Earlier this year, the federal government announced that this Black History Month (BHM)’s theme would be “Black Excellence: A Heritage to Celebrate; a Future to Build.” Almost thirty years after its adoption, BHM today signals a response to persistent problems in Canadian society—anti-Blackness as old as the country itself and[Read More…]
Commentary
Gracia Kasoki Katahwa’s recent election proves that better financial resources for Black candidates can go a long way
While Montreal is known for its diversity, government representation remains an issue for the city. On Feb. 1, Gracia Kasoki Katahwa, mayor of Côte-des-Neiges– Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough and the first Black borough mayor in Montreal’s history, made history when she joined the city’s executive committee, responsible for human resources and combating[Read More…]
Is a student strike effective? It’s complicated
On Jan. 25, the McGill Religious Studies Student Association (RSUS), the Student Association of Sustainability, Science and Society (SASSS), and McGill Undergraduate Geography Society (MUGS) announced that their members would be on strike from Jan. 31 to Feb. 1. The strikes joined Concordia students in responding to the Coalition Avenir[Read More…]
McGill students don’t hate Montreal, just the McGill bubble
Tripadvisor’s Travellers Choice Award 2024 ranked Montreal 13th on the “Best of the Best” list for sustainable travel, crowning the city the “cultural capital of Canada.” Alongside this, Time Out ranked Montreal in 12th for “World’s Best Cities for Culture.” While this didn’t surprise me, I was shocked to find[Read More…]
The real value of a McGill degree
What makes McGill a good school to attend? Is it the superior facilities? The enormous introductory classes? Much of the value in attending McGill stems from the McGill degree as a form of cultural capital. In other words, having the McGill name on a resume lends clout. A McGill degree[Read More…]
Blanchet’s tale of “two Quebecs” embodies the Bloc Québécois’s hypocrisy
Montreal is a city characterized by its liveliness and natural beauty. The numerous events that take place on the island, such as the Nuits d’Afrique and Jazz Fest music festivals highlight the city’s diversity and boast its reputation as a tourist hotspot. Most enticing, however, is that Montreal is composed[Read More…]
Lecture recordings are a necessary step for greater accessibility
Finding mental health support as a McGill student has been a challenge for quite some time, with the university’s meagre efforts to offer services—like animal therapy and peer supporters—falling short. The Student Wellness Hub is inadequate for the majority of the student population; however, the jarring lack of mental health[Read More…]
Legault’s populism will not address the opioid crisis
Quebec’s opioid crisis is worsening. In 2023, paramedics administered more naloxone to treat acute overdoses than ever before, and death from opioid toxicity is set to reach its highest levels yet, continuing an upward trend since 2019. Novel synthetic opioids, such as isotonitazene, which can be deadly even in minute[Read More…]
Post-secondary education is a right that must be asserted
Is McGill already not expensive enough? For many, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ)’s announcement of a tuition hike and the requirement of French language proficiency is a definitive sign of the increasing precarity of higher education. Potential out-of-province students will simply be priced out of attending university in Quebec. This[Read More…]
Quebec needs to rethink its French tuition agreement
Since 2018, an agreement between the governments of France, Belgium, and Quebec has exempted francophone students from France and Belgium from the skyrocketing international tuition fee supplement. Under this collaborative initiative allowing Quebec to maintain the Francophonie, these undergraduate students are subject to the Canadian rate of tuition, while graduate[Read More…]
