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2012 Quebec student protests

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 70.40.168.59 (talk) at 22:49, 24 May 2012 (Using "boycott" instead of "strikes" is political bias. It is part of the governmental strategy to delegitimize the movement and it is also inaccurate.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

2012 Quebec student protests
Student demonstration, March 22, 2012, Montreal.
DateFebruary 13, 2012 – present (officially)
Location
Quebec, Canada
GoalsTuition freeze, Free education
Methods
Lead figures

Jean Charest, Premier of Quebec

Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois of the CLASSE
Léo Bureau-Blouin of the FECQ
Martine Desjardins of the FEUQ

Casualties
Arrested1,983 (as of May 21)[1]

The 2012 Quebec student protests are a series of ongoing student demonstrations led by Quebec students' associations, students, and their supporters against a proposal by the Quebec Cabinet, headed by Premier Jean Charest, to raise university tuition from $2,168 to $3,793 between 2012 and 2017.[2] The student strike started on 13 February 2012, when social sciences students at Université Laval decided to go on a "strike", followed shortly after by some faculties of the Université du Québec à Montréal. At its peak on 22 March, 166,068 students were on strike in Quebec.[3]

The main public faces of the protests are Léo Bureau-Blouin of the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec and Martine Desjardins of the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec, as well as Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois and Jeanne Reynolds, the two spokespersons of the Coalition large de l'Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante, considered the most radical of the three groups.[4]

Historical context

University tuition fees in Quebec were frozen at $540 per year from 1968 to 1990. In 1994, tuition rose to $1668 per year, after which it was frozen until 2007, when it grew by $100 per year until 2012, making it $2168. Overall, tuition increased 300% between 1968 and 2012, not including other fees that are paid to universities (e.g. administration fees, student service fees, etc.).[5] However, inflation during this same period was 557%,[6] and Quebec still has the lowest tuition fees in Canada.[7] Quebec's average tuition is currently slightly greater than one third of the average tuition cost in the rest of Canada .[8]

The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which Canada ratified in 1976, states "[h]igher education shall be made equally accessible to all...in particular by the progressive introduction of free education." Today in Canada, a four year degree now costs on average $58,000 (including the expenses of student fees, transportation, housing, books and other miscellaneous items).[9]

Canada in 2007 ranked second out of 32 developed countries in spending on education in proportion to its GDP: 56.6% of the cost of education was covered by the public, the balance (43.4%) came from private sources, primarily tuition fees.[10]

Events

During the morning rush hour on March 20, 150 student demonstrators blocked the Montreal-bound entrance ramp to the Champlain Bridge in Brossard using concrete blocks.[11] Upon the arrival of Sûreté du Québec police officers, the protestors fled through the streets of Brossard to coaches waiting for them at Terminus Panama. When officers arrived at the Terminus, they surrounded the buses and arrested around 100 demonstrators. Each was identified and fined C$494.[11]

On March 22, 2012 a large march took place in Montreal, with the demonstration organizers estimating that 200,000 people took part.[12]

On May 14, 2012 Line Beauchamp announced that she would resign from her position as Quebec Education Minister and Deputy Premier. Beauchamp stated that she “lost confidence in the student leaders’ will to end this conflict.” Later that same day, Premier Charest announced that Michelle Courchesne would replace Beauchamp as Education Minister and Deputy Premier.[13]

Bill 78

Main article: Bill 78

Background

On May 16, soon after the appointment of Michelle Courchesne, she and Premier Charest announced their plan to introduce Bill 78. The Bill would end the winter semester at the 14 remaining CEGEPs and 11 universities at which students were still on strike. As a result, students would be granted an early summer break, and would take their winter courses in August and their Fall semester would be delayed to October instead of September.[14]

