and Spirit Wolf. Indigenous peoples of different Nations were encouraged to join in on the celebrations of culture. Dozens of vendors lined the walls of the Fieldhouse selling jewelry and fundraising for causes like Native Montreal, an organization that offers health and support services to Indigenous communities in the greater Montreal area.

The McGill Pow Wow provided non-Indigenous peoples with the opportunity to experience unique Indigenous traditions first-hand, serving as a valuable moment for cultural education. Attendees were encouraged to join in at many moments to learn dancing techniques. The Pow Wow conveyed to non-Indigenous peoples the importance of Indigenous heritage preservation, which was expressed by a first-year McGill student to The Daily after witnessing the Jingle dance. This was her first Pow Wow.

“There are so many dimensions to Indigenous culture that I am being introduced to today. Being in the presence of so many people [who are] willing to share their culture with others so openly is a gift,” she said.

Even members of the Indigenous community were impressed by the collective displays of culture. Kona Slays, an Indigenous entrepreneur of the fashion brand Love, Koko, took home first prize at the Ribbon Skirt special. She expressed to The Daily her excitement surrounding the Indigenous participants.

“My favorite event was the Jingle dancing,” Slays said. “I didn’t know that there were so many dancers!” She was rewarded $500 for her teal ribbon skirt.

Ribbon skirts represent the sacredness of womanhood and strength in many Indigenous cultures across North America. Named for the colourful rows of ribbons sewn along the bottom hem of the skirt, they have evolved into symbols of remembrance for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous women.

While an opportunity for commemoration and celebration, this year’s Pow Wow was also tinged with irony as the university fights the Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers) in court over the possible presence of unmarked graves on the site of The Royal Victoria Hospital.

Mohawk Mothers were present at the Pow Wow as well, highlighting above all the resilience of the Indigenous community and the importance of healing on Kanien’kehà:ka land.

The post Colourful Celebrations: McGill’s 23rd Annual Pow Wow appeared first on The McGill Daily.

Since the accreditation Association of McGill Professors of Law (AMPL) in 2022, there has yet to be collective agreement between AMPL and McGill. The AMPL has repeatedly received pushback from McGill for requesting involvement in faculty governance and more clarity.

McGill administration has been outwardly uncooperative, aiming to dissolve the association rather than collaborate with it. Throughout the summer break, McGill administrators avoided negotiation. In fact, McGill breached the labor code by failing to appear in court to negotiate on August 30, 2024, and has refused to acknowledge the reality of unionization at McGill. When attempts to negotiate were made, they were often not in “good faith,” said Kirsten Anker, AMPL Vice President. Nevertheless, she has newfound optimism that the bargaining unit is finally being heard.

“Our strike action, and public media campaign, have been focused on this issue since the end of August, and I think in the last week the message has been heard,” said Anker. “The Provost has indicated that he now sees a path forward to dropping the judicial review, and has initiated discussions to that end with AMPL.”

Leading up to this development, McGill challenged the accreditation of AMPL as a proper bargaining unit via judicial review, even though AMPL’s requests are not extraordinary. AMPL simply aims to serve as a voice for the faculty in governing themselves the way they feel is right, and improving clarity in this decision- making process. Rather than complying or negotiating, McGill has further increased its lack of transparency and accountability. AMPL claims: “The real objective [for McGill] is not fewer unions, but none.”

McGill’s refusal to work with AMPL has hurt students in the Law Faculty. With suspended classes, transcript delays, and difficulties processing job applications and scholarships, McGill’s Law students are beginning to get restless. Students are unsure if this semester will even happen at all, as many have signed new leases, uprooting their lives in exchange for zero stability or assurance in their education.

Vice President External of the Law Students Association (LSA), Julien Bérubé, has also expressed concern about the effects of the strike on the students. He explained, “Those who are feeling the brunt of the effects of the strike are the students, strangely, the only ones who have nothing to gain from this conflict.” While the community has been working together to preserve some form of education, and non-unionized instructors continue to teach their classes, many students remain unsure about the future.

“We feel like collateral damage in a conflict where we have nothing to gain,” said Bérubé.

It is not just Faculty of Law students that need to worry about these repercussions, but all the students of McGill. The creation of new unions at McGill will form ripples at the university-wide level. Both the Arts and Education faculties have formed their own associations — the Association of McGill Professors of the Faculty of Arts (AMPFA) and the Association of McGill Professors of Education (AMPE), respectively — and are gaining insight from AMPL on tips to earn accreditation, Anker shared. When an association is accredited, it is legally considered a “bargaining unit” or a union. If a faculty association does not have accreditation, it doesn’t hold any power, making it critical for AMPL to maintain its accredited status despite the McGill administration’s wishes. While such advancements are a sign of hope for many professors, students like Bérubé fear for the future of their academic experience.

“As professors’ unions are [being created] in the Faculties of Arts and Education, I can only warn my fellow students about the impacts of a potential strike, as we are still living with the impacts of this one,” noted Bérubé.

AMPL, however, does not view the spread of faculty unions in the same light. Rather than fearing the impacts of a strike, there is an understanding that mass unionization is necessary in order to push the McGill administration to properly negotiate. McGill has chosen to maintain its own power instead of prioritizing the education of its students, despite the implications of the administration’s stalling in negotiation efforts.

“While it may be difficult for students to focus on anything other than the way a strike interrupts your studies and impacts you personally, I encourage you to think about yourself as a member of this community too, rather than just a paying customer,” urges Anker. “Right now, we are fighting to preserve and foster important aspects of the university that make it worth working and studying in.”

The post AMPL Remain on Strike, Hoping to Arrange a Deal with McGill appeared first on The McGill Daily.

Numbers and events may have changed between the time of writing and the publishing of the article

It has been one year since Hamas launched Israel’s deadliest terrorist attack, killing over 1200 Israelis and taking more than 250 hostages. The immediate Israeli military response has since devastated the Gaza Strip, displacing around 90 per cent of its population, and killing 41,788 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health authorities. Israel has also continuously been putting pressure on neighboring countries. In the past weeks, the Israeli army has pursued increasingly violent attacks on Lebanon, severely weakening Hezbollah’s leadership, prompting Iran to retaliate with a large-scale missile strike against Israel. Meanwhile international organizations have proved incapable of bringing an end to the violence.

