thomasmulcair.ca

At the New Democratic Party (NDP) leadership convention in Toronto last weekend, members of the NDP elected their new party leader, McGill alumnus and current Outrement MP Thomas Mulcair. On Monday, March 26, the Tribune sat down with Richard Schultz, Chair of the McGill department of political science and expert in Canadian politics, to discuss the challenges facing Mulcair and the NDP.

What about Thomas Mulcair makes him a good leader for the NDP? What will he need to work on?

I think what will help him is his reputation, but what will hurt him is also his reputation. He’s a real fighter, determined and strong. That is going to be absolutely necessary to confront Steven Harper, because [Harper’s] government is the most vicious I’ve witnessed when it comes to dealing with their opponents.

The negative side of [Mulcair’s reputation] is that he’s said to have a temper, and if that is the case he will probably have to gain some control over it, especially [when] dealing with his fellow NDP members. He maintained a very good, placid approach all through the campaign, despite some of the nasty comments that were made about him. So that’s a sign that he understands the dangers of [his temper] and knows how to keep it under control, so I think the Conservatives should be nervous. He’s going to be very effective as leader of the opposition.

 The NDP is said to have gained much of its support in the last election because of Jack Layton. What challenges will Mulcair face as Jack Layton’s successor?

The major thing that he has to do is to maintain as many of the NDP’s seats in Quebec as possible. I think [so many people in Quebec voted NDP] because the Liberals and Conservatives were so unacceptable to the Quebec electorate, and people were fed up with the Bloc. I think Jack Layton’s image helped a bit, but people were just looking for an alternative to all three of the other parties. That will only happen once. It’s going to be very difficult in many of these ridings to maintain that support.

[The NDP] didn’t gain as many seats in the rest of Canada. They’ve got to prove that they’re the alternative party, not just in Quebec but in the rest of the country too. They are going to have to fight very hard to maintain their role as the official opposition.

What about the claims that Mulcair will move the NDP closer to the political centre?

I do that think they’re going to have to move closer to the centre in some respects, but I don’t think it’s a big step. [They’ve] got to do more than talk about taxing the rich. While one could argue that the rich should be taxed appropriately for fairness’ sake, it’s not going to solve the problems of budget deficits. One of the big issues that they’re going to face is how to deal with union matters, because the unions are a strong component and strong supporters of the NDP. There’s popular support amongst the people against public servants striking, so the NDP under Mulcair will have to find a fine balance in terms of protecting wider public interests and not just the union interests. It’s not impossible, but it’s going to be demanding.

Do you think the NDP will face stronger competition from the Liberal Party now that Jack Layton is gone?

Yes, but that’s also going to depend on their leadership. I think Bob Rae has performed very well [as interim Liberal leader]. If he doesn’t become the Liberal leader, I think that the NDP has a better chance of maintaining their position as the number two party. Otherwise it’s going to depend on how the NDP tackles some of the current issues. I don’t see anyone other than the Conservatives winning the next election, but I think it’s going to be difficult for them to maintain a majority. [Harper] only has 39 per cent of the vote, [so] 60 per cent of the people don’t like the conservative government. Maybe the Liberals and the NDP will have some sort of informal arrangement, where the Liberals let the NDP be the only opposition candidate in one riding and the NDP won’t run a candidate when there’s a strong Liberal candidate in another. They could focus the anti-[Conservative] vote on one of the two parties. But I think [the Conservatives] are working their way towards another minority government. Whether it will be the Liberals or the NDP who will be the opposition, I don’t know.

-This interview has been edited and condensed.    

Michael Paolucci / McGill Tribune

Michael Paolucci / McGill Tribune

Over 200,000 people marched through the streets of downtown Montreal on March 22 to demonstrate against provincial tuition increases.  The protest, the largest in Quebec history, came two days after the Quebec government released its annual budget, confirming that university tuition fees are set to increase by $1,625 over five years starting this September. According to some of the organizers, the protest spanned 50 city blocks at its peak.

Since February, 169 university and CEGEP student associations have voted to strike in protest of these proposed increases, forcing many universities and CEGEPs to cancel class.

Over 500 McGill students gathered at the Roddick Gates at noon before heading to Place du Canada, the meeting point for the protest, at 1 p.m. Thousands of students sporting signs, wearing red clothes and red face paint met in the square. At about 1:40 p.m., the crowd started marching through downtown Montreal.

Rachel Mulbry, a U2 Middle Eastern studies student who attended a similar protest against tuition fee increases on Nov. 10, emphasized the positive mood of the protest.

