Communiqué de presse - la FCÉÉ concernant le G-8/G-20

N.B. la Fédération Canadienne des Étudiantes et des Étudiants ne me répresente pas.

L'Assemblée générale annuelle du Regroupement Étudiant Franco-Ontarien

lundi 14 juin 2010 - Ottawa, ON

Durant la fin de semaine du 12 juin 2010, l'Assemblée générale annuelle du Regroupement Étudiant Franco-Ontarien (RÉFO) a eu lieu à l'Université d'Ottawa. Environ 25 participantes et participants, représentant 11 institutions postsecondaires au sein de l'Ontario, se sont présentés au Pavillon Fauteux pour le deuxième AGA depuis l'assemblée constituante du RÉFO en septembre 2009.

Samedi avant-midi, les délégués participants à l'AGA ont accueilli l'Honorable Sénateur Marie-Paule Poulin comme conférencière. La discussion dont elle a menée a put soulever des débats intéressants concernant la pertinence des nouvelles diffusées, à la télévision, par Radio-Canada. Plusieurs délégués ont relevé le manque de contenu ontarien et une concentration, en grande partie, sur les nouvelles québécoises. Plus spécifiquement, une Semaine 101 ("Frosh week") entièrement en Français a été soulevé par le Conseil exécutif sortant et cette initiative

Dimanche matin, les délégués ont élu le nouveau comité exécutif de la RÉFO dont Véronique Boily, Sylvie Samson et Marie-France Belle-Isle. Félicitation à ces trois demoiselles! De plus, il y a eu des tables rondes ayant des thèmes tels que la rétention/recrutement, les communications, les élections municipales, etc.

Il est aussi à noter que M. Raymond Day, représentant le Ministère de la Formation et des Collèges et Universités, s'est présenté pour assister aux tables rondes et, par la suite, a adressé les délégués. Il a traité, entres-autres, de la Politique d'Aménagement Linguistique et de son application future au niveau postsecondaire. Voici la communiqué de presse résumant davantages les activités de l'AGA du RÉFO.

Le RÉFO représente les intérêts politiques des 22 000 étudiantes et étudiants inscrits à des cours en français dans les 11 institutions postsecondaires offrant des programmes en français en Ontario. Sa mission est de défendre le droit des étudiantes et étudiants en Ontario français d’étudier en français dans le programme et la région de leur choix, dans un contexte où elles et ils gèrent les leviers de leur éducation afin qu’ils et elles puissent s’épanouir dans l’ensemble de la communauté franco-ontarienne et puissent y contribuer.

Finally, something I can (somewhat) agree with!

Although it has been awhile, I hope my readership doesn't think I've completely abandoned my blog! Anyhow, I'm back and have much to talk about and many issues to address.

I will start with something that I have never done before on this blog: I will be speaking in favour (although not entirely) of a recent Canadian Federation of Students' campaign on Copyright reform.

Here's a new campaign video posted to CFS's YouTube page concerning the issue of Copyright legislation:



I must point out that the demonizing of big corporations is (not surprisingly) exaggerated and overblown and the concluding statement of the video "But, the battle has just begun! Students know the importance of fair copyright and it's up to us to lead the fight!" uses inciting language that is typical of most CFS campaigns use.

However, although the tactics are the same, I have to admit that I can finally agree with the THIS ISSUE.

In a document submitted to the government entitled Striking the Balance - Submission to the Copyright Consultations (September 2009), the CFS proposed 6 key recommendations:

1. Expand the definition of fair-dealing to be more flexible and inclusive.
2. Regulate the use of technological protection measures so that they do not interfere with users’ legitimate attempts to use copyrighted works.
3. Eliminate Crown copyright.
4. Strictly limit statutory damages.
5. Enhance moral rights to protect creators.
6. Establish a “notice and notice” system of Internet copyright enforcement.