Despite multiple international calls for de-escalation and investigations into Israeli war crimes, Israel has continued to navigate multiple military fronts. In the past weeks, it has continued its relentless bombing of the Gaza Strip while also targeting Yemen, Syria, Iran and Lebanon. For the past three weeks, Israel has bombarded Lebanon with airstrikes, killing over 2000 people while injuring nearly 7500 others. In addition to their aerial attacks, Israel announced its decision to begin “ground operations” in Southern Lebanon, reminiscent of their invasion four decades ago. While the Israeli government’s stated goal has been to take down Hezbollah’s structural organization, calling this a “limited, localized and targeted” operation. But the reality on the ground is far from this as shown by the growing number of civilian deaths.

The tensions between the Iranian-backed Hezbollah and Israel are decades old. The militant group Hezbollah was founded in 1982, after Israel seized Lebanon, creating a humanitarian crisis in the southern part of the country. Israel has been targeting Hezbollah leadership in hopes of dismantling the organization, launching one of the most intense aerial campaigns in the Middle East within the past two decades, as Airwars, a nonprofit that monitors military conflicts on Islamic states, reported. Following Iran’s missile strike against Israel, Iranian spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani, said that they are not seeking a broader regional war. However, as tensions increase between Israel, Lebanon, and Iran, hopes for de-escalation are slim.

As Israel pursued its systematic attacks on Gaza, with disregard for civilian victims and the urgent calls for humanitarian aid, the government increasingly faced criticism from its citizens and grew more and more isolated from the international community. Over the course of the year, thousands protested across Israel calling for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s resignation, and for a cease-fire allowing hostages to return home safely. From the perspective of many of these protesters, Israel’s image as a regional superpower was damaged following the October 7 attacks and their failure to safely return all the hostages. However, since the pager attacks in Lebanon, the current seems to have changed. Recent polls show that Netanyahu’s far right coalition party, Likud, is steadily recovering. The series of successful targeted attacks on leaders of Hezbollah boosted a renewed support for the offensive warfare and created a rally round- the-flag effect in favour of Netanyahu’s government.

For the past year, international organizations and world leaders have been faced with the fact that stability will not be reached unless a solution responding to both Palestinian and Israeli national aspirations is reached. Today, a negotiated settlement seems more distant than ever.

There are several reasons why ceasefire deals and talks for consensual agreements have fallen through. Democratic countries such as the US and Israel “are essential for promoting the rule of law…and for ensuring public trust in democratic systems of governance,” the UN announced in a statement. However, Israel’s impunity from its crimes against Gaza, as well as the US and Israel’s threats of retaliation against ICC and ICJ have demonstrated their lack of intention to end the war and protect human rights. Furthermore, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to launch military bombardment across Gaza, despite there being no real progress in achieving a ceasefire deal.

International structures designed to maintain international peace and security have consistently failed to effectively carry out resolutions. United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres released a statement with Al Jazeera on the failures of the Security Council to bring about political change in the region. He believes that the Security Council’s mechanisms at resolving conflict are outdated, referencing the permanent members’ veto powers and the severe obstacles it poses for action. Furthermore, if the Security Council cannot tackle the humanitarian crises that it was designed to, it hinders other UN agencies, such as the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) from completing their tasks. With the recent developments regarding Israel’s shifted focus on Lebanon and Iran, UN experts admitted that “the ballooning violence adds immensely to the instability and the ongoing suffering of civilians in the wider region, including in Palestine.”

Previous peace frameworks, such as the Oslo Accords in 1993, have been unsuccessful at mitigating tensions between Palestinian self-determination and Israel’s desire for domination. For years after the failure of the Accords became evident, the United States and other major powers took a back-seat role in possible negotiations between Palestine and Israel, allowing these tensions to worsen.

What comes next? After one year, the conflict shows no signs of ending. It seems that with US continued support of Israel, refusing to restrict its weapons shipments, alongside Hezbollah’s commitment to continue attacks on Israel until a Gaza ceasefire is achieved; and the ongoing collapse of ceasefire negotiations in Gaza the situation won’t change.

This has also been a year of student uprisings, protests and counter protests. Students in Montreal have been relentlessly organizing marches and protest in solidarity with Gaza and now Lebanon, continuing to call upon the government and university administrations to divest from Israel and recognize the ongoing genocide. Additionally, the Palestinian Youth Movement, alongside other student led organizations held marches commemorating “One Year of Genocide, One Year of Resistance” from October 5 to 7.

On October 5 the Palestinian Youth Movement called for an International Day of Action. Thousands of people marched in over 50 cities across the US and Canada to mark one year of mobilization and solidarity with the people of Palestine and Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and all those victims of Israel’s violent attacks. Here in Montreal thousands met on Place des Arts. Students and Professors from McGill, Concordia and other institutions joined the rally to the rhythm of drums and slogans. Amongst the speakers was activist Katsi’tsakwas Ellen Gabriel. She spoke out to the crowd, denouncing the genocide, celebrating the strength of students and others to stand together, and reaffirming the shared struggle of Indigenous peoples and Palestinians against colonial oppression and occupation. “We see, as Indigenous people, commonalities between our struggles. We know what genocide is like. Our people united, our people are strong in standing with Palestine” she said. For hours, the steps and slogans resonated through the streets of downtown until Atwater, reminding the world that “the people united will never be defeated”

As a response to the different calls to mobilize McGill and Concordia have decided to restrict access to their campuses. At the time of writing, it has been communicated with students that access to the downtown campus until October 7 will require a McGill ID or a permission letter for visitors to enter. They justified these measures to “prioritize the stable continuation of critical academic activities at a time when there is an elevated potential for disruption” even if there have been no threats to physical safety.

Students at McGill and in the Montreal community at large have displayed their solidarity with the Lebanese people. On October 1, Students for Palestine’s Honour and Resistance (SPHR) McGill and Concordia alongside other student-led groups held a vigil for Lebanon on the campus lower field. Speakers were students from McGill and Concordia, and professor Michelle Hartman reading out a poem written by professor Rula Abisaab. Around 100 students gathered, with candles and Palestinian flags being held next to Lebanese ones. Speakers later condemned the systematic violence carried out against Lebanese people and the genocide in Gaza, while praising the power of resistance and the sustained need for solidarity and collective actions.

A member of Montreal’s Lebanese community has shared their perspective on issues ensuing back home. “As a Lebanese student living in Canada, I can share that many of us are deeply concerned about the ongoing threat in southern Lebanon, even though we’re miles away,” said Sarah Tehini, a U1 Computer Engineering student at McGill. “The situation with Israel is something we’ve grown up hearing about, but now it feelslike things could escalate at any moment.” She expressed concerns about the future state of Lebanon if Israel proceeds with its current military tactics. “We worry about being able to visit home, or if there will even be a ‘home’ to return to. There’s this overwhelming sense of uncertainty about whether Lebanon will ever find stability again, and it’s heartbreaking,” she said on behalf of herself and other Lebanese students in her community.

