Under the administration of Francois Legault and the Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ), the provincial parliament passed Bill 96 in June 2022. The bill is meant to solidify Francophone and French language rights province-wide. It has received heavy criticism following its release due to its treatment of business regulation in French, the freeze on English CEGEP students, and the six month window for immigrants to learn the French language.

Although this bill has been in effect for an extended period, this is one of the PLQ’s first clear proposals to combat it. They seek to implement a Quebec constitution that protects English language rights across the province and fights back against certain Bill 96 restrictions. This was seen as progress for the many families and lives affected by this change in the language laws. Following Bill 96’s enactment, anglophone citizens across Quebec have been concerned about how they might fit into a province that does not want them to speak their first language.

Many English-speaking immigrants find the transition between beginner’s French and French fluency difficult, especially within six months. Between 2022 and 2023, the province saw an increase of 52,800 immigrants, all of whom would be required to obtain an intermediate level of French, potentially coming with no experience in the language. Furthermore, the freeze on English CEGEP programs puts Anglophone middle and high schoolers in situations where they cannot begin their education with the CEGEP program due to their lack of fluency in French.

Many businesses have also been concerned about closure since they cannot keep up with the French advertising and sign laws. Places such as music stores across Quebec have struggled to find French branding for their instruments, which could result in heavy fines for businesses.

Many members of the PLQ were unhappy with the bill’s passing. Deepak Awasti, who is currently running to be the head of the PLQ in the upcoming election, criticized Bill 96, stating, “We seem to be going back to the old founding nations thesis. In this document, we are talking about the aspirations of the French nation vis-à-vis Canada. We are not talking about the aspirations of all Quebecers. […] I don’t want Quebec to be ethnicized. I don’t want Quebec to become the petit-Québec.”

People across the province are concerned about the passing of this bill, and the PLQ have had to hastily construct a response to it. Current PLQ members, including André Pratt and William Tetley, proposed and passed a motion to create a clearly outlined Quebec constitution. This proposed constitution would strengthen Anglophone rights by restoring certain restrictions put in place by Bill 96, such as access to healthcare in English or the previously mentioned English student CEGEP freeze across the province.

Amidst all this action, the PLQ is in the process of electing its new leader while discussing how to combat these laws and strengthen Francophone and Anglophone relations. The province is not due for another election until October 2026, and it is unlikely that the current CAQ will call for one. In light of the upcoming federal election in October 2025, we are seeing an increased effort by the PLQ to distance themselves from the currently unfavoured federal Liberal Party, which across Canada has not been viewed well due to their handling of the housing crisis and large country deficit – a price deficit that is also present in Quebec at currently around $11 billion. Pablo Rodriguez, a former Federal Liberal member of parliament who stepped down to run for the leader of the PLQ, gained strides in support during the debate in Lévis, with people chanting his name as he arrived outside. Rodriguez has also faced criticism from other party members, who say they do not want any Federal Liberals to have significant power in the PLQ due to Canada’s current national debt.

Many people across Quebec feel uncertain about how Anglophone rights will change with Bill 96. The Daily had the chance to interview an international student at McGill, who said that “the amount of French language laws and regulations was previously a deterrent on coming to Quebec for me. If, further down the line, even more language requirements came into effect, it would’ve affected my decision to even come here at all.” To many people, Quebec is their home and one they want to keep for the future. If this constitution is passed, it could make strides for Anglophone rights across the province, uniting people who both want to see the French language stay alive and those who want to come here not knowing but wanting to learn the language and make Quebec their home. The basis of this constitution is not to diminish Francophone rights across the province but instead to find harmony between the English and French languages and determine their use in everyday situations. A province does not have to exist in the context of one language or another, and this constitution would fight to make it so that both Anglophones and Francophones feel at home
in Quebec.

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The Anti-Coloniale Student Convergence (CEAC) and Association générale des étudiantes et étudiants du Collège Lionel-Groulx (AGEECLG) planned a counter-summit protest at Place Emilie-Gamelin that Friday at 4:30 p.m., which would later merge with the larger demonstration at 5:30 p.m. on Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Urbain. These students took to the streets to oppose what they call NATO’s “destructive logic” and to reject its role in spreading “imperialism, militarism, and colonialism.”
“I want people to know that it’s not a war, it’s really genocide, and NATO are supporting this genocide,” a student from Collège Lionel-Groulx said.

NATO has long been referred to as “the West’s great military alliance.” Originally assembled in 1949, NATO formed to create a collective opposition to the USSR during the Cold War, leading to their assertion of military power in the pursuit of Soviet containment across the world. After the disassembly of the Soviet Union, NATO expanded its legions, inducting multiple post-Soviet states and European countries into the confederation. Today, NATO presents itself as a “defensive alliance,” as US President Biden stated in an address, that protects the interests of US hegemonic imperialism.

Despite its long-standing collective defence mission, NATO has faced increased scrutiny from public opinion in recent years. In the days approaching the conference, activists have demanded that Canada withdraw from the organization.

The Daily spoke with students from Collège Lionel-Groulx about their perspectives on NATO. Many believe that the organization is a military alliance funded by Western capitalists willing to do anything to expand the Western imperial agenda. Their perspectives echo some of the prominent public criticisms of NATO’s past operations, which have sparked significant debate over the alliance’s true motivations and its commitment to international law.

NATO’s previous foreign interventions have been referenced as examples to back the public’s opinions that the organization serves a Western imperialist agenda.

For example, NATO’s Operation Allied Force against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1999 raised concerns over international humanitarian law: NATO conducted a bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia for 78 days, prompted by Yugoslavia’s bloodshed and ethnic cleansing of Albanians in the Kosovo regions. To this day, there exists complex political tensions between Serbia and Kosovo.

In 2011, NATO established a No-Fly Zone over Libya, heeding the United Nations’ international call to protect the Libyan people from Muammar Gaddafi’s regime. Over the span of eight months, deploying 7,000 bombing sorties against Gaddafi’s forces, NATO’s military intervention in Libya concluded after the assassination of Gaddafi. However, the country spiralled into chaos and came under threat from violent extremists in the aftermath of the Muammar Gaddafi
regime’s ostracization.

Barack Obama has said that his “worst mistake” during his presidency was “failing to plan for the day after […] intervening in Libya.” Obama further conceded that NATO’s intervention “didn’t work.” White House spokesman at the time, Josh Earnest, said that Obama’s regrets extended to what “the United States and the rest of the members of our coalition didn’t do.”

The Libya intervention exemplifies NATO’s poorly conceived global security agenda. Framed as a mission to dismantle Gaddafi’s repressive regime, NATO failed to consider the critical need for a stable central government in a nation already grappling with chaos. The aftermath left Libya in deeper turmoil, prompting widespread skepticism about NATO’s true motivations, questioning the organization’s imperialist tendencies and Western-centric political agenda.

Most recently, under Joe Biden’s leadership this past July, NATO promised an additional 40 billion euros of military and financial support for Ukraine in its defence against the Russian army, two years after Russia launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. However, the year-long war in Gaza has been largely ignored by most NATO members.