To conclude, it's ISSUES SUCH AS THIS ONE THAT ACTUALLY AFFECT STUDENTS ON A DAILY BASIS THAT THE CANADIAN FEDERATION OF STUDENTS SHOULD BE WORKING ON. On the other hand, it is unacceptable for the CFS to claim to represent OVER 600 000 STUDENTS ACROSS CANADA when it chooses to take a stance on such divisive issues as the Israeli/Palestinian conflict (please refer to these articles 1, 2, 3) and abortion (please refer to these articles 1, 2, 3, 4). It's also quite obvious the CFS is VERY FAR FROM BEING A DEMOCRATIC BODY (please refer to these articles 1, 2, 3, 4) and APT AT WASTING STUDENTS' MONEY ON RIDICULOUS LEGAL FEES AGAINST ITS OWN MEMBER STUDENT UNIONS (please refer to these articles 1, 2, 3, 4).

To the possibility of some sort of positive change of the CFS, I won't be holding my breath.

A (final..?) message from Marc Kelly (Yes, that's right)

I appologize in advance! I just couldn't help but post this email I received this morning from Marc Kelly:

dear friends, new friends, old friends, unknown friends, close friends, distant friends, potential friends, an everyone else

this is marc kelly (hi)

(if at any point you want me to stop talking, the delete button located either near the top or at the bottom)

i hope it's okay i found my way into your inbox again

today is April 7th, 2010, and i am sending this message out to you and to everyone because, after tomorrow, i may not be able to speak to anyone on campus again because the University is sending me to prison

<> note before reading further: i never payed attention in english class very much and i always got my friends to tell me what happened in the books we were suppose to read and instead of writing essays i doodled funny pictures on the pages and got bad grades and i never really learned how to write properly so sorry for all the the language inconsistency i hope there is not too much grammatical non-conformity for easy readability this is an emergency and i am writing with urgency so please don't hate on me for speaking to the whole community simultaneously without a university degree <>

what i am trying to say is: this message could be the last you ever hear from me

the last
i have
never met
you

never

talked
laughed
pondered
or explored campus with you (the only thing what else are we here to do?)

the last of our separately diverging paths
decided for by neither me nor you

so most of you don't know me, though it is possible a few of you may have heard a thing or two about me already, most likely through stories and tales passed along from mouth to ear, spread wide and near, printed on newspaper always never clear, facts changing with each iteration by those who can't help not knowing how they participated to create a world of false fear and mass stupidity

This Thursday @ 1pm, inside Tabaret Hall, I will speak publicly.

Then: I will be taken to jail by the University.

See how they threaten me?

From: Claude J. Giroux
Subject: RE: Urgent (Medical), Request to Rescind No-Trespass Notice
To: Marc Kelly

Mr. Kelly,

Please provide me with the time and date of your appointment so that I can notify my staff and let me know on which floor your doctor’s office is located at the Health Services clinic. This is only considered a temporary access for medical reasons. Access will only be allowed to this specific building (100 Marie Curie) and you will be requested to leave campus once your appointment with your doctor is over with. If you are seen anywhere else on campus, you will be subject to arrest for breach of trespass, and other police action.

Claude Giroux
Director, Protectron Services

but if this message fails to reach all of you, probably intercepted and censored by the University, I could stay stuck in a prison cell until early next year after the court case is all cleared. so this is my last chance to explain, in as much detail as i can, why I need each and every one of you to come out and stand by me on thursday

i need each and every one of you to help protect me from the bizzaro university!
if you came out tomorrow, i'd listen to everything you have to say to me too!

i love this world.
i love our society.
i love you if you are my friend.
i love you if you are my enemy
(but I do not love this country)

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X

X X X

On May 14th, 2009, three Ottawa Police Officers were sent to my home apartment by the University. They entered without a warrant, and they arrested me while I was sleeping. I was charged under the Criminal Code of Canada for "speaking directly to" the President of the University, because I asked him a question on March 4th, 2009, during the Q & A of his inaugural lecture series.

