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About Abortions: Why Canada still needs to talk about it

by Lydia Kaprelian on

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“Honestly when you called me I said, ‘Why, you know, why write about abortion, why write about it in Quebec?’” said France Desilets, director of Montreal’s Morgentaler Clinic. “We don’t want to focus on it, in the sense that access has been achieved in reproductive choices, but we still need to talk about it. I mean, we can’t make it a taboo subject.”

 

Abortion is a divisive topic, often caught between two passionate crusades. Consequently, it can sometimes be difficult to find space to talk about the issue, but university students and young people are in a unique position to change the conversation. With International Women’s Day on March 8, there are opportunities to be involved with the celebration and reflect on the state of women’s rights and reproductive choice. This year’s theme, #BeBoldForChange, emphasizes the importance of change for forging a more inclusive and equal future.

 

“This day is a great opportunity for university students to engage in an inclusive dialogue about the right to abortion access for people of all genders and orientations,” said Dr. Sarah Munro, a post doctoral fellow in the Department of Family Practice at the University of British Columbia (UBC).

 

Historically, university students have played an important role in leading conversations about abortion in Canada. In 1968, McGill undergraduate students Allan Feingold and Donna Cherniak illegally produced and published the seminal “Birth Control Handbook,” as a result of a motion passed by the Students' Society of McGill University (SSMU). Distributed on college campuses across North America, the handbook provided answers on sex education and reproductive health—including information about abortions—for an information-starved audience.

 

Access to information and discussion are key components in reproductive health. However, as one of his first executive orders, U.S. President Donald Trump reinstated and expanded a controversial global gag rule eliminating funding for global organizations that provide information about abortions. The gag rule has been criticized by many worldwide, who think that impoverished women will face the brunt of the policy’s impact. In response, on March 2, Canada pledged to donate $21 million to international organizations to fund reproductive health services, including abortion.

 

Presumably, Trump’s policy was put in place to limit the number of abortions. The truth of the matter is that in order to decrease the number of abortion, conversations about abortions and why women get them, need to continue. Not talking about abortions doesn’t mean they won’t happen.

 

“In abortion literature, there’s something they call ‘decision certainty,’” McGill Department of Epidemiology PhD candidate Nichole Austin explained. “If a woman is pregnant and decides to terminate the pregnancy, she will typically find a way to do it [….] These women will always seek abortions out if they need them, it’s not a question of getting rid of that need.”

 

In order to reduce the number of abortions, it’s necessary to decrease the number of unwanted pregnancies. This requires widespread open knowledge of and access to contraception.

 

“I think people often focus on abortions and how many abortions there are, but they don’t consider why there are so many unplanned pregnancies,” said Desilets.

 

Unless contraceptive measures are available and accessible, unwanted pregnancies—and abortions by extension—will continue to occur.  Trump’s global gag rule is antithetical to this strategy of contraception access. Not only will the policy reduce funding to family planning non-governmental organizations, it will decrease funding for all global health organizations that receive any U.S. funding. This includes organizations that aim to bolster contraceptive access and information.

 

While Canada’s southern neighbour has been embroiled in a high-profile and relentless fight over freedom of choice, the issue of abortion in Canada has not made nearly the same number of media headlines. However, while the battle scars may not be as fresh, that’s not to say the struggle for abortion rights wasn’t hard-fought.

 

In Canada, abortions—along with the sale, distribution, and advertisement of contraceptives—were illegal under the Criminal Code until 1969, when the former prime minister Pierre Trudeau’s Liberal government amended the code to decriminalize contraception and legalize abortion under strict provisions. At this point, abortions were illegal except in cases when pregnancy endangered the life of the pregnant woman. Moreover, these provisions meant the procedure could only be performed in hospitals, and only if the woman received approval from a Therapeutic Abortion Committee (TAC). These tribunals required three medical doctors—nearly always men—to decide whether the abortion was justified or not.

 

The TACs led to unequal access to abortion across Canada as hospitals were not required to have these committees on hand. By the mid-1970s, only 20 per cent of hospitals had formed a TAC, hindering the possibility of a legal abortion for the majority of Canadians.

 

Enter Dr. Henry Morgentaler, the namesake for the Morgentaler Clinic. After immigrating to Canada from Poland following the Second World War, Morgentaler opened a medical practice in the east-end of Montreal.

 

There, he became one of the first doctors to perform vasectomies, insert intra-uterine devices (IUDs), and provide birth control pills—even to unmarried women, something that was unheard of at the time. For Morgentaler, a survivor of the Dachau concentration camp, anti-abortion laws were unjust because they placed unnecessary burden and suffering on women seeking abortions. After illegally opening an abortion clinic in Montreal in 1969, Morgentaler faced multiple legal charges and was jailed three times between 1970 and 1984.

 

Across Canada, abortion became part of a larger public conversation over reproductive health and women’s rights. By 1983, public opinion was shifting: Seventy-two per cent of Canadians believed the pregnant woman and her doctor should have the sole responsibility for deciding whether the pregnancy should be terminated.

 

In 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down the restrictions on abortions, including the TACs, in its ///R v. Morgentaler//// decision. With the decriminalization of abortion, Canada is one of the only countries in the world without a law restricting the procedure.

