| Today in Montreal a mass demonstration will take place to mark the 100 days of the Quebec student strike to protest the fee increase the Charest government decreed. Rallies and pickets are also taking place in various Canadian cities. These demonstrations will also protest the suspension of civil liberties in Quebec on May 18 when the Charest government made a desperate move to pass draconian legislation to declare the student organizations, which have not been accused of any crime under the penal code, let alone found guilty, of their legally sanctioned official status. The law does this by declaring that all organizations which have been on strike in violation of injunctions against the strike are to be deprived of their dues and offices and any assistance whatsoever. Anyone who assists them or defies the special legislation is also liable to draconian fines. It includes making gathering of 50 or more persons illegal unless prior notice has been given to the police. The law, which is in effect a war measure, gives the Ministers of Education, Justice and Public Safety broad discretion to change any laws so as to make sure there is compliance with this law. Since this Special Law which suspends civil liberties was adopted by the Quebec National Assembly on May 18, the opposition to and defiance of the law has been very broad. Besides the students, organizations of Quebeckers from all walks of life have issued statement after statement denouncing the law and they too have joined the protest movement. Every night, demonstrations continue in Montreal as well as in Quebec City and other cities across Quebec. It is said that this has become the broadest socio-political movement in the history of modern Quebec. Throughout the government's campaign to criminalize the right to resist and protest, the students have remained firmly committed to their just cause against the fee hike. Now, in the wake of the first night of protests to challenge the Special Law, the representatives of the Quebec Federation of College Students (FECQ) and of the Broad Coalition for Student Union Solidarity (CLASSE) point out that the movement to oppose the fee hike has become much broader to challenge the Special Law as well. FECQ President Léo Bureau-Blouin reiterated that he hopes demonstrations are going to be peaceful but admits having no control over the situation. "We are not the organizers of these demonstrations and honestly I do not know exactly who is organizing them," he said. According to the student leader, the fact that Saturday's demonstrations were so large shows that Bill 78 which was passed Friday by the government to put an end to the crisis is failing to silence the protests. "It is telling us that this law cannot be implemented. [...] A government cannot simply decree overnight that demonstrations are over. When 5, 10 or 15,000 people demonstrate, you can't give fines to everyone even if this is what the law says. I can't believe that the Cabinet Ministers seriously believed the Special Law would stop everything overnight," he said. The heightening of tensions was predictable, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, spokesperson of the Broad Coalition for Student Union Solidarity (CLASSE), pointed out. He said that the government has made new opponents by adopting the hard line. "There were many people, I think, who did not fully agree with the movement on the issue of the tuition fee hike, but in the face of such a repressive legislation they are going to support the student movement and demonstrate in the streets," he said. "The whole week I said that as soon as the law is passed, the confrontation in the streets will increase," Gabriel added. "A law like this, a slap in the face of the youth, is going to break the trust of a whole generation towards Quebec's democratic institutions. This is a scar that is going to take very long to heal," he said. Since then, demonstrations in which thousands of people participate have been held every night. The students and people come there peacefully but the demonstrations become violent to the extent the police decide to attack the demonstration and the actions of their own agents provocateurs cause certain mayhem. Everyone points out that it is remarkable that the masses of people participating remain as calm as is possible under the circumstances and stick to their peaceful expressions of protest despite these police assaults. The mayhem caused by the police is such that business owners are being randomly arrested right on the premises of their businesses, for wearing the red square. Bars and terrasses are being purposely gassed and the police invade the premises assaulting patrons calmly sitting having a beer. Because the youth boldly persist in holding demonstrations every night, the pattern of police provocations and violence has become well established in the minds of the population who can see through their own eyes and through their own presence, what takes place there. Demonstrators by now are well aware of the methods used by the police to trap the students, declare the demonstrations illegal by provoking incidents, etc. It is the police and even their horses which are masked, and it is the police who are armed and throw tear gas, people point out, while the demonstrators who have to protect themselves against being bludgeoned and gassed are criminalized for wearing bandanas peacefully expressing their opinion. Throughout the downtown core where the demonstrations are held, residents continue to express enthusiastic support for the students and those opposing the Special Law. They too are affected by the vast amounts of tear gas which enters everyone's residence, causing problems for people with asthma while the police are also denounced for flying their helicopters throughout the night, causing everyone stress and adding to the mayhem which people blame on the police, not the youth. In this vein, the massive opposition has deflated attempts to suggest that Quebeckers stand behind the Charest government's Special Law. On May 18, the newspaper La Presse, owned by Power Corporation, published big headlines claiming a poll showed that 66 per cent of Quebeckers support the government taking a "hard line." However, the