In light of Tehini’s worries, she still believes there is room for hope. “Despite everything, the resilience of the Lebanese people keeps us hopeful. No matter how much we’ve been through, our love for our country keeps us holding on to hope for a better future,” she concluded.

The post An Analysis of Israel’s Actions Since October 7 appeared first on The McGill Daily.

As McGill celebrates its 14th Indigenous Awareness Week, post-secondary institutions in Montreal are taking steps toward addressing disparities for Indigenous students in higher education. This is particularly evident in Concordia’s tuition exemption, announced last month, and the Dawson Student Union’s petition to exempt Indigenous students from Law 14.

These actions reflect the efforts to address the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s ninth call to action, where the federal government reports on the fiscal parity in education. They also address the need to close the education gap for Indigenous students and non- Indigenous students, including Indigenous students on and off reservations, as exhibited in the eighth call to action.

Starting this fall, Concordia will be addressing the 10th call of adequately funding education for Indigenous students. McGill announced a similar policy in June where the university would cover tuition fees for Indigenous students from nearby First Nation communities. However, Concordia is the first to implement its policy across the province. In this policy, the school mitigates fiscal barriers to post-secondary education by exempting Indigenous students in Quebec from tuition fees. This includes those who live remotely, such as in fly-in communities, as well as those inhabiting urban communities. Canadian post- secondary institutions outside Quebec have implemented similar tuition waivers, notably Humber College, the University of Toronto, and the University of Waterloo.

While fiscal barriers to educational equity are being reduced, the same cannot be said in terms of language. Last month, the student union at Dawson College (DSU), an English-language CEGEP, petitioned for the exemption of Indigenous students from the additional language requirements enforced by Law 14. According to this law, all students enrolled in an anglophone CEGEP must take an exit exam in French and take additional French courses, deterring Indigenous students from pursuing post- secondary studies according to the DSU. These requirements force Indigenous students to choose between attending these post-secondary institutions or learning and preserving their own languages and cultural identities.

Mia Fischlin, the Administrative Student Affairs Coordinator in the Indigenous Studies Program, further affirmed that settlers imposed their languages on Indigenous peoples and “under no circumstances should another colonial language still be enforced.” Considering many Indigenous students are learning French as their third language, they face additional barriers compared to their francophone and anglophone peers. Many Indigenous students say they will not continue employing the language after graduation as they plan to return to their communities or work in Indigenous organizations. Thus, as French may not coincide with their future professional and cultural paths, “learning French, for many Indigenous people, is a form of assimilation,” Fischlin said.

Other barriers to Indigenous youth’s involvement in CEGEP include Law 14’s admissions cap and prioritization of students with certificates to be taught in English. While Indigenous students may be exempt from the language exam, it is unlikely that they can avoid additional French courses, demonstrating the Bill’s lack of Indigenous consultation regarding equitable exemptions.

This lack of awareness of the plurality in our education system was exemplified in Fischlin’s account of her time at McGill, where Indigenous peoples such as her own family members were excluded from academic discourses due to their time in residential schools. These institutions were created by the church and the Canadian government to assimilate generations of Indigenous children into a homogenous Canadian population. As a result, Indigenous students face different obstacles than their peers which extend to post-secondary education, a discrepancy that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission addresses.

Moreover, the Dawson Student Union plans to take their petition to exempt Indigenous students from Law 14’s language requirements to the National Assembly of Quebec. Criticism of the law has also stemmed from other English CEGEP institutions who have contacted Quebec Premier François Legault to address these discrepancies in consultation with Indigenous peoples. This exemplifies the need in Quebec’s bilingualism to address the plurality of Indigenous peoples in the province.

According to Fischlin, it is important to “account [for] the reality of all the people living in so-called Canada.” Until then, she believes our education system remains an extension of settler- colonialism as it “overwhelmingly favours settler histories.”

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Fitznor is a longtime advocate for Indigenous perspectives and ideas in the classroom. She has worked with the University of Manitoba and the University of Toronto to expand positions and programs dedicated to Indigenous education. Her work was recently published in Land as Relation: Teaching and Learning through Place, People, and Practices for her essay focused on the importance of Indigenous stories and land rights to teaching in a way that supports the next generations of Indigenous students.

She has emphasized the importance of dedicated teams led by Indigenous people. Her belief is that universities must “ensure there’s a strong administrative support,” and if a team focused on Indigenous education “doesn’t have equal profile to other units, bring up that profile.”

Indigenous Awareness Week at McGill is a reminder of the work that Montreal universities must do to uplift Indigenous students and faculty. Over the summer, McGill announced a new tuition initiative that would cover educational finances for its Indigenous students, and just last week, Concordia University followed suit by revealing its own plans to waive tuition for Indigenous students in most degree programs.

In reaction to these shifts, Fitznor stressed that championing Indigenous ideas and implementing supportive policies should happen at every level. Describing her time as a lecturer at the University of Manitoba, she highlighted the motivation her faculty had for creating progress and how this spurred important change.

“We shouldn’t have to wait for the province to tell us to do this,” Fitznor urged. “Let’s do it because it’s the right thing to do for the heart and the body of the land.”
Fiznor’s concept of “change” refers to the gains that not only educational institutions must make, but also broader, societal shifts towards a future that rewrites its colonial history. Fitznor believes that such changes should happen at all levels of influence, from students to the highest levels of government. Student involvement can look like taking classes that emphasize Indigenous perspectives. At the faculty level, this means making sure every student has access to coursework that engages with Indigenous ideas and practices.

In terms of subject material that students learn at their universities, Fitznor believes being truly educated on Indigenous intersectionality is to “make sure that for every discipline there should be aboriginal perspectives of that discipline.”

Not every program currently emphasizes this at McGill. For Sophie Ou, a McGill accounting student who attended the event, Indigenous education rarely comes up in her courses.
“In my faculty right now, it’s a lot of internships, a lot of networking,” Ou described. “If I hadn’t had that push from my professor, then I wouldn’t have been able to experience this very moving moment where I get to learn more.” Ou attended the event for a course assignment, but expressed that it made her want to continue to learn about Indigenous education beyond her coursework.

Additionally, Manola Sob, a McGill psychology student who also attended the lecture, underscored that events like this inspire her to take action.
“It makes me want to learn more and do more,” Sob said.

