Why an Ontario Student Strike Won't Happen - Part 1

Source: Mohawk Trading Post

This is part one of a multi-part series on why an Ontario student strike won't happen anytime soon (if ever).

Many hardcore student activists, both from Ontario and Quebec, have touted the inevitability of a "Maple Spread": the phenomenon which would see the Quebec student strikes, occurring in many of the province's post-secondary institutions since mid-February 2012, "spread" or be "imported" onto college and university campuses across Ontario in the months and years to come.

This, according to the brass of the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario, would be the best way to show solidarity towards our student counterparts (or, to use their lingo, "comrades" or better yet "brothers and sisters") in Quebec. With that being said, the Canadian Federation of Students (National) donated $30 000 to a so-called "Independent" Legal Fund administered by the Dawson Students Union (the only CFS-affiliated institution left in Quebec). Furthermore, the CFS-Ontario donated $3,000 to the same fund.

And so, as you can see in my last post, many events have taken place throughout the summer months in an attempt by Ontario student activists to ensure that the "Maple Spread" does in fact occur. Case-in-point: the Ontario-Quebec Student Solidarity Speaking Tour, which kicked off at the University of Ottawa on July 12, 2012, made stops in 9 other Ontario cities (for a total of 10 stops). Full-length videos from the various stops are not numerous. Therefore, if you couldn't be present in person, the content of the conferences is difficult to find.

On May 24, 2012, student activists and community organizers, for the most part based in Toronto and the surrounding area, gathered at Ryerson University to discuss and organize protests in solidarity with the Quebec student strike. The next day, a press conference was held to announce the creation of the Ontario Student Solidarity Network. This network, led by the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario, includes activists from a variety of organizations, including major Ontario labour unions. None of the organizations involved thought to have someone record the press conference. Instead, the CFS uploaded the CP24 coverage of the press conference to YouTube (uploaded on June 14, 2012, the video has received 35 views as of October 15, 2012). If you're like most students, not paying attention to the news media during the summer months, you would likely have no idea that this press conference ever occurred.

Another group, the Ontario Student Mobilisation Coalition, was created and was initially very active both online through the use of social media (Facebook, Twitter & Vimeo) and its website and in organizing events and protests. Initially, the group even went as far as posting its meeting minutes online. However, it should noted that, as time passed, that practice was discontinued. Also, the organization's Facebook group, which was initially an open group (meaning anyone interested in getting involved could freely join), has since become a closed group which limits any new members from freely joining without first having their request to join approved by any of the group's administrators or have a friend (who is already a member of the group) invite them to join.

From July 27-29, 2012, the U of T Graduate Students' Union hosted what was dubbed the "Ontario Student Strike Training Camp". Even less of what happened during this gathering is known, unless of course you yourself attended or know someone who did. If you weren't there, you wouldn't know what was discussed in the various workshops. Therefore, no transmission of information is possible for those who aren't already intimately involved in the so-called "student movement".

Most recently, the CFS-Ontario organized the Ontario Activist Assembly which took place on October 12th and 13th at the University of Toronto. The last CFS-Ontario activist assembly was organized in 2008 (back when the Drop Fees campaign attracted a much larger number of students to CFS Day of Action protests; Even I participated in all the hype!). An article about the gathering appeared in the October 15th issue of The Varsity. According to the article, this event attracted over 450 university and college students from across the province. This activist assembly was fully subsidized by the CFS-Ontario (travel, food, accommodations, etc.) which means membership fees paid by each and every individual student who attends a CFS-affiliated college or university in Ontario. One particular sentence from the article cited above jumped out at me when I read it: "Campus media outlets were not permitted to attend the sessions. 'We ask media not to be recording the sessions or taking notes, simply because we wanted to create space where everyone felt comfortable participating fully, where people can say whatever they wanted without fear of seeing something in the newspaper that they didn't want recorded,' explained (CFS-Ontario Chairperson Sarah Jayne) King." Nothing from the event was live-streamed: none of the keynote speakers' speeches, none of the workshops, none of the events. None of the knowledge transferred during this two-day gathering could be transferred to any interested students if they were not able to be present for whatever reason. One comment posted on the Activist Assembly's Facebook event page read: "How many of my public dollars were spent getting everyone to this event (Free Food Accommodations, and travel). Since most students paid into this (given we are members of the CFS...) I expect a full summary of events." I don't think anybody should hold their breath... 

I bring up these various... I'll call them "barriers" to participation in the student movement, that appear to have been erected by certain student activists or groups (purposefully or not), for one simple reason. They ensure the failure of any kind of "Maple Spring" in the province of Ontario.

