Canada - Massive student tuition march paralyzes Montreal

[Mazmaz]

Suddenly, hope.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montre...-protests.html

Tens of thousands of students in Quebec descended on downtown Montreal Thursday afternoon for the latest in a series of escalating protests against proposed tuition hikes.

A monster crowd, considerably larger than the one at Montreal's famous 1995 pre-referendum rally, formed a kilometres-long sea of opposition to Quebec's tuition increases, scheduled to take effect later this year.

In a spring laden with student demonstrations against the Quebec government, this was easily the largest.

The parade of protest was so long that its front end would be a full neighbourhood – or even two – away from the tail end. An organizing group boasted that the protest spanned 50 city blocks.

There were no immediate incidents involving the chanting, placard-waving throng. There were, however, reports of some protesters carrying sticks, that police confiscated.

And there was a threat from a major protest group: "If the government doesn't announce a retreat on the [tuition] hike today the next step will involve actions that disrupt the economy," the C.L.A.S.S.E. student group posted on its Twitter page.

The demonstration came two days after the provincial budget and a blunt refusal by Premier Jean Charest's government to back down on the hikes.

Students have been staging almost daily protests for the last several weeks and blocked a major commuter bridge on Tuesday.

Police have also ramped up tactics and have used chemical sprays against the demonstrators.

Protesters out in streets hours before march

A smaller group of students started the day of action early, gathering at the Berri/UQÀM metro station just before 8 a.m. ET. About 100 protesters said they were planning a surprise action that would have an “economic disruption.”

Just before 9 a.m., the group moved into the metro. A half-hour later, they emerged from the Honoré-Beaugrand metro station in the city's east end and marched toward the Port of Montreal, blocking its entrance for about 30 minutes before moving on. Port officials said operations were not significantly affected.

Just before 11 a.m., the group headed into the metro system at the l'Assomption station.

Montreal police warned motorists to leave their cars at home and avoid the downtown area if at all possible once the main demonstration got underway at 1 p.m.

The march started at the corner of Peel Street and René-Levesque West then moved north towards Sherbrooke Street, before turning east.

Concordia University closed down both of its campuses in anticipation of the demonstration.

Transit rerouted

The STM rerouted downtown buses throughout the day because of the protest, and advised people to use the metro.

Students from Quebec City and Gatineau were bused into Montreal to join the march.

In the past few weeks, students have blocked bridges and major roadways in an attempt to increase pressure on the government to reverse its position on the proposed tuition increases.Tactical police have been called in to disperse crowds on several occasions.

The annual $325 hike in tuition proposed by the government would result in an overall increase of $1,625 for Quebec students.

However, the tuition fees in the province will still be among the lowest in Canada even after the hikes.

Students argue that increases will limit access to education in the province and have vowed to continue demonstrations until the hikes are abandoned.

The government dug its heels in this week, insisting the increases are in the best interests of students and will improve the quality of the province's universities.

Premier Jean Charest said Thursday the rising fees are inevitable and that the government's decision reflects a "fair policy."

It's taxpayers who will continue to assume most of the bill, he argued, while the share students pay will be only 17 per cent of the total cost of their training.

[Dimmauk]

$1625 for a year of university?

[Skjie]

Extra. That said, Quebec students get a crazy amount of funding for being French.

[Greatguardian]

It's an increase of $325/year. It's gone up a total of $1625 after 5 years. So it's $1,625 more expensive than it was 5 years ago.

[Dimmauk]

So what is the current amount now? I wanna know so I can rage and LOL.

[Mazmaz]

From $2056 to $2519 average per year.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/interactives/tuition-canada/

[Greatguardian]

Oh go fuck yourselves, Canadians.

[Dimmauk]

Oh go fuck yourselves, Canadians.

This.

I paid $15k a year 12 years ago.

[Skjie]

Again, it's just the Frenchies, I paid a lot more for my degree because I'm not from Quebec.

[Ksandra]

Again, it's just the Frenchies, I paid a lot more for my degree because I'm not from Quebec.

how much do the non-frenchies have to pay?

[Mazmaz]

Do people even click on the links I post?

Answer: on average, double that.

[Greatguardian]

Do people even click on the links in poopdeck?

Serious question?

[Ksandra]

Do people even click on the links I post?

Answer: on average, double that.

So basically:

Oh go fuck yourselves, Canadians.

[Mazmaz]

That's cool, I didn't make the thread to compare tuition rates between people.

[hey]

I wish the US was so awesome that a $300/year cost increase warranted a protest.

[Kuya]

When there's a protest here on the island over tuition hikes i usually don't mention it to americans because they're well acclimated to high tuition and not doing anything about it. One thing i have noticed is that americans complain more than anyone else, it's just that they tend not to act on it.

[Mazmaz]

The main reason I posted it was because it's a common belief that Canadians, especially our youth, are very politically apathetic. Yet here's a huge number of students who are standing up for what they believe in. The fact that it's in the province that Kaylia talks the most shit about is just icing on the cake.
Point well taken though.

[Kaylia]

So what is the current amount now? I wanna know so I can rage and LOL.

If I round up the fee, I paid 2000$ over the last years for my master degree (500x3+books). I'm also getting paid 20k at the same time by the research department.

Most students somehow end up with a large debt for a reason that escape me (I've seen 30-40k more than once), but since I spend virtually nothing, I'm probably going to be able to buy a house before the end of my ph.d.

The main reason I posted it was because it's a common belief that Canadians, especially our youth, are very politically apathetic. Yet here's a huge number of students who are standing up for what they believe in. The fact that it's in the province that Kaylia talks the most shit about is just icing on the cake.
Point well taken though.

Do you realize only 40% of the population is supporting students? That number drop to 15-20% when you ask them if they would take a "taxes increases" to pay for the difference. People only get mad when it concern their money directly, and that's exactly the problem. Nobody has a global vision of how the state should be managed.


You will have to google translate this one, but here is why Quebec's budget is a fraud every years.
http://www.cyberpresse.ca/debats/opi...0_accueil_POS2
In short, they say the budget balance, but it only does because they are including less and less expense in it every years.

[Mazmaz]

You're right. People do only care if it concerns them directly. That's why they made use of the cheap education in Quebec, graduated and got jobs, and now when it's time for the new generation to use it, they wanna raise the tuition on them.

[bluefan]

The exact same thing happened here in Manitoba a couple years ago. Most of the people I knew who attended those rallies weren't what you called the ideal students. Some were even drop outs, who had huge students debts, and were there because they were thinking of coming back /fail face. It increased about ~$100 for most of us, which is piddly squat. And $300 isn't either.

No student should have that huge of debt upon graduation if they work during their breaks. A few buddies finishing their masters are making 50k+ working on their PhDs. Hell, my technical college buddy was making $45k a year while finishing his Electronic Engineering course. After finishing now his work is ready to move forward with opening up the higher level positions for him. My friend in Seattle who works for Microsoft and makes six figures only has a Bachelors. Yes, just a Bachelors. People need to stop whining so much and just study/work their asses off instead of worrying about a few thousand dollars they could easily make back with a good job.