In Canada, non-Indigenous youth were nearly twice as likely to complete a university degree compared to Indigenous youth as of 2023. To Fitznor, much of the disparity in education relates to a lack of representation of Indigenous topics in the classroom. “How do we get the university to change if we don’t know who we are?” Fitznor questioned, in reference to the lack of space for conversations about Indigenous identity in university spaces that often exists.

Otsi’tsaken:ra, a faithkeeper, started the event by sharing Indigenous teachings and explaining how they are integral to Indigenous rights and representation going forward.
“What we do today will affect our children seven generations in the future,” he said, echoing generations of Elders.

As it is McGill’s 14th Indigenous Awareness Week, Otsi’tsaken:ra described the importance of events like this at universities considering the historical erasure of Indigenous perspectives.
“I’m just happy that they’re doing something like this,” Otsi’tsaken:ra reflected. “For 100 years, nobody cared, including universities.”

Otsi’tsaken:ra has spoken at Montreal universities for decades. He says that speaking about Indigenous ways expands knowledge. For the future, he emphasized the power of spreading awareness.“Keep talking about our ways, keep sharing the knowledge,” Otsi’tsaken:ra emphasized. “Keep feeling the feeling of what our ways talk about.”

For Fitznor, impact is paramount for creating a better future for Indigenous education.
“Don’t just come and listen,” Fitznor advocated. “What do you do with what you learn?”

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The commitment to exploring divestment from weapons companies comes as part of an offer that Saini claims to have made to representatives of the encampment. 

“This decision was taken as a result of discussions with (members of the encampment and) the broader McGill community who have asked us to move forward with this commitment that reflects our values and reinforces inclusion, stability and cohesion within our campus,” McGill’s Media Relations Office (MRO) told the Daily in an email.

The MRO added that “The McGill community can be expected to be consulted on this issue in the fall.” In December, McGill’s Committee on Sustainability and Social Responsibility (CSSR) will compile a report exploring “the question of divestment” and present it to the Board of Governors.  In addition to examining divestment, Saini pledged to fund two scholars “directly affected by the ongoing crisis in the Middle East,” and disclose McGill’s investments under $500,000, which were not previously disclosed.

Representatives of the encampment were not satisfied with this offer. In a statement by Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) and Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) McGill and Concordia, the organizations declared that this offer “falls short of the student body’s clear demand for material change.” They believe that by delegating this responsibility to a committee, the administration is trying to use bureaucracy to delay taking action in the hope that students will forget. They also called out the hypocrisy of McGill’s promise to fund scholars at risk while the university continues to invest in companies supplying the weapons being used in Israel’s genocide.

Furthermore, these representatives allege that McGill did not approach their negotiations in good faith. They claim that the McGill administration did not show up to scheduled meetings, and messaged individual students as an attempt to seemingly isolate the representatives. McGill, on the other hand, stated that they have “made substantial offers on many occasions, yet encampment representatives have declared their demands non-negotiable.” When the Daily requested the administration’s internal correspondences regarding the negotiations process, the documents were withheld to “protect professional secrecy.”

Emily, a founding member of Students for Peace and Disarmament who was heavily involved in campaigns for divestment from weapons manufacturers and fossil fuels, echoed SPHR and IJV’s doubts. Emily is “pessimistic that McGill’s exploration of divestment from weapons manufacturers will lead to any meaningful change without students making it happen themselves.” 

Investment in weapons manufacturers has long been a concern of McGill students, according to Emily. During the Vietnam War, students protested McGill’s involvement in weapon manufacturing, making it the only Canadian university on the CIA watchlist. In 1988, McGill imposed regulations on military-funded research, however these were repealed in 2009. In recent years, SSMU has passed both the Policy on Harmful Military Technology and the Divest for Human Rights Policy as a result of student advocacy, affirming their commitment to advocating for both divestment from weapons manufacturers and Israeli apartheid.

“Divestment from the military industrial complex cannot be separated from divestment in other instances, including in Palestine [and] other areas McGill is complicit in,” said Emily.

In November, the Daily reported that McGill invested at least $7 million in the top 100 arms-producing companies of 2022, most of which have ties to the Israeli military. As all investment amounts are now disclosed, the Daily found that investments in those same companies now exceed $10 million as of June 30 ($10,612,400), increasing by 29 per cent from June 2023 ($8,212,896.63). 

Through Access to Information requests, the Daily has been able to track the exact amount invested in these arms-producing companies since June 2023, as shown in the graph. Investments in some companies, such as Moog, Thales, Dassault, and Airbus, have decreased since June 2023. However, investments in companies with clear ties to the Israeli Defence Force, such as BAE Systems and Textron, have increased by over 100 per cent.

The CSSR advises McGill’s Board of Governors on matters of social responsibility relating to their investments. They are responsible for assessing whether a legal entity causes “social injury,” which they define as activities that “violate or frustrate the enforcement of rules of domestic or international law intended to protect individuals against deprivation of health, safety, or basic freedoms, or to protect the natural environment.” However, the CSSR’s definition emphasizes that “a legal person shall not be deemed to cause “social injury” simply because it does business with other legal persons which are themselves engaged in socially injurious activities.” This definition could therefore exclude many institutions, such as banks with investments in weapons manufacturing, that students are calling on the university to divest from in addition to weapons manufacturers. 

From their experience as a student organizer, Emily emphasized the importance for McGill students and community members calling for divestment from weapons manufacturers to continue to make their voices heard to the administration.

“Without pressure from a united McGill community, McGill’s “explorations” will get swept under the rug,” they warned.

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The demands of the encampment were as follows:

• Disclose: The McGill Board of Governors and the Concordia Investments Committee must fully disclose all investments in companies complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people.
• Divest: McGill and Concordia must fully divest from all complicit companies and cut academic ties with Israeli institutions.
• Defend: The universities shall not pursue disciplinary charges against students taking action in support of Palestine; and will drop any pending charges against students.
• Declare: The universities must issue a statement condemning the genocide against the Palestinian people and pressure the Canadian government to cease all military contracts with Israel.

Beyond McGill, student activists across the world have taken initiative to hold their universities accountable and to pressure administrations to not only disclose their investments but also divest from funding Israeli apartheid. The Daily has compiled a list of major developments this summer concerning the student encampment in solidarity with Palestine at McGill. 

It is crucial to follow events happening on the ground in Gaza, as these directly inform why students are mobilizing in North America. We recommend following Palestinian journalists reporting on the ground, like +972 Magazine, as well as broadcast channels such as Let’s Talk Palestine for more comprehensive updates.

