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SSMU McGill
a, News, SSMU

SSMU Council approves creation of ad-hoc committees, review executive reports

by Sara Cullen on

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On Thursday, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Council met for the first time this year to highlight recent events on campus, and to discuss the creation of ad-hoc committees.

Approval of motion regarding the creation of ad-hoc committees

Council approved a motion proposing the creation of seven different committees to address issues within SSMU such as club consultation, student engagement, internal regulation review, and finances. The committees will disband once their goals are achieved.

VP Internal Affairs Lola Baraldi, however,  spoke in favour of the committees becoming permanent additions.

“This was mandated for Council last year and was never really followed through with, so I hope that after this year there will be Standing Committees,” Baraldi said.

SSMU President Kareem Ibrahim clarified the decision to make the Internal Regulation Review Committee a temporary one.

“The reason that [the Internal Regulation Review Committee] is Ad-Hoc is because we strive to have general regulations that are consistent and viable and make a society that doesn’t necessarily undergo overhaul on a consistent basis,” he said. “Every time we review [the regulations] there is a little bit of instability that ensues because of having to function with different regulations on a regular basis.”

VP Finance and Operations, Zacheriah Houston, expressed concern over the creation of an Ad-Hoc Finance Committee, as past finance committees were disbanded due to lack of expertise among councillors.

“I feel that the committee was misused in the past,” he said. “[It reviewed] the investment portfolio, which you would need […] accounting experience to do. I would rather see this committee [help] advise the VP Finance regarding resource allocation, for which you don’t need a degree or experience to do.”

Reports by SSMU Executives

Vice-President University Affairs

VP University Affairs Chloe Rourke shared the results of an earlier survey of the student body with regards to instituting a Fall Reading Week.

“The results of the survey sent out in the winter semester showed that approximately 70 per cent of students were in favour of a Fall Reading Week after reviewing the tradeoffs,” she wrote in her report.

According to Rourke, the most preferred tradeoff to makeup for the school days missed as a result of the Fall Reading Week was to have exams held on Saturdays. A proposal will be brought forward to suggest a five-day break that will coincide with Canadian Thanksgiving but will likely not be implemented for another two to three academic years.

Vice-President Internal

Baraldi reported changes in management of this year’s Orientation Week. This year saw an emphasis on inclusive programming and minimization of the impact of Frosh on the community surrounding McGill. Although most feedback was positive, logistical shortcomings occurred on  Beach Day causing many students to arrive late to the event.

“The students who got to Beach Day late were contacted and were offered something to make up for their inconvenience, but they kindly declined, acknowledging the logistical difficulties of running such a large event,” Baraldi’s report said.

President

Following  of SSMU General Manager Jennifer Varkonyi’s resignation the SSMU office has experienced instability according to Ibrahim. Varkonyi will remain with SSMU until Sept. 29, after which an interim general manager will be hired and staff will work on tasks that are normally assigned to the general manager.

“A lot of my work has unfortunately been put on the back burner and may remain that way for a long while,” Ibrahim said.

An external hiring firm will be used to hire a new general manager.

PGSS Thomson House
a, News, PGSS

PGSS Council approves motion to adopt Traditional Territory Acknowledgement

by Josh Dimakakos on

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The Post-Graduate Students’ Society  of McGill (PGSS) came together for its first Council meeting of the academic year this past Wednesday. Several motions were passed including the adoption of a Traditional Territory Acknowledgement Statement, and an increase in graduate student fees due to ongoing legal costs associated with the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS). Council additionally discussed plans for McGill’s financial divestment from the fossil fuel industry.

Traditional Territory Acknowledgement

PGSS proposed a motion to adopt a Traditional Territory Acknowledgement Statement to recognize Indigenous land claims made to the property of McGill University. The statement was drafted in collaboration with Indigenous members of the McGill community, the Kahnawake Cultural Centre and Indigenous Studies scholars across Canada.

“McGill University is located on land which has long served as a site of meeting and exchange amongst Indigenous peoples, including the Haudenosaunee and Anishinabeg nations,” the statement reads. “McGill University honours and respects the diverse Indigenous peoples connected to this territory on which we gather today.”

The motion mandates that it will be displayed prominently on the PGSS website and recited before PGSS Council sessions, meetings, and assemblies.

External Affairs Officer Bradley Por addressed the concern that this statement initially received.

