(1)
Request for Solidarity and Support for the Legal Committee
of the CLASSE
via PSC alerts - PSC Solidarity Committee
19 May 2012

Sisters, brothers,

We write you during a dark time for democratic, human
and associative rights in Quebec with the following
appeal for your help and solidarity. As you have no
doubt heard, the government recently enacted legislation
that amounts to the single biggest attack on the right
to organize and freedom of expression in North America
since the McCarthy period and the biggest attack on
civil and democratic rights since the enactment of the
War Measures Act in 1970. Arguably, this recent law will
unduly criminalize more law-abiding citizens than even
McCarthy's hearings and the War Measures Act ever could.

Among other draconian elements brought forward by this
law, any gathering of 50 or more people must submit
their plans to the police eight hours ahead of time and
must agree to any changes to the gathering's trajectory,
starttime, etc. Any failure to comply with this stifling
of freedom of assembly and association will be met with
a fine of up to $5,000 for every participant, $35,000
for someone representing a 'leadership' position, or
$125,000 if a union - labour or student - is deemed to
be in charge.  The participation of any university staff
(either support staff or professors) in any student
demonstration (even one that follows the police's
trajectory and instructions) is equally punishable by
these fines. Promoting the violation of any of these
prohibitions is considered, legally, equivalent to
having violated them and is equally punishable by these
crippling fines.

One cannot view this law in isolation. In the past few
months, the Québec student movement - inspired by
Occupy, the Indignados of Spain, the students of Chile,
and over 50 years of student struggle in Québec; and
presently at North America's forefront of fighting the
government's austerity agenda - has been confronted by
precedent-shattering judicial and police repression in
an attempt to force the end of the strike and our right
to organize collectively. Our strike was voted and is
re-voted every week in local general assemblies across
Québec. As of May 18th, 2012 our committee has
documented and is supporting 472 criminal accusations as
well as 1047 ticket and penal offenses. One week in
April saw over 600 arrests in three days. And those
numbers only reflect those charged with an offense,
without mentioning the thousands pepper sprayed and tear
gassed, clubbed and beaten, detained and released. It
does not mention Francis Grenier, who lost use of most
of an eye when a sound grenade was illegally thrown by a
police officer into his face in downtown Montreal. It
does not mention Maxence Valade who lost a full eye and
Alexandre Allard who clung to life in a coma on a
hospital bed for days, both having received a police
rubber bullet to the head in Victoriaville. And the
thousands of others brutalized, terrorized, harassed and
assaulted on our streets.  Four students are currently
being charged under provisions of the anti- terrorist
laws enacted following September 11th.

In addition to these criminal and penal cases, of
particular concern for those of us involved in the
labour movement is that anti-strike forces have filed
injunctions systematically from campus to campus to
prevent the enactment of strike mandates, duly and
democratically voted in general assemblies. Those who
have defended their strike mandates and enforced the
strike are now facing Contempt of Court charges and
their accompanying potential $50,000 fines and potential
prison time. One of our spokespeople, Gabriel Nadeau-
Dubois, will appear in Superior Court under such a
charge for having dared say, on May 13th of this year,
that "I find it legitimate" that students form picket
lines to defend their strike.

While we fight, on principle, against this
judicialization of a political conflict, we have no
choice but to acknowledge that the struggle on the
streets has been, for many, transferred to the courtroom
and we must act to defend our classmates, our friends
and our family.  This defense needs your help. Many
students have been denied access to Legal Aid to help
them to defend themselves. This, while students filing
injunctions to end strikes have been systematically
granted Legal Aid. While sympathetic lawyers in all
fields of law have agreed to reduced rates and alot of
free support, the inherent nature of the legal system
means we are spending large sums of money on this
defense by the day.

It is in this context that we appeal to you to help us
cover the costs of this, our defense. Not only must we
help those being unduly criminalized and facing
injunctions undermining their right to associate, but we
must act now and make sure that the criminalization and
judicialization of a political struggle does not work
and set a precedent that endangers the right to free
speech and free assembly.