Friday’s anti-NATO protest was conjoined with a pro-Palestine protest led by the Divest for Palestine Collective. The organization announced their message to “NATO and to governments complicit in the oppression of people around the world” in a press release on November 24 stating that “peace cannot be built through arms and repression. It is built through solidarity between peoples and resistance to oppression in all its forms.”

Student activists from Le Collège Lionel-Groulx, who wished to remain anonymous, voiced their opinions, calling out NATO’s failure to act in not supporting the people of Gaza. “It’s hypocrisy. Why would you say that you support human rights, but then when it’s also about other cultures, like from Arabic countries, why are you not showing up?” one of the students said.

“Right now, they’re meeting in Montreal because of global security and all, but they don’t care about the 43,000 people that are dead in Gaza.* I think it’s not logical that Israel is part of it and does things against the principles that they support,” another student told the Daily.

This past July, Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez emphasized the need for NATO to adopt a consistent political stance, urging the alliance to avoid double standards in addressing global conflicts like those in Gaza and Ukraine. Speaking at the NATO Public Forum in Washington, D.C., Sanchez argued, “If we are telling our people that we are supporting Ukraine because we are defending international law, this is the same [as] what we have to do towards Gaza.”

The Daily also spoke with several students from the University of Montreal who echoed this sentiment, expressing their concerns over NATO’s inaction. “They’re walking on eggshells. They don’t want to go deep into the problem, and they only stay on the surface. Unfortunately, it’s not enough,” they said.
The Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) closely monitored the protest, deploying bicycles, mounted officers on horses, patrol cars, and vans to encircle the crowd completely.

“This is a significant step toward building a collective force for change and advancing decolonial education,” a speaker announced during the protest. “It’s thanks to all of you who voted ‘yes’ to the strike and to those who are here in the streets with us today. Together, as a community, we can work toward freeing Palestine. Remember, this is both a continuation of the struggles that came before us and the beginning of those yet to come.” With these words, the protesters began to move to the location of the general demonstration.

Later that evening, the protest escalated as the SPVM used chemical irritants and physical force, leading to at least four people being injured and sent to the hospital. One protester was clubbed over the head by an officer, and the SPVM assaulted first-aiders on the scene. Three protesters were arrested by the SPVM for “impeding police work.” Since these events, politicians across the country, including Defence Minister Bill Blair and Quebec Premier François Legault, have claimed that the protest was explicitly antisemitic, unlawful, and violent. The Divest for Palestine Collective refuted their statements, saying that “these are false accusations aimed at delegitimizing the solidarity movement for the liberation of Palestine and undermining the fight against anti-Semitism.”

* The death toll in Gaza is over 44,000 today.

The post Anti-NATO and Pro-Palestinian Activists Call For Canada’s Withdrawal From NATO 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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Quebec has a unique identity as the only province in Canada whose sole official language is French. The province has long committed itself to protecting its French culture, and its efforts have only redoubled in recent years. 

In 2017, one year before becoming premier, François Legault told young Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) supporters that it was “time to push for a new Quiet Revolution.” In making this comment, Legault referenced the period of rapid social and political change in the 1960s, in which the Quebec separatist movement gained traction and questions of nationality as a French province were brought to the forefront. 

Since becoming Premier of Quebec in 2018, Legault’s CAQ party has introduced numerous policies to counter what they consider the French language’s decline in the province. In May 2022, the Quebec government implemented Bill 96, “An Act respecting French, the official and common language of Québec.” The Bill includes restrictions like requiring civil servants to speak and write only in French at work with minimal exceptions, and a mandate that six months after arriving in Quebec, new immigrants must receive government services exclusively in French.

Dr. Jennifer Elrick, Associate Professor of Sociology and Chair in Multiculturalism at McGill University, spoke to the Daily about Bill 96. She said that the Bill is not “fit for purpose,” adding that “I don’t think Bill 96 is what one would craft if one’s aim was really to improve French in the province.”

Dr. Elrick also stressed the consequences of policies like Bill 96. “These policies send a message that non-French speakers are not citizens worth caring for or fostering,” Dr. Elrick said. She is also concerned about the barriers new immigrants or refugees will face, particularly in the healthcare sector, where non-French speakers may struggle to communicate in a medical setting or high-stress situation. For Dr. Elrick, these restrictive policies “represent a deep lack of empathy for large segments of the population. You’re really hitting people where they are hurting.”

This year, Legault’s CAQ ramped up pro-French policies. On April 28, Jean-François Roberge, Quebec’s language minister, announced a $603-million plan to counter what he considered French’s decline. The strategy has 21 policies, such as increased monitoring of language trends, tuition-hikes for non-Quebec students, and a requirement that Quebec’s three English-language universities – McGill, Concordia and Bishop’s – ensure 80% of their out-of-province and international students learn French at a level 5 oral proficiency by graduation. “We’re going on the offensive,” Roberge said in a news conference.

Dr. Elrick explained to the Daily that Quebec’s policies will not just affect Anglophones, but Allophones – those whose first language is neither French nor English – and Francophones alike. For example, Dr. Elrick explained that a reduction in English education opportunities will delay young people’s abilities to learn the English they will need for “competitive jobs in the global economy.”

At McGill, students are feeling the impact of Quebec’s pro-French policies. The Daily spoke with Cassie, a U1 student in the Faculty of Management from Ohio. Like Farmer, she was taken aback at the minimal accommodations for Anglophones in applying for a study permit. “It’s kind of crazy,” she said.

For Hannah Chong, a U1 student in Anatomy and Cell Biology from Toronto, Ontario, Quebec’s strong French culture meant her family had to relocate. She said in an interview with the Daily, “My grandparents came to Montreal from Hong Kong, but they couldn’t make it work here, because learning English and French was too much for them. There are definitely barriers that cause people to relocate.”

Nevertheless, Anglophone students continue to flood to Montreal to study, where they do their best to embrace the city’s French culture. 

Cassie said that Montreal’s culture has been an “eye-opening and unique experience.” She added that, “I was able to fully immerse myself in a different culture than where I grew up.”

Chong agreed, noting that “there is so much charm to Quebec and having pride in it being a French speaking province.” Chong tries her best to interact with service workers in French, saying, “it’s a courtesy thing, because that’s their native language. I hate making [employees] adapt to speak English to me.” 

Cassie Scarpa, a U1 student in Environmental Studies from Vermont, feels similarly. She said that she hopes to take a French class at McGill. “I feel like I owe it to the city to learn how to speak French,” she said in an interview with the Daily.

Likewise, Logan Hamele, a U3 graduating student from the United States, told the Daily in an email: “For those that do have the resources and ability, there should be a level of responsibility for those that want to live and work in [Quebec] to learn French.”

As much as these McGill students are adapting to Montreal’s French culture, they find it challenging to envision a long-term future in the city due to language barriers and subsequent limited work opportunities. 

Eden, a graduating student from Ontario, wrote in an email to the Daily,  “I love Montreal and I would like to live here after graduation.” However, due to her limited French, she worries about finding permanent work. At a B2 level of French, Eden said that in Montreal, her post-grad plans are limited. 