“A lot of that [resistance] has been about the text of the statement,” he said. “I guess [it] was fear of land claims, and there’s really no chance of that happening. The current statement doesn’t specifically say that this is someone else’s land. “

Por also stated that it was the responsibility of PGSS to acknowledge the Indigenous ties that McGill’s land has.

“It’s up to us to recognize the history and the truth of this land and it’s an important statement for us to make as a council,” he said.

Increases in Special Projects, Membership Fees

Financial Affairs Officer Behrang Sharif announced that following PGSS’ withdrawal from the CFS, an organization that lobbies at the federal level for student rights, in 2010, the PGSS budget has accrued a deficit of $611,000. A large part of this deficit comes from the costs of ongoing legal cases PGSS has with CFS.

“In 2010 we decided to get out of CFS,” he said. “We were charged about $120,000 a year for membership in this Federation and they were doing nothing. [PGSS] decided to get out of that Federation, […] stopped paying [membership fees] and started litigation against CFS. “

To address the deficit, PGSS passed a motion raising certain fees for all graduate students. The Special Projects Fund, which was created in response to the need for legal costs, will have its fees raised from $4.60 to $6.60 per semester, and PGSS membership fees will be raised from $32.59 to $35.85 per semester. These increases will be tied to inflation until 2027 and will be implemented starting January 2016.

“In exactly 11 semesters, if we do everything perfectly, we could recuperate that $611,000,” Sharif said.

Divestment

PGSS Environmental Co-Commissioner Victor Frankel expressed interest in reducing McGill’s involvement in the fossil fuel industry. McGill’s current endowment contains significant investments in this sector, including energy companies such as Shell, Chevron, Enbridge, and Suncor. Frankel explained that Divest McGill  has taken a 160-page report and petition concerning divestment to McGill’s Board of Governors.

“We’re moving forward with petitioning the Board of Governors, [who] received our petition last year, to freeze all investments in fossil fuels, which is a tanking economy, but also to consider the petition to divest on grounds of social injury,” Frankel said.

Additionally, Divest McGill will be hosting Fossil Free Week from September 21 through 25, aimed at furthering McGill’s plans to combat climate change.

“We’re going to be having workshops, teachings by professors, special speakers, and indigenous peoples,” Frankel said. “We will also have a march from Community Square to the CBC studios where the [Canadian Federal leaders] will be debating next Thursday.”

Frankel also announced his plans to submit a motion for re-endorsement of the petition towards divestment at the next Council meeting.

a, News, SSMU

SSMU general manager resigned in August, citing personal circumstances

by Aislinn Kalob on

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Jennifer Varkonyi, general manager of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), resigned in late August after a six-month tenure.

“My decision for stepping down from the role of general manager of the SSMU was made due to personal circumstances,” Varkonyi wrote in an email to the Tribune. “The Executive Committee is working hard on the recruitment strategy. My last day is planned for September 29, 2015.”

The position of general manager, outlined in Article 12 of the SSMU Constitution, is the only permanent staff position to be constitutionally entrenched. The general manager’s responsibilities include consulting on long-term matters of planning and administration, maintaining SSMU’s financial stability, and to assist the SSMU president in managing internal human resources.

“The general manager [is someone] I like to refer to as the institutional memory hub of the SSMU,” Kareem Ibrahim, SSMU president, said. “We have an annual turnover [of SSMU Executives], which is inherently destabilizing. The general manager is supposed to be the person who stays around for at least five to seven years, hopefully a decade at a time.”

Varkonyi was hired in February 2015. She succeeded Pauline Gervais, who retired after serving as SSMU’s general manager for 12 years. Gervais cited the difficulties of the position as part of the reason she chose to retire.

“It was time for me to leave because I was getting tired of starting over year after year […] with new executives and having to train them,” Gervais said. “It is very hard on the [permanent] staff to deal with different people every year, different mentalities and different ways and visions […] because the staff remains there, and the executives are replaced every year.”

Following Varkonyi’s hiring, certain tasks under the job description of the general manager were delegated to SSMU executives or other SSMU staff members in order to lessen some of the challenges she might have faced during the transition period.

"The general manager [is someone] I like to refer to as the institutional memory hub of the SSMU,” Kareem Ibrahim, SSMU president, said. “We have an annual turnover, which is inherently destabilizing. The general manager is supposed to be the person who stays around for at least five to seven years, hopefully a decade at a time.

