Forward:
This article was
written 3 months ago for a newspaper. Having been written as such, its format
is much more formal than some of my other articles on Myriad Truths. Regardless, the content is worthwhile so please take
a moment to read it.
For the past 100
days protests have gripped the city of Montreal and paralyzed small businesses
throughout the city. Disenfranchised students have effectively thrown the
legitimacy of the provincial government in question out the window and stymied
all efforts to resolve the crisis.
In an effort to
crush these ‘mutinous hordes,’ the provincial government has passed an
emergency law requiring all planned protests to report their planned route to
the police ahead of time or have the protest considered illegal. It also
prevents protesting students from locking out or preventing their classmates
from attending classes if they so desire.
This law; called
draconian by certain observers, has turned public attention away from what was
a relatively simple cause – tuition hikes – into a rallying point for
disenfranchised workers, unions and people dissatisfied by Premier Jean
Charest’s handling of the province.
The protests are
distinctly European in flavor and speak to the long association with European
values that many in Montreal and other francophone cities harbour. In a country
where the majority of its citizens take unjust changes lying down, the
Québécois have the courage to rally behind a cause.
Instead of
showing solidarity with the students in Montreal, students outside the province
have reacted negatively to the original cause of protesting tuition hikes. Many
polled in Universities outside Quebec see the Montreal students as entitled
children, mocking the fact that they have the lowest tuition rates in the
country and will continue to have them even if planned hikes go through. Many see
the protests as unnecessary and consider the hike, ‘no big deal.’ Even more
support the Charest government’s actions against the students.
The Canadian
reaction to these protests shows the ugly side of the Canadian psyche. Instead
of a show of solidarity behind an admirable cause, Canadians prefer to sit idly
by. The current Canadian mentality seems to be one that says, ‘Well its worse
everywhere else so we don’t have a right to complain.’
This type of
thinking is dangerous and shows the divide between the European-mindedness of
the Québécois and the American-style subservience of the rest of Canada. At its
core, a good government is accountable to the needs of its people; by rising up
in protest the youth of Montreal have shown that they will not stand idly by
while privatised interests erode the rights and freedoms that have been won
over the past 100 years.
Much like Europe
has rose up in protest against austerity, Montreal, true to its European
sympathies has risen up in response to what they see as an erosion of the
rights and freedoms of students to a subsidized, low cost education. For the
Québécois, there are some things that the government simply should not cut in
search of balancing their budget. If only the rest of Canada did the same.
According to
Statistics Canada, tuition hikes from 1998-2008 have doubled the rate of
inflation in every province but Quebec. A premium is therefore being put on
higher education in Canada and students by and large have shrugged their
shoulders and done nothing to protest such gross imbalance, even as student
debt surges upward.
To the credit of
the Québécois, they are much more socially and politically aware than the rest
of Canadians. Upon the announcement that tuition fees would increase steadily
over the next 7 years they took to the streets, much like their European
brethren have in recent times.
The rest of
Canada needs to wake up. The economic conditions coupled with the current
federal government is a breeding ground for cuts to services that Canadians
have taken for granted these past 50 years.
Instead of
letting jealousy and ridicule take over - as is the want of Canadians with
regards to their French counterparts, - the youth of this country should be
standing in solidarity and support of their French brethren instead of sticking
them with the unjust label of entitlement.
While these
tuition hikes proved the catalyst for the disenfranchised students in Montreal,
this movement as a whole is a growing response to the worldwide trend toward
austerity and social punishment for mistakes that the youth did not commit.
Just as the youth of Spain, Greece and Portugal have risen up in response to what
they feel is a broken system that does not accommodate them, so have the youth
of Quebec been awoken to the possibility of protest for tangible change.
What started out
as a simple protest against tuition hikes has ignited public opinion against
the penny-pinching and alleged corruption of the Charest government. Just as
their European counterparts have done, the people of Montreal have taken to the
streets; with no end in sight to their protests.
At this point
the ball is in the rest of Canada’s court. Instead of standing by and spewing
vitriolic comments against these brave students, Canadians far and wide should
be standing in solidarity with their actions. Toeing the line of big business
and big government is a recipe for disaster and could very well lead to the
erosion of many of the services that Canadians proudly boast of to this day.
The time for
stereotypical Canadian indifference is over. Now is the time for the youth and
disenfranchised to stand shoulder to shoulder with their counterparts in
Montreal. A victory for the students in Montreal is a victory for the rest of
Canada and democracy. As in Greece, Spain and Portugal a victory for one is a
victory for all. Put aside the hurtful comments and give the students credit
for standing up for what they believe in. They deserve nothing less.
Afterword:
Looking back on
this piece 3 months after I wrote it I am proud to say that the protests did
have a positive effect. The Charest government was toppled, tuition hikes were
cancelled a few days back and students have returned back to the classroom.
The reaction
from the rest of Canada is lukewarm however. Many comments posted on various
message boards have continued to call these students spoiled, lazy as well as a
variety of other colourful names. This once again shows the pettiness of
Canadians at large. I do believe some of the vitriol comes from the fact that
there is still a strong French/English divide in this country but I also believe
that part of it stems from plain old jealousy that the tuition there is so much
lower than elsewhere through Canada. Many of the comments echoed the same
sentiment. That is, “Even if tuition was raised like it was planned, they would
have still had the cheapest tuition in Canada,” and “they are going to bankrupt
their province.” Maybe if Charest wouldn’t have been so involved in seedy
dealings, there would have been more money to go around.
This mentality
shows the extent to which private interests have trumped education, everywhere
you go in Europe, post-secondary education is an unalienable right that is
provided free of charge to those who pass the difficult entrance exams. Yes,
even in Germany a so-called paragon of fiscal responsibility.
Many of the arguments
as to how it is unsustainable are flawed at best. Regardless, of the merits of
a free education based on merit based entrance exams, we shouldn’t resort to
sheer selfishness when discussing government subsidized tuition. The last point
I would like to address, is the belief that this was gained through violence.
Again, this is misinformation disseminated through the media. By using charged
words such as ‘Riots’ instead of protests and focusing on the violence of a
select few instead of the just concerns of the many, the media effectively controlled public opinion on the matter. I will touch on these
points in future articles, but I want to once again salute the brave students
who actually stood up for something they believed in unlike the rest of Canada,
the Quebecois have a backbone.
Education is a
beautiful thing regardless of the cost involved.
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