An encampment is organized by McGill and Concordia students on McGill’s lower field, becoming one of the first Canadian universities to do so. The students plan to remain indefinitely at the encampment until McGill agrees to divest. 

Despite McGill’s administration requests to remove the tents, the students refuse. Fabrice Labeau sends out an email stating that the protest is currently peaceful.  

After two days, the encampment triples in size as members in the community rally around the student protestors. McGill security tells students that they “have no right to be here,” threatening to use other options to dismantle the encampment. 

Labeau sends an email out stating that the administration “saw video evidence of some people using unequivocally antisemitic language and intimidating behaviour.”  

President Deep Saini announces that the encampment has become unsafe with “hateful rhetoric” being “flagrantly used.” McGill announces that they are trying to de-escalate the protests and demonstrations, but the students remain adamant in their occupation on campus. 

Two McGill students attempt to file an injunction request against the encampment, asking  to ban protests within 100 meters of McGill buildings for a 10-day period. They claim that words circulating around and within the encampment were creating a hostile and unsafe environment. 

Judge Chantal Masse rejects the injunction made by the McGill students, stating insufficient evidence of urgency or danger to students’ access to McGill buildings.

In an email, Saini upholds that dismantling the encampment is “non-negotiable,” offering to hold a forum with students to discuss their demands in exchange for leaving the encampment. 

At this time, Montreal Police has received McGill’s request for assistance with the encampment, but have yet to make a decision. 

A counter-protest in support of Israel is organized on Sherbrooke, leading to heavy police presence on campus and the closure of the Roddick Gates entrance. The counter-protest lasts for a few hours, and there are no major escalations between the two groups.

Quebec Premier François Legault comes out with a statement claiming that the encampment is illegal, and that the police must move in and dismantle it. 

SPHR, IJV, Profs4Palestine, and the Mohawk Mothers hold a press conference in the encampment. Students explain that they have presented their demands to the university and are waiting on a concrete plan for divestment. Until such an agreement is met, they will continue to maintain the encampment. 

At this press conference, students reveal that McGill has been instructing their security to restrict certain basic necessities from entering the camp, such as porta-potties and COVID-19 masks. 

McGill University requests an injunction to remove the encampment by use of the SPVM, and they announce that convocation ceremonies will be moved from the lower field. In their request they refer to the encampment as a “fortress” and a “village,” with “occupants” posing safety and health risks. 

Students hold another press conference affirming that they will not move until their demands are met. 

After filing for an injunction, McGill goes to court against the encampment. 

Court documents reveal that McGill previously asked the SPVM to intervene, but the SPVM refused and asked the university to resolve the situation peacefully.

Nakba Day marks the 76th year of the Nakba.

Quebec Superior Court Justice Marc St-Pierre denies McGill’s injunction request, describing it as “ill-founded” and suggesting that the school modify it to refile. 

Montreal activists glue childrens’ shoes and red paint to the steps of the Arts Building to honour the Palestinian children killed by Israel, whose deaths they view McGill as complicit in.

McGill files its second injunction against the encampment, arguing under the basis of legal rights and claiming the campus as private property. Talks between administration and students within the encampment are revealed to have halted after McGill filed for its first injunction. 

Saini publishes an op-ed in the Montreal Gazette arguing that the McGill encampment “isn’t a peaceful protest; it’s an unlawful occupation.” He states that the university and the protestors have tried to reach a mutual understanding, but the “occupants continue to eschew meaningful conversation.” 

To celebrate its 30th day, members of the encampment organize a day of family-friendly workshops, art, and teach-ins for the community. Activities include a “Mapping Palestine” workshop for kids; a talk from Michelle Hartman and Malek Abisaab about their book What the War Left Behind: Women’s Stories of Resistance and Struggle in Lebanon; a photo exhibition from the early days of the encampment; and a teach-in on the history of Palestinian student activism at McGill by SPHR.

Students organize a banner drop on the construction site of the Sylvan Adams Sports Science Institute, an institute funded by billionaire and self-appointed “ambassador for Israel” Sylvan Adams. According to SPHR McGill, two people nearby were arrested.

Saini sends out an email update condemning several actions of the encampment, such as protesting outside of Angela Campbell’s house and setting a table of rotten food for the McGill Office of Investments. He admits that while the university has asked the SPVM to “take every action possible under the law” to dismantle the encampment, the SPVM have refused. He emphasizes that while McGill “offered to examine divestment from companies whose revenues largely come from weapons”, it will continue to take a so-called “neutral institutional stance”.

Naksa Day marks 57 years since the Naksa or the “setback,” when Israel seized the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, which displaced 300,000 Palestinians.

The McGill Hunger Strike officially ends, with strikers saying that they “are no longer willing to risk our lives and bodies for the genocidal killing machine known as McGill.”

Student protestors barricade themselves inside of the James Administration building as a result of McGill’s continued investments in genocide and in response to calls to escalate for Rafah. 

Police arrive on the scene, using tear gas and pepper spray on the protesters while also charging at them with shields pushing them away from the building and toward the Roddick Gates. The protesters are escorted from the building, and police say arrests will be made. 

The Montreal Police arrest 15 people involved in the James Administration building occupation; 13 on the account of entering and breaking, and two for interfering with police officers. 

McGill makes an amnesty offer to the protestors in the encampment. Their offer proposes to review and explore new options for divestment from weapons manufacturers. The university will also grant disciplinary amnesty to participants, student or employee, in the encampment if they leave by June 16. This pardon will not extend to acts committed during the James Administration building occupation and barricade. 

McGill says they will disclose direct equity and fixed income investments below $500,000 and create a mandate to support Palestinian scholarship at McGill. 

Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) creates a post advertising a “youth summer program.” McGill denounces the post as the image contains individuals holding assault rifles. The program seeks to inform on resistance movements against Israel’s genocide of Palestinians.  

McGill ends its negotiations with encampment protesters, saying that the protesters have rejected their offers of amnesty. Saini says the university will pursue disciplinary action. 

In Saini’s statement he claims the encampment has “maintained that their demands are non-negotiable while accusing the university of unwillingness to engage in fair discussions.” The proposed offer on June 11 was rejected with protesters saying they won’t leave the encampment until the university cuts all investments connected to Israel. 

McGill closes its campus, using private security guards to dismantle the encampment during the night. Protestors are escorted off the lower-field while workers hired by the university clear away the tents, signs, and tarps. Saini states that “this camp was not a peaceful protest,” but a “a heavily fortified focal point for intimidation and violence.” The McGill encampment was the last encampment remaining in Quebec, as those erected at Université du Quebec à Montréal (UQAM), Université de Sherbrooke, Université Laval, and in Square Victoria had all been taken down.