If you, your union, or your organization is able to give
any amount of financial help, it would make an
undeniable difference in our struggle.  In addition to
the outpouring of support from labour across Quebec, we
have already begun to receive trans-Canadian and
international solidarity donations. We thank you for
adding your organization's support to the list.

If you have any questions, please contact us via email
legal AT asse-solidarité.qc.ca. Telephone numbers can be
given to you in a private message. You can also send you
donation directly to the order of "Association pour une
solidarité syndicale étudiante" (2065 rue Parthenais,
Bureau 383, Montréal, QC, H2K 3T1) noting "CLASSE Legal
Committee" in the memo line.

In solidarity,


Max Silverman

Law student at the Université du Québec à Montréal
Volunteer with the Legal Committee of the CLASSE

Andrée Bourbeau

Law student at the Université du Québec à Montréal
Delegate to the Legal Committee of the CLASSE

Emilie Charette

Law student at the Université du Québec à Montréal
Delegate to the Legal Committee of the CLASSE

Emilie Breton-Côté

Law student at the Université du Québec à Montréal
Volunteer with the Legal Committee of the CLASSE

(2)
Quebec's Student Crisis Law Stokes Unrest
CBC News
May 19, 2012
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2012/05/19/quebec-tuition-crisis-law-reaction.html


The adoption of emergency legislation to end Quebec's
escalating student crisis stoked fiery debate across the
province overnight, from highly charged street protests
that lasted into the wee hours to harsh editorials and
some calls for civil disobedience.

Legal experts, civil-rights groups, unions and student
groups blasted the Liberal government's hardline Bill
78, which sets strict regulations for public
demonstrations and student groups that organize
gatherings, with heavy financial penalties for
violations.

A full-page advertisement paid for by the Quebec
government to explain the law was flanked by other ads
from civil society groups alarmed by what they call
"draconian" measures to contain the tuition hike crisis.

    'They're telling us to shut up, they're telling us
    we can't say what we want to say, we can't do what
    we want to do, but I don't think it's going to
    work.' -Arianne Papillon, Quebec student

One of Quebec's teachers' unions - FAE -placed an ad
with Premier Jean Charest's face and a headline that
says "shame has a face."

"We don't have that many means to express our
indignation," said FAE president Pierre Saint-Germain,
in an interview with CBC's French-language service on
Saturday.

"I'll tell you, frankly, that with this bludgeon law,
it's becoming harder and harder for people and
organizations, from students to unions, to express
themselves publicly."

Montreal newspaper Le Devoir published an editorial
titled "Abuse of power" and called on the Liberal
government to seek mediation in the ongoing student
protest.

Constitutional lawyer Julius Grey calls Bill 78 a
"terrible law" that suspends the freedom to association,
express and protest, without sufficient reason.

"What I note in this law is that there is no opening for
discussion - what kind of education we want to have, is
higher education a question of preparing for the job
market, or a more academic question, to promote
learning? There is none of that.

"This is simply an attempt to end a debate, to appear
strong and determined."

John Gomery, the former Quebec Superior Court judge,
described the legislation as part of the "extreme
reaction this debate has provoked."

Bill 78 does limit freedom of expression, Gomery said,
but the question is "whether or not that limitation is
reasonable." Law's passage met with protests across
province

The law has three prongs - it suspends winter semesters
at schools where students have boycotted classes;
stipulates steep financial penalties for those who try
to block access to schools; and restricts public
protests. At least 10,000 people joined the Law 78 march
in Montreal Friday night.At least 10,000 people joined
the Law 78 march in Montreal Friday night. (CBC)

Politicians debated through the night on Thursday,
finally voting the legislation in late Friday.

Hours later, an estimated 10,000 people took to the
streets in Montreal, where nightly protests have been
held during the three-month old tuition crisis.

The Montreal march flared up midway when police reported
Molotov cocktails, and responded with tear gas.

But the long procession continued its winding path from
downtown to the Plateau Mont-Royal, where firecrackers
exploded and helicopters hovered past 2 a.m.

Montreal's protest was fuelled also by the passage of a
controversial municipal bylaw banning masks at public
demonstrations.

The bylaw officially takes effect Saturday.