Since the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) has been lobbied by some of its members to take on a major organizing/financial role in hopes of realizing this "Maple Spring", the organization cannot escape scrutiny and/or criticism as former CFS-Ontario communications and government relations coordinator and long-time student activist Nora Loreto might have you believe. In a blog post entitled Ontario's fractured student movement: the wheat from the scabs, she argues that some student organizations in Ontario such as the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance (OUSA), the College Student Alliance (CSA) and, in a subsequent post, the Canadian Alliance of Student Associations (CASA) should be blamed for the weakness of the Ontario student movement. Miss Loreto freely criticizes these organizations, fairly or otherwise, and leaves the reader thinking that the CFS is the victim of the other student organizations' vicious bile and profound hatred. However, Loreto's above mentioned posts deserve their own, standalone post and I will thus not address them here. 

Since I first became involved in student politics, there are two things that I have never understood about the largest student organization in the country which claims to represent the English Canadian students: secrecy and exclusivity. Above, I have addressed the perception of exclusivity within the English Canadian student movement.  Let me now deal with the perceived secrecy surrounding the way the CFS functions.

Secrecy or lack of communication?

If your student union (SU) or student association (SA) is a member of the Canadian Federation of Students, you should know that the CFS/CFS-Ontario made generous donations to an "independent" legal defense fund which uses these funds to provide legal representation to people who have been arrested or fined during the Québec student uprising. I will not comment on the wisdom of the $30,000 donation made by the CFS and the $3,000 donation made by the CFS-Ontario. However, what I will say is that official information (from the CFS) pertaining to the simple fact that this donation was made is scarce. Only a few blogs/newspaper articles have made allusion to the donation.

The exact wording of the CFS motion, as passed by the general assembly, is as follows (according to another blog):

Be it resolved that efforts by Québec students to maintain an affordable, accessible post-secondary education system be supported including with in-kind and financial support; and

Be it further resolved that a donation of $30,000 be made to the Fonds Légal Indépendant en Soutien à la Grève au Québec to assist students and student unions in Québec with legal costs incurred during the strike against tuition fee hikes; and

Be it further resolved that member locals be encouraged to offer in-kind and financial support to the strike efforts in Québec." 

Why couldn't the CFS inform its individual members about this? And when I refer to individual members, I mean the students that make up the CFS's membership; the students who weren't present at the CFS's annual general meeting (May 30-June 3, 2012 in Gatineau, Québec) and who may not even know what the CFS is.

Aside from the information pertaining to this $33,000 donation, let me bring up another similar issue: the non-availability of CFS/CFS-O general meeting minutes, documents, budgets, audits, national/provincial executive meeting minutes online for its individual members.  The CFS website is a nightmare to navigate. You can find the CFS' Bylaws, its operation policy, its post-secondary education and its standing resolutions. This is the absolute minimum that one could reasonably expect to be freely accessible online to an organization's membership. But, one persistent criticism that I have brought up on many occasions is the fact that the CFS does not make its important documents freely available ONLINE. However, one provincial component of the CFS, the CFS-British Columbia (CFS-BC) is an exception to this rule. The CFS-BC's website contains its executive committee's report, its budget, its audit, its policies and, finally, its resolutions. This, in my opinion, is a good start and should be used as a model by both the CFS and its provincial components. However, more transparency and most importantly, more accessibility have never really appeared to be important principles for those at the top of the CFS's hierarchy. 

Strategic Mandate Agreement Proposals Submitted to the MTCU

Back in June, the Ontario Ministry of Training, Colleges and Universities released a discussion paper entitled Strengthening Ontario's Centres of Creativity, Innovation and Knowledge (aussi disponible en Français, Renforcer les centres de créativité, d'innovation et de savoir en Ontario). This discussion paper set in motion a consultative process of Ontario's post-secondary education stakeholders which lasted throughout the summer and ended at the end of September. Further to the release of this document, the Minister of Training, Colleges and Universities, Mr. Glen Murray, sent a letter to Ontario college and university administrations requesting that each institution prepare a Strategic Mandate Agreement (SMA) proposal (maximum of eight (8) pages) and submit it to the MTCU no later than September 30, 2012. I have thus compiled most of the SMAs and have provided links to each of them below:

Ontario Colleges
Algonquin College
Collège Boréal (en Français seulement)
Cambrian College
Canadore College
Centennial College
Conestoga College
Confederation College
Durham College
Fanshawe College
Fleming College
George Brown College
Georgian College
Humber College
La Cité Collégiale - English - French
Lambton College
Loyalist College
Mohawk College
Niagara College
Norther College
Sault College
St. Clair College (no SMA submitted as of October 17, 2012)
St. Lawrence College
Seneca College
Sheridan College

Ontario Universities
Algoma University
Brock University
Carleton University
University of Guelph
Université de Hearst (en Français seulement)
Lakehead University
Laurentian University
McMaster University
Nipissing University
Northern Ontario School of Medicine
Ontario College of Arts & Design University
University of Ottawa - English - French
Queen's University
Ryerson University
University of Toronto
Trent University
University of Ontario Institute of Technology
University of Waterloo
Western University (formerly University of Western Ontario)
Wilfrid Laurier University
University of Windsor
York University

Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois : Un militant de longue date

Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois à la Place du Canada - 22 mars 2012 - Source: Elias Touil Photography 

Cet article est apparu, à l'origine, sur le site studentunion.ca le 11 août, 2012.