“The position of general manager has an incredibly steep learning curve, and the transition has historically been challenging," Ibrahim said. “This past summer saw an unprecedented level of work in the SSMU office and we faced many difficulties. We did a lot of shuffling of tasks to try and ensure that no single staff member was met with an unmanageable workload. We regret seeing Jennifer leave, as she contributed a lot to the organization and supported the team during a time when many changes were taking place.”

Gervais explained that she had minimal involvement in Varkonyi’s transition to the position.

“I don't think she had enough training,” Gervais said. “I offered, because I was available to stay with her a couple weeks to do day-to-day stuff [….] For me, it was very, very important that SSMU didn't suffer because of me leaving after that long, but they had chosen not to have me help.”

According to Ibrahim, the hiring process for a new general manager following Gervais’ resignation was rushed.

“The past executive decided to do an internal recruitment and not spend money on an external firm—which is typically the process for positions as big as these,” he said. “That internal recruitment was only done by the president and the [human resources] advisor and the outgoing general manager, which we will be doing differently.”

Although Varkonyi’s last day as general manager is in September, she may stay on in a part-time role through October. SSMU will seek a new general manager through an independent head-hunting firm. SSMU may additionally consult a hiring committee composed of members of the McGill community. In the meantime, SSMU may potentially seek an interim hire to fill the position.

Barclays logo
a, Soccer, Sports

Takeaways from month one of the Barclays Premier League

by Zikomo Smith on

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Month in brief

August saw table-topping Manchester City kill the competition and Chelsea slump to seventeenth place. Manchester United and Arsenal overcame shaky starts to reach second and third, respectively.A mid-table team renaissance, however, saw Crystal Palace, Everton, Leicester, and Swansea nipping at United and the Gunners’ heels. Storied clubs Tottenham and Liverpool were uninspiring. Most teams have been very competitive this month.

Players-of-the-month

Andre Ayew and Bafetimbi Gomis of Swansea have seven goals between them. They terrorized Manchester United in the Swans’ 2-1 victory. Playmaker David Silva has shone brightest amongst the many stars at Manchester City. Riyad Mahrez has been a true match-winner for Leicester City, with four goals to date. Steven Naismith of Everton recently completed a hat-trick against Chelsea and 21-year-old Callum Wilson has been making scoring look easy at Bournemouth with four goals in four games.

Team-of-the-month

Manchester City, undefeated so far this season, stand out from the pack. Winger Raheem Sterling has brought energy to a fantastic attack that previously sported David Silva and Sergio Aguero. The depth that Kevin De Bruyne adds helped City overcome an injury to Aguero and survive against Crystal Palace. Their defence has looked much better than last season due to Vincent Kompany and Yaya Toure returning to form and the excellence of defensive midfielder Fernandinho. City is sharp at both ends of the pitch; they boast the second-best possession and passing completion percentages in the league. They also have the most tackles and interceptions per game.

Deadline day madness

Manchester United paid through the nose for 19-year-old Anthony Martial. No teenager is worth £36 million, no matter how good he may be. City brought in De Bruyne to bolster the league’s best midfield for £57 million. Everton rebuffed Chelsea’s advances for John Stones. Chelsea made no significant moves and Manager Jose Mourinho’s team slumped further from the top four.

Goal-of-the-month

Samir Nasri vs. Everton. Sporting fans live for such moments of grace. At the right edge of the box Samir Nasri passed to Yaya Toure and then glided between two Everton defenders towards the goal. With minimal movement, Toure looped the ball off the inside boot over those two defenders. Nasri collected the ball and chipped the goalie in one seamless, loping bound. Watch the goal with the sound off—there is a sublime and frictionless quality to it.

Champions League Predictions

The Champions League commences on September 15. Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United will be representing the Premier League. City has the toughest group containing last year’s runners up Juventus . They ought to make it through the group stage, but defending Europa League champions Sevilla will be a tough matchup. The other three sides should reach the top 16. Can the Premier League teams improve on last year’s disappointing showing? Only City look like they have the quality to go deep in the tournament, given Chelsea’s poor start. Expect Manchester United to have a fiery group stage match against PSV Eidenhoven when Memphis Depay returns to his former club.

Football articles of the month

Here is a list of my favorite articles about the Barclays Premier League that I read this month:

Echoes in Eternity: Which coach has been the most influential of all time?