 

“There isn’t a law in Canada. Since the ////R v. Morgentaler//// [decision], there is no legal document surrounding abortion saying when can a woman abort—there’s nothing like that. It’s between a woman and her doctor,” Desilets said. “You know, it didn’t happen overnight. There were fights and there were struggles, but for a long time now it has been accessible for women in most provinces, particularly in Quebec, which has, I would say, the most points of access in the entire world.”

 

In addition to being Morgentaler’s home base, Quebec also had a powerful feminist movement and political support in the ‘70s and ‘80s. Today, there are over 50 points of service in the province, according to Desilets, largely as a result of these factors. However, like many services in Canada, there still exists an accessibility gap between urban and rural regions. Moreover, issues of misinformation and procedure choice in Canada are still germane.

 

“I think a lot of people, when they first start learning about abortion trends, are surprised to learn how common it is,” Austin said.

 

While abortion rates are declining in the U.S., according the Guttmacher Institute, an estimated 30 per cent of American women will have an abortion by age 45. Yet, it is difficult to make these kinds of statements in the Canadian context, as the States has much more robust data collection requirements.

 

Munro works on the national Contraception and Abortion Research Team (CART) at UBC, in Vancouver, and uses data on abortion rates for her research on patient-centred interventions.

 

“Approximately 31 per cent of Canadians will have an abortion in their lifetime,” Munro said. “This data comes from Statistics Canada, but the estimate may be low for two reasons. First, people may underreport their personal history of abortion at the time they are seeking one. Second, Statistics Canada does not capture data for approximately 10 per cent of abortions.”

 

Not all abortions are reported in official data collection. Clinics, as opposed to hospitals, are not required to disclose the number of abortions they perform. In Quebec, the majority of abortions are performed in freestanding clinics, or CLSCs. As a result, the statistics gathered by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) are woefully inaccurate. Moreover, medical abortions are not included in CIHI’s official data count.

 

Medical abortions refer to a combination of medications a person can take to terminate a pregnancy. While medical abortions are available in over 60 countries worldwide, Myfegymiso (mifepristone), also known as RU-486, has only recently been approved by Health Canada, after spending nearly three years in the approval process. As of January 2017, Myfegymiso is available in only a few provinces—not including Quebec, despite its listing on the World Health Organization’s index of essential medicines.

 

“I think women need to know that it’s not just a pill that magically makes a pregnancy go away,” Desilets cautioned. “[But] it’s going to help women all over Canada in terms of access, especially in the rural regions and it’s going to provide women with another option.”

 

While many women experience considerable side-effects after taking the “abortion pill,” it is a vital service—especially for women who are in the early stages of pregnancy or women who have difficulties accessing a clinic.

 

Many medical professionals and consumers have criticized Canada’s slow adoption of the drug and its uncoordinated efforts to release it.

 

“Governments can support abortion access by making it easy for family physicians to offer medical abortion,” Munro said. “The way the drug has been rolled out has caused confusion in the medical community about where to get the training, how to order the drug from the manufacturer, and how the drug is covered by health care plans.”

 

Melissa Fuller, founding member of the newly-formed Montreal Abortion Access Project (MAAP), explained that while abortion may be accessible on an institutional level, there is still room for improvement when it comes to enhancing an individual’s experience and access to information.

 

“While abortion is accessible in the sense that it is covered by RAMQ [Quebec Health Insurance Plan], and there are several public and private sites in the city, there are many misconceptions about access and abortion procedures,” Fuller explained. “Too much [responsibility] is put on the individual to inform themselves.”

 

Without a centralized resource, public information can be hard to find, making it difficult for women to make an informed decision on where to go and what to expect. Furthermore, for individuals who are in Quebec, but aren’t covered by RAMQ, Fuller explained that it can be really difficult to locate the needed resources. MAAP seeks to address these issues by offering education and information on rights to access, abortion providers and procedures, and support before, during, and after an abortion at no cost.

 

Fuller highlights that it is easy to lose sight of the individual in these discussions. Listening to people’s experiences and finding space to talk about abortion is critical for furthering the dialogue and promoting a culture for freedom of choice.

 

“Conversations about abortions tend to get stuck in the hypothetical, which often means failing to see or make space for the people who have direct experience with abortion,” Fuller said. “I think a great place to start is working on the stigma that continues to be associated with abortion.”

 

Despite these challenges, the state of abortion access in Canada does not face the same kind of existential threat that is prevalent in the U.S..

 

“I don’t see how we could go back in terms of access and in terms of care,” Desilets said. “So, issues surrounding abortions are going to pop up, but I think we have the political, institutional, and societal support to make sure that nothing makes us regress with the rights that we have achieved.”

 

Nevertheless, the dialogue on abortion, in the context of women’s health and right to choose, has many opportunities to evolve. While Quebec has made a lot of progress, it can continue to serve as a model by pushing past decriminalization and onto the equally difficult process destigmatization.

 

~

If you are interested in learning more about local resources contact:

The Montreal Abortion Access Project at [email protected]

The Morgentaler Clinic, as well as other abortion clinics in Montreal, provides free abortion services with a Quebec Medical Card.