Jeudi 9 août 2012, une lettre est apparue dans le journal québécois quotidien Le Devoir, rédigée par co-porte-parole de la CLASSE (Coalition large de l’Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante) Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois. Intitulé Pourquoi je démissionne, M. Nadeau-Dubois annonce ses intentions de quitter son poste de co-porte-parole de la CLASSE. Vous pouvez aussi trouver une copie de la lettre ici. Voici donc la ligne de temps (non exhaustif, bien sûr) de l’implication de M. Nadeau-Dubois au sein du mouvement étudiant québécois.

Un militant de longue date

M. Nadeau-Dubois a débuté ses études postsecondaires au CÉGEP du Bois-de-Boulogne en septembre 2007. Dès le début, il a milité au sein de l’Association générale étudiante du Cégep de Bois-de-Boulogne (AGEBdB). Il a participé activement au journal étudiant de Bois-de-Boulogne, l’Infomane. Par la suite, il est devenu le coordinateur aux affaires externes au sein de l’exécutif de l’AGEBdB. De plus, Gabriel s’est impliqué au sein du comité de mobilisation ainsi que d’avoir prit part à la création d’un journal étudiant progressiste, l’Antigone. Aussi, durant l’automne 2007, il commence à s’impliquer au sein de l’Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (ASSÉ).

Par la suite, en 2009, M. Nadeau-Dubois s’inscrit à l’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) en vue d’obtenir un baccalauréat en histoire. Le jeune militant semble avoir participé à son premier Congrès de l’ASSÉ, tenu à l’Université Laval, en février 2009. Lors du Congrès annuel de l’ASSÉ, qui a eu lieu au Collège de Maisonneuve les 24, 25 & 26 avril 2009, Gabriel se présente au Comité journal et y est élu. Il s’implique donc dans la production du journal de l’ASSÉ, l’Ultimatum en composant et révisant desarticles et en contribuant des photos en tant que photographe. Une fois arrivé à l’UQAM en septembre 2009, il devient membre de l’Association facultaire étudiante des sciences humains de l’UQÀM (l’AFESH-UQAM).

Porte-parole de l’ASSÉ

Lors du Congrès annuel de l’ASSÉ, qui a eu lieu au CÉGEP St-Laurent les 8 et 9 mai 2010, le jeune militant présente sa candidature au poste de Secrétaire aux communications de l’ASSÉ; il est élu à majorité. Un an plus tard, lors du Congrès annuel de l’ASSÉ, qui a eu lieu au Centre St-Pierre (Montréal, QC) les 23 et 24 avril 2011, il est réélu pour une deuxième fois au post de Secrétaire aux communications de l’ASSÉavec une plus grande majorité que l’année précédente (9 en faveur, 1 contre, 0 abstention).

Les 29 et 30 octobre 2011, le Congrès de l’ASSÉ (Collège de Maisonneuve), que Gabriel se présente pour le poste de porte-parole de l’ASSÉ. L’autre candidate pour le même poste, Mlle Camille Robert, a aussi présenté sa candidature. D’une part, M. Nadeau-Dubois est élu facilement ayant reçu l’appui unanime de l’assemblée. Par contre, Mlle Robert reçoit trop d’abstentions et sa candidature est donc automatiquement mise-en-dépôt.

La création de la CLASSE

La Coalition large de l’Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (CLASSE) est fondée lors du Congrès de l’ASSÉ, les 3 et 4 décembre 2011, au Collège Valleyfield. C’est n’est que lors du Congrès de la CLASSE, qui a eu lieu à l’Université Laval le 22 janvier 2012, que Mlle Jeanne Reynolds devient la co-porte-parole de la CLASSE et rejoins Gabriel au sein du comité médias. Enfin, le 3 juin 2012, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois a déposé sa candidature pour une dernière fois pour le poste qu’il détient depuis plus de 2 ans durant le Congrès de la CLASSE au Collège de Valleyfield. Mlle Reynolds et Mlle Camille Robert ont aussi déposé leurs candidatures afin de rejoindre M. Nadeau-Dubois en tant que co-porte-parole. Même si le procès-verbal du Congrès de la CLASSE ne l’indique pas, l’assemblée a voté en faveur des trois candidatures.