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McGill’s President and Vice-Chancellor Deep Saini has explained how this has come about as “the Quebec government has confirmed it is unwilling to reconsider the changes to tuition and financing for students from outside of Quebec,” adding that “we have no choice but to take extraordinary action.” 

In February, Quebec announced its intention to raise tuition fees for out of province students from the current minimum of $8,992 to $12,000. This comes alongside a requirement for 80 per cent of students to achieve French conversational proficiency by graduation. 

Following an announcement on February 15, the university mentioned how it has issued a stay, which hopes to stall the implementation of the two measures “while the court considers the challenge,” mentioning how it is a violation of both the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms as well as The Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms. At the forefront of McGill’s legal battle is lawyer Pearl Eliadis, who mentions how Quebec’s government measures focus on “differential treatment, the discriminatory treatment [and] the attacks on major institutions” in an interview with CBC. She added that “they [McGill and Concordia] have been very valuable to the province of Quebec.” 

Quebec ministers have played key roles in the lawsuit against McGill, with the university announcing how the measures are “an unreasonable exercise of power by the Minister of Higher Education since they were incompatible with the mission assigned to her.” Pascale Déry, the Minister of Higher Education in Quebec has been focal in Quebec’s attack on English language institutes, initially proposing that out-of-province tuition be increased to $17,000 in October 2023. 

SSMU Arts Representative Rishi Kalaga, who is also Chair of SSMU’s Combatting the Tuition Hike Committee, noted how “the tuition hikes will severely harm daily life at McGill by bringing on funding cuts and hiring freezes.” He expressed support for McGill’s lawsuit as  “[t]he Quebec government does not seem to be listening to our calls to repeal the new measures so I think the best course of action to take from here is to take the issue to the courts.” 

SSMU adopted a ‘Motion Regarding action against tuition hikes,’ approved on January 18 which includes two appendices outlining their plan to fight the tuition hikes. Appendix I states how “[t]he SSMU will continue to explore the ways in which these tuition hikes can be opposed” through “mobilisation and protest movements.” Appendix II establishes the formation of the Combatting the Tuition Hike Committee. 

Due to the issue being “before the courts,” the Quebec government has failed to respond to the concerns of McGill or Concordia, adding to confusion. 

Concordia joins McGill’s decision to sue the Quebec Government, filing a separate lawsuit, where, unlike McGill, it wishes to also challenge the 80 per cent French conversational proficiency hallmark set for Concordia students as well as the out of province tuition hikes. In an opinion piece for the Montreal Gazette, President Graham Carr stated “From Day 1, it has been obvious that the government is improvising — never presenting accurate data to support its claim, refusing to engage in respectful dialogue or constructive consultation.” 

Bursaries have been introduced as a mitigation measure for McGill and Concordia students, with McGill proposing a ‘Canada Award’ of $3,000 for 80 per cent of incoming undergraduate students to bring the tuition rate closer to its current rate of $9,000. Arts, Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Music, Education, Nursing, and Architecture departments are all eligible. Saini mentioned in a press release how “offering this award will require the university to make financial sacrifices,” yet the question remains: where will these sacrifices come from and what form they will take? 

SSMU’s motion mentions how sacrifices may come in the form of “enrollment and revenue drops, program cuts, layoffs and major reductions in the varsity teams,” having collateral effects in almost all areas of McGill. McGill’s budget for 2023-2024 creates a larger shadow of doubt of whether financing such an ambitious bursary program will be possible, with the university already in substantial long-term debt of $1.28 billion.

The Daily reached out to Liam Gaither, SSMU Vice-President External Affairs , on the topic of the financial sacrifices which McGill will be hit with. Gaither mentioned how “[t]he university will have to make a lot of cuts in all areas of the institution” . One particular area which Gaither focused on was the fact that there will be “no floor fellows” next year as a result of persistent cuts, causing further difficulty for incoming undergraduates. He hoped to reassure these students by mentioning that “the McGill degree’s prestige still remains intact, although one suspects that it will undergo some degradation if these measures are successful.” 

Concordia has already reported a 27 per cent decline in out of province applicants for the coming academic semester, while McGill reports a decline of 20 per cent for Fall 2024 and Winter 2025 with the fallout from these tuition hikes already visible. It remains to be seen what result the lawsuit will bring about. Yet, it is clear that anglophone institutions are not backing down, with Pearl Elliadis mentioning how Quebec’s measures “from a legal perspective raise some very serious questions.”

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“The reason why we decided to do this is because we weren’t listened to, and McGill is obviously not going to listen to us unless we make them,” said Karim, a relay hunger striker and volunteer in an interview with the Daily. As a McGill student, he sees this as an opportunity for the university to take action that reflects the values of many students. He argued that many of their demands resonate with the student population, shown through the overwhelming support for SSMU’s Policy Against Genocide in Palestine, supported by 78.7 per cent of SSMU voters with record turnout. Additionally, an open letter to the McGill administration, in solidarity with the hunger strikers and their demands, has received over 1,200 signatures from alumni, faculty, staff, and others affiliated with the university.

At the time of writing, the death toll in Gaza exceeds 30,000, with many more still unaccounted for. The World Bank has also declared that half of Gaza’s population is at risk of imminent famine. Oxfam alleges that the Israeli state is responsible for this crisis by blocking relief from entering Gaza, leading to conditions of “man-made starvation.”

“We’re very lucky where we are right now as hunger strikers, even the ones who are striking indefinitely, [because] they get to do this by choice,” said Karim. He pointed out that Gazans don’t have the luxury of choosing whether they eat or not. He said that he and the other strikers cannot live with the fact that some of their tuition money is being used to fund this genocide and famine in Gaza. “We’re simply asking for humane treatment [of Palestinians] and until Israel does this, we are under the obligation to vote with our money, and one way is through investments.”

So far, the hunger strikers have not received much of a response from the university administration. Karim explained that although the administration initially offered to meet with the hunger strikers, they proposed a private meeting, whereas the hunger strikers wanted to invite representatives from all pro-Palestinian groups on campus. McGill, despite eventually agreeing to the demand, only offered a 30-minute meeting, which the hunger strikers deemed insufficient time to communicate and discuss their demands. Eventually, the meeting was called off as the administration believed the meeting would be unproductive. While the administration expressed “concern” for their well-being in email exchanges, President Deep Saini has also stated that McGill will not participate in an academic boycott of Israel by severing ties with Israeli academic and research institutions.