Scarpa has a similar outlook. As an Anglophone, she said that “learning French to the extent that I can work here…I don’t think that’s in my playing cards.” 

Hamele hopes to stay in Montreal for at least one year after he graduates in the spring, but acknowledges the need to include French education in his plan. He said, “naturally, upward mobility in the Montreal job market is extremely difficult without a very strong command of French.” He aims to continue taking French classes to improve his language proficiency.

Cassie, despite her desire to improve her French while at McGill, does not see herself remaining in Montreal after graduation. “I’m not sure I’d ever be confident enough to use [French] in a workplace setting,” she said. Cassie added, “In our world, we should always be growing and changing and accepting of new cultures.” However, she points to Quebec’s stringent pro-French policies as a “turn off” for those who are moving to the province as non-French speakers. She concluded, “It’s not necessarily a culture that wants everyone.”

The post McGill Students Want to Thrive in Montreal’s French Culture. The Quebec Government Has Other Plans appeared first on The McGill Daily.

Groups such as HOOK and EPPNE repeatedly claim that schools indoctrinate children through LGBTQ-inclusive education and purposely undermine parental authority. Slogans such as “Say no to indoctrination” and “I belong to my parents” have been used for the mass mobilization of their members to launch nationwide protests, initially held on September 20, 2023. 

A statement supporting the counter-protest denounced the claim that schools indoctrinate students as false, arguing that HOOK and EPPNE “oppose the simple mention of trans people and couples of the same sex.” The statement added that “it is just as scary to consider the ideology of these groups that view children’s autonomy as eroding parents’ rights.” It also condemned the actions of the Quebec government, specifically the creation of the Comité des Sages as an advisory committee of gender identity.

In a press release on behalf of the organizations and communities that brought this counter-protest to life, they discussed the importance of standing against such hate: “We are fighting towards the same goal, only ours includes the protection and wellbeing of trans and queer youth, youth who have queer and trans parents or loved ones, or youth who have have trans and queer friends,” Zev Saltiel, a registered social worker and parent, wrote. 

Early into the counter-protest, the Daily spoke with a U1 McGill student, who chose to remain anonymous. “A lot of people are still ignorant,” they said, when reflecting on the importance of bringing awareness to not only trans people, but the harms and obstacles actively posed against them. They emphasized on what they believe this ignorance entails, by saying, “I feel like among a majority of non-queer people I meet, there is ignorance. And by ignorance, I mean lack of knowledge about trans people and a lack of empathy as well.” The student felt it critical that they come to support and participate in the counter-protests’ mission. 

Throughout the morning, the two sides were separated by two lines of riot police. Around 10:30, the original protest began to march and counter-protestors split into several groups in an attempt to cut them off. However, riot police formed a line between the two groups, and quickly started pushing the counter-protestors back with their shields and spraying the crowd with tear gas. The Daily witnessed police continue to push and assault counter-protestors even when they showed visible signs of injury or medical distress. When speaking with an organizer after the protest, the Daily found out that at least one counter-protester was arrested, and another sustained a head injury from a police baton. The Daily did not witness a similar level of police brutality towards the anti-trans protesters.

After the police violence calmed down, counter-protesters gathered in Place Vauquelin to wash off the tear gas and recover from the assault. Food from People’s Potato was served for lunch, which helped to boost morale. Around 12:15, a counter-protester arrived to announce that the original protest had disbanded, drawing cheers from the remaining counter-protestors.

The post Police Tear Gas Counter-Protesters Opposing Transphobia appeared first on The McGill Daily.

“I don’t understand why it seems like it’s open season on Indigenous people and it’s just fine to kill us and no one’s going to complain and no one’s going to make a fuss about it.”

Na’kuset’s words echoed through Place du Canada and resonated in each of us present at the vigil on September 18th. Behind her were six posters with the faces of Jack Piché, 31 years old; Hoss Lightning-Saddleback, 15; Tammy Bateman, in her 30s; Jason West, 57; Danny Knife, 31; Steven “Iggy” Dedam, 33; all of whom were killed by police officers since August 29.

Na’kuset, executive director of the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal, along with the day shelter Resilience Montreal, held a vigil to honour the lives lost, offer prayers to their families and loved ones, and denounce systematic police brutality against Indigenous people. The speakers called out the Canadian government’s complicity, saying that “injustices like these don’t have a place anymore [in our country].” As McGill begins its annual Indigenous Awareness weeks, the memorial served as a grim reminder of the ongoing abuses against Indigenous peoples and the Canadian government’s failure to ensure meaningful accountability for these crimes.

As people gathered around the fire and the speakers took their places, Bryce Morison opened the vigil by singing a sundance song in honour of the victims and to give strength to their families. Fay Desjarlais then addressed the group by talking about her 20 years working with Indigenous women, calling out the brutal realities they face on a daily basis, and then proceeded with a powerful chant. Among the speakers were also representatives of the Black community: Svens Telemanque, representative of Union United Church, and Claudette Soeurette, activist).

The vigil highlighted the importance of community building and mutual support of different anti-colonial and anti-oppression groups. Na’kuset made references to the common struggle of the Black and Indigenous communities, and the Palestinian liberation movement: “I think there’s a lot of work that the Black community and the Indigenous community can do together because we face so many of the same issues.” Ellen Gabriel, activist and artist from the Kanien’kehá:ka Nation, spoke about the pattern of dehumanization these groups face and how it serves as justification for the killings: “The dehumanization of Indigenous Black people of color, and especially now, as you think of Palestine, the dehumanization of people is unacceptable.” She related this to Judith Butler’s conceptualization of grievable and ungrievable lives. Butler writes in their book Frames of War: When is Life Grievable: “An ungrievable life is one that cannot be mourned because it has never lived, that is, it has never counted as a life at all.”

In its 2024 report, Human Rights Watch denounced Canada’s persistent abuses against Indigenous peoples, alluding to issues of underfunding, and citing the Line 5 pipeline case. Police brutality is part of the systematic violence that Indigenous and people of colour face in Canada and in other parts of the world. Tracking (in)Justice, a Canadian law enforcement and criminal legal data and transparency project, has been accumulating data on police-involved deaths in Canada. Since 2000 they’ve established that 774 instances of police use of force involved death, and that Black and Indigenous people are overrepresented. According to their data, Indigenous people die at eight times the rate compared to white people. Additionally, Black and Indigenous people account for 27.2 per cent of the police-involved shooting deaths, when and where the race of the victim has been identified by police authorities, yet they represent around 8.7 per cent of the population in Canada.

“When I look up the RCMP and I look at their mission statement, this is what it says …] we commit to preserve the peace, uphold the law, and provide quality service in partnership with our communities. […] Quality service in partnership with our communities doesn’t look like the lives that are lost behind me,” said Svens Telemanque. He then added that “Systemic racism is not written in black and white. It’s hidden underneath policies, attitudes, beliefs, and the way that people get treated.”

As the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation approaches on September 30, as well as the 10th anniversary of the release of the findings from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC), activists and community leaders say change is urgently needed. “We need you, every one of you, to help us get out of this cycle of genocide that many generations continue to feel continue to feel its impacts,” concluded Ellen Gabriel.