Le départ d’un porte-parole influent

Les chuchotements de la démission de Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois ont commencé à circuler au petit matin le 9 août 2012. La lettre Pourquoi je démissionne, citée ci-haut, est venue confirmer la rumeur. Le jeune militant a pourtant déclaré qu’il n’abandonnerai pas le mouvement étudiant.

Vous pouvez suivre l’auteur de cet article sur Twitter : @climbrandon

The Québec Student Strike and The "Maple Spread" phenomenon

The Ontario Students Mobilisation Coalition (OSMC) logo -  http://osmc.ca/

The current Québec student strike (or rather a student boycott, legally speaking) had been fermenting since March 30, 2010. On this day, Québec's minister of finance, Raymond Bachand, introduced the province's 2010-2011 budget. In his budget speech, Mr. Bachand said:

Our universities play a more crucial role than ever in our economic, social and cultural development. Québec has recognized this by ending the freeze on tuition fees that had been in place for more than ten years and, in particular, by reinvesting massively in our network of universities. From 2003-2004 to 2009-2010, university transfer expenditures rose an average of 5.9% a year–as rapidly as those for health. Of all the Canadian provinces, the Québec government is the one that funds its universities the most. Taking into account the growth forecast for 2010-2011, the government’s annual contribution to university funding has climbed by $1 billion since 2003. But more must be done. Our universities must compare favourably with the world’s best institutions. To fully play their role, they must have the necessary resources. To that end, I am announcing that our government will raise tuition fees as of fall 2012 (Bachand budget speech, March 30, 2010, p. 24)

Personally, I have been intrigued by the massive movement that has come together to oppose the Québec government's decision to increase the province's tuition fees by $1778 spread out over a 7 year period or an increase of 82% (originally, the tuition fee increase was $1625 spread out over a 5 year year period or an increase of 75%). Student activists from coast to coast have watched in amazement as Québec students gathered in their respective faculty association general assemblies and held the first strike votes in mid-February 2012. These general assemblies are a form of participatory democracy which occur on a regular basis on university and cégep (college specific to the province of Québec) campuses throughout Québec. The following videos are only a few examples of what such general assemblies look like:

Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois à l'assemblée générale extraordinaire du Cégep Édouard-Montpetit - 17 avril 2012 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyGP3FdE27w

Assemblée Générale au Cégep Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu - 8 mars 2012 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYeGuNwvWQ4

Cégep Bois-de-Boulogne en Grève Générale Illimitée! - 26 mars 2012 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5QmpEoE0wU

In the third video (Cégep Bois-de-Boulogne), you can see that the gymnasium is pretty packed. Students gathered to vote on whether or not the next general assembly to extend the strike should be held ONLY once the minister of education and the student associations negotiated a deal. The reason behind such a vote is as follows: If students were to vote against the above proposition, the student association would continue to hold general assemblies to extend the strike mandate on a much more regular basis (some SAs held a general assembly every 7 days). After having voted by what appears to have been a secret ballot, the chair of the general assembly announced the results: 917 in favour (64%), 464 against (33%) and 36 abstentions (3%). Thus, following an offer, made by the minister of education Lynne Beauchamps on April 5, 2012, a general assembly was convened by the executive of l'Association générale des étudiants de Bois-de-Boulogne and convened on April 12, 2012.

Ontario activists lend their voices in solidarity with strike Quebec students

Now, after this long-winded introduction on the Québec student strike, let me get to the topic of this post: students organizing outside of Québec, in "solidarity" with the striking québécois students. This section will focus on events that have occurred in Ontario. However, numerous actions have taken place in other areas across Canada and as far as the France, the United States and in Chili.

Let's start with Occupy Toronto activists whom, during a May 21, 2012 general assembly held at Cloud Garden, heard from "Laura", a student activist from Québec. The outcome of this meeting led to one of the first actions undertaken in Ontario which was a protest held in Toronto, Ontario on May 22, 2012. This protest was held in conjunction with the massive student protest held in Montreal to commemorate the 100th day of the student strike. Approximately 300 people showed up to this first solidarity protest.

A call for support from 4 Québec student activists (Max Silverman, Andrée Bourbeau, Émilie Breton-Côté and Émilie Charette), all member of the Coalition large de l'Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (CLASSE), was published on May 22, 2012.

Ontario Activists Form the Ontario Student Mobilization Coalition

On May 24, 2012, a group of student activists, labour union reps and community organizers gathered at Ryerson University and formed the Ontario Student Solidarity Network (OSSN). Those present agreed to the following statement of principles:

1. We stand in solidarity with Québec students.

2. We will fight to defend affordable, accessible and free public education.

3. We oppose the oppressive Bill 78 of Quebec, other municipal laws and police actions.

4. We understand that our struggle is linked with a broader agenda of austerity and oppose this broad agenda. 

From left to right: Benoit Dupuis (Ontario Public Service Employees Union), Sandy Hudson (chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario) and Xavier Lafrance (former spokesperson for l'Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante)

A press conference was held in Toronto on May 25, 2012 which announced the creation of the new group. Present at the press conference: Sandy Hudson, the chairperson for the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario, Xavier Lafrance, a former spokesperson for the Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (ASSÉ) and current PhD student at York University and Benoit Dupuis, an Ontario Public Service Employees Union representative.