Protests were also held in Quebec City, Sherbrooke,
Trois-Rivières and the Saguenay. Critics blast Law 78

Quebec's special legislation reminds the province's
nurses federation of their bitter 1999 conflict with the
province, when the Parti Québécois government made it
illegal for members to strike. A protester gestures
during rally, which lasted past 2 a.m. A protester
gestures during rally, which lasted past 2 a.m. (Graham
Hughes/Canadian Press)

Nurses faced heavy fines, both as individuals and as a
union.

"That government was very rigid, and the openness wasn't
there, and that's what we feel is creating difficulties
today," said Roberto Bomba, treasurer of the Fédération
interprofessionelle de la Santé du Québec.

"People have to sit down and find a compromise, and find
a solution."

The current Liberal government says Law 78 will "allow
our students the right to go to their classes," said
Justice Minister Jean-Marc Fournier.

But many students are deeply offended by the
government's ultimate response in the conflict.

"They're telling us to shut up, they're telling us we
can't say what we want to say, we can't do what we want
to do, but I don't think it's going to work," said
Quebec student Arianne Papillon, who marched Friday
night.

Student group CLASSE vows to take legal action against
the legislation as early as Tuesday.

"It's one of the basis of democracy, that citizens are
allowed to go [in the streets] whenever they want,
wherever they want.

With this law, this government is consciously breaking,
destroying this fundamental right," said CLASSE
spokesperson Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. "It's unacceptable,
and if we need to break this law, we will seriously
consider it."


(3)
On Strike: Quebec Students Boycott Classes for 12 Weeks
to Protest Proposed Tuition Hikes
Amy Goodman
Democracy Now
May 7, 2012
http://www.democracynow.org/2012/5/7/on_strike_quebec_students_boycott_classes

For the past three months, students across the Canadian
province of Quebec have waged an unprecedented strike
against rising tuition. On Friday, more than 100
students were arrested in Victoriaville. One protester
reportedly lost an eye after being shot by a police
projectile. The future of the strike is now up in the
air. Over the weekend, the government proposed an offer
to end the strike, but student leaders say they are
refusing to recommend the deal to student protesters who
will vote on the offer on 150 campuses over the next
three days. "We are at 170,000 people in strike in our
province here," says Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, spokesperson
for CLASSE, the main coalition of student unions
involved in the student strikes in Quebec, Canada. "So
it's really an historical mobilization, an unprecedented
mobilization by the Quebec students, on the specific
issue of tuition fees." 

Guests:

Eve-Lyne Couturier, a researcher who has been studying
the student strikes for IRIS, an institute of
socioeconomic research.

Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, spokesperson for CLASSE, the main
coalition of student unions involved in the student
strikes in Quebec, Canada.


AMY GOODMAN: We turn now to Canada, where students in
the province of Quebec have reached a tentative deal
with the government over proposed tuition hikes. The
deal puts an end to nearly three months of a class
boycott by hundreds of thousands of students and the
longest student strike in the province's history.

Students in Quebec pay the lowest post-secondary
education tuition in Canada, and the provincial
government's plan would raise tuition by 75 percent over
five years. The agreement, reached after 22 hours of
negotiations between student leaders and the government,
includes the government's tuition increase, but also
calls for the creation of a "provisional council" that
would review spending by universities and could reduce
fees students pay on top of their tuition. Under the
tentative deal, universities would decrease
administrative fees to offset the increase in tuition
fees. Student leaders say they're refusing to recommend
the deal to their membership. Students across Quebec
will cast their vote on the agreement this week.

During the May Day protests in New York last week,
Democracy Now! spoke to Lily Schwarzbaum, a student at
McGill University in Montreal, about the strike.

    LILY SCHWARZBAUM: It's really important for the
    States to look at Quebec as a model as to what
    people should be fighting for. Often people say of
    Quebec, "Oh, it's only like $1,625. Like, you should
    really pay your dues." And it's like, no, the rest
    of you are getting screwed. Like, you should think
    about what we're fighting for. And I think it's
    really important for North America, for Anglophone
    North America, to, like, take this issue seriously.