The Union for Gender Empowerment, at their office in the SSMU building, has a resource library on abortion services on campus.

Out on the Town, Private, Student Life

Concordia Write Nights: Finding inspiration in unlikely places

by Flaminia Cooper on

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Inspiration can come from anywhere, and Concordia Write Nights aim to help writers access it. The student-founded group organizes workshops, events, and writing groups in a variety of unusual locations across Montreal for anyone looking to develop their writing.

Started by the Students’ Association for Graduates in English (SAGE) at Concordia University in 2015, Write Nights allow writers to work in each others’ presence while drawing creativity from an unconventional environment, such as a museum or historical site. At any given event, attendees’ level of participation with the group is left completely up to them; writers have the choice to work  in solitude and silence, or to engage with other writers and seek out constructive criticism on their work.

According to Liam Lachance, a Master’s student in Creative Writing at Concordia University and an organizer of the Write Nights, one of the goals behind the event series is to push local writers out of the comfort of their writing routines, and, in turn, mitigate their creative block. The offbeat locations where these events are held provide a respite from the usual spots in which many writers tend to work, like libraries and offices, which can grow stale with time, and negatively affect their writing.

“I always want to write different things,” Lachance said. “So, if I’m always writing in the same places, I’ll probably end up writing stories that have already been written in a way [and] it misses a lot of the senses.”

On Feb. 19, Write Nights spent the afternoon in Crew Cafe, a historic bank-turned-coffee shop in the Old Port. Known as a beautiful and productive space with chandeliers hanging from incredibly high ceilings, McKenzie chose this place for its unique design, rich history, and dual use as a coffee shop and workspace.

(Flaminia Cooper / The McGill Tribune)
(Flaminia Cooper / The McGill Tribune)

 

“I’m interested in how settings affect what we write if we’re trying to do stuff that’s not conventional,” Lachance said. “There’s a norm that to write you need to read and sit in quiet spaces and I disagree with that. To me, the writing will come out very visual if you’re [just] sitting and looking, […] but [there is] rarely sound and smell and taste. I think those are really important things. And like in a cafe, I’m very aware of [these other senses].”

In addition to unlocking potential inspiration through the atypical writing spaces, Write Nights aim to bring the writing community together. Writing can be an isolating activity, but these events make the practice more social, even without pressuring attendees into active conversation. In turn, the event creates a feeling of mutual support for those who are passionate about creative writing.

“It’s an interesting dynamic because you don’t really know how many people are in these [events] with me unless they specifically come up and talk to me,” Lachance said. “A lot of people are wanting to write on their own. It’s like a community, but not necessarily everybody [has] to work with each other and talk. So, it’s like the introverted sensibilities of writers really, in the group settings.”

While remaining inclusive for all personality types, Write Nights also hopes to make the practice of writing more accessible to anyone in Montreal looking to write, not just writing students or published writers.

“There’s like an idea that if you don’t identify as a writer you can’t write,” Lachance said. “[I think this] is wrong, so [Write Nights] is to open up the space in playful areas rather than writing alone.”

Making these events accessible socially is one thing, but inclusivity also means choosing spaces that are easy to access for those with disabilities. In planning the most recent event, McKenzie was worried about the amount of stairs in Crew Cafe, and how it could prevent writers with physical limitations from attending. Thus, for the next event, which occurred in the Biodome on March 5, he made sure it was handicap-friendly to allow access for those who needed it.

Alongside Write Nights, SAGE holds writing workshops several times a month, covering topics ranging from the whimsical and creative, such as lyric writing, to the logistical, such as how to get work published.

Furthermore, SAGE creates its own chapbook—a small paperback of approximately 30 pages—which publishes the pieces that have been written during the Write Nights. They are currently taking submissions, providing a publishing opportunity for aspiring writers, as well as cash prizes. This allows writers who struggle to get their work published to reach a larger audience.

Whether it’s through workshops or writing groups held in original spaces throughout the city, Concordia Write Nights provides writers of all backgrounds a creative outlet in which to open their writing to new sources of inspiration.

To find out more about Concordia Write Nights, follow them on Facebook. 

A previous version of this article incorrectly referred to the source quoted, Liam Lachance, as Liam McKenzie. The Tribune regrets this error.

Editorial, Opinion

McGill should embrace Montreal’s bilingualism

by McGill Tribune Editorial Board on

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The QS 2017 Best Student Cities 2017 recently named Montreal the best city in the world for students. While this is certainly reason for McGill and its students to celebrate, it is also an opportunity to reflect on the university’s relationship with the predominantly French city that it is situated in. A key aspect of Montreal’s appeal to students from Canada and is its bilingual culture. It is in the interests of both the school and students to make this bilingualism part of the McGill experience and to work to better integrate the English and French sides of Montreal.

The administration has been recently making efforts to raise the profile of French on campus. Last March, the university launched a campaign to promote the “French side” of McGill. Other Canadian universities also work to incorporate French into their university experience: The University of Ottawa is bilingual, offering 90% of its courses in both French and English. Concordia, meanwhile, offers a university-facilitated French conversation program, which is specifically designed to foster French use in professional and social environments. These could serve as inspiration for future initiatives at McGill.