On May 25, 2012, Here and Now Toronto's Laura Di Battista spoke with Nora Loreto, the former communications and government relations coordinator for the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario, about the Québec student strike and how students in Ontario might "import"  the strike movement into the province with the highest tuition fees in Canada. You can listen to that interview below:

Another student group has also been created: The Ontario Student Mobilisation Coalition (OSMC). Student activists coined the term "Maple spread" (on Twitter, #maplespread) to describe the phenomenon of "spreading" the Québec student strike to Ontario. The OSMC defines #maplespread as follows:

Maple Spread: awareness spreading across the nation. Knowledge and outrage spreading through our minds, inspiration spreading through our hearts. Rallies, coalitions, demands, all spreading across the Quebec border.

The OSMC's website states:

Through groups such as the OSMC, we hope to spread the word that all Canadians are concerned about the future of our education. #MapleSpread, or the Maple Spring movement, is about demonstrating solidarity with a free education movement. (On twitter at @OntarioSMC or with #maplespread and on facebook at the Ontario Students Mobilization Coalition)

The organization's "living goals" are:

1. Free postsecondary education 

2. Decolonize education 

3. Work to see student unions recognized under the Labour Law like in Quebec, rather than the Corporations Act; this is to secure our legal right to strike through general assembly

Finally, the organization's call to action can be found here.

Actions Elsewhere in Ontario

Closer to home, students at the University of Ottawa barricaded Alan Rock's office on May 24, 2012. In a press release, Nicole Desnoyers, the organizer of the occupation, denounces the University of Ottawa's Board of Governors for having approved a 5% tuition increase during its April 2, 2012 meeting.

The so-called "Casseroles" protests first began in Ontario on May 25, 2012. One of Ottawa's first 'casseroles' protest occurred on May 29, 2012.

London, Ontario also got in on the Casseroles action on May 29, 2012:

This led to what was dubbed "Casserole Night in Canada" on May 30, 2012 which has become a recurring event in big cities as well as smaller towns and villages across the country.

The next major protest, organized by the OSMC, occurred on June 5, 2012 with George Brown College as its starting point.

Mobilize to Take Back our Education, Toronto, Ontario - June 5, 2012 - Photo credit: Anna Crooke

Many events happened on June 22, 2012, once again, in conjunction with the monthly protests in Québec. The following list of events is obviously not exhaustive.

Casseroles
- St-Thomas, Ontario
- Ottawa, Ontario
- Brantford, Ontario
- Kapuskasing, Ontario
- Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario
- London, Ontario

You can see more events by checking out this special 'Casseroles' Google Maps!

The OSMC organized an event dubbed La Masquerade Solidarité on June 22, 2012 in Toronto, Ontario.

Rally during La Masquerade Solidarité - Toronto, ON - June 22, 2012 - Photo credit: Jessa McLean

As has been the tradition on the 22nd day of each month, July 22, 2012 was filled with protests. CLASSE organized the protests in Québec and dubbed it Dehors les Néolibéraux!

In the nation's capital, the Munch and March: Support Free Education took place at Confederation Park.

Since this post has become quite long, I will simply make mention, for the time being, of the Ontario Student Solidarity Tour. The speaking tour included an appearance by the co-spokesperson of  la CLASSE, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, on the first stop of the tour at the University of Ottawa. Other student activists included: Jérémie Bédard-Wien, an executive member of la CLASSE, Hugo Bonin, an activist with la CLASSE, Marianne Breton Fontaine, editor of the Québec Young Communist League's newspaper Jeunesse Militante and Audrey Deveault, the Chairperson of the Dawson Student Union. Sarah Jayne King, the chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario was also present to moderate the discussions. The tour was sponsored by the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario, Jeunesse Militante and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers. To find out more about tour, visit www.solidaritytour.tumblr.com. 

Finally, during the weekend of July 28 & 29, 2012, the University of Toronto Graduate Students' Union (UTGSU) hosted the Ontario Student Strike Training Camp. Pictures of the weekend events can be found here. 

It goes without saying that Ontario and Québec are completely different in so many ways. Knowing what you now know about what has been going on in Ontario in terms of "importing" or "spreading" the Quebec student strike into this province, what do you think? Are Ontario student organizers too optimistic in attempting to organize a student strike as soon as this fall (September 2012)? What are the chances that a widespread student strike ever occurs in Ontario...? in any other Canadian province/territory...? I look forward to hearing what your thoughts are on this issue! Don't be shy! Les commentaires en Français sont aussi encouragés!