“There’s a really good energy, and it feels very positive and pretty inclusive,” she said. “It’s been a lot of time since November, and even speaking for myself, I understand what I feel more and how this issue relates to me … I think these intervening months have been very good for education.”

Although the majority of participants were university and CEGEP students, there were many other protesters, including professors, high school students, unions, opposition party representatives as well families with small children.

“I’m a primary [school] teacher and I wish my students [could] go to high school or, if they want, university and CEGEP,” David Marquis, a first grade teacher in the South Shore, said. “I hope they don’t have to interrupt their studies because they can’t afford [the tuition].”

The march finished in Place Jacques Cartier in the Old Port and featured speeches by Helöise Moysan Lapointe, member of the Profs Contre la Hausse collective and Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, spokesperson for the Coalition large de l’Association pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante (CLASSE), a Quebec-wide temporary coalition of students opposing tuition increases and one of the primary groups organizing the protest.

“It was an unbelievable protest [and] I think we just made history,” Nadeau-Dubois said after addressing the crowd.  “It’s the biggest protest in the history of Quebec, so I think students of Quebec should be very proud of their generation.”

Nadeau-Dubois noted that representatives from the student movement have not been able to discuss tuition fee increases with the provincial government.

“We’ve had no meetings with the government in the past year and we hope [we can meet] as soon as possible,” he said. “This government systematically refuses to discuss tuition fees with the student movement.”

Previously, Education Minister Line Beauchamp has cited irreconcilable views as a basis for not negotiating.

“The student associations are defending two options-one wants to talk about completely free [education], the other wants to maintain the freeze and send the bill to other people,” Beauchamp told The Canadian Press after the protest. “It’s a bit of ‘not in my backyard’ and that can’t be a basis for discussion.”

Moysan Lapointe cited the “government’s intransigence” as a reason for the large turnout.

“The student movement has given many proposals for refinancing education, proposals that seem, to us profs, more interesting than those of the government’s,” she said in French. “The ball’s in the government’s court.”

Despite the size of the protest, there were no injuries, according to Arnell LeBlanc, VP Operations for the Concordia Emergency Response Team, an organization that worked with the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec (FEUQ) to provide security and first aid.

“There were some little fist fights but we managed to disperse them, and the crowd would just boo the people to the point they’d stop fighting,” LeBlanc said. “No one actually got hurt, it was a good day.”

Montreal police confirmed that there were no arrests or violent incidents over the course of the protest.

“Everything was under control,” Yannick Ouimet, media relations officer for the Montreal police, said. “The students followed every street they told us they were going to go through.”

The protest ended around 5 p.m., when people started leaving the Old Port. Several individuals collected signs from garbage cans and placed them in flowerpots in Place Cartier as a reminder of the protest.

“The signs are valuable,” Steve Risdon, a special care counselor, said in French. “This is a non-violent, pacifist movement … we decided to gather the signs to [continue the protest’s visibility.]”

Sam Reynolds / McGill Tribune

On Thursday, March 22, McGill’s Redpath Museum celebrated its 130th Anniversary with the official launch of the Redpath Museum Club’s new publication, Behind the Roddick Gates. The event included presentations by student contributors to the journal and a retelling of the museum’s history.

Completed in 1882, the Redpath Museum is the oldest structure built as a museum in Canada, and was originally built to house former-principal William Dawson’s personal collection of artifacts. In the last 130 years, the Redpath Museum’s collection has grown considerably, and the museum currently receives about 10,000 visitors each year.

At the anniversary celebration, volunteers dressed as historically relevant figures like Principal Dawson and museum founder Peter Redpath explained the museum’s history. Emily Bamforth, PhD student and internal facilitator of the Redpath Museum Club, was dressed as Dawson’s daughter Anna.

“[The anniversary is] significant because the Redpath Museum [has] had teaching and research since it was open, and it continues to be the only free museum in Montreal because that was one of its mandates when it was opened,” she said.

Although Munroe-Blum was not able to attend the event in person, organizers played a recorded message in which she shared her thoughts on how the values of the museum have helped shape the values of McGill as a university.

“From its inception, the Redpath Museum has been open free of charge to the public,” Munroe-Blum said. “Indeed, in many ways it is a powerful expression of the public mission of McGill as a university itself to learning, research, teaching, and the ability to have a hands-on experience with artifacts that enrich our understanding of the world.”

Masi praised the museum’s role in McGill’s history, including its role in research, the expansion of its collection, its outreach and public programming, and its pedagogical innovations.

“When this museum was first built, it was clearly a state-of-the-art, scientific research facility that helped solidify McGill’s status and prestige as a world-class research university,” he said.