To conclude the vigil, people formed a line and, one by one, placed tobacco in the fire while offering prayers for the lost lives and their families.

If you want to get more involved, there are volunteering opportunities organized by Resilience Montreal and the Native Women’s Shelter.

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The President of the Round Table on Black History Month, Michael P. Farkas, stated that the laureates come from Quebec’s Black communities and are a “source of pride for us all.” He added that “honouring and recognizing them for their tireless work in the service of Quebec society is an immense privilege for us.”

During the month of February, the Round Table also initiates an impressive range of artistic, social and historical activities across Montreal to celebrate Black History Month. Valérie Plante, Montreal’s mayor and partner of the Round Table, stated, “During this month, the many events and a varied program of activities invite us to discover and appreciate the contribution of Montreal’s Black communities to our city’s unique character.”

This year, the Round Table’s theme “Many Stories, One History” emphasizes the diversity of Montreal’s Black communities. In an interview with the Daily, Nadia Rousseau, Executive Director of the Round Table on Black History Month, explained that when speaking about Black people, it is imperative to use the plural form “communities” and never the singular word “community.” She said that we should never talk about Black communities as a monolith because “we have many different social backgrounds, we come from different countries, some of us are immigrants, some of us were born on this territory.” Acknowledging this diversity, Rousseau also spoke to the unity inherent in Quebec’s Black communities and the importance of celebrating them: “As Quebecois, [Black Quebecers] are part of the story of Quebec.”

The Daily also spoke with Stephane Moraille, a 2024 Black History Month laureate, entertainment attorney and international recording artist. Moraille emphasized the importance of celebrating Black History Month. She encourages “the emergence of [Black communities’] voices and visibility,” noting that “it is a really great thing that Black History Month still exists [because] it makes us come together and celebrate together.”

Fimo Mitchell, meditation teacher, podcast host, writer, and English-language spokesperson for the Round Table on Black History Month helps to promote Black History Month events across Montreal. For Mitchell, the theme “One Story, Many Histories,” is a powerful one. In an interview with the Daily, Mitchell highlighted how “there is a lot of diversity within our community,” and that “it’s important that we see that as something that adds to our community, rather than a nuisance and something that we have to overcome.”

In an interview with Cult MTL, Mitchell noted that with this diversity, “the question is, can we fit and share our cultures, our differences, celebrate that and figure out how we can harness and bring all that together to move forward as a collective?”

Mitchell’s work in the meditation community informs the way he approaches his role as Black History Month spokesperson. Mitchell’s organization, When The Village Meditates, is tailored specifically to racialized and marginalized communities.

“A practice like meditation has the potential to promote healing and thriving as a community, [which is] really important,” he remarked to the Daily.

Mitchell uses his meditation organization to create an inclusive space for Black people and other communities of colour. Mitchell told the Daily that he previously thought yoga and meditation “were just for white women who wear Lululemon.” He said that many other Black people also feel that this space is not always inclusive of their communities.

“When we started having BIPOC meditation circles,” he recalled, “the amount of people who came up afterwards were like, ‘wow, it’s so nice to be in a group where I feel like I’m fully seen and fully heard.’” On February 17, Mitchell led a meditation session called “Finding Rest.” He emphasizes the significance of “embracing rest as a fundamental aspect of well-being and liberation.”

Another notable Black History Month event in Montreal is the screening of Black Ice (2022) on February 20, directed by acclaimed director Hubert Davis and featuring LeBron James, Drake, and Maverick Carter as executive producers. Nadia Rousseau told the Daily that she strongly recommends that Montrealers attend the event, being particularly “something McGill students would enjoy” and benefit from seeing. Rousseau is also looking forward to the augmented-reality experience at the Phi Centre in Old Montreal, “Colored: The Unknown Life of Claudette Colvin,” which tells the story of the U.S. Black civil rights pioneer Claudette Colvin. The experience runs from February 7 to April 28.

Mitchell praised the multitude of events taking place during Black History Month, but also noted that more work needs to be done beyond this month in order to foster racial equity. He said that Black History Month is “an opportunity for us to celebrate and come together and reflect on what it is we need to do moving forward,” both through “reflection on an individual level” and on a community level.

“We need to look at things generations from now,” Mitchell stated. “What do we want to see when we are long gone?”

For more information on the Round Table on Black History Month and the complete programming list for February 2024, visit moishistoiredesnoirs.com.

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At the heart of the dispute lies teachers’ demands for improved working conditions and increased support for students, primarily centered around smaller class sizes, reduced workloads, and increased autonomy for educators. These demands were articulated by the Fédération autonome de l’enseignement (FAE) representing 40 per cent of teachers, and the Common Front alliance of four public sector unions. They resonated with many educators struggling with understaffing and administrative burdens.

The strike has received widespread support. As shown by a Léger poll conducted during the strike, 82 per cent of Quebecers backed teachers’ demands for smaller class sizes and reduced workloads. The financial strain on teachers was also exacerbated by a significant salary disparity: while the annual national average for a teacher’s salary in 2022 was $86,830, Quebec educators remained behind, earning an average of only $80,259. This income gap, coupled with rising living costs in the province, intensifies the challenges faced by many teachers and further drives their push for improved working conditions.

“Healthy and well-supported teachers are paramount for successful student learning,” wrote Nanre Nafziger, Assistant Professor at McGill’s Department of Integrated Studies in Education (DISE), in an interview with the Daily. Nafziger was one of 140 education professors across Quebec to sign an open letter in support of the teachers’ demands. This sentiment underscores the importance of those demands, which research suggests could benefit both educators and students by fostering a more positive classroom environment and improving learning outcomes. Reducing class size, for example, aligns perfectly with Nafziger’s statement by prioritizing teacher well-being and creating conditions for optimal learning, benefiting both educators and students. Studies have shown that smaller classes, as sought by the teachers, can lead to a 15 per cent increase in student achievement, further substantiating the value of their demands.

The consequences of the strike were multifaceted. Missed school days impacted student learning, particularly for children facing social or economic disadvantages. Parents juggled childcare disruptions and anxieties about their children falling behind. The financial impact on families, from missed workdays to childcare costs, added another layer of stress to the situation. Recognizing these challenges, the Quebec government has announced a $300 million tutoring plan to help students catch up on missed coursework and address learning gaps. Nafziger further highlights the strike’s “significant impact” on students’ social and emotional development, emphasizing that “school environments do not only include the classroom.” Students missed out on daily experiences that help them learn, problem-solve, and create outside the classroom. This sentiment was echoed across social media, through channels like TikTok’s CBC Montreal, Instagram’s La FAE, and Facebook’s public group: CALL FOR GENERAL STRIKE. Addressing these losses, she adds, requires “a collective effort and responsibility” from schools, parents, and communities, potentially including “intensive after-school tutoring and programming” to minimize the long-term disruptions.