Assez avec les comparaisons aberrantes!?!

Écoutez! Il y a quand même des maudites de limites!? Les gens dans les photos ci-dessous devraient tous et toutes avoir honte. Certaines personnes tentent de défendre l'utilisation du "Hitler salute" ou le "Nazi salute" en disant que c'est simplement pour se moquer de la Service de police et des tactiques dites oppressives des policiers. Oui, il est vrai qu'il y a eu plusieurs, plusieurs, plusieurs actes discutables de la part de certains policiers. Souvent, des journalistes ont été détenus arbitrairement même si leurs cartes de presse étaient clairement affichées.

Source: The Gazette - Jewish groups decry Nazi salutes at Quebec student protests; Photo credits: Steeve Duguay, Agence France Presse

Source: Canadian Press - Huffington Post - Quebec Student Federation Says Sorry For Nazi Salutes; Photo credits: Peter McCabe, Canadian Press

Photo credits: Steeve Duguay - Agence France Presse 

Source: Montreal Gazette - A myopic and dangerous world view; Photo credit: Vincenzo D'Alto, Montreal Gazette

Photo credits: Benoît Liard - © Tous droits réservés

Source: CTV Montreal - Nazi salute apology falls short

Source: Robin Edgar - Striking Quebec Students Taunt SPVM Riot Police With Nazi Salute

Un autre vidéo, cette fois-ci de la part de la Presse canadienne, se trouve ici. Frank Dimant, le Directeur général de l'organisation B'Nai Brith Canada, une organisation qui milite pour les personnes juives, condamne l'utilisation par certains manifestants du symbole du Nazisme lors des manifestations étudiantes : "...to equate the actions of police in Montreal to Nazis is totally inappropriate." Il continue : "It trivializes the whole Holocaust experience and the pain that the people who are survivors of the Holocaust. When they hear the usage of phrases 'this is a Nazi', 'this is like a Nazi', well, thank God there is nothing in this country that is like Nazism or Nazis."

Bon, il est important de constater que Martine Desjardins, présidente de la Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec (FEUQ) s'est excusé directement à M. Dimant par téléphone. La Coalition large de l'Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (CLASSE) a aussi condamné l'utilisation du symbole du Nazisme via le compte Twitter de l'organisation. 

Nous avons tous vu comment l'opinion publique au Québec peut fluctuer de façon importante quant au conflit étudiant. De tels gestes sont insensés et n'ont aucune place non seulement au sein du mouvement étudiant, mais nulle part, point final. 

Je vous invite à commenter ci-dessous! 

Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) donates 30 000$ to Quebec legal defence fund

Delegates at the CFS semi-annual general meeting used #fcee12 as their Twitter hashtag

Before I begin, I would like to welcome the newly elected Student Federation of the University of Ottawa (SFUO) executive. Ethan Plato (President), Adam Gilani (Vice-president Finance), Anne-Marie Roy (Vice-president Communications), Kate Hudson (Vice-president Student Affairs), Jozef Spiteri (Vice-president Social) and Elizabeth Kessler (Vice-president University Affairs) began their mandates on Tuesday May 1, 2012.

Also, outgoing SFUO Vice-president Finance (2010-2011, 2011-2012), Sarah Jayne King, recently began her mandate as the Canadian Federation of Students-Ontario (CFS-O) chairperson replacing two-time CFS-O chairperson, Sandy Hudson. Here's a video of Ms. King speaking in Toronto, at George Brown College, during a "Casserole March" on Tuesday June 5, 2012. Her speech is pertinent to this post.

I think it goes without saying that I have been following the Quebec student strike (or boycott) very closely. I have been working on a comprehensive historical timeline of events which led up to the beginning of the current strike which began in the middle of February 2012. I will attempt to complete it within the next few days so stay tuned! If you follow me on Twitter (@climbrandon) you will see when I publish new blog posts!

The infamous "carré rouge" which became the symbol of the 2005 Quebec student strike

Now, during the recent Canadian Federation of Students' (CFS) semi-annual general meeting, which took place in Gatineau, Quebec from Thursday May 31 to Sunday June 3, 2012 at the Palais des congrès de Gatineau, a number of motions were passed by the delegates. I would like to point out one motion in particular which I found to be of great interest which easily passed during the closing plenary. The CFS delegates voted in favour of making a $30 000 contribution to the Independent Legal Fund in support of the Quebec Student Strike (Fond légal indépendant de soutien envers la Grève étudiante du Québec) which is managed by the Dawson Student Union (Local 108 of the Canadian Federation of Students). The "bylaws" governing this legal fund (only available in French) outline its objectives:

a) To collect financial donations for the purpose of support the Quebec student strike;

b) To seek out new sources of financial support;

c) To administer the Fund's resources;

d) Give, or lend, partially or in full, the resources associated to the Fund.