Part of the way the Redpath Museum Club is moving forward is with its new annual journal, Behind the Roddick Gates. According to Bamforth, members of the Redpath Museum Club have been working on the journal for over a year.

The journal is a collection of research on interesting facts and features of the Redpath Museum, McGill University, and Montreal. At the anniversary event, several student contributors to the journal briefly explained their research topics, which included Dawson’s discovery of an ancient lizard skeleton in 1852 and McGill’s conservation efforts for endangered species.

Natalia Toronchuk, a U6 English literature student and contributor to the journal, wrote an essay about the first Internet search engine, “Archie,” which was developed at McGill.

“It’s been really fun,” she said. “All the people who work at Redpath Museum and the people that are in the museum club are really amazing, sincere, wonderful people, so it really wasn’t that difficult for me to do my research with their help.”

“Anniversaries such as this one give us an opportunity to reflect back, but also to look forward,” Masi said.

Last Wednesday’s Senate meeting featured much discussion on improving teaching and learning at McGill, as well as a report from enrolment services on recruitment and retention.

While the meeting was closed to outside observers other than members of the campus media and incoming senators, the proceedings were made available to the wider university community via a livestream to  the Cyberthèque in the basement of the Redpath Library.

After a vote to approve the closing of the chambers and livestreaming of the proceedings, discussion moved to a question brought forward by science senator Max Luke.

Luke’s question, which pertained to the sustainability of teaching and learning at McGill, asked how the university is facilitating interdisciplinary projects focused on environmental sustainability.

In his response, Provost Anthony Masi pointed to the section of McGill’s Strategic Research Plan pertaining to the environment, which lists, for example, ecology and conservation biology, climate variability, and clean energy systems as priorities for collaboration across faculties, especially among agricultural and environmental sciences, law, science, and engineering. He went on to note that environmental sustainability will continue to play a role in faculty renewal.

Law senator Ian Clarke asked whether McGill’s assessment of its performance includes a comparison of its activities with those of other institutions. In response, Masi mentioned the recent LEED certification of the Bellini Life Sciences Complex, which is an objective certification from an outside group. 

In a special report, Prof. Cynthia Weston and Dr. Laura Winer of Teaching and Learning Services updated the assembly on developments in their department. Their presentation examined attributes of excellence in teaching and learning at all levels of the university, from professors to faculties and departments to the university as a whole.

Weston highlighted innovative strategies used by professors, like graded online discussion boards, in-class clicker questions that prompted peer discussion, and interactive writing assignments, which involved students improving their own work based on feedback as part of the course.

Nigel Roulet, a senator and professor in the department of geography, noted the value he has seen in McGill’s active learning classrooms.

“I have had students say the active learning classrooms were the deepest form of learning they had ever taken,” he said.

Senator Matt Crawford emphasized the key role teaching assistants play in fostering discussion in many classes.

“WebCT is not a direct substitute for discussion mediated by teaching assistants,” he cautioned.

Other senators noted the lack of availability of classroom space, particularly for midterm exams, as a barrier to giving good feedback to students.

Following the Teaching and Learning Services presentation, Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Morton Mendelson spoke on Enrolment Services (ES). The ES department deals with student recruitment and retention, and falls under the portfolio of the deputy provost.

Science senator Annie Ma asked if the university was taking steps to emphasise volunteer and extracurricular involvement as criteria for admission.

“One of the roadblocks to full-file interviews is the time and resources it takes,” Mendelson said.

Mendelson noted that the University of British Columbia has recently announced it will consider more than just grades, and that while he can’t say McGill is moving in that direction, the administration is aware of the issue.

Mendelson also expressed concern over McGill’s yield rate. The proportion of admitted students who accept an offer to attend McGill is one of the lowest among peer universities.

“[We] have been increasing efforts to attract those students,” he said.

Following the discussion on enrolment, Dean of Students Jane Everett brought information to Senate regarding proposed changes to the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures.

The sections on disruptions and demonstrations have been a point of much contention in recent months.

Everett asked Senate to delay discussion of those articles until the release of Dean Manfredi’s report into the university community’s view of the meaning, scope, and protection of free expression and peaceful assembly on campus.

The next steps for the revision will be formal consultation with faculties and student associations via committees, and the production of a draft copy of the revised code, which will eventually be brought to senate for approval.

Following the SSMU Student-Run Café Competition Expo on March 14, SSMU’s Strategic Summit last Friday, March 23 addressed issues surrounding the student-run café, set to launch in September 2013. 

In this preliminary phase, the planning committee primarily aimed to continue gathering as many ideas from students as possible to ensure a truly student-oriented, interactive café. Once there have been sufficient consultations and preparations, the committee will begin construction of the café in 2012.