While anxieties persist, tentative agreements offer a potential path forward. Some conclusions have been reached on the principle of the contract between the Quebec government and the teachers’ unions, but the details are not yet official and final. Increased funding for education, stipulated in the deals, aims to address teacher concerns regarding workloads and class sizes. Furthermore, these tentative agreements extend beyond the realm of education, encompassing an additional 420,000 Quebec public sector workers represented by the ‘Common Front’ unions. Their deals include a 17.4 per cent salary increase over five years, representing a broader commitment to addressing concerns within the public sector. Additional support for students who fell behind during the strike, including initiatives like after-school tutoring programs, have been implemented in an effort to mitigate the academic impact of the disruption.

However, challenges remain. The implementation of the agreements – a crucial phase – carries its own uncertainties. “The province is considering making extra resources available to students who need them” remarked Kathleen Legault, president of an association representing principals and managers in Montreal, in a CBC News editorial on January 7, emphasizing that the provincial government is actively considering providing additional resources to support students affected by the strikes. On managing smaller class sizes, “The government said it couldn’t decrease class sizes because there aren’t enough teachers in the province,” wrote CBC Kids News on January 8, implying an acknowledgment of the concern but raising doubts about immediate action due to resource limitations and the incomplete nature of the current agreement.

Immediate concerns aside, the strike raised fundamental questions about the future of education in Quebec. Nafziger emphasized the need for a holistic approach that prioritizes not just this strike’s specific demands, but also broader issues like investment in education and long-term solutions for classroom challenges: “Education is the bedrock of our society, and teachers are essential workers that carry out the very important and critical task of taking care of and training our children every day.” She also expressed concern about the potential for educational disparities due to the strike, particularly regarding access to higher education institutions like CÉGEPs.

Beyond the implementation of policy, sustained dialogue, collaborative endeavors, and a shared commitment to quantifiable improvements in student engagement, teacher satisfaction and academic achievement have emerged as vital cornerstones for unlocking a vibrant educational experience for learners and educators. Beyond official channels, platforms like TikTok and Instagram filled with the voices of students, parents, and educators, echoing the call for change and amplifying the impact of the strike. The five-week strike by Quebec teachers highlighted the need for improved working conditions for educators, increased support for students, and a long-term commitment to investing in education.

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On November 20, hundreds of people gathered around the George-Étienne Cartier statue in Jeanne-Mance park to mark Transgender Day of Remembrance.

Transgender Day of Remembrance was started by Gwendolyn Ann Smith in 1999 “to highlight the losses we face due to anti-transgender bigotry and violence.” At the recent vigil in Montreal, attendees gathered around the statue holding candles to honour those who lost their lives to transphobia this year before concluding with a march to La Fontaine Park.

The vigil began with trans activist Celeste Trianon, asking attendees to remember those who had been “taken [or] stolen by transphobia.” She read out the several names: Brianna Ghey, a 16-year-old girl murdered in England; Dani Cooper, a 27-year-old poet and activist killed by police in Vancouver; Leelah Alcorn, a 17-year-old girl who committed suicide due to the extreme transphobia she experienced from those around her; Jayden Miller, an 11-year-old stabbed alongside their mother outside of an elementary school in Edmonton; Eden Knight, a 23-year-old women who committed suicide after being forced to return to Saudi Arabia and detransition; and Jesus Ociel Baena, Mexico’s first openly non-binary judge and a trailblazer for queer rights in the country. Finally, Trianon paid tribute to all those other trans lives lost to bigotry who she didn’t mention. After this speech, attendees raised their candles for a moment of silence to honour all of these lives cut short.

After the moment of silence, another speaker stepped up, asking the audience to “remember the progress we made and also those we’ve lost along the way.” They read out messages that community members had written for trans loved ones they’d lost. One of the people mentioned was a trans man named Jacob who took his life due to “social isolation and cancel culture.”

“He was a ray of light in my life and I will never let his light die,” the message read. “I think he would’ve wanted to tell the world to keep their friends close, reach out, [and] don’t leave them alone.”
Next, a representative of Le Front de Lutte Pour un Immobilier Populaire (FLIP) Montreal took to the stage to highlight the difficulties trans people face in housing, such as discrimination and evictions. They also argued that the CAQ’s Bill 31, which allows landlords to block lease transfers, would make the housing market even more inhospitable to trans renters.

The final speaker came from the Queers for Palestine contingent, organized by the organizations P!nk Bloc, Helem MTL, and Mubaadarat. They argued that it’s important to draw attention to the existence of trans Palestinians to “dispel the pinkwashing used as a tool by the genocidal Israeli government.”
“Now, more than ever, it is important to show solidarity with our trans Palestinian siblings,” the speaker said. “It’s really important to mourn our trans comrades everywhere in the world, in Canada just as in Congo, Haiti, and Palestine.”

After the speeches ended, the group marched to La Fontaine Park, staging a die-in on Mont-Royal avenue on the way.

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Concerning the economic objective, Yousif states that the “country’s cannabis industry is struggling for survival.” Even though the cannabis recreational market in Canada is valued in the billions as Deloitte Canada states in 2022 it added $43.5 billion since 2018, the cannabis industry makes little to no profit. George Smitherman, former Ontario Deputy Premier and head of the Cannabis Council of Canada, explains to Yousif the absence of a “global road map,” or the fact so few other countries have legalized cannabis,  makes it impossible for the industry to expand past a certain point, over which production exceeds demand. For Armstrong, it resumes to a classic “boom and bust” situation: the initial lack of production and high demand led to a surplus and so a downsizing. So much that today, only 20 per cent of cannabis related businesses have a “positive cashflow” according to Smitherman. In 2023, the cannabis industry is effectively struggling to survive. For example, Aurora Cannabis, thriving in 2018, had to sell their headquarters back to Hershey Canada. Le Journal de Montréal describes that most cannabis manufacturers, such as Hexo, Cronos Group or Canopy Growth are struggling for benefits. Furthermore, many Canadian citizens who invested in the industry lost an estimated $131 billion. 

But the struggle also resides elsewhere. In late 2022, the Department of Public Safety stated that 33 per cent of the market remained illegal. Although the police observed 47,000 incidents in 2017 against only 16,000 in 2019, traffic has not stopped. Léa, who  used a pseudonym, a 16-year-old interviewed by Félix Morrissette-Beaulieu for Radio-Canada, said that it is “relatively easy” to get ahold of the drug. She started smoking at the age of 13.  Marie-José Michaud, coordinator of the prevention service Le Grand Chemin, explains that the illegal market adapted to the legalization. There are new ways of smoking that are gaining in popularity, for example, the wax pen, for example, is gaining in popularity: a vape-style way of smoking the drug with over three times the authorized amount of THC in it.

With the combined effect of the legalization and the evolution of the illicit market to stronger and more nocive products, a widespread consumption of cannabis could be expected. Statistics Canada explains that the use of cannabis increased from 22 per cent to 27 per cent between 2017 and 2022 for Canadians over 16, but the percentage of people consuming the drug did not change. In other words, the drug did not spread to a broader or younger audience, but its use became heavier. Pediatrician Richard Bélanger claims that smoking “did not diminish either” and Léa condemns a lack of education and information about drugs. Whereas Enquête Canadienne announced in 2021 that 93 per cent of consumers know of the addictive effects of cannabis against 64 per cent in 2017, this inquiry was only submitted to people already buying cannabis. Government issued packages with warnings and no advertisement may not be sufficient as a third of the market is illegal, and an additional 10 per cent cultivate their own plants. 