While Montreal clearly has much to offer students, keeping them here after graduation remains an issue—between 2000 and 2015, fewer international students stayed in Quebec than in any other province. Part of the challenge is the language barrier: The reality that many Montreal jobs require fluency in French discourages international students from working in the city after graduation. Time at the university doesn’t necessarily prepare students for a future in Montreal, as students at McGill can earn their undergraduate degree without ever needing to pick up French.

 

For many, meaningful immersion in the city’s bilingual culture is a largely untapped aspect of the Montreal—and by extension, McGill—experience.

As Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier has argued, Montreal only stands to benefit by doing more to recruit and retain its international students. This is in McGill’s interest as well. If the university is committed to seeing its students succeed in the career field and locale of their choice, it should address the language stumbling block currently deterring many students from staying in Montreal.

McGill’s status as an English university in a French-speaking province presents a unique opportunity for students to experience both sides of Canadian bilingualism and potentially pick up a different language. Anglophone students who restrict themselves to the language that they came to McGill speaking deprive themselves of this opportunity. It is valuable that students can get by in English alone at McGill, since this allows monolingual students from English areas to succeed at the university. But this does mean that for many, meaningful immersion in the city’s bilingual culture is a largely untapped aspect of the Montreal—and by extension, McGill—experience.

In addition to McGill’s efforts, students have also taken steps to address the language gap on campus: Students can learn French through choosing to enroll in language courses, SSMU Mini-Courses, or in student-run French conversation circles.

Learning a new language at university is a challenging endeavour—meaningful language acquisition requires dedication, social interaction, and regular use. But the university can still work to encourage those students who are interested in learning French, and provide them with helpful resources. Students should be aware that learning French is a part of the Montreal experience, and is essential for those interested in pursuing a career in Quebec after graduation. Through French, students can tap into the rich bilingual culture that helps make Montreal the best city in the world for students.

 

 

 

@mcgilltribop | [email protected]

 

 
Off the Board, Opinion

We need to keep asking stupid questions

by Jackie Houston on

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In my first high school political science course, I had a friend who was very clever and well-informed—the kind of self-identified young intellectual that read the New York Times like scripture. One class, he got into an argument on electoral reform in Canada with another very clever and well-informed student. I sat silently between them, surreptitiously Googling, “Is single-member-constituency bad?” and, “What does single-member-constituency mean?” It did not occur to me to ask out loud.

It’s hard to ask questions. This is especially true at McGill—at the Harvard of the North, no one wants to admit when they don’t understand something. With the wisdom of the Internet constantly at our fingertips, students often don’t have to. We can speak—or rather, remain silently confused—first, and Google later. This is true inside the classroom, but also in political discourse on campus. Political conversations are rife with answers, in the form of generally-agreed-upon soundbites about Justin Trudeau’s brand and the current political trajectory of the United States, but deficient in questions. If students are committed to becoming educated citizens and engaging in productive political discussion, we should ask more and assume less.

From kindergarten, students are told time and time again that there are no stupid questions. As kids become adolescents, however, this message is qualified: There are no stupid questions, but don’t look like an idiot. For young adults, it is less a truism than a heavily asterisked conditional: Actually, there are a lot of stupid questions, as well as offensive questions and delicate questions and divisive questions, and seriously, don’t look like an idiot.

 

If students are committed to becoming educated citizens and engaging in productive political discussion, we should ask more and assume less.

This hesitancy to ask is heightened in an environment like McGill. While it’s a privilege to study among peers who reference Noam Chomsky and use words like “dichotomy” off the cuff, if one happens to be unfamiliar with Chomsky or dichotomies, it can also be highly intimidating. Whether in lecture or in conversation about the Conservative Party leadership race, it’s easier to nod in agreement than to be the one person who needs further clarification.

In an age with unprecedented access to information, political conversations on campus seem to operate under the assumption that everyone involved is equally educated on the issue at hand. If they aren’t, they should be, because all relevant information is now available at the click of a button. Questions have no place when everyone already seems to have all the answers.

However, this simply isn’t the case. Nobody has all the answers, and when it comes to politics, few even come close. Despite rising levels of education and the Google search bar in our corner, political knowledge remains low amongst young Canadians: In a 2007 study, Canadians aged 15 to 25 correctly answered an average of 2.6 out of 7 common questions on Canadian politics, scoring only slightly higher than their American counterparts. Perhaps all relevant information is now available at the click of a button, but it seems young adults are no more politically informed for it. Whatever the explanation for this enduring ignorance—the quality of information available, the echo chambers we so often confine ourselves to in our online research, or perhaps just the persistence of the “rationally ignorant” voter—as students and as citizens we do ourselves a disservice by pretending otherwise.

On a campus where one of the worst things you can be called is “ignorant” or “uninformed,” it’s difficult for students to admit when we’re lost in a conversation. But apparently, or at least when it comes to politics, we’re often not alone in this confusion. In these cases, it is important that we ask questions—especially stupid ones. It’s in the absence of apparently stupid questions that we get dual narratives and alternative facts—when people don’t know what’s going on, they fill in the gaps for themselves. A Google search can only take us so far. The next step is critically engaging with the information that we are presented—and with each other.