José Mourinho thrives on tension but after two years it becomes a problem

A pragmatic proposal for FIFA reform

How West Brom secured Salomón Rondón thanks to Vladimir Putin's protectionism

Empress Of Me
a, Arts & Entertainment

Album Review: Empress Of – Me / XL

by Demaris Oxman on

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In the world of electronica, it’s easy for the synthesizers and drum machines to feel monotonous and unoriginal, and for the songs to blend together due to the lack of instruments. Yet Empress Of—the solo project of Honduran-American singer Lorely Rodriguez—manages to avoid this tedium in its debut album, Me. Instead she produces a unique, trippy ‘indietronica,’ combining synths and dance beats with haunting vocals and deep, introspective lyrics.

There’s something hypnotizing about Rodriguez’s arrangements. Layers of swirling synthpop sounds build into a psychedelic experience, almost as if the listener is being dragged through the spaces of Rodriguez’s own mind. Her sonic tapestries range from a sparse framework layered beneath vocals on the album’s opener, “Everything is You,” to a plunge onto the dancefloor at an underground club in “How Do You Do It.” With her deeply intimate and personal lyrics, this sense of seeping nto her consciousness becomes stronger as the album progresses. She explores obsessive romance in “Everything Is You,” reflects on a dying relationship in “Need Myself,” and remarks on her struggle for female independence in “Kitty Kat.”

Ultimately, Rodriguez’s vocal performance is what makes the album. There is an ethereal quality to her voice that transcends the electronic beats of the musical backdrop. It provides a heavy contrast that keeps the songs engaging even when when the arrangements begin to feel repetitive. Her vocal range is dynamic and powerful, and she skillfully uses it as an element of the background arrangement sets her work apart.

True to its title, Me takes its listener on a surreal journey through its creator’s conscience. There are moments when you can hear Rodriguez’s inexperience, but her indisputable talent shows through. Me is a strong debut album, and we can be sure of hearing more from Empress Of in the future.

Standout tracks: “Everything is You” & “Need Myself”

Dan Bejar Destroyer
a, Arts & Entertainment

Album Review: Destroyer – Poison Season / Merge

by Caleb McKend on

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Since the mid ‘90s, singer-songwriter Dan Bejar’s Destroyer project has always been flooded with comparisons to the great rock music of yore. From Leonard Cohen and David Bowie to Roxy Music, Destroyer’s constantly shifting sound always finds a way to invade a new, name check-able era while still seeming fresh, thanks in large part to Bejar’s secret weapon: himself. Carrying a theatrical swagger on stage and record, Bejar comes off less like an indie rock musician and more like a poet unstuck from time. On the tenth Destroyer record, Poison Season, the frontman/maestro fully commits to forging a bombastic sound.

The album adds blaring saxophones and atmospheric string sections which, when combined with the occasional disco production or Latin drumline, give way to comparisons to everything from glam Bowie to a spy thriller soundtrack. The album never feels small, though it lurks in the shadows as much as it blasts. Standout brooding tracks like “Girl In A Sling” and the “Times Square, Poison Season” bookends are buried in atmospheric strings and piano, though it’s the louder tracks where Poison Season really shines. Look no further than “Dream Lover,” bursting out following the subdued first track without hesitation, an absolute steam roll of Springsteen-esque energy that never lets up. It’s almost unfair to have it sequenced so early, as nothing else on the album matches its intensity.

In front of his band, Bejar is still undoubtedly the star. Packing his lyrical tropes of impossibly romantic imagery and characters, Canadian indie rock’s great curmudgeon has never sounded quite so much like a frontman. He has fully embraced the theatricality that got him here, allowing the seething conviction in his vocals to shine. Bejar channels love and disdain almost interchangeably. On “Dream Lover” and “Times Square” he’s leaving his troubles behind and embracing the idealism of both people and places, only for the same concepts to begin decaying later on; both moods are stuffed with equally beautiful imagery.

This is the first Destroyer album following the surprise success of Kaputt and, with all its drama and grandiosity, Poison Season seems like the perfect reaction. It works as both a primer for what Bejar and company. do best, but features some of the project’s crispest production and a freshly dynamic vocal performance to light a fire under old fans. The album’s third and fourth acts do tend to get tedious, especially when Bejar’s vocals take a break in favour of extended instrumental stretches. Despite this, the record remains a showcase of one of modern music’s most delightfully enigmatic figures embracing his own cult of personality to great returns.