Reactions

This special bill contained several controversial sections. Louis Masson, head of the Bar of Quebec has questioned the law's constitutionality, though the Canadian Press has stated that some members are upset with this position.[15] A Laval law professor stated, "Read it. Stunned. Can’t believe that a democratic government can adopt such a law."[16] Professor Lucie Lemonde of Université de Montréal's law department stated the law was the second worst on record next to the War Measures Act. Protestors have also stormed her classroom and prevented her classes from taking place.[17] Michel Leblanc, president and chief executive of the Metropolitan Montreal Trade Association has welcomed the new law as a way to protect downtown businesses, and André Poulin of Destination Centre-Ville has been supportive.[17] The Bill has also received support from the Quebec Council of Employers, with its president, Yves-Thomas Dorval, stating that because of "the failure to comply with court orders issued in the past few weeks, the bill will have to include measures strong enough to achieve this objective in order to serve as a deterrent."[18]

While some students and law professors have been critical of the impact of Bill 78 on fundamental rights, Justice Minister Jean-Marc Fournier has stated that there has been no equivalent respect given to non-striking students' rights to their education, and that the intent of the law is to return calm to Quebec society.[19] Again, some business leaders in downtown Montreal, the epicenter of the crisis, have come out in favour of the Bill due to the damage being done to local establishments.[20]

Subsequent events

Protests in Montreal, which have occurred daily for over a month, ended in violence on May 18, 2012. There were reports of projectiles being launched by protesters, as well as molotov cocktails, and police responded by firing rubber bullets and using tear gas and noise bombs against the protesters. Police declared the protest to be illegal.[21] Several of the protesters were wearing masks, which is against the law in the city, as Montreal had just passed a bylaw making wearing masks during any protest illegal.[22][16]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2012 Quebec student strike.

References

  1. ^ Gonthier, Valérie (May 21, 2012). "Près de 2 000 arrestations" (in French). Le Journal de Montréal. Retrieved May 22, 2012.
  2. ^ "La grève étudiante sur le web". Radio-Canada. April 2, 2012.
  3. ^ "Associations en grève". 1625canepassepas.ca.
  4. ^ "Quebec student group rejects Liberal proposal to end strike". National Post. April 29, 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ Ouimet, Michèle. "La belle vie". La Presse. Retrieved April 4, 2012.
  6. ^ Bank of Canada. "Bank of Canada Inflation Calculator". Bankofcanada.ca.
  7. ^ "National – The Globe and Mail". M.theglobeandmail.com.
  8. ^ "How much will it cost you?". Government of Quebec. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
  9. ^ "Cost of Post Secondary Education". Canlearn.ca. October 21, 2011.
  10. ^ Adrian Morrow. "Canadians paying more for education, OECD finds". Globe and Mail. Canada.
  11. ^ a b Santerre, David. "David Santerre, Pont Champlain bloqué : plusieurs étudiants arrêtés". La Presse, March 20, 2012.
  12. ^ Leila Lemghalef (May 7, 2012). "Protests mark Quebec's attempt to hike tuition fees". Reuters Canada. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
  13. ^ Séguin, Rhéal (May 15, 2012). "Education minister's exit leaves Charest holding the bag". Globe and Mail. Canada. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  14. ^ "Quebec to suspend school semester amid protests". CTV.ca. May 16, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2012.
  15. ^ Blatchford, Andy (April 16, 2010). "Quebec student bill 'worst law' since War Measures Act: law professor". Winnipeg Free Press.
  16. ^ a b TU THANH HA AND Les Perreaux (May 5, 2012). "Anti-protest legislation passes in Quebec". Globe and Mail. Canada.
  17. ^ a b Blatchford, Andy (April 16, 2010). "Quebec student bill 'worst law' since War Measures Act: law professor". Winnipeg Free Press.
  18. ^ Lemieux,, Patrick (May 18, 2012). Bill 78 "Quebec Employers Council President offers comments" (Press release). Canada NewsWire. {{cite press release}}: Check |url= value (help)CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  19. ^ Les Perreaux And Rhéal Séguin (May 1, 2012). "Quebec's emergency law blasted by critics". Globe and Mail. Canada.
  20. ^ Patrick Lemieux (May 18, 2012). "Bill 78 - Quebec Employers Council President offers comments". Canada Newswire. Retrieved May 19, 2012.
  21. ^ Canada. "Molotov cocktails launched in Montreal protests following legal crackdown". Globe and Mail. Canada.
  22. ^ "Conservative MP Blake Richards' proposed crackdown on masked protesters goes too far". Toronto Star. May 9, 2012.

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