I will be attempting to get more information on this so-called "independent fund" in the days to come and will update this post as needed.

In the years since the SFUO joined the CFS, I have been particularly interested in the way this organization manages students' money. It is quite interesting that the only member local left in Quebec, Dawson Students' Union, will be receiving such a significant amount of money to help fund the legal defense of people who, in many cases, have broken the law. This is not to say that every single person that has been arrested since the beginning of the student strike has committed a criminal offense. To the contrary, many have been written up after having been at the wrong place at the wrong time. However, myself having attended a protest in Gatineau, Québec a few weeks back, I witnessed behavior that was disappointing to say the least. People dressed in black CFS "Drop Fees" t-shirts who had their faces nearly completely covered (some of which hold prominent elected positions within the uOttawa governing bodies) attempted throughout the rally to impede police cruisers from following the crowd. They did so by moving orange construction barricades into the path of the police cruisers. Some even decided it would be smart to grab the large construction pylons and throw them in the middle of the road or even into the ditch. I also witnessed these same protesters (clothed in black) grab cans of red spray paint from their backpacks and begin to draw red squares on government building signs. This type of behavior is completely unnecessary and, in fact, was quite out of place that night considering the festive nature of the protest. In my opinion, if students' money is to go towards defending people who have been accused of committing such criminal acts, the CFS should not have donated a cent to this legal defense fund. Of course, delegates passed another motion condemning the infamous Bill 78 (which was wise, in my opinion). The same motion also called on students to engage in "direct action and civil disobedience" in order to contest the law. Since both these concepts could be defined differently by different people, some may conclude that the motion is calling for people to break the law. If someone disagrees with a particular law and question its constitutionality, there exists ways by which to legally contest the law as have done the FEUQ, FECQ and CLASSE.

All this to say that the CFS has had little influence on the events that have taken place in Quebec since the beginning of the student strike. This, for an organization that purports to be a national student organization must put the leadership in a very uncomfortable situation. At least there appears to be some sort of admission that the rest of Canada is nowhere close to being prepared to initiate such a strike/boycott, never mind make it last over 100 days. I don't believe that such a strike will ever occur elsewhere in Canada and, in my opinion, the chances that students in Ontario will initiate a strike in September 2012 is even less likely than in other provinces. My reasoning behind my last statement is relatively simply but will not be addressed at the present time.

As always, your comments/questions are welcome and encouraged!

Hammett resigns to apply for SFUO executive coordinator

Amy Hammett is (apparently) at it again!

It's been quiet as of late... too quiet. The student press is no longer printing yet "student politics never sleep". With less than a month left in their mandate, you may have thought that the current SFUO executive might go out quietly. But no, while a majority of students are busy studying for exams and scrambling to hand in their term papers, some students would rather raise Hell. Don't get me wrong, that's not necessarily a bad thing at all. However, the tactics being used have led some to question the effectiveness of these protests. There was this stunt that the SFUO executive helped facilitate last week: the "occupation" of Allan Rock's office in Tabaret Hall. See pictures below:

Amy Hammett and Marie-Claude Noël providing pizza to the students occupying Allan Rocks office.

Amy Hammett and Marie-Claude Noël providing pizza to the students occupying Allan Rocks office.

Not to mention the stunt the SFUO also encouraged during the University of Ottawa board of governors' meeting on April 2, 2012. This is how some students believe things should go down when they disagree with what is going on.

Marie-Claude Noël puts on her best face for Allan Rock while Iain Brannigan toots away on his "Drop Fees" whistle in the elevator of Desmarais Building

Now, let's get to the reason why I'm writing this current post. I have learnt, throughout my years of observing the SFUO executive, to never underestimate the ability of these people to lower the bar even lower than before when it comes to ethics. To add context, this job posting appeared on CharityVillage.com on April 4, 2012. I received this email yesterday evening from an anonymous email address:

---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Ottawa Student studentottawa@gmail.com
Date: Mon, Apr 16, 2012 at 12:21 PM
Subject: SFUO news
To: editor@thefulcrum.ca, executive@thefulcrum.ca, news@thefulcrum.ca, president@larotonde.ca
I would like to make the student medias aware that the current VP student affairs, Amy Hammett, has officially resigned from her elected position as of April 14th. She has done this so she could officially apply for the SFUO Executive coordinator position. VP finance, Sarah Jayne King, (her known ally and friend) is in charge of interviewing and hiring at the SFUO and the current Executive coordinator, Shawn Phillip Hunsdale, also sits in on the interviews for this position. I find that it is a huge conflict of interests and really sketchy that they are doing this during exam period and while the medias are no longer printing, and the current executive is taking advantage of their situation and doing all the hiring before May 1st, when the new exec would start, so that they can stack the SFUO with people they approve of (AKA their friends) and who share their views. 