Standout Tracks: “Girl in a sling” & “Times Square, Poison Season”

Beach House Depression Cherry
a, Arts & Entertainment

Album Review: Beach House – Depression Cherry / Sub Pop & Bella Union

by Greta Rainbow on

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From the first notes of intro track “Levitation,”indie rock duo Beach House delivers the same silver breathy vocals and distant tambourine that exemplified their first release. Depression Cherry is soft and enveloping. It’s a good album, but less so in the context of past Beach House masterpieces. After the 2012 release of Bloom, it was clear that Victoria Legrand and Alex Scully had floated from their early work into something still recognizably ethereal, but this time deeper and stronger, like a first lucid dream experience.

The lyrics speak to universalities that are felt in the smallest ways: “In the night we sleep together / The walls are shaking in their skin.” Each track remains a distinct piece with an open narrative. Bloom was a triumph; its pulsing drums and twinkling synths offered the euphoria one feels on a playground swing at the moment when the body is lifted from the seat to be level with the treetops. Depression Cherry is the fall back to the resting position.

Legrand’s voice is no less hypnotizing, but with less experimentation from track to track, the album becomes a rather monochromatic and melancholy exercise in dream pop. Even the subject matter, in all its ambiguity, suggests the stability of a long-term relationship as opposed to the all-absorbing emotions of new love and heartbreak felt on previous records. Beach House is still transporting us to a dream state, but this time it feels more like they are pulling our eyelids down, rather than lulling the listener into tenderness.

Standout Tracks: Leviathan, Sparks

NFL Fantasy Football
a, Football, Sports

Fantasy Football: Keep calm, everything is fine

by Aaron Rose on

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You’re excited. You spent all Sunday streaming as many games as your bandwidth could handle and now you’re about to overreact when it comes to your fantasy football team. Before you relegate Peyton Manning to the bench next week, make sure to take a step back and make sense of what happened in Week 1.

Marucs Mariota is not a Hall-of-Famer: Well, he might be one day, but certainly not yet. Pick him up if he’s a free agent in your league, but keep in mind that he played the Buccaneers last week and there’s a reason that Tampa Bay had the worst record in the league last year. Also, do not count Jameis Winston out just yet. Sure he struggled in his first game, but he was missing wide receiver Mike Evans who’s expected to be back next week. It wasn’t too long ago that we were questioning if Andrew Luck was the real deal after one bad week in 2012.

James Jones is back: After two years in the football graveyard that is Oakland, Jones is back with superstar quarterback Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. He and Rodgers just have ‘it’—a certain connection that always seems to result in the back of the end zone. In 2012, when he led the league in touchdown receptions, one out of every five of  his catches put points on the board. If he’s available in your league, pick him up.

Percy Harvin is tempting: When he’s not getting in fights with teammates or injured, Percy Harvin can be a serious game changer. He’s never really had a true position in the NFL, but his combination of speed and agility gives Buffalo Bills Head Coach Rex Ryan a lethal weapon he can play anywhere on the field. It’s only Week 1, but Harvin could become the go-to-receiver for new quarterback Tyrod Taylor.

The fill ins: Indianapolis Colts wideout Donte Moncrief is going to be the top receiver in Indy until T.Y. Hilton gets back from a knee injury. If Terrance Williams is available in your league, he could be a fantasy game-changer in Dallas until Dez Bryant returns from injury. Tennessee running back Bishop Sankey had an outstanding week one and with David Cobb out, he should be the Titans’ starting running back for the foreseeable future.

Defence roulette: This can be a dangerous strategy, but if you missed out on getting one of the league’s top defences you will have to juggle your team’s defence from week-to-week. If the Dolphins are available, they’re your best bet this week, but in deep leagues, you might want to go with the Titans defence. They’re matched up against the Browns this week and with or without Josh McCown, they’re totally punchless. If you’re really lucky, Johnny Manziel gets the start and you’re guaranteed a turnover or two.

Lightning round: Everything is fine! Manning will be fine in Denver. Will he lead the league in touchdown passes? No, but he should be your team’s starting quarterback every single week. Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson will probably be fine. This was most likely just a bad week, but it might take Peterson a while to get back into his rhythm. Carlos Hyde is fine. He just locked down the starting job in one of the league’s most run-heavy offence’s out in San Francisco. Lastly, your team is fine. Don’t over-think your roster. Your starters should start and barring some exceptional circumstances, your bench players should sit. If you start tinkering with your lineup, you will likely lose.

