We would like to respond to one attack against QPIRG in particular coming from the Opt-Out campaigners. One of the “arguments” these campaigners use to convince students to opt out of QPIRG McGill’s $3.75/semester fee levy is their opposition to an “anti-Canada day” reference in the School Schmool agenda (an alternative, ad-free planner, put out by QPIRG McGill and QPIRG Concordia every year). In fact, the Opt-Out Campaign has plastered campus with thousands of glossy fliers instructing students to opt out because of this reference. These three words, published on July 1st of the School Schmool calendar, are but a small reminder of the fact that Montreal (and McGill’s own campus) is built on land that was stolen from the indigenous people of this region.  This short notation should give pause for thought: the annual observance of Canada Day presents an opportunity for critical thought on Canadian nationalism, with particular reference to the historical and continued state oppression by the Canadian nation-state of Indigenous people. Members of the Opt-Out Campaign ought not be threatened by any such basic exercise in critical thinking. 

—QPIRG McGill Board of Directors