YOU CAN WATCH THE VIDEO OF ME ASKING AN ILLEGAL QUESTION HERE:
fast forward the video, my question starts at 1:11:35

Responsibility to Protect: a Doctrine of Humanity
http://events.onlinebroadcasting.com/uottawa/030409/index.php

X X X

X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

I DO NOT THINK IT IS OKAY THAT IN THIS COUNTRY A STUDENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF OTTAWA CAN BE ARRESTED BY THE POLICE AND PUT IN JAIL FOR ASKING A QUESTION

aren't we not always taught by our professors, "there are no stupid questions" ?
if illegal questions exist, does that mean there are indeed stupid questions too?
if that's true, then what's the difference between an illegal question and a stupid question?
is a stupid question also an illegal question, and is an illegal question always a stupid question?
in the year 2013, could the President of the University be a student?

well thatz all I have to say until the police come to arrest me for talking publicly on campus this thursday (that's tomorrow!)

have a nice wednesday everybody :)

<> - Chomsky-Foucault debate on human nature, 1971.

Sincerely,

Marc Kelly
student since 2003

The Canadian Federation of Students has learnt from the SFUO

Photo source: http://www.lincolnstationers.com/images/LittleBlackBook.jpg

According to this post on the Daily Exchange, a magazine for business/economic development/entrepreneurs, it seems that the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) has taken a page right out of the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa's (SFUO) play book:

A referendum on continued membership in the CFS is taking place at the University of Guelph (Central Student Association or CSA) this week (April 7th-9th) for its undergraduate students. Here's a snippet of the post linked from the Daily Exchange:

The referendum will be held April 7 to 9, WITH VOTING TAKING PLACE ONLINE. (...) STUDENTS WILL RECEIVE AN EMAIL NEXT WEEK BEFORE THE ELECTION DATE DIRECTING THEM TO A SECURE VOTING WEBSITE. (Obviously emphasis added)

Sound familiar...? This is exactly why I follow other University/College student newspapers. If I read how another student association's elections failed miserably with an online voting system and then the SFUO decided that it was going use a similar system in its upcoming elections, I would head straight to the SFUO office, present them with that particular article pertaining to the problems another student association had with "e-voting" and ask them if they're still confident that using an electronic vote was a safe, legitimate way to run its elections.

If you visit the Central Student Association's (CSA) website, it is quite clear that the executive has taken a very strong stance of being IN FAVOUR OF DEFEDERATION (and no, I don't care if it's not a word; you get the point). I don't think that I've ever come across another referendum where a student association was actually strongly anti-CFS in all the literature that I have read on this subject. Of course, I couldn't resist linking this pretty funny post from the Campus Conservative Watch which is a blog that responds directly to the Ontario Progressive Conservative Campus Association blog entitled (obviously) CFS Watch (Sorry for being unclear: Campus Conservative Watch was created BEFORE CFS Watch) That is all.

Un nouveau rapport concernant la Fédération canadienne des étudiantes et des étudiants (FCÉÉ)

Voici un nouveau rapport, composé par Titus Gregory, intitulé « Solidarity for Their Own Good: Self-Determination and the Canadian Federation of Students. » Je vais passer à travers celui-ci et je vais ressortir les points importants dans les semaines à venir. Vous pouvez consulter le rapport directement ci-dessous!

Solidarity for Their Own Good: Self-Determination and the Canadian Federation of Students

An open letter to all those who "hate" on "free speech"

Welcome to the University of Ottawa, an institution of higher-learning that welcomes international students from all over the world! Its beautiful campus is situated in the heart of downtown Ottawa just minutes from Canada's highest governing institution: the Parliament of Canada. In a country that takes pride in its Charter of Rights and Freedoms which promotes, among other things, the "freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression" and the "freedom of conscience and religion", something quite strange took place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The U of O's campus, which was thought to be accepting of all walks of life... some might even characterise it as a "safe space" (whatever that's supposed to mean), was supposed to be host to the American Conservative political pundit Ann Coulter. What in fact took place our campus was quite frankly shocking. After a group of "campus activists" showed up to Marion Hall to protest the event, Ms. Coulter's security team decided that it would be in fact "physically dangerous" if the lecture was in fact allowed to proceed (these of course are the words of Canadian Conservative extraordinaire Ezra Levant).

That's right folks! What started out as an event largely targeted at an audience of possibly a couple hundred Conservatives was deemed unacceptable to the "lefties" of our campus. Let me also point out: some of the same people who wanted Ann Coulter banned from the University of Ottawa campus on Facebook denounced the Conservative government's apparent decision to ban George Galloway from entering the country. Hypocrites!