SSMU McGill
a, News, SSMU

SSMU weighing involvement in developing student federations

by Jin Lee on

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In March, the Fédération des Associations Étudiantes du Campus de l’Université de Montreal (FAÉCUM), a student union at the Université de Montreal, chose to disaffiliate from the Fédération Etudiante Universitaire du Quebec (FEUQ), a provincial student federation. Consequently, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) and other student associations entered into congresses about forming a new provincial federation. 

SSMU Vice-President (VP) External, Emily Boytinck, stated that two new provincial student federations, the Union Etudiants du Quebec (UEQ) and the Association for the Voice of Education in Quebec (AVEQ), had been formed as a result of these summer congresses. 

“I’ve been going to […] congresses [for both] all summer,” she said. “Things that we decided were […] the voting method, the structures– what are the portfolios, what are the committees– that sort of thing.”

SSMU is a currently a non-voting observer at the UEQ, and a voting participant at the AVEQ roundtable. SSMU has not contributed financially to either federation.

“In April, [the UEQ] wanted everyone to sign this contract, to provide resources for the association,” Boytinck stated. “No financial commitment was technically required. We didn’t sign the contract [because] we didn’t want to.”

Boytinck explained that student associations will decide on their affiliations once the administrative structures of each federation have been finalized. The student associations that have signed contracts with the UEQ are still not officially affiliated with the UEQ because the contracts pertained to the developmental stages of the federation.

“In late September there will be the last [congress] for the AVEQ, that’s where a lot of the final decisions will be made,” Boytinck said. “I think a lot of people are starting to look into affiliations very soon.”

She added that the UEQ had already hired their executives, while AVEQ will be hiring part-time staff. 

“Right now [AVEQ is] in the process of hiring two staff members instead of executives,” she said. “[They will] be hired by any student organizations that are participating [in AVEQ’s roundtable]. [SSMU] didn’t put any money in, but we’re still going to be involved in the decision.”

Both federations are also finalizing their fee structures.

“[The UEQ’s] fee levy per student per semester is $4.50,” Boytinck said. “The AVEQ’s is most likely going to be $2.50. Our finance committee meetings [with AVEQ are] ongoing, so that will be more confirmed later.” 

According to Boytinck, UEQ and AVEQ were created as a result of disagreements over the original FEUQ’s proportional voting system. 

“SSMU was one of the founding members of the FEUQ, and we’ve joined and left three times,” she said. “In recent years [the FEUQ’s] proportional voting system has caused tensions due to the back door politics that this type of voting method creates.” 

The proportional vote, Boytinck explained, required a double majority in order for a motion to be passed. First, every member association at the table received one vote. This is known as the one association, one vote method. Each vote was then weighted based on the size and membership of each association: The larger the association, the more weight their vote carried. 

“[SSMU is] the fourth-largest student association in Quebec,” Boytinck said. “With the double majority system […] large associations […] can stop things that pass by the one association, one vote […. SSMU is] still subject to a lot of risk for that.”

VP External of Regroupement des étudiants de maîtrise, de diplôme et de doctorat de l’Université de Sherbrooke’ (REMDUS), the graduate students’ society at l’Université Sherbrooke, Guillaume Raymond, commented on the financial and contractual obligations UEQ required  from student associations during its developmental stage. 

“Some associations didn’t want to [have a] formal organization […or] have  a contract signed because that would involve putting money [in the project],” Raymond stated. “But we did want this.”

The Université de Quebec à Montreal’s (UQÀM) Association des étudiantes et étudiants de la Faculté des sciences de l’Éducation de l’UQAM (ADEESE) left the UEQ roundtable over such contractual obligations. 

“[ADEESE] wanted to [avoid spending the] resources and money of members in a process they wouldn’t join later; this didn’t fit the consensus around the table,” the executive council explained in French on its website. “We feel [this] urgency isn’t justified, given the importance of taking time to establish the foundations of [the] association.”

Raymond expressed confidence in UEQ’s progress, however. 

“We’re currently still working on it in the hopes that it will be finalized within the months to come,” he said. “It helps with the resources we’ve put on the project […] so I’m confident that in the coming months, we will have something to present to the students.” 

SSMU, the Concordia Students’ Union (CSU), and  McGill’s Post-Grad Student Society (PGSS) released a letter of support for AVEQ this summer. Boytinck highlighted that the roundtable discussions with AVEQ had been productive with regards to establishing core values.

“As anglophone student associations, we’re in a very different place compared to other student associations,” she said. “There’s been a lot [in terms] of accommodation, so we’ve been really impressed by that.”