Overall, the reform’s success is debatable. For some, Canada has done something exceptional world wide; for others, the industry struggles, and public health concerns are still present. The Medical Association Journal describes the reform as “not a public health disaster” but has yet to show any positive aspects in the area. However, a reform often takes effect in the long term. Five years is, for many experts, way too short to correctly evaluate the efficiency of the bill in meeting the three main goals of 2018.

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Montreal’s Participatory Budget

In a comment to the Daily, Francyne Gervais, interim director of Montreal’s Resident Experience and Communications Department, explained that Montreal’s participatory budget is “a democratic process that allows the population to influence the allocation of a part of the municipal budget.”

This process is also a “concrete way to mobilize collective intelligence and the Montreal population to work towards solving urban issues,” said Robert Beaudry, who works on citizen participation and democracy on the executive committee of the City of Montreal, in a comment to the Daily.

Montreal mayor Valérie Plante emphasized the significance of the city’s participatory budget in October 2022. She explained that “for us, the participatory budget is one of the ways to give the population the opportunity to reclaim their power to act on their city, their street, in their neighbourhood. And that is extremely important.” 

Montreal launched the first edition of its participatory budget in 2020, setting aside a budget of $25 million for the completion of projects proposed and voted on by the general public.

In the spring of 2022, 12 projects related to the advancement of Montreal’s ecological and social development were put into action. As a result of this process, Montreal initiated projects such as the “Water in your bottle” initiative, which aims to install more water dispensers across the city to increase access to drinking water, and the “Éthel garden” in Verdun, which transforms a parking garage into a public space focused on health and solidarity. 

Five of Montreal’s boroughs also run their own participatory budgets. Residents and business owners of the boroughs Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, LaSalle, Le Plateau-Mont Royal and Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve are able to suggest and vote on projects specifically aimed towards their own communities. Certain boroughs, such as Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, ran the first edition of their participatory budget before the city of Montreal’s first edition, launching their voting process in 2019. This process led to the creation of several community-serving initiatives, such as a new pavilion in St-Donat park and a bike repair station in several neighborhoods.

The second edition of Montreal’s participatory budget focuses on similar goals of environmental and social development. Kick-started in October 2022, the budget focuses on themes of youth, equity and safety. This year, $30 million has been allocated to support these projects, which fall into four categories: safe and active mobility; sports and recreational equipment; meeting areas; and parks and green space. 

Youth is also prioritized. As Plante emphasized, “schools, the community, the police department, the city of Montreal and other levels of government must all listen and be involved in offering opportunities to our beautiful youth.” This year’s participatory budget achieves this by reserving a minimum of $5 million of the total budget for projects stamped with a “youth seal,” which are initiatives proposed by youth or created specifically for youth. 

The Process: How Does a Proposal Go From an Idea to an Action Plan?

All Montreal residents aged 12 and over, as well as business owners, are allowed to propose and vote on projects involved in the city’s participatory budget. This year, the city outlined that project proposals must embrace a theme of youth, equity or safety; meet a collective interest; be located on public property or city-owned land; and be durable and sustainable in the long run. The project must also be able to begin within two years. 

Between October 13 and December 4, 2022, Montrealers proposed 666 initiatives by completing an online form or calling the city by telephone. Once the proposal window closed, a preliminary selection of ideas took place. From December 2022 to April 2023, the city analyzed the eligibility of all received proposals, before collaborating with third-party representatives to prioritize and develop the 504 eligible projects. 

Six committees composed of selected citizen representatives as well as city staff with expertise in relevant fields – such as social and community development, planning, and culture – partook in this process. To decide which projects to prioritize, the committees examined three criteria: the consistency of the idea with the themes of youth, equity and safety; the transformative nature of the idea and its potential to impact the daily lives of Montrealers; and the creative nature of the idea to renew city practices in novel ways.  

After this stage, the city assessed the logistical and economical feasibility of the prioritized projects before developing the final list of projects to be submitted for voting. During this process, ideas with similar themes were blended to form one idea, whereas ideas that were too broad or generic were enhanced with specific details. 

This Year’s Finalist Projects

From September 29 to October 29, Montrealers were able to vote for eight out of the 31 finalist projects eligible for voting, including: “Montréal Climbs!” which proposes the development of outdoor rock climbing walls and the installation of boulders in neighbourhoods across Montreal; “Fully Inclusive Parks” which seeks to transform four parks into fully inclusive spaces, so that users with all levels of motor capabilities or types of functional limitations can access them; “Safely on Foot in My Neighbourhood” which aims to reduce traffic and improve pedestrian mobility in various neighbourhoods by adding safety features to intersections, new street lighting, benches, and vegetation for aesthetics; and “Enjoying Food as a Community in Montréal-Nord” which proposes the development of an outdoor farmer’s market and a universally accessible community kitchen in Montréal-Nord. 

The winning projects will be announced in November 2023, and the planning and realization of the initiatives will commence in January 2024. 

In the coming weeks, the third edition of Montreal’s participatory budget will launch, as Laurianne Tardif, Press Relations Manager with Montreal’s Resident Experience and Communications Department, stated in a comment to the Daily. 

For more information regarding Montreal’s participatory budget, including the complete list of projects and the upcoming launch of the third edition of the budget, visit makingmtl.ca.

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The Anishinaabemowin study group has returned for a second year. The group hosted their welcome party on September 27 and will meet every Wednesday for the rest of the semester in Ferrier 408.

Anishinaabemowin is the Anishinaabe language, also known as Ojibwe, and is a widely-used Indigenous language with many dialects across (so-called) Canada and the United States. The Anishinaabe people live in what is now known as the Ottawa River Valley, as far west as Saskatchewan, and across North Dakota, Minnesota and Michigan.

The welcome party featured a drumming and singing performance from Robert Spade, an Anishinabeininii (Anishinaabe man) from the Sturgeon Clan, who explained the meaning behind the greeting boozhoo. Nanaboozhoo is a shapeshifter and central figure in many traditional stories. He is considered one of the co-creators of the world and may return one day. Since we don’t know what form he will take when he returns, we must greet everyone with boozhoo, just in case. Students at the welcome party also had the opportunity to practice introducing themselves in Anishinaabemowin and counting numbers from 1-20 with a game.

This year, the club will follow the curriculum created by Jenni Makahnouk, an Anishinaabe student from Lac Seul. Makahnouk created worksheets and activities, and sourced media for the group to use. The syllabus includes conceptual ideas and grammar, along with conversational language, stories, and cultural learning. Given the vast difference between Anishinaabemowin and English, she has “overhauled the course materials [from last year] to emphasize methods for learning the language.”

While there is a developed plan for the year, the group also allows for self-paced learning. Makahnouk described the group as informal and non-judgemental. At the welcome party, she encouraged all students to join, “even if they just want to learn a little bit.”