Although Karim has been hunger striking for two to three days at a time, he said that it significantly drained both his physical and mental abilities. He imagines this must be much worse for the indefinite hunger strikers, one of whom hasn’t eaten for over 30 days, only consuming a nutritional broth and electrolytes. Although medical teams are monitoring the strikers, Karim argues that the best way to ensure their wellbeing is for McGill to divest from companies funding Israeli apartheid and boycott Israeli institutions.

As stated through their email to the administration, the hunger strikers warn that “the future of this strike and the inevitable deterioration of the health of the hunger strikers lies in the hands of the McGill administration and the board of governors. Only these individuals have the power to put an end to this, and that is to start taking our demands seriously.”

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The Daily spoke with Holly, First-Year Representative for Jam for Justice, about the details of the event. She explained that Jam for Justice is extremely excited to be working with The Open Door: “we have been wanting to collaborate [with them] for a long time.” The Open Door describes itself as “a beacon of light and hope to many of its visitors,” and Jam for Justice hopes to replicate this sense of warmth and inclusivity through its events. As Holly stated, “music is meant to be shared with others, and Jam for Justice fosters a welcoming and inclusive environment.” She added, “whether you are a musician or you simply like to listen to music – all are welcome!”

Battle of the Bands is a unique event. Unlike Jam for Justice’s previous coffee house and open mic night events, Battle of the Bands is an opportunity to vote on your music preferences, buy in-house designed T-shirts, and watch student bands perform live. Holly told the Daily that audience members can expect “a line up of five different bands, all of whom are students at McGill,” with music ranging from “pop, punk, rock, funk, and jazz.”

The bands include: The Longest Year, Nautical Twilight, The Peterman Experience, Something at the Bottom of the Lake, and Merekat. After every band performs, audience members will have the opportunity to vote for their favourite performance. Holly encourages McGill students to “stay to the end” to participate in the voting process, which adds a lighthearted competitive edge to the event.

Not only does Jam for Justice support local charities, it also uplifts musicians with smaller platforms. In an age of an overwhelming breadth of online music streaming, Holly emphasized the importance of seeing live music performances. When musicians perform live, “it is the most raw version of that music. Getting to share [their music] face-to-face with their audience instead of through a screen” is special, she told the Daily.

Holly said that “at the heart of music is a sense of community; community and music go hand in hand.” Battle of the Bands is the perfect opportunity to experience and support this community.

To find out more about the event, visit Jam for Justice’s Instagram page, @jam_for_justice. To learn about the bands who will be performing, visit their Instagram pages: @the.peterman.experience; @somethingatthebottomofthelake; @longest.year; @natuticaltwilight_music; and @merekat.tv.

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Study permit caps will be distributed on a provincial level, weighted by population size. This means that provinces with a higher proportion of international students, such as Quebec, will experience a greater decline in international student enrollment. Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marc Miller, justified this move by citing the exponential growth of students applying for study permits. In 2024, international students comprised 2.5 per cent of all residents in Canada, double the figure recorded 5 years ago, causing what Miller describes as “pressure on housing, health care and other services.” Miller justified these measures in order “to protect a system that has become so lucrative that it has opened a path for its abuse.”

Abuses and “unsavoury actors” have been prevailing reasons for introducing study permit caps. These include private colleges, which supposedly provide students with an unsatisfactory standard of living, including poor access to housing and other services. This leaves students unable to afford the cost of living in Canada. Additionally, fraud is mentioned as a major issue: in 2023, over 1,550 study permits were allegedly connected to the issuance of fraudulent acceptance letters.

This said, Miller’s definitions of these supposed ‘bad actors’ has led organizations such as the Migrant Workers Alliance to underline how “tens of thousands of students will be punished for failures of government policy.” The press release also cited a lack of “predictability and transparency” of government policy, largely tracing back to the Trudeau government’s ever-changing international student policies.

In an October 2023 interview with Global News, Miller mentioned proposed international student caps as akin to “doing surgery with a hammer,” whilst in January 2024 he endorsed the study caps for “ensuring the integrity of our immigration system.” These sudden changes in policy have caused concern for Master’s and PhD students, who are exempt from the caps but fearful of another sudden change. In an interview with the Daily, Annabel Ling, a Master’s student at the University of British Columbia, stated “how can I trust a government which is in a constant tug of war with their own policies,” adding that “it is an unsettling time for any academic in Canada.”

The Daily recently reached out to the IRCC to discuss these measures. Regarding how the federal government intends to regulate the caps applied by provinces on international students, the IRCC Media Relations Office stated how “Matching allocations with a provinces per capital share of the population is the prime consideration.” referring to the ratio of permanent residence to International students in a province.

The email further explained: “To ensure international students who arrive in Canada are set up for success, we must tackle issues that have made some students vulnerable,” when asked about the nature of the federal government sudden turnaround on international student regulation.

The IRCC’s new legislation presents an additional challenge for anglophone universities in Quebec such as McGill and Concordia. These universities are reeling from tuition amendments targeting out-of-province students, with 33 per cent increases in tuition being planned. Combined with the rise of $8,000 in the minimum tuition fees for international students in Quebec, this measure is predicted to cause a decrease in enrolment at the two anglophone universities. With applications for admission in Fall 2024 well underway, this announcement came at a shock for many applicants, including Ravi Rahman, a student from Hyderabad, India hoping to study at either the University of Toronto or McGill. He commented to the Daily: “I am just a bit confused as to why this announcement came so late” adding “Both my older brother and sister went to Canadian universities. I feel like I am being robbed of my education and to be honest I feel pretty upset.”

Other universities have had mixed responses. The University of Waterloo in Ontario outlined its support of the IRCC’s attempts to curb ‘bad actors,’ especially in the housing market, whilst the President Vivek Goel worried “we expect [the impact] will be a significant decline this fall in our international student population.” Meanwhile, the University of Saskatchewan could benefit from the caps if allocated three percent of study permits, which could increase their international student population by 11,000 a year if students decide to attend this institution. Concerns have since been raised about whether provinces which clearly attract greater populations of international students like Ontario and British Columbia should have the majority of the 360,000 study caps available in 2024.

International students have expressed feelings of remorse regarding the caps. Fred Azeredo, a Theology major from Brazil, mentioned “while the concerns about obscure private universities’ abuse of international visas are valid, extending the cap to all international students across Canada hammers in just how precarious our status is here.” Another international student, Ollie Saunders, stated how he is “very concerned about the future of international students at McGill, especially as I came here from the Philippines expecting to feel welcome, which is not the case.” Ollie added that he “worr[ies] about his younger siblings and their experience being damaged through this bill.” For many, this cap feels like an attack on international students as opposed to those “unsavoury actors” mentioned by Miller.