 

 

Jackie Houston is an Opinion editor for the McGill Tribune and a U3 Psychology and Political Science student.

 

@mcgilltribop | [email protected]

 

 
Arts & Entertainment

The Atwater Poetry Project ‘tells the truth’ through poetry

by Avleen K Mokha on

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Most people rarely experience poetry outside of educational contexts—an AP Literature course in high school or a mandatory poetics course taken to fulfill  requirements at university. The Atwater Poetry Project is changing that, just three metro stops from campus. Founded 14 years ago by poet and translator Oana Avasilichioaei, the initiative was a joint collaboration between her and the Atwater Library. Now, the 2017 season opens, with Coordinator Deanna Radford leading the way.

“This [effort] is to bring poetry from Montreal and Canada to the neighbourhood,” said Radford. The sessions offer a means for poets to present their work in front of an audience. Readings are held monthly at the Atwater Library at 7:00 p.m. and feature two or three poets in one evening. After the readings are over, the floor is opened for a Q&A with the audience. 

Radford elaborated on her choice of picking which artists to feature. 

“It’s a really fun process. There’s a mix […] of ways in which I try to seek out poetry,” Radford said. “There were ongoing conversations with the previous coordinator and other poets. I would bring those people in, and then from my personal reading of poetry and from conversations with people who attended, I gathered suggestions.” 

The 2017 lineup is noticeably diverse. The speakers for this year’s inaugural season, held on Feb. 23, were Gwen Benaway, a Two-Spirited Trans poet from Huron County, and Adebe DeRango-Adem, a mixed-race poet from Toronto. Both poets presented work deeply influenced by their personal experiences, covering themes such as lost love, the desire to belong, and the desire to change. 

“I feel it’s important to bring in different kinds of poets from different genres and different communities,” Radford commented. “I feel that artists and poets do important work in often talking about issues more intimately than is discussed in popular media or popular culture. We look towards artists for inspiration, for salvation, for all kinds of reasons. I think it’s really exciting to hear about a range of people’s experience.”

The Atwater Poetry Project prioritizes accessibility. The venue is a block away from the metro station, and the public is encouraged to attend. 

“It’s a real gift, […] an offering to the community,” Radford said. “There’s always work to be done to spread the word.” 

In a time of unprecedented political instability, poet DeRango-Adem feels strongly about defining the need for poetry. 

“My main challenge is consistency […. to] carve out time for writing. To make it sanctuary time,” she said.  

Benaway also stressed the spiritual aspect of poetry. 

“Writing poetry is not just cathartic, but rather an exercise in prayer,” Benaway said. “When I repeat a poem at multiple locations, it becomes a mantra. That’s the powerful thing about poetry, its connection to meditation and framing in language.” 

Both poets also emphasized that poetry must be truthful to its inspiration, whether it be a personal dilemma or a social injustice. Benaway referred to a quote by Adrienne Rich: “When a woman tells the truth, she creates the possibility for more truth around her.” 

“I think in life and poetry, we have to make space for more truth,” Benaway explained.  “So, that’s what I always try to do when I go on stage, to try and tell the truth.” 

While ‘fake news’ already seems to have become the buzzword of the year, the Atwater Poetry Project provides a vital authenticity. Its sessions are accessible and aim to foster communication between artists and the public. 

“[It’s] truly a place where we can listen to and celebrate what artists have to say,” Benaway  said.

 

The upcoming session will feature readings by Kelly Norah Drukker and Carolyne Van Der Meer, and will be held  on March 23 at 7 pm at the Atwater Library and Computer Centre. 

Art, Arts & Entertainment

McGill’s Alegria Contemporary Ballet Company puts on multimedia performance

by Calvin Trottier-Chi on

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To think of dance purely as footwork is to underestimate the scope of the expression. To dance is to move, and to move can be interpreted in a variety of ways. On Feb. 23, the Alegria Contemporary Ballet Company, the only one of its kind at McGill, presented MOVE, a collaboration between fine artists, dancers, and even audience members. Alegria’s project stretched the bounds of dance, as the participating philosophers explored the meaning of movement.

Representative of the informal connections among members of the art community at McGill, five local artists (Sarah Ballentine, Flloral, Alissa Zilber, Olivia McFarlane, and Sivan Rotchin)  had previously been invited to interpret Alegria rehearsals. Rapt in the tireless practice and echoing the personal approach that Alegria seeks to cultivate, each painter drew  unique inspiration from the dances. The ballet company acted both as the muse and the audience, as MOVE marked their first time seeing the painters’ products.

Paintings and multimedia art pieces were displayed around the room, with audience members and Alegria dancers free to move around. The dancers were quick to incorporate the artistry into their work. Of particular interest were several hanging shrouds of blush-coloured fabric, with Alegria performers using them as props—entwining with them as they danced. Conceptualized by Ballentine, these veils represented the gentle flow of dance. At one end of the room stood a pair of paintings in shades of red, alongside graphic instructions for dancing “The Bunny Hop.” At the other end, works of art included streamlined dashes of Japanese ink, a surprise appearance of Spirited Away character “No Face,” and a series of black-and-white stills of the dancers performing—their black leotards sharply contrasted their paler skin while pictured in increasingly contorted positions.