Member Annika Pavlin says that there is no pressure to already know anything about Anishinaabe. Pavlin was one of the original members who participated in the grassroots creation of the club last year. Each member  came in with expertise in different areas, whether that was linguistics, history, knowledge of other Indigenous languages, or education in general. She says, “we are still coming into this from different places and learning all together.”

For many members, the best part of the group is the ability to teach themselves in a non-hierarchical learning environment. This flexibility has allowed members to facilitate lessons for others on concepts that interest them. Pavlin and another member taught a lesson last year that focused on talking about time. Teaching the lesson allowed them to learn even more about the concept, deepening their understanding of the language.

“I think that there is genuine interest in delving deeper into Indigenous cultures, seeking to understand, appreciate languages of the Anishinaabe. This growing curiosity signifies a hopeful shift towards greater cultural awareness and inclusivity,” said Makahnouk. This was evidenced by the many students who attended the welcome party and the growing number of members in the club.

When asked about the support McGill has given to the club, Makahnouk stated, “McGill administration has provided us with a room free of charge. Their support of our study group is appreciated. The Office of Indigenous Initiatives has been generous as well, providing us with free printing for our course materials, connecting us with community Anishinaabemowin speakers and promoting our group in the Indigenous Awareness weeks celebrations.”

For students interested in learning Indigenous languages, McGill has some options. There is an Indigenous language revitalization Masters program, which allows graduate students to take relevant courses in different disciplines to develop tools to maintain, document and revitalize their community’s language. There are also general linguistics classes like INLG 210, EDEC 344 and LING 411 which cover the basics of an Indigenous language. However, these courses are not scheduled for the 2023-2024 academic year. Turning this group into a credit course remains a long-term goal for members.

Academic Programs and curriculum are calls to action 29-39 from McGill’s 52 Calls to Action. 10 out of 11 of these calls have been marked as achieved by McGill, including Language Revitalization and Documentation. The university acknowledges that it “should consider where it can add the most value to language teaching and revitalization in Indigenous communities, while heeding the perspectives and needs of Indigenous communities as voiced by their members.”

Indigenous studies librarian Kristen Howard recommends students use the Indigenous Studies guide when conducting research on Indigenous languages or beginning their language study. It includes resources for self directed learning such as Lexique spécialisé des études collégiales en français-innu, a French-Innu resource, and 100 days of Cree, a light-hearted beginner’s guide to Cree.

In comparison to other Canadian universities, McGill falls short in offering Indigenous language education. Queens University in Kingston, Ontario offers six undergraduate Indigenous languages courses, open to all students; including two each in Anishinaabemowin, Inuktitut, and Mohawk. Schools like University of Toronto, Université de Montréal, and University of British Columbia also all offer courses in the traditional languages of the land the universities are situated upon.

However, for Makahnouk, the opportunity to teach and learn with the study group is very rewarding.

“I’m thrilled about the chance to share my culture and language,” she said.

For anyone interested in participating in this club, or learning more about the group, information is shared on their instagram account: @Anishinaabe_McGill.

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Recently reported food insecurity on McGill’s campus reflects a city and nation-wide trend. Overall, the leading causes of food insecurity are poverty and an economic climate that has recently further exposed and entrenched people in poverty. Indeed, since 2019, food bank visits have skyrocketed, with the highest year-over-year increase in usage since the aftermath of the 2008 to 2009 recession. Stagnant provincial social assistance rates, end of pandemic-related benefits, and soaring inflation have all affected the ability of individuals in Canada to feed themselves and their families. Statistics Canada stated in January that Canada’s Consumer Price Index rose 6.3 per cent year-over-year in December 2022, fuelled by an 11 per cent jump in prices for food purchased from stores. Food inflation hovered around the 11 per cent mark during the last five months of 2022. To face this food crisis, various people and organisations are mobilising and trying to meet rising need. Among these, Resilience Montreal, created in 2019 by the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal,  is a community-led project to support the homeless population in the Cabot Square area.

The number of individuals experiencing food insecurity in Montreal has continued to increase since the onset of the pandemic. According to Moisson Montreal’s Hunger Report, nearly 900,000 requests for food assistance were made to Moisson Montreal’s partner organizations in 2022 – an increase of 25.8 per cent  from the previous year. Rising inflation and the pandemic have given way to this rapid rise in food insecurity. For context, Moisson Montreal reported 600,000 requests to food pantries made in 2019, which was a continuation of a downward trend in previous years. 

Furthermore, food insecurity is a crucial issue in Montreal because it persists in circumstances of already existing crises regarding homelessness. In March 2020, the city of Montreal declared a state of emergency regarding the population of homeless people. Montreal has the highest number of homeless people in Quebec. The Canadian Observatory on Homelessness estimated in 2018 that 3149 people were experiencing homelessness at the time. While the effects of COVID-19 cannot be fully measured yet, many experts believe this number could be multiplied five or ten times this year. According to a 2020 report from the Milton-Parc Citizens Committee, out of these individuals, an Indigenous person is 27 times more likely to experience homelessness than a non-Indigenous person, and an Inuit person is 80 times more likely to experience homelessness. According to the Milton-Parc Citizens Committee, Indigenous people often find inadequate support systems in cities and discrimination in housing and job markets. 

Organizations like Resilience Montreal have noticed an uptick in their number of clientele seeking food support and services. They provide access to sleeping areas, showers, computers, clothing, first aid, a host of intervention services, and notably, three meals a day. Resilience offers a hot breakfast, a hot lunch, and a takeaway dinner for after the shelter closes every day at 3 PM. 

Margo Buchanan, Logistics, Community Program and Volunteer Coordinator, tells the Daily that Resilience’s food services have changed since the onset of the pandemic. When the organization started in 2019, they served three hot meals a day to roughly 60 to 80 people, Buchanan explains. Because of COVID-19, they had to begin providing their services outdoors in the park mid-2020. Individuals seeking meals went up to 100 per meal, as they were serving an open park and anyone could now get food. Consequently, they had to reduce their services to two hot meals a day and one takeaway meal. In September 2020 they moved back inside, but the demand kept climbing. “When we moved back inside, […] we started at 100 and then word got out that the food was good and we hired a lot of kitchen staff and then it went from 100 to 150, and then within three months, we were already up to 300,” says Buchanan. As of January 2021, Resilience serves around 300 people per meal. 

Buchanan stresses the importance of ensuring their food is not only nourishing for their clientele, but also delicious. Once a week, Resilience Montreal has “Traditional Food Tuesdays,” where they provide traditional meals for Indigenous people. On these Tuesdays, they will serve seafood, often raw, and other traditionally Inuit cuisine, as that is the largest group of Indigenous peoples served by Resilience. She further explains that if there are First Nations clientele in the area, they will also serve a traditional First Nations meal – such as caribou, tacos with local meats, or moose burgers – alongside the Inuit meal. “The overall goal of providing traditional food Tuesdays is to give people a sense of home and community and make them feel seen and understood and highlight how important their culture is to us as well,” adds Buchanan. Meals from recent weeks include cold caribou, arctic char and hot caribou ribs with rice, and caribou heart stew with bannock, frozen caribou and arctic char.