Sadly, some people only support the right to free speech when it advances THEIR own ideologies. Just goes to show how closed-minded, ignorant and ideologically-driven they all are. To protest is one thing... but to embarrass our renowned, diverse campus on an international scale is something on a whole different level. Our very own SFUO president Seamus Wolfe even made a point to appear on Canada AM and, oddly enough, showed solidarité with the Mr. Houle in calling his letter "fair". I'm disappointed in the continuous ideological stances taken by Mr. Wolfe. This story has garnered up some pretty interesting reactions in Canadian and American media.
Here, don't take my word for it; Many professor from across Canada have weighed in on the embarrassment. Joseph A. Novak, acting chair, Department of Philosophy, University of Waterloo had this to say in a National Post opinion piece.

In another National Post "Full Comment", University of Toronto professor Ed Morgan goes through the whole legal aspect of so called "free speech" in Canada and past cases where "tarnishing the image of a group" has been considered "fair game".

Don't worry, I won't be biased; here's what University of Toronto law professor Brenda Cossman was quoted as saying in an article that appeared in the Toronto Star:

"I think her views are completely beyond the pale, offensive, obnoxious, uninformed, provocative, all of those things – except she should be allowed to say them and she shouldn't face criminal prosecution,"

Convinced yet? Of course you aren't because that radical ideology that you try so hard to keep alive has blinded you from accepting the truth. When asked to weigh in on the cancellation of Coulter's lecture, University of Ottawa law professor Errol Mendes told Ottawa Citizen's Matthew Pearson that "while he disagreed with Coulter, her many writings and public statements didn't meet the definition of hate speech under Canadian law."

Robert Fisk, who obtained a Ph.D. in Political Science in 1985, is a British foreign correspondent for The Independent. He had this to say about the whole debacle.

In a Boston Globe op-ed piece entitled Canada's clampdown on free speech, Jordan Michael Smith argues that "Canada’s treatment of the right-wing instigator is only the latest in a disturbing line of clampdowns on offensive and unpopular ideas. Though in some ways the left-wing utopia many American liberals imagine it to be, Canada is, on matters of free speech,deeply wrong."

Another pertinent opinion piece in this case appeared in the Ottawa Citizen, penned by Mark Mercer, a professor of philosophy at Saint-Mary's University.

Rex Murphy, a Canadian author and weekly commentator in the National Post, argues, in his always thought provoking pieces, that the fiasco that took place on our campus surrounding the Ann Coulter speech "was another vivid illustration of how elastic and feeble, at least in certain quarters, the Canadian understanding of free speech has become. The idea, evidently held by certain of the protesters, that merely to call something “hate speech” licenses an attempt to halt that speech is depressing because it has become so common."

Finally, the biggest slap in the face has came from media mogul Conrad Black in his regular Saturday opinion piece in 3 April National Post. At the end of his piece, Mr. Black quotes Ms. Coulter:

"I demand that on my next visit, I be heckled in French, as is my right, and am looking forward to testifying at the Human Rights Commission against [University of Ottawa provost] Francois A. Houle, but request it be at the time of the Calgary Stampede," she says. "And I want a framed and formally printed copy of the resolution of the Ottawa students' federation against my violation 'of the unwritten code of positive space.' "

Needless to say that not only has this opened up an important, long overdue free speech debate all across Canada, but it has unleashed an international media feeding frenzy that is quick to characterize our well-respected institution as a radical, oppressive university where free speech is only valued when it is self-serving. Let's hope this serves as a lesson for all those who enjoy protesting pretty much anything and everything that has the slightest scent of politicalness. By all means, get out and protest things that you believe in; it's your right! But to protest "hate speech" with more "hate speech" definitely defeats the purpose. If you're going to reserve YOUR right to protest, then allow other people to reserve THEIR right to hold an event on our campus that some may not agree with. That is all... for now.

Think before you act... or you'll be made fun of on Fox News

Do you think the student protesters who caused for Ann Coulter's security team to cancel her speech on our campus thought that their actions would lead to our university being ridiculed on Fox News?