UPDATE: It has been confirmed that Amy Hammett sent out a message to her staff announcing that she was resigning from her position as the SFUO's vice-president student affairs.

To be fair, I have not attempted to communicate with Ms. Hammett to ask her. However, I don't envy the journalists that will be tasked with trying to get her to comment on this one. I mean, Hell, she didn't see fit to reply to my last blog post. If Amy Hammett has in fact resigned as vice-president student affairs in order to apply for the position of SFUO executive coordinator, I feel sorry for the incoming executive. Not so much Elizabeth Kessler, incumbent VP university affairs, as she has worked with Amy for many years and is used to her way of doing things. Not even Adam Gilani, incoming VP finance, nor Anne-Marie Roy, incoming VP communications, as they are also both affiliated with Hammett's crew. No, I'm referring to the three individuals who were elected in the February SFUO elections who were unaffiliated with the above-mentioned group: Ethan Plato, Jozef Spiteri and Kate Hudson. Those who were elected to bring about change to the SFUO rather than the same old hire-your-friends-behind-closed-doors and keep-all-information-about-anything-to-ourselves mentalities which have been prominent over the past few years. 

Shawn Phillip Hunsdale's shady past in student politics

The famous Shawn Phillip Hunsdale, the media story that never was. The outgoing executive coordinator has quite the history in student politics. He was elected President of the Simon Fraser Student Society (SFSS) for the 2006-2007 academic year as part of the "Common Sense" slate and is said to have been heavily involved in with the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS). Coincidentally, in 2008, the SFSS held a referendum on continued membership in the CFS. A former SFSS President, Clement Abas Apaak, wrote this letter to fellow students with regards to the CFS referendum. In it, Apaak wrote:

AS we now know, he (referring to Hunsdale) used underhanded tactics, and concocted charges, in collaboration with his lover and right hand woman, Margo Dunnet, to dismiss one of our long and outstanding staff people at the SFSS, Hattie (Aitken). Why, because she was a staff person who was not seen as loyal to the CFS (and) was regarded as an obstacle in the bid of a CFS-owned company to take over as the broker for the grad health plan.

Rather than go on and on about his past, I suggest that you simply Google "Shawn Hunsdale". His apparent crusade was to change the SFSS' health plan from Gallivan &Associates to the National Student Health Network (NSHN), a service created by the CFS (SURPRISE!). You can also visit the following links to get a better understanding of Mr. Hunsdale's interesting past.

The Peak - Simon Fraser University's Student Newspaper - July 31, 2006

SFSS Democracy Now - IssueGate

SFSS Democracy Now - SFSS Official Response sent out by Shawn Hunsdale - August 9, 2006

SFSS Democracy Now - A Dissection of Hunsdale's Official Response

The Georgia Straight - SFU firing draws its own fire -  August 17, 2006

Video Documentary of the SFSS Special General Meeting which drew approximately 800 students. This is the Special general meeting at which Shawn Hunsdales and 6 other members of the SFSS executive were impeached by an overwhelming majority as can be seen in the video (This group of 7 was often referred to as the "G7" in student media). Before being impeached, the G7 purportedly hired Ms. Angela Regnier who, at the time, was the CFS National Deputy Chairperson.

The above image was purportedly taken during vote on whether or not to impeach Shawn Hunsdale. These people were voting IN FAVOUR of impeaching the former President of the SFSS.

This image was also taken during the SGM from a higher view point.

François Picard during a Canadian Federation of Students' Annual General Meeting

All this to say, the position of SFUO executive coordinator was brought in by Ms. Pam Hrick when she was the SFUO President during the 2007-2008 academic year. It was rumoured at the time that she created this position just for Mr. François Picard who held the position until he was hired by the newly-elected Quebec NDP MP Mylène Freeman. That is when Hunsdale came into the picture although he had been in charge of running the SFUO health plan before being hired to replace Mr. Picard. If Hammett is in fact hired as to replace Mr. Hunsdale, this would ensure the kind of "continuity" that her and her crew require to ensure that the SFUO remains in-line with the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) "policies". You see, Sarah-Jayne King was elected as the Chairperson of the CFS-Ontario and will thus be well informed about anything and everything that occurs on our campus. If you haven't yet read about the unrest that has begun at Carleton University with regards to the CFS, I encourage you all to read some of the articles/letters in The Charlatan.

Such patronage hiring (if Hammett does in fact get hired as the new SFUO executive coordinator) is simply another example of a long list of shady practices by the current SFUO executive. 

As always, your comments are welcomed and encouraged!