Although MOVE was an interdisciplinary and interactive experience, the dance performance was the main event of the night. The dancers improvised, taking to the stage in the spur of the movement. There was no formal schedule or announcements. The start of each performance was signaled by a hush falling over the room. In turn, the dancers treated the entire room as their stage, through which audience members were free to roam around as they wished.

Although they regularly mingled with the spectators throughout the evening, the performers demonstrated unshakable concentration during their routines. Some played off one another others formed their own path; some moved in a precise, calculated fashion; others were more sporadic. All moved with a consistent personal narrative. Having been thoroughly inspired, by the end even audience members were moving in tune alongside the company.

Overall, the occasion conveyed a surreal atmosphere. Artists and dancers emanated grace, and the individual parts smoothly came together. Eden Schwartz, the event coordinator of the night, felt that MOVE accomplished its goals of hosting an innovative performance and inspiring participants.

“As I walked around the gallery I heard people talking about the art and movement and dance,” Schwartz said. “[….] I truly hope that everyone there, those who consider themselves artists and those who don’t, were inspired to go out and create!”

Hockey, Sports

PK’s back, back again

by André Morin on

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Eight months after the infamous trade that sent shock and anger throughout Montreal, former Habs fan-favourite P.K. Subban returned to the Bell Centre on Thursday, March 2. Tensions between Subban and the Montreal Canadiens’ front office boiled over last June, leading the Nashville Predators and Habs to swap their marquis defencemen. The trade prompted an outcry from the Habs faithful: One season ticket holder, “Dr. CK,” was so emotional about the trade that he decided to purchase a full page ad in the Montreal Gazette with a letter thanking Subban and lambasting the Habs coaching staff and management. He explained that he would boycott all Canadiens games at the Bell Centre, except for one: When the Predators and Subban returned to Montreal.

In a tightly contested game, the Canadiens pulled out a 2-1 win with a goal in the dying seconds. The game was satisfying for every Habs fan watching around the world–they were able to see their old star shine with an assist, but not at the cost of a Canadiens’ victory. 

Since Subban’s departure, Habs fans have been itching for the defenceman’s return to see what kind of reception he would receive from both the spectators and the organization. Unlike the typical booing and bashing that fans give their departed stars, Montreal treated Subban to a hero’s welcome. From the moment he stepped onto the ice during team warm-ups, the cheering began. After a brief tribute video, the thunderous clapping continued for the 27-year-old defenceman while he  held his stick high to honour the fans, tears welling up in his eyes. His father, certainly emotional too, looked on from a private box, taking pictures of the ceremonious events. 

The video tribute, the ovation, and Subban’s tears were all indications of the kind of impact he made on the fans of Montreal–a relationship few athletes have ever truly achieved. After being selected 43rd overall by the Canadiens in 2007, he quickly made a name for himself through his emphatic goal celebrations and end-to-end rushes with the puck. While his highlight reel goals and passion for the game made him a fan favourite, he was also a polarizing player, one who broke from the traditional hockey mold. Those who detested him claimed his style of play led to too many turnovers, or that he was a show-off who spoke his mind too often. It was hard to be indifferent when it came to Subban: Fans either loved him or loathed him.

Off the ice, Subban took his idol status seriously and his attachment to Montreal went beyond his play. He pledged $10 million to the Montreal Children’s Hospital in 2015. He made efforts to learn French and frequently addressed Bell Centre crowds in post-game interviews with “Bonsoir.” He regularly spoke of the pride he felt in playing for a storied franchise, like the Canadiens, and the love he had for the city of Montreal. Seeing a player with such a passion for the city traded away was difficult for many fans. The outrcy was nothing against the other half of the deal–Shea Weber, one of the best defencemen in the league. Rather, it stemmed from the adoration Habs fans had for the charismatic young P.K.

Eight months after being traded, Subban’s return to Montreal emphasized that neither the team nor its fans have forgotten his accomplishments, contributions, and commitments to the city. Subban holds a special place in the Montreal Canadiens’ history. There’s no doubt that some fans, like Dr. CK, are still upset about the trade. But when the Habs are playing well, hockey fans in Montreal are willing to watch games regardless of whether P.K. is there or not. 

That’s because no matter who is on the team, the most important thing is winning. As much as this city loves Subban and cares about his success, the team is doing well without him. After all, the Canadiens are still currently first in the Atlantic Division and Weber is third in team scoring with 15 goals and 38 points. 

Sports

McGill Synchro wins first for 4th year in a row

by Flaminia Cooper on

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On Feb. 25 and 26, the McGill synchronized swimming team hosted the Canadian University Synchronized Swimming League (CUSSL) Nationals against 14 other universities from across Canada at the Côte Saint-Luc Aquatic and Community Centre. McGill’s novice and expert solo performers came in second in both categories, with scores of 55.1600 and 71.4667 respectively. The novice duet groups also returned victorious, placing first (55.4700) and second (53.4483) in the finals.