While the planning committee will be adopting the design and business plan of the Fireside Café, the team that won the SSMU Sustainability Case Expo, co-ordinators are still looking to incorporate as much student feedback as possible.

“The purpose of [the] Strategic Summit is to engage students in the planning for a student run café,” SSMU VP Finance and Operations Shyam Patel, leader of the planning committee, said. “We hope to get more feedback [and] ideas in an interactive way. Instead of just asking [students] what [they] think, we want to make it more bi-directional. This is really important because it’s going to be in the SSMU building and it’s going to provide job opportunities to students.”

In this meeting, moderator Flint Deita provided participants with five main topics to brainstorm: (1) Who will manage the student-run café? (2) What food items will be included in the menu? (3) What do students want to see in the café? (4) How will SSMU finance the student-run café? (5) What sort of ambiance do students want to see in the café?

Many ideas immediately surfaced, leading to a lively group discussion.

“I was hoping for more people, but enough people showed up to give us enough feedback on the project,” Deita said. “A lot of people are interested in offering their ideas, but of course a lot of them are not here and I’d love to see more come out in the future.”

Despite the small number of attendees, the committee was brimming with ideas, proposals from the recent case competition, and multiple recent consultations. Some of the most popular ideas included student managers to oversee the entire operation, casual meals made from sustainable and seasonal products, and a rentable space for performances or other events. Students also suggested blackboard-like walls for random artistic or promotional drawing and a well-lit and vibrant ambience that avoids being crowded or overly boisterous.

“This project has captured a lot of the students’ imaginations and is really exciting, but we still have a lot of work to do in terms of figuring out the specifics,” SSMU President Maggie Knight said. “We have gotten to the point where we have talked a lot about the issue and have gotten a lot of feedback. We have to soon make a decision as to what it’s going to look like and how we are going to do this.”

In terms of challenges, the committee responsible for the new student-run café is seeking to ensure financial sustainability. The administration, according to Maggie Knight, is currently reviewing the project. However, there are still concerns that the new café may  face the same challenges as the Architecture Café or Haven Books, student initiatives that were closed due to financial difficulties.

Fortunately, although the possibility of financial failure still exists, the committee is being careful to avoid similar mistakes.

“We’re doing this so early mainly because of failed operations of the past,” Patel said.

In the near future, there will be a contest for naming the café and the committee encourages students to participate.

“Personally, I love this project and I love the idea of a student-run café, which I think is a great way to make people more social and to give more power to the students,” Deita said.

French Literature (one day strike)

Thirty-one students from the French literature department gathered in the Arts Building on Tuesday, March 20, and voted on a one-day strike for the province-wide protest on Thursday, March 22. The motion passed with a near unanimous majority-30 students for, and one against. This represented nearly half of the department, which consists of approximately 75 major, minor, and honours students. The French literature department also decided, unanimously, to carry out an unlimited strike vote on Friday, March 30. If the department does agree on an unlimited strike, it will be effective starting the following Monday, April 2.  The nature of the picket line will also be discussed at the upcoming meeting.

Due to the department’s size, the assembly was intimate in nature, taking the form of a small group discussion.

On thoughts of the unlimited strike, French literature student Habib Hassoun said, “If we go on a strike, I’m thinking that we could probably make some cultural actions, like creating a creative magazine online with poems, small essays, and thoughts about social engagement.”

-Julia Chu

Geography (unlimited strike)

On Tuesday, March 20, members of the McGill Undergraduate Geography Society (MUGS) gathered on the fourth floor of Burnside to vote for a proposed one-day strike. The motion that students ultimately passed at the assembly, however, was for an “indefinite general strike,” with 21 voting in favour of the strike, 15 against, and seven abstentions. 

Geography students were notified that their department was joining the unlimited strike via a listserv the following morning, on Wednesday, March 21. The strike began today at 8:00 a.m.

As with many other GAs this week, the motion included a clause for periodic renewal every five school days. The next GA will take place today.

No additional details for the actual strike were provided, but in their listserv MUGS recognized that the vote may not have reflected the desires of the entire department. 

“We ask that everyone please consider the potential for differing opinions to divide a community, and instead hope we proceed from here with the main goal in mind: education,” the listserv read. “We need to educate ourselves, and allow others to do the same.”

-Kyle Ng

English (no strike)

On March 26, the Department of English Students’ Association (DESA) voted not to continue their unlimited general strike, following a vote with 74 for the renewal of the strike, 117 against and 12 abstentions. 

DESA was on strike for one week, having declared a general strike of indefinite duration at an assembly on March 19.

