I think there is a division of opinion in Quebec. Anglophones seem to still be continuing their studies, while francophones are out in the streets. Also a division between old and young, both anglo and franco.
Two things to consider: the first protest and the second protest in reaction to the new law. The second protest is bringing in many from all parts of the population, or so it seems. Don't see how this can end in a peaceful way. arthur -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of michael gurstein Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2012 11:15 PM To: [email protected]; 'RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION' Subject: Re: [Futurework] Quebec's 'Truncheon Law' Rebounds as Student Strike Spreads Interesting how opinions especially in the ROC seem so strongly polarized on this. I`m wondering if they are as strongly polarized in Quebec (the article seems to hint that they are not, that there is significant public support... If so, I`m wondering what this means and particularly what it means for the future of Quebec in Canada. M -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2012 8:07 PM To: RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION; michael gurstein Cc: [email protected]; 'RE-DESIGNING WORK, INCOME DISTRIBUTION, EDUCATION' Subject: Re: [Futurework] Quebec's 'Truncheon Law' Rebounds as Student Strike Spreads Breaking store windows, throwing bricks at police, blocking traffic and preventing people from going to work (or to the hospital) and setting cars on fire is not about freedom of speech. Quoting michael gurstein <[email protected]>: > > Quebec's 'Truncheon Law' Rebounds as Student Strike Spreads > > A draconian law to quell demonstrations has only > galvanised public support for young Quebecois > protesting tuition fee hikes > > by Martin Lukacs > > Guardian (UK) > May 24, 2012 > > http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/may/24/quebec- > trunch > eon-law-rebounds-student-strike > > At a tiny church tucked away in a working-class neighbourhood in > Montreal's east end, Quebec's new outlaws gathered on Sunday for a day > of deliberations. Aged mostly between 18 and 22, their membership in a > progressive student union has made them a target of government scorn > and scrutiny. And they have been branded a menace to society because > of their > weapons: ideas of social justice and equal opportunity in education, > alongside the ability to persuade hundreds of thousands to join them in the > streets. > > Under a draconian law passed by the Quebec government on Friday, their > very meeting could be considered a criminal act. Law 78 - > unprecedented in recent Canadian history - is the latest, most > desperate manoeuvre of a provincial government that is afraid it has > lost control over a conflict that began as a student strike against > tuition hikes but has since spread into a protest movement with > wide-ranging social and environmental demands. > > Labelled a "truncheon law" by its critics, it imposes severe > restrictions on the right to protest. Any group of 50 or more > protesters must submit plans to police eight hours ahead of time; they > can be denied the right to proceed. Picket lines at universities and > colleges are forbidden, and illegal protests are punishable by fines > from $5,000 to $125,000 for individuals and unions - as well as by the > seizure of union dues and the dissolution of their associations. > > In other words, the government has decided to smash the student > movement by force. > > The government quickly launched a public relations offensive to defend > itself. Full-page ads in local newspapers ran with the headline: "For > the sake of democracy and citizenship." Quebec's minister of public > security, Robert Dutil, prattled about the many countries that have > passed similar laws: > > "Other societies with rights and freedoms to protect have found it > reasonable to impose certain constraints - first of all to protect > protesters, and also to protect the public." > > Such language is designed to make violence sound benevolent and infamy > honourable. But it did nothing to mask reality for those who have > flooded the streets since the weekend and encountered police > emboldened by the new legislation. Riot squads beat and tear-gassed > people indiscriminately, targeted journalists, pepper- sprayed > bystanders in restaurants, and mass-arrested hundreds, including more > than 500 Wednesday night - bringing the tally from the last three > months of protest to a record Canadian high of more than 2,500. The > endless night-time drone of helicopters has become the serenade song > of a police state. > > In its contempt for students and citizens, the government has riled a > population with strong, bitter memories of harsh measures against > social unrest - whether the dark days of the iron-fisted Duplessis > era, the martial law enforced by the Canadian army in 1970, or years > of labour battles marred by the jailing of union leaders. These and > other occasions have shown Québécois how the political elite has no > qualms about trampling human rights to maintain a grip on power. > > Which is why those with experience of struggle fresh and old have > answered Premier Jean Charest with unanimity and collective power. > There are now legal challenges in the works, broad appeals for civil > disobedience, and a brilliant website created by the progressive > CLASSE student union, on which thousands have posted photos of > themselves opposing the law. (The website's title is "Somebody arrest > me" but also puns on a phrase to shake a person out of a crazed mental > spell.) > > And Wednesday, on the 100th day of the student strike, Québécois > from every walk of life offered a rejoinder to the claim that > "marginals" were directing and dominating the > protests: an estimated 300,000-400,000 people marched in the streets, > another Canadian record, and in full violation of the new law. They > brandished the iconic red squares that have now transformed into a > symbol not just of accessible education but the defence of basic > freedoms of assembly and protest. Late into the night, a spirit of > jubilant defiance spread through the city. On balconies along entire > streets, and on intersections occupied by young and old, the sound of > banging pots and pans rang out, a practice used under Latin American > regimes. > > The clarity that has fired the students' protest has, until now, > conspicuously eluded most of English- speaking Canada. This is because > the image of the movement has been skewed and distorted by the > establishment media. Sent into paroxysms of bafflement and contempt by > the striking students, they have painted them as spoiled kids or > crazed radicals out of touch with society, who should give up their > supposed entitlements and accept the stark economic realities of the > age. > > All this is said with a straight face. But young people in Quebec, > followed now by many others, have not been fooled. They know the > global economic crisis of 2008 exposed as never before the abuses of > corporate finance, and that those responsible were bailed out rather > than held to account. They know that meetings of international leaders > at the G20 end by dispatching ministers home to pay the bills on the > backs of the poorest and most vulnerable, with tuition hikes and a > toxic combination of neoliberal economic policies. And with every > baton blow and tear-gas blast, they perceive with ever greater > lucidity that their government will turn ultimately to brute violence > to impose such programs and frighten those who dissent. > > To those who marched Wednesday, and the great numbers who cheered them > on, the fault-lines of justice are evident. This is a government that > has refused to sit down and negotiate with student leaders in good > faith, but invites an organised crime boss to a fundraising breakfast; > a government that has claimed free education is an idea not even worth > dreaming about, when it would cost only 1% of Quebec's budget and > could be paid for simply by reversing the regressive tax reforms, > corporate give-aways, or capital tax phase-outs of the last decade; a > government whose turn to authoritarian tactics has now triggered a > sharp decline in support, and which has clumsily accelerated a social > crisis that may now only begin to be resolved by meeting the students' > demands. > > As the debate went on at the CLASSE meeting in the church last Sunday, > the students' foresight proved wise beyond their years. "History > doesn't get made in a day," one argued into the microphone. Not in a > day, no doubt, but in Quebec, over this spring and the summer, history > is indeed being made. > > > _______________________________________________ > Futurework mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework > _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework _______________________________________________ Futurework mailing list [email protected] https://lists.uwaterloo.ca/mailman/listinfo/futurework
