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Police State Bill Passed to Suppress Quebec Student Strike - by Keith Jones
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/may2012/pers-m21.shtml
"Canada's ruling elite has enthusiastically welcomed Bill 72, dismissing concerns over the legislation's assault on the right to free speech or assembly. Quebec's most influential daily La Presse, backed the legislation as a necessary weapon to 'kill the snake of violence and disorder'. Alongside an editorial endorsing Bill 72, the Globe and Mail, Canada's newspaper of record, carried a comment titled; 'Tuition Protesters are the Greeks of Canada'.
Behind the ruling class's frenzied response to the strike is their recognition that it represents an implicit challenge to the austerity measures being implemented by governments at every level and of every political stripe in the spectrum of official Canadian politics, Their greatest fear is that the student strike could become the catalyst for a mass movement against their drive to place the full burden of the capitaist crisis on working people.."
Quebec Law Criminalizing Student Strike Threatens Basic Rights of All
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/may2012/queb-m19.shtml
"Bill 78 is an attack on more than just the students who have been opposing the provincial Liberal government's plan to raise university tuition fees by 82 percent over the next seven years - and not just because the new law establishes chilling legal precedents and because the government and elite deem the breaking of the student strike as fundamental to pressing forward with rightwing austerity meansures against the working class as a whole..
The government clearly hopes that support for the strike will erode over the course of the summer, especially when students realize the severity of the criminal sanctions with which they are now threatened. But there is another more important and more sinister reason for 'suspending' the winter session. The government and police intend to use the three months to carefully prepare for an unprecedented police deployment across Quebec, using brute force and mass arrests, should it prove necessary, to break the student strike.."
http://www.arretezmoiquelquun.com/
The site seems to be down. Let's hope it's because of too much traffic of people signing up!!
Here are a couple of links to news items about CLASSE declaring it will defy Bill 78 through non-violent action and calling upon its members to do likewise:
CJAD news (English)
La CLASSE défiera la loi 78
ETA: Wow, it's back!!
Quebec's Largest Student Group Vows Defiance of Emergency Law
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/quebecs-largest-student-group-vows-d...
"Quebec's largest student group has vowed to defy the Quebec government's new emergency law, calling for a summer of protests and acts of civil disobedience.."
28th consecutive nightly demonstration tonight. 4th one in "violation" of Bill 78.
Thousands marching in peace, very thin police presence. That's a cause and effect thing, you know.
Looks as if they're going to pay Charest another visit at home (on Victoria St.). This is about the 4th time in recent weeks.
ETA: Ooo, naughty:
"Crions plus fort, pour que les riches fassent des cauchemars!"
23:35 - Demo arrives at Charest's home; at least 50 riot cops outside; and SPVM is now (predictably) tweeting that there have been criminal acts (projectiles - the usual bullshit lies). I guess they've decided that this demo, which was declared "illegal" at 9 pm but has been "tolerated" since, has gone on long enough.
23:40. CUTV feed is back (was down about 15 min). A conga line was formed facing the riot cops outside Charest's. An "open house at Jean Charest's" has been declared by some demonstrators. Everything is still light-hearted, humorous, determined.
Translating the Printemps Érable
Montreal
https://vimeo.com/42049938
Police arrested 36 demonstrators in Sherbrooke who refused orders to diisperse when a demonstration in front of the courthouse was declared illegal. They sat down instead and stayed put peacefully. Police said they would face charges under Bil 78 for not providing their "route" in advance and not cooperating with police.
http://www.radio-canada.ca/regions/estrie/2012/05/22/001-manifestation-e...
It just occurred to me. Today's demo will be the largest-scale illegal action in Canadian history - because no 8-hour written notice has been provided to police. Whatever happened to law and order?
the way rabble highlights students' 'red square' symbol in its feature article ought to be clarified- explanation ought to be provided of the meaning of the symbol in the feature.
Assaults on civilians are criminal.
Police conducting assaults on peaceful protesters ought to be arrested and charged.
Only those throwing projectiles at others ought to be individually arrested, it is wrong to round up protesters or silence dissent altogether with anti-protest laws.
The anti-mask law is unhealthy and abrogates our right to safety of the person, because goggles and bandanas are necessary to prevent injury from tear gas, pepper spray, and, clearly, rubber bullets and other aggression of police.
Students should not be assaulted nor silenced for protesting a rise in tuition fees, a rise which undermines their access and right to education.
Tuition fees ought to be lowered. Provinces and territories can run deficits, tax the rich, and borrow until such time as they, and we, all are able to get the federal government to create money, to spend more in transfer payments to uphold our human rights, including our social and cultural rights and programs. www.neweconomicperspectives.org videos of May10 outline how a federal government with 'sovereign currency is always solvent', as Canada is. W.Black at the same site outlines how federal governments can spend without more debt- by separating spending from borrowing.
That's because for Leigh "McCarthy" here, it might imply some vague association with..(gulp)..Communism.
What time are today's 'hundreds of thousands' supposed to turn out to mark the strikes 100th day? I'd like to watch it on the news if it's covered.
the name-calling here is another personal insult, opposed to Babble Policy.
i'd actually like to know what the symbol means to the students.
and i hope there is a lot of support for the students, against bad laws and police aggression, and to reduce tuition fees.
thank you for explaining.
Global BC was super cagey last night and showed pics of the burning police van. if i hadn't read here that it was electrical i would've thought it was torched. 'cause they never mentioned a thing just let the pics stand and wrong assumptions hold.
Perhaps I should have put electrical in quotes. The police said it was "electrical". I'm not sure how credible that is, although I haven't read any eyewitness accounts to contradict the official story.
Electrical in the sense that a police officer flipped a switch to set of the incendiary charge? I think because of the timing it might have been a pocket dial. I'll bet someone is in big dodo for their premature incineration.
Just trying to have a little laugh since it beats the hell out of crying.
Boom Boom, to answer your question above, a few folks might be gathering at 2 pm at the Place des Festivals. Or not. :)
Je désobéis à la loi 78!
Apparently there are 'solidarity with the Quebec students' demos in New York, Paris, and Vancouver today.
Rally in Solidarity with Quebec Students4:00pm
Tuesday May 22 2012Venue: Vancouver Art Gallery
Address: 750 Hornby Street, Vancouver
All this can not be good for Charest's image as the premier of Quebec.
i don't think they care 'bout image anymore
Thomas Mulcair must be thinking right about now that if things had gone differently, he might still be in the Charest cabinet.
CBC says "thousands" - not "hundreds of thousands" - yet - more people are gathering, may be 100,000 by the end of the day.
ETA: CBC just updated to say the Montreal protest is massive.
CBC Newsworld: "thousands upon thousands of people, as far as the eye can see".
Sent by a friend just now:
Via Duncan Cameron on Facebook:
Paris rally in support of Quebec students. Vive la France. Link.