Going forward, Boytinck stated that she will present information about both federations to SSMU’s Legislative Council. SSMU will have the option to join one federation or remain disaffiliated, and this decision would be ratified through a referendum question that will be presented to all students.

“Personally, I’m in no rush,” she explained. “I think that in order for students to know really what’s going on, there needs to be a ton of consultation.” 

Additional reporting done by Shrinkhala Dawadi

a, Out on the Town, Student Life

Out on the town: Montreal’s best eggs Benedict

by Keara Campos on

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The eggs Benedict is a staple of any brunch menu. In its truest form it is a soft-poached egg on top of a savoury bed of ham, laid on an English muffin and covered in the raison d’être, hollandaise sauce. Hollandaise sauce is a French sauce made primarily of egg yolk and butter, but also often seasoned with lemon, cayenne pepper, and salt. The three following restaurants are the strongest contenders in the battle for the title of Montreal’s best eggs Benedict.

Restaurant L'Avenue

 

Located up in the borough of Plateau-Mont Royal, Restaurant L’Avenue has the widest variety of eggs Benedict on the list. The restaurant is easy to spot from the line of brunch-goers spilling out the door. The wait for smaller groups is normally fairly well-paced, which is a relief to customers since the restaurant does not take reservations. Bright graffiti covers the walls of the bustling dining room with a suspended motorcycle hanging from the ceiling, giving the atmosphere a funky but comfortable feel. For those who are Instagram aficionados, L’Avenue’s bathroom is a popular selfie destination due to its one of a kind glow-in-the-dark graffiti theme.

Eggs Benedict prices range from $12.50 to $15 with plenty of options from classic to the sucré-salé-croustillant. The latter dish distinguishes L’Avenue from other top breakfast locations. It is two poached eggs on top of panko covered French toast, with black forest ham, gruyère cheese, covered in hollandaise and drizzled with maple syrup, and comes with a side of home fries. The sucré-salé-croustillant is an overwhelming amount of food to consume but is sensational in taste. On a day you are looking for an adventurous twist on eggs Benedict, Restaurant L’Avenue is the place to go—just make sure you have time to wait in line!

 

 

Bistro Tôt ou Tard

 

In between Centre-Ville Est and The Village, Bistro Tôt ou Tard sits cozily on the corner of Rue Cherrier where Rue Amherst meets Avenue du Parc la Fontaine. Immediately, you will notice the restaurant’s cute but small patio, perfect for enjoying the last few weeks of warm weather while sitting close to the park. The bistro-styled restaurant offers a few different types of benedict with various toppings—goat cheese, brie, spinach, and asparagus—all of which are priced at $13.95. Bistro Tôt ou Tard takes the Benedict further by adding a plentiful amount of sides including sauteed mushrooms, breakfast potatoes, bacon, ham, sausage, baguette, a fruit bowl, and either coffee or tea. The restaurant’s Benedict with mushrooms and brie is also worth noting. It has a focaccia base with mushrooms, brie, caramelized onions, and hollandaise. Bistro Tôt ou Tard’s sauce has an exceptional consistency—just the right amount of creaminess without becoming too gelatinous. Another bonus is the hours; the restaurant is open seven days a week from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m., although unfortunately, all-day breakfast isn’t available. Take advantage of a sunny day in the near future and go for the take-out option then enjoy a breakfast picnic in Parc la Fontaine.

 

La Société

 

La Société, located downtown, is known for its fine dining. Its eggs Benedict is thus the most expensive Benedict on the list; however, it is definitely worth the higher price tag. The upscale French-style bistro, with its delicately tiled floors and stained-glass ceiling, exudes the feeling of luxury and opulence. Its brunch menu includes a few different types of benedicts—the classic, the lobster, and the Montreal, ranging from $16 to $19 depending on toppings. The restaurant’s classic eggs Benedict—ham, poached eggs, and hollandaise—comes with a hearty dose of breakfast potatoes. The hollandaise sauce itself is creamy and perfectly complements the rest of the ingredients.

La Société’s eggs benedict is available on both their breakfast and brunch menu. On weekdays, breakfast is from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m., and from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sundays. Don’t worry if you’re not an early weekend riser though, brunch on the weekend begins at 10 a.m. and finishes at 3 p.m. If you find yourself one morning cruising down Rue de la Montagne, stopping into La Société is a must.

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