Overall, McGill came out on top with 50 points, beating out Ottawa, who came in second with 48 points. This is the 14th championship out of 16 that McGill has won since the beginning of the CUSSL Nationals in 2002.

McGill’s novice and expert teams were left in fifth place after their preliminary rounds on the first day of the competition. However, Head Coach Lindsay Duncan remained optimistic about her team’s chances.

“The year has been great, our practices have been going well, [and] the group is really committed,” Duncan said. “[With] our strongest novice team, we’re hoping for the gold. They’ve been training with that as their focus all year [and] we’re going to do our job, go in there and swim the best we can.”

Indeed, both novice teams came out on top with McGill’s black team—the higher performing novice team—winning gold and the red team—the lower performing novice team—placing third. Their biggest competition was from McMaster University, who managed to slip into second place between the two McGill teams.

“I’ve never given so much energy in one run-through,” freshman Julia Barreau and competitor on the black team said.

The expert team had fierce competition but pulled through and managed to place second with a score of 70.0917, beaten only by the University of Ottawa’s score of 73.6250.

“It’s really emotional for some of us because it’s our last year swimming nationals and swimming synchro ever,” Senior Isaline Nguyen said. “We felt really good about that last swim, it was our best swim of the year.”

The team’s hard work and countless hours of practice clearly paid off.

“We couldn’t have asked for better than first place and third place in novice,” Duncan said. “It exceeded our expectations. And then in the expert category, to move up from fifth in [preliminaries] to second is amazing.”


 

Stats corner: McGill’s win is the second-closest margin of victory, after the CUSSL Nationals in 2012 where the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI) won first place over McGill by one point.

Key moments: The crowd cheered loudest for the McGill teams as they pushed their team members out of the water in a series of flips.
Quotable: “I think the past few weeks we really managed to get together as a team, and the spirit [really] changed since the last competition.” —Senior Isaline Nguyen

News, SSMU

Igor Sadikov resigns from SSMU BoD, Legislative Council to consider motion to remove him

by Nicholas Jasinski on

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Following votes not to remove Director and Arts Representative Igor Sadikov from the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Board of Directors (BoD) and the Arts Undergraduate Society (AUS) Legislative Council, SSMU Legislative Council will consider a motion to remove Sadikov at its March 9 meeting.

“Be it Resolved that Igor Sadikov be formally removed from his role as Arts Representative to Legislative Council, effective immediately, for impropriety and for violation of the provisions of the Constitution,” reads the motion.

On Feb. 23, Sadikov issued a statement to fellow SSMU representatives, members of the McGill administration, and campus media announcing his resignation from the BoD, citing pressure from the McGill administration.

“Due to the interference of the administration, my continued membership on the [BoD] is, at this juncture, a legal liability for the Society, and it is in the Society’s best interest that I resign my position,” Sadikov wrote. “It has been a privilege to serve the Society as a director, and I hope to continue contributing to the Society’s activities through other avenues.”

On Feb. 6, Sadikov tweeted “punch a zionist [sic] today” from a personal Twitter account, causing significant controversy on campus. The BoD voted on Feb. 13 to retain Sadikov in his position as Director, but issued a formal censure against him and released a statement from Sadikov apologizing for his actions.

“I regret that members of the McGill community have felt unsafe as a result of the tweet, which, without context, appears to be a genuine call to violence,” Sadikov wrote. “[…] I do not wish to enact, and would not condone, violence of any kind toward anyone in my community. I hope that, despite the high level of attention it garnered, my tweet can be understood for what it was: a misguided joke with a political meaning, rather than a credible call for violence.”

Shortly following the BoD vote, a meeting was held between Principal and Vice-Chancellor Suzanne Fortier, Sadikov, and SSMU President Ben Ger. It was alleged that during this meeting, Fortier threatened to withhold student fees collected on behalf of SSMU if the Society did not publicly call for Sadikov’s resignation.

“The University’s senior leaders shared their strong belief that the SSMU executives should ask for the resignation of SSMU Board member Igor Sadikov, who recently sent a Tweet inciting violence against a specific group,” Fortier wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “While McGill’s administration normally does not recommend a course of action to the SSMU leadership, this situation is exceptional. With any incitement to violence, it is the administration’s duty to intervene.”

Ger said that SSMU’s Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the university gives the administration the ability to exert influence over SSMU affairs.

“The MoA was referenced in viewing the situation,” Ger said. “The university was [saying], ‘Look the constitution lays out specific principles. You need to adhere to those.’ They basically [said], ‘Here’s the constitution. It’s our opinion that this is the case, is it yours?’ Ultimately, the executive said, ‘Yes it is our agreement between our bodies because technically, we’re tied to it.’”

In an email sent to the student body on Feb. 17, SSMU Vice-President (VP) Internal Affairs Daniel Lawrie announced that the SSMU executive board recommended Sadikov’s resignation due to his violations of the SSMU Constitution (16.1 Standard of Care), which requires every Director, Councillor, Officer, and member of any committee of the BoD or Legislative Council of the Society to conduct himself in good faith with a view to the best interests of the Society.