After the first day of the strike last Tuesday, many students criticized the tactics used by picketers, which included drumming and yelling to disrupt classrooms, as well as blocking classroom entrances.

“Some of the people said things that were really insulting,” an English student who wished to remain anonymous said. “They said in their [email] that they weren’t going to use any coercive measures … how is barricading my classroom not coercive?”

DESA executives said that the strike committee, which is open to all English students, worked to address students’ concerns about strike tactics.

“DESA’s goal is not to create noise,” DESA Literature Representative Julie Mannell said. “Our goal is to foster discussion and debate … the important thing is that we’re talking and engaging in dialogue with each other.”

-Erica Friesen

Art History and Communications (unlimited strike)

On March 26, members of the Art History and Communication Studies Students’ (AHCSSA)  Association voted in favour of an unlimited general strike  in a General Assembly (GA). With a vote of 48 for, 41 against and two abstentions, the stirke vote passed. Quorum was set at 60 people. 

Students voted on proposed amendments by show of hands, and on the final vote by secret ballot. If The strike began today, and will be renewable every week on a simple majority vote (50 per cent plus one vote) during another general assembly. The next GA to renew the strike will be held on March 30, at a time and place to be announced at least 36 hours prior.

 -Christos Lazaris

Anthropology

A group of 30 anthropology students, of the 350 in the department, met Monday, March 19, to discuss how the Anthropology Students’ Association wanted to react to the planned Quebec tuition increases. No informal or formal vote took place, but the students discussed the issues. In addition, students in the anthropology graduate studies program explained how their own renewable strike is going, and gave advice to the assembly.

A general assembly on Friday, March 30, at 6 p.m. in Leacock 26 will determine if the ASA goes on a one, three, or five-day strike or an indefinite strike. Quorum for this assembly is set at 60 students, 17 per cent of the department.

-Natasha Fenn

Sociology

On Tuesday, March 27, just over 20 sociology students gathered independent from the Sociology Students’ Association to discuss how their department wants to respond to the proposed Quebec tuition increases. Since only three per cent of the faculty attended, in a department of 600 students, no strike vote took place, because it would have not been representative of the department’s stance. However, there was a lively discussion about the effectiveness of hard picket lines.

Students brought up the point that, although in the short term hard picket lines appeal to those pro-strike, they have the potential to alienate students, and also that so few students cannot maintain the tactics of a hard strike in the long term.  While the majority of opinions presented at this meeting were pro-strike, students also agreed that such a strike could not be forced on the rest of the department if the majority of sociology students don’t agree.

There is a proposed referendum in a sociology General Assembly this upcoming Friday on the topic of the strike and hard picket lines.

-Natasha Fenn

Faculty GAs

Medical students (no strike)

On Tuesday March 20, the Medical Students’  Society of McGill University (MSS) voted against a one-day strike. The motion was defeated with 79 in favour of the strike, 117 against, and six abstentions.

Although the MSS will not be striking, students at the GA voted for the MSS to adopt a specific stance supporting accessible education. While the MSS supports tuition increases that are indexed to inflation, they oppose the Quebec provincial government’s proposed tuition increases over the next five years. The general assembly also voted for the MSS to adopt the position that any tuition fee increase by the provincial government must be accompanied by an increase in student aid through the Quebec Loans and Bursary Program.

-Erica Friesen

Social Work Students (unlimited strike)

On Monday March 26, the Social
Work Students’ Association (SWSA) held a General Assembly (GA) in which members renewed last week’s vote to go on unlimited student strike. SWSA members have been on strike since March 14. Yesterday’s motion passed 56 in favour of the unlimited student strike and 33 against. Quorum for the GA was 25 people. 

The SWSA held soft pickets in front of Wilson Hall through last week, encouraging students not to attend class. 

“Classes are being held, but we  have a picket presence at the beginning of each class,” first year social work student Leah Freeman, said. “In classes that normally have 110 students, there are maybe 10 or 15 who come.”

-Carolina Millán Ronchetti

Music (one day strike)

On Wednesday, March 21, members of the Music Undergraduate Student Association (MUSA) voted in a General Assembly (GA) in favour of a one-day strike on March 22, with 62 for, 46 against, and two abstentions. The motion further stated that MUSA is against the rise of tuition fees, and included a clause ensuring that the pickets would be soft.

“Any picket lines undertaken as a part of this strike will not prevent music students from entering and exiting the music buildings or partaking in their activities by means of physical or verbal aggression,” the motion read.  

In addition, the assembly debated whether to ratify the vote to strike online until midnight of March 21, but the motion failed.

  -Carolina Millán Ronchetti