Students aren’t the only ones expressing concern about legislation impeding international students’ entry to Canada. Universities Canada, representing the voices of over 234 post-secondary institutions in Canada, including McGill, addressed a joint letter to Minister Miller expressing concern over the federal government’s motives. It mentions the collateral effects of the caps, “given that international students play a pivotal role in bolstering the economy by contributing $22 billion a year to our country.” This is particularly relevant to Quebec as Canada’s third most sought-after destination by international students, with 12 per cent of all international students ending up in Quebec and playing a major role in Quebec’s economy. However, the McGill Media Relations Office commented to the Daily that “Preliminary indications are that the cap on international student permit applications is not likely to affect McGill’s ability to welcome international students,” ensuring McGill will find ways through these stricter measures.

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At the negotiation session on January 16, McGill was unprepared to provide their own counter-proposal. However, they indicated they had “no appetite” for the changes proposed by AGSEM. Among those demands, AGSEM is calling for a wage increase competitive to that of their counterparts in other top universities across Canada, a Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA) when inflation exceeds 3 per cent, and three distinct healthcare funds.

Emma McKay, mobilisation officer of AGSEM, told the Daily that “the teaching assistant contracts are continuing to get cut year after year with no explanation offered and student enrollment staying the same.”

Last year, TAs in the Religious Studies and Psychology department experienced a 20-30 hours drop per term. However, McGill resisted providing a baseline for the number of TA hours that would be tied to undergraduate enrollment.

TA Assembly

While the bargaining committee (BC) were able to secure agreements in principle on the majority of their non-monetary demands, they continued their effort to secure an agreement on monetary demands. On January 30, the BC called a Special Assembly in an attempt to assess “the appetite of TAs” to advance its pressure tactics to win their monetary demands.

“People are excited to fight for these monetary demands,” said McKay. The assembly had an almost record breaking turnout and was able to pass a unanimous motion that mandates the AGSEM to escalate pressure on McGill outside of the bargaining table through various creative actions. These actions involve organising a strike vote the week of March 11.

McGill’s Counter Offer

Nearly two months after AGSEM shared their demands, McGill presented their counter-offer at their tenth session of negotiations for the new TA Collective Agreement, including a concession on payment and a proposal on Article 16, which covers leaves.

“An offer like McGill’s amounts to a pay cut in the first year, and almost certainly pay cuts in subsequent years,” AGSEM expressed in an email to the Daily. McGill offered a 1.25 per cent increase in the first year of the contract, and a 1 per cent raise in subsequent years which, as AGSEM pointed out, amounts to a pay cut in terms of real wages. McGill justified their offer on wages in the claim that it was a relevant wage for the Quebec market and an appeal to “pay equity” as other McGill employees are paid relatively low amounts compared to TAs. In addition, AGSEM was also told to choose between wages and healthcare. AGSEM told the Daily that they felt these were not serious offers and expected that McGill would return with a more pressing proposal at the next session.

The TAs also do not have appetite for McGill’s unwillingness, as McKay told the Daily. “McGill is trying to get by on the most minimal amount of educational support that it can offer,” they argued.

They concluded that, “We as teaching professionals want there to be quality education. It is McGill as an employer, as an administrative institution, that is not putting resources towards that.

As the TA Assembly mandated a strike vote on the week of March 11, McGill offered a few possible dates for the next sessions of negotiations. Nevertheless, there is still hope for both sides to reach an agreement. According to AGSEM, McGill told the union that their offer is not final and that there exists more room within their mandate to negotiate.

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From January 31 through February 22, student associations at McGill and Concordia went on strike to fight back against the tuition hike. At McGill, the Geography; Religious Studies; and Sustainability, Science, and Society student associations went on strike, accumulating around 500 students according to McGill Undergraduate Geography Society (MUGS) co-president Emma Reddy. Concordia University’s strike saw around 12 student associations in attendance. During the striking period, many classes were cancelled, and those still held were often empty as students chose to miss class.

Prior to the striking days, SSMU and the Concordia Student Union (CSU) had a week of mobilization to prepare for the strike. On January 29, between 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., a banner and sign making workshop was held for students at the Hall Building on Concordia University’s campus. The following day, on January 30, there was a “Picketing 101 Workshop” from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., to prepare students for picketing their classes in the following days. Later that evening, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., a “Revolutionary Solidarity Workshop” was held at Le Frigo Vert as part of the CSU’s “Get Radical,” series of community organizing workshops. During strike days, numerous workshops and screenings were put in place around the Concordia and McGill university campuses.

As the co-president of MUGS, Reddy took initiative to allow the Geography Department to strike at McGill University. She was approached by students in the Faculty of Geography on January 18 to discuss a possibility of a strike. On January 23, a general assembly was held to vote on a strike date, but there weren’t enough students present to hold a vote. On January 29, a second general assembly was held, and the motion to strike passed with many more students joining the vote.

“The purpose of the strike is to raise awareness about the tuition increase that the Government of Quebec is applying to future university students that wish to study in Quebec,” said Reddy. “Although this was a small strike, we hope to build momentum and visibility for other departments at McGill University to join in other strikes later in the year.”

After the recent tuition strike, there are talks of another strike that may occur in March, alongside the beginning of a social media campaign to continue fighting against the government’s tuition hike beginning next fall. On February 15, SSMU held a meeting to discuss the future of the fight against the tuition hike.

Ever since the strike, there have been many government officials who have spoken on the tuition hike and have shared their opinions on Legault’s decisions, one of them being Valerie Plante, the mayor of Montreal. During an interview with the Montreal Gazette, Plante revealed her concerns and opinions on the tuition increase.

“At this point, I think we need to keep in mind that though the government of Quebec decided to let go on their projects for Bishop’s University, which is in the Eastern Townships, it remains for the universities in Montreal. Why is it so?” Plante said. Bishop’s University has been excluded from the tuition increase, which has raised a lot of confusion amongst Montrealers.

“Anglophone universities contribute to society and they contribute to the entire university ecosystem whether it’s a francophone or anglophone university. So for me, I want the Government of Quebec to share with us why it’s okay for Bishop University not to have those rules and why it remains for the universities like McGill and Concordia, internationally known institutions. Why do they have to follow those lines?” Plante argued.

As the Fall 2024 semester is approaching, the new tuition guidelines are set to be soon implemented. Despite opposition from students and government officials, the future of anglophone universities’ tuition rates remain uncertain.

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