“Every [member of the SSMU BoD or Legislative Council] must uphold the Standard of Care for all members of the community as outlined in our Constitution,” Lawrie wrote. “It is the decision of the Executive Committee that Councillor Sadikov’s recent actions did not uphold this responsibility. More specifically, we believe that Councillor Sadikov’s actions were an incitement of violence and, for that reason alone, we have recommended that he resign from his position as a Director and as an Arts Representative to the Legislative Council.”

Sadikov did not comply with the calls for his resignation and condemned the university administration for involving itself in student-run institutions.

“This level of interference in student government is a new low for the university,” Sadikov told The McGill Daily on Feb. 17. “The Principal made it very clear that what she cares about in this situation is bending to political pressure from donors and alumni, rather than acting in the best interest of the campus community and respecting the decisions of the student groups affected.”

On Feb. 22, AUS Legislative Council voted 22-16 not to remove Sadikov. The motion was moved by a collection of departmental representatives.

“The movers of this motion […] feel that Representative Sadikov’s attempts to apologize for his tweet have failed to properly reassure constituent members of the AUS that he can represent them impartially and in good faith, particularly if those members are Jewish and/or Zionists,” read the motion. “[…] The movers of this motion strongly believe that his service and presence on both this council, and at the SSMU, is damaging to the society, a failure of service to the membership, and cannot continue.”

 

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the AUS Legislative Council motion to remove Igor Sadikov was moved by AUS executives. In fact, it was moved by a group of departmental representatives.

News, SSMU

SSMU General Assembly approves Motion Regarding Policy Against Ancillary Fee Increases

by Julia Metraux on

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On Feb. 20, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Winter 2017 General Assembly (GA) passed motions to oppose increases in ancillary fees and to formally ratify the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The GA was delayed by one hour in order to meet quorum. Although quorum was eventually reached, it was not held long enough to approve the final motion regarding floor fellow bargaining.

Motion Regarding Policy Against Ancillary Fee Increases

This motion proposed that SSMU call for a moratorium on overhead fee increases from the university until Feb. 20, 2022. Additionally, the creation of a committee with student parity representation was proposed in order to review and approve budgets of ancillary fee-funded units. These units include Student Services, Athletics and Recreation, Athletics Facilities Improvement, Access McGill, and the World University Services Canada (WUSC) Refugee Program. This motion passed with a majority vote.

Ancillary fees are mandatory student fees that are often increased through motions submitted by the fee-funded. These units are subject to overhead charges from the university for expenses including accounting, legal, and maintenance services. Vice-President (VP) University Affairs Erin Sobat said that overhead charges for Student Services have increased from $30,679 in 2010 to $651,385 in 2017.

Sobat, one of the movers of the motion, responded to a concern from the audience that halting ancillary fees increases will result in services being cut.

“The university has certain financial obligations to maintain,” Sobat said. “In the context of student services, in particular, we would not expect that because they do have a surplus."

Motion Regarding the Formal Ratification of the UN Sustainable Development Goals

In 2015, the UN General Assembly unanimously adopted a set of 17 SDGs in order to combat climate change and promote cooperation among member states. This motion proposed that SSMU ratify the SDGs in order to make a tangible impact on its members’ awareness of sustainability. Attendees of the GA voted to pass the motion.

Joelle Moses, U1 Arts, moved the motion and said that McGill would be the first educational institute to ratify the UN SDGs if approved at the GA.

“These 17 goals provide [the background] for policies for universal prosperity, peace, and equality,” Moses said. “These goals include no poverty, zero hunger, good health and wellbeing, quality education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, encouraging economic growth.”

Some students at the GA, including Rez Life Coordinator Lucie Lastinger, questioned the productivity of this motion, as existing like Divest McGill which strive have the the same goals. Moses responded that spreading awareness about the UN SDGs alone will help members of SSMU.

“If the GA [passes] this motion, it goes onto all [SSMU] students at McGill,” Moses said. “If a student looks up SDGs, that step has positive implications.”

Motion Regarding Support for Floor Fellow Bargaining

Since October 2014, McGill floor fellows have been lobbying the university to receive monetary compensation for their work. Before this motion was voted on, some students left the GA, breaking quorum and causing the GA to become a consultative forum. Remaining attendees voted to support the motion, but could not officially approve it due to the loss of quorum. The motion will be presented for approval at the SSMU Legislative Council meeting on Feb. 23.

According to the Association of McGill University Support Employees (AMUSE) VP Floor Fellow Isabelle Oke, floor fellows do not receive a wage but are instead given room and board as remuneration. Senate Caucus William Cleveland said that  against the Quebec Act Regarding Labour Standards, which states that workplaces must provide employees a minimum wage for their labour.

In a post made on Feb. 3, AMUSE announced that representatives from both parties had signed an agreement in the presence of an arbitrator, but McGill ultimately backed out. Oke said that this motion would require SSMU to assist floor fellows attempting to improve their working conditions as the administration has not been receptive thus far.

“Floor fellows are currently being paid $0 an hour and are without a proper union,” Oke said. “This motion is to mobilize SSMU members to support Floor Fellows.”

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