This is a video of the Montreal protest against the hike in University fees.
Students have held demonstrations and police have attempted to block them over the past few weeks. Initially starting near campuses, it quickly spread to the whole city by means of the pots and pans beating and clanging. A few students will pass through the neighborhood and all the residents will join them either on the balconies or by coming out on the roads. College and University fees in Quebec are the lowest in Canada and certainly way lower than in Ontario. When the Quebec Government pointed this out to the students during negotiations, the students retorted by saying that low university costs in Quebec have been part of a social contract with the people in the province and that it is a sacred cow that cannot be violated. That the young people of Quebec do not want to allow high costs to make education a privilege of the elite. Their steadfastness continues and so do the protests. If they continue any longer, it may lead to the downfall of the provincial liberal government. There are other sacred cows held dear in Canada that the government can chip at, only at great risk. One of them is free medical coverage for all permanent residents and citizens. Free is a misnomer since it is funded from tax and other revenues. That is the next frontier of protest. As medical treatment costs, tests and new equipment get more and more expensive, often exponentially, revenues can only push back such costs so much and no more. Taxes cannot be indefinitely increased, although new sources of revenue like the oil sands can help. Another problem is that the authorities seem unable to rein in the human costs. For example a family doctor in urban practice earns no less than $300,000 to $400,000 per year which to any average person seems excessive and unnecessary. Roland. Toronto. FN wrote: Any Goanetter out there in Montreal who came across this? Seems quite creative -- specially the way the video is put together: http://paper.li/fn/1306094293?utm_source=subscription&utm_medium=email&utm_c ampaign=paper_sub --