unscientific character of the poll, conducted amongst a small group of people make up by a list in the possession of the polling company, was found lacking by commentators. Throughout the day its unscientific character was exposed. A commentator on Radio-Canada pointed out, it is not possible to comment on the poll because it is not scientific. She noted that it was produced by polling people via the internet without having any of the necessary demographic information (where they come from, age group, etc.). People have been shocked by this misleading poll, suggesting that such activities must have arisen from Liberal Party circles. All kinds of initiatives to defeat the Special Law have been brought forward, including Quebec artists wearing the red square at the Cannes Film Festival and on Saturday Night Live and the outpouring of support for the students and opposition to the Special Law has now gone into a new phase of civil disobedience.  Montreal's Arcade Fire appeared with Mick Jagger on "Saturday Night Live" on May 19 wearing the symbol of the student movement, a red square. Broad Coalition for Student Union Solidarity Calls on Everyone to Keep Exercising Their Fundamental Rights On May 21, in a press conference at the Émilie-Gamelin Park in Montreal which is where people gather for the daily demonstrations against Bill 78, the spokespersons of CLASSE called upon the students and the Quebec people to defeat the Special Law by exercising their fundamental rights to freedom of expression, demonstration and association. "CLASSE will keep demonstrating on the basis of the fundamental freedoms that are protected by the national and international charters and treaties. If because of that we are being prosecuted under Bill 78, we will face the situation. If obeying the Bill means relinquishing our rights, we will not do it," said Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, co-spokesperson. Both spokespersons firmly stated that the Quebec people cannot submit to this bill. "In spite of the fact that the condemnation is unanimous and very sharp, the Quebec government is staying the course and refusing to abrogate the law. In the face of this stubbornness in trampling the fundamental principles of any democracy, it is important to now go into action. When faced with something so unjust, to do nothing means to be an accomplice. To submit to this law means to accept it. To accept it means to endorse its content. At this time, we are in the midst of a historic face to face between the government and the youth. The government is watching very carefully what we are going to do. This bill is a test. If we submit [to the government's repression], the government wins. If it wins this time, it is going to do it again. We can't open the door to this possibility." "With this bill, the attack by the government reaches far beyond the student associations. It is an attack against the very possibility for every citizen to freely challenge the decisions that the political power takes in their name," said Jeanne Reynolds, co-spokesperson of CLASSE. The spokespersons also called for the continuation of the strike. The student association members of CLASSE are going to hold membership meetings to take a new strike vote to keep the strike going until August when classes resume. "The student strike will carry on during the whole summer and so will the broad mobilisation of the people. As soon as classes resume, new strike votes will be held. They will not succeed in killing the student mobilization with a Special Law, that is for sure," said Reynolds. In conclusion they called upon everyone to demonstrate on Tuesday, May 22 at 2:00 pm at the Place des festivals, to mark the 100th day of the student strike and denounce the passing of Bill 78. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- New Web Site Calls for Civil Disobedience Visit the website www.arretezmoiquelquun.com During the press conference convoked by the CLASSE on May 21, speaking about the position taken to defy the Special Law passed by the Charest government, spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, said the CLASSE has launched a website www.arretezmoiquelquun.com where people can go to sign a declaration affirming their opposition to the Special Law and their intention to exercise their civil rights. The website will serve to develop support for all those who are persecuted for exercising their fundamental rights, Gabriel said. One of the most important tasks, he said, is to mobilize as much financial support as possible to make it possible to defend those who are persecuted. He also reminded the press that CLASSE is also part of the action which will be launched in civil court to annul the law. No sooner the announcement of the new website was made, hundreds of people went online to sign the petition in very creative ways. Visit the website to sign the petition and see for yourselves. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Petition for Annulment of Special Law Continues to Gain Momentum The Quebec people have responded swiftly to the Charest Government's Special Law to see that it is repealed and, in the meantime, are changing how they organize so as to not provide the state with pretexts to block their activities. An online petition was launched on the website www.loi78.com on the morning of May 18, demanding that the Charest Government's draconian war measures legislation be nullified. In 28 hours, the petition was signed by some 150,000 people. The petition is the initiative of two student federations and the legal clinic Juripop. A meeting was held on Saturday afternoon to further coordinate the legal efforts of the student movement, unions and rights organizations. President of Juripop Marc-André Cloutier stated that the petition campaign is ongoing. He also encouraged those who have ideas about how to fight the unjust law on the legal front to contribute their ideas to the efforts. The Federation of Student Associations at the Université de Montréal on its Facebook page is organizing students to go door-to-door to inform the public of the implications of the Special Law. This past weekend they focused on the Laurier-Dorion riding of Montreal (Parc-Ex/Villeray). |