AMY GOODMAN: To talk more about the student strikes and
the agreement proposed this weekend, we go to Montreal,
which has seen more than 200 student protests in the
last 80 days. We're joined by Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, the
spokesperson for CLASSE, the main coalition of student
unions involved in the Quebec student strikes, and, by
Democracy Now! video stream, Eve-Lyne Couturier is
joining us from IRIS, which is an institute of
socioeconomic research.

We begin with Gabriel. Tell us about this strike, the
significance of it.

GABRIEL NADEAU-DUBOIS: Well, it is a very long strike.
In fact, it is the biggest strike in Quebec history,
which has a very big history of student strike. We're
talking about a strike of 13 weeks, starting today, a
strike who, at the biggest, was held by 300,000 Quebec
post-secondary students. At the moment, we are at
170,000 people in strike in our province here. So it's
really an historical mobilization, an unprecedented
mobilization by the Quebec students, on the specific
issue of tuition fees. The Liberal government here
decided to increase tuition fees by 75 percent, starting
next year and over five years.

And the mobilization really started about this specific
issue, but after a few weeks of strikes, we have saw
unions, community groups, women groups entering in the
movement. And now what we are seeing here in Quebec is
what people call the Maple Spring, the "Printemps
érable" in French. So it's really a mobilization that is
starting to be more and more general and to address more
than just the specific issues of tuition fees, but also
the general direction that has taken Quebec since the
Liberal Party here came to power in 2003.

AMY GOODMAN: So, for three months, students have not
gone to school?

GABRIEL NADEAU-DUBOIS: Well, it's not all the students
of Quebec who are on strike, but a critical number of
students are on strike. Yes, it's now three months.
It's-even for-even for Quebec, it's an unprecedented
strike in terms of duration and in terms of popularity.
So it's really a movement that no one really went-saw
coming before it was a reality. So, yes, students from
university and colleges all over the province who are in
strike, so who are not going to their classes for three
months now.

AMY GOODMAN: And the significance of the deal that was
reached this weekend?

GABRIEL NADEAU-DUBOIS: Well, it's very-it's a very
complicated deal. First, the government decided to
continue to increase tuition fees, but for the first
semester they decided to reduce the administrative fees
of the universities at the same level of the increasing
of tuition fees. So, generally, the student bill won't
go up next semester. But what is particular in this
offer is that the government accepted to put-to fund a
provisory committee of 19 person, on which four will be
students. And this committee will have the role to look
at the expenses for universities to find out money that
could be cut in order to invest this money in the
reduction of the administrative fees of the
universities. But so, basically what the government is
asking us is to abandon our strike in the ends of a
provisory committee, on which we will be [a minority].
So it's a deal that is already-that is already provoking
a lot of hesitation in the students' assemblies.

AMY GOODMAN: Eve-Lyne Couturier, can you talk about how
college costs in Quebec compare with the rest of Canada
and the United States, and the significance of this
strike?

EVE-LYNE COUTURIER: Well, of course, in Quebec, the
student fees are less high than in the rest of Canada.
But then again, you have to compare with the whole
picture, not only in North America, but in the whole
developed countries. And then the students' fees in
Quebec are much higher than the majority of the
countries. So, and you also have to remember that when
you talk about tuition fees, there's also a debt that is
associated with that. So students who go to school have
to pay a lot of things. It costs a lot. And the average
debt in Quebec is also lower than in, let's say,
Ontario. And hiking the fees, hiking the tuition, will
mean to put the burden of the debt more and more on the
shoulders of the students.

AMY GOODMAN: And the significance of this settlement,
Eve-Lyne? We just have 20 seconds.

EVE-LYNE COUTURIER: Oh, well, I would say, the burden of
the proof is on the students. And that means a lot of
things, because even though the students proved that
there's a problem in the financing of the universities,
the government will decide to implement or not the cuts
to refund the universities.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, Eve-Lyne Couturier, I want to thank
you for being with us, and Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois,
spokesperson for CLASSE, the main coalition of student
unions involved in the student strikes in Quebec. We
will report on what the students vote this week.

___________________________________________

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