Buchanan explains that it is mostly the intervention workers at Resilience who coordinate and prepare the hot meal service. Because of the large clientele that they serve, Resilience mostly relies on big collectives – such as the Community Cooks Collective – to make individual elements of the meals for them to then be combined on site at Resilience. They also have networks of organizations and individuals throughout Montreal who donate baked goods for the takeaway lunches, Buchanan says, and the organization Bread and Beyond makes sandwiches for Resilience (which they need by the thousands every week). They also get a large amount of food every week from Moisson Montreal. “It’s a huge group effort [from] people across the city,” says Buchanan, “That’s the only reason we’re able to reach the numbers that we are.” 

Resilience does everything possible to ensure they provide the best quality food for every single person. Buchanan explains that Resilience “[tries] to do our best to remind them that they’re important despite their experience in the street every day.” Buchanan adds that for Traditional Food Tuesdays, because it’s often seafood they offer for Inuit clientele, they will often buy ingredients in store if they don’t have the donations. “We take so much pride in the work that we do, which is why we spend so much money despite having this huge network of people that make us food, because we really do try to give them the best quality food,” she says, “and honestly, [the food] is great.” 

Despite this large network of support, Resilience is always looking for more people to get involved. Buchanan stresses that donations from Bread and Beyond to Resilience often drop off over the summer in particular, as the organizations partners with elementary and high schools to make the sandwiches. She explains that a great way to help would be to volunteer for Bread and Beyond over the summer, or other organizations like the Community Cooks Collective, which also in turn help support the other shelters across the city. Beyond that, Buchanan says that they are always looking for volunteers at Resilience to help serve and make food, either on site or at home. 

If you are interested in getting involved, you can email resilience.volunteer@gmail.com.

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“We are here today to ask Justice for Nicous because the system failed him!” These were the words used by one of Nicous D’Andre Spring’s close friends to introduce last Friday’s protest. 

Spring died after being transported to a hospital on December 24, 2022, following an altercation with detention guards the day prior in the Montreal Detention Centre Bordeaux. He was 21 years old. Officers used pepper spray and a restraining device called a spit hood on him, resulting in serious injury. In a recent interview conducted by CBC, Michael Arruda, a specialist in crisis interventions said he was “very concerned” about the simultaneous use of these two instruments. Used together, they can result in a choking sensation, and they were the cause of Spring’s cardiac arrest. The unnecessary nature of these injuries was highlighted at the march. At the time of his death, Spring was being illegally detained, as a judge had ordered his release on December 23. After his death, Quebec’s Public Security Department recognized that Spring was illegally detained. Spring wasn’t the only one from whom bail was broken on that day; two other people should have also been released before December 24. 

At the beginning of the march, one of the speakers called out institutional racism in Canada, underlining the importance of solidarity within the Black community and the loss of trust in the judicial system due to abuses of law enforcement.  

“He was a good man, but our presence today goes beyond this […] Too many times a Black man is killed. Too many times are families left to grieve. And too many times these actions are left unanswered!,” said one of Spring’s close friends. Indeed, this is far from a single occurrence. There have been numerous other instances where police in Montreal and across Canada have harmed Black people.

“I am just looking for justice,” said Spring’s mother to the crowd. “I brought my kids here for a better life and now I had to bury my son.”  

Among the demands of the action committee and his relatives is a full acknowledgment and apology from the city of Montreal, the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM), and the department of correction. They additionally ask that the footage of Spring’s death be fully released and placed in the possession of his family,  and to put an end to the use of spit hoods.  They then demand that the officers involved in Spring’s death and the supervisor responsible for overseeing them be fired and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The committee further demands that over-policing of Black, Indigenous, and racialized immigrant communities in Montreal be stopped immediately and that funds directed to this over-policing be re-directed to community services such as youth centres, rape crisis centres, housing services, food security initiatives, and infrastructure. 

Before the attendees started the march, Marilyn, an Indigenous woman, spoke to the crowd. To the sound of her teueikan, a traditional Innu drum imitating the sound of a beating heart, she illustrated the necessity of the “support of the community” and the strength of unity. She said, “This is supposed to be a month of celebration, and it is going to be a month of celebration because we are going to celebrate the beautiful life of Nicous and we will unify for him […] Today is not about going to the government, it is about being unified. Unity shall work. We have done it before.” 

This initiated the march from Roddick Gates to the Montreal courthouse, which was joined by supporters, organizers, relatives, and students, including members of the Black Students’ Network and the Black Law Students’ Association of McGill.  The Daily spoke to Danni, a McGill student, who explained that “as a student, it is important to be here because we are part of the next generation and fight injustice.” She then, however, acknowledged that “students take on a lot of the responsibility, but McGill should officially recognize these injustices.”

As attendees marched, they sang in the streets of downtown Montreal, “What do we want? Justice for Nicous! When do we want it? Now!” They also chanted “Black Lives Matter” and “Release the tapes now!” 

Then, Sarafina Dennie, Spring’s sister, spoke to the crowd, saying, “I need justice for my brother, his life was taken for no reason, and we’re really tired of being treated really messed up in Quebec by the police […] We are not stopping.” 

During the march, the Daily spoke with Blain Haile, one of the organizers of the march and a member of Head and Hands, a community centre that seeks to promote physical and mental well-being for youth experiencing marginalization(s). She explained that she “was here today because we are done, we are not waiting anymore […] we are not heard enough and this is our way of saying that we will be heard.” She concluded that “we want justice for every other Black life lost in the system.”

Since Spring’s death, a manager and an officer at Bordeaux have been suspended pending the results of investigations into the matter. The Red Coalition, a non-profit lobbying organization, has been assisting Spring’s family to file a complaint with the Quebec Ombudsman and requested that they lead an investigation into whether systemic discrimination played a role in Spring’s death.

“People seem to forget that this fight also concerns Canada,” Danni told the Daily. Institutional racism and abuses in Canadian prisons have been well documented in different research and reports, and they seem to have increased since the beginning of the pandemic. Deaths in federal prisons have doubled across the country since 2019, and the majority of these victims have been Black and Indigenous people. A report released in 2022 found that while Black people represent 3.5 per cent of the Canadian population, they make up to 9.5 per cent of the federal prison population. They are also more likely to be involved in “use of force incidents.” Another report from 2021 by researcher Guillaume Herbert revealed that Quebec’s correctional facilities categorized inmates by skin colour. 

Spring’s experience demonstrates the problem of illegal detention and the consequences of “pretrial detention.” Like 40 per cent of the prison population in Canada and 67 per cent of inmates in provincial detention centres, Nicous D’Andre Spring was detained while awaiting his bail hearing, also known as pre-trial detention. 

The demonstration ended with different statements from the organizers and those close to Spring’s family. They highlighted the importance of solidarity and unity but also that it is necessary for solutions to be implemented  – that justice be rendered and reforms established to avoid having to respond to another similar event. “This passes through education,” said one of the speakers, because “education is political.” 

To support the Spring family, you can donate using the following link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/in-honour-of-nicous-yk-lyrical-spring.

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