Across the country, the verdict served as a stark reminder of the failures of Canada’s criminal justice system for First Nations, Inuit, and Metis people. The decisions made during the process of this trial reflect Canada’s lasting colonial justice system. The vigil, co-hosted by the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal , was planned before the release of the verdict.

During the vigil, a powwow singing group, The Buffalo Hat Singers, and the drum carrier, Norman Achneepineskum, a member of the Cree nation, began the ceremony. Many individuals in attendance brought candles and signs of protest, emphasizing the two pronged message behind the vigil. These signs depicted a picture of Colten in his graduation gown, captioned Justice for Colten. The event was accompanied by approximately twenty police officers. Near the centre of the crowd, people wore black armbands embroidered with “Justice for Colten” in white. Opening the vigil was co-chair of the Montreal Urban Aboriginal Community Strategy Network, Vicky Baldo. Baldo is a survivor of the Sixties Scoop; a practice of the Canadian government during the 1960s that placed Indigenous children in adoption centers and white foster homes.

Another speaker, Clifton Ariwakehte Nicholas, discussed Canada’s treatment of young Indigenous men, highlighting this with his personal experiences of loss. “Last year [my nephew] Clint killed himself. He could not live in the world for the modern Indian man […] since [Colten’s] verdict came down, it feels as if that was my child that was shot down.” He continued, “I don’t want [my] rage to translate into more violence, I want it to translate into change.”

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Have a Heart Day sought to bring awareness to McGill students on the contemporary nature of Indigenous issues.

Speakers at the event included Dr. Cindy Blackstock, the Executive Director of the Caring Society, Alanis Obomsawin, a member of the Abenaki Nation and one of Canada’s prominent documentary filmmakers, Dr. Samir Shaheen-Hussain, a social-activist, Stephen Agluvak Puskas, the co-founder and former producer of Nipivut, Montreal’s Inuit community radio show and representatives from the McGill Law Aboriginal Human Rights Initiative.

Obomsawin’s wore red clothing as a symbol of support for missing and murdered Indigenous women.. She explained: “I am wearing everything in the colour red to acknowledge the missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada.” Her groundbreaking work in the field of Indigenous and feminist filmmaking, directing Christmas at the Moose Factory, Our People will be Healed, and most famously Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance, has granted her the status of officer of the Order of Canada Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts Member of the Order of Canada.

Dr. Cindy Blackstock chooses not to label herself as a social worker, activist, or scholar, stating: “I don’t want my job to exist.” Her rationale is based on the belief that her position should not exist in the first place, as Canada should be able to properly provide for its Indigenous people without there needing to be a person like her advocating on the behalf of marginalized children. Blackstock, filed a complaint pursuant to the Canadian Human Rights Act [CHRA] on the basis that Canada discriminates against First Nations children by consistently under-funding child welfare on reserves. Her dedication led to her being placed under surveillance for “caring for First Nations children,” by the Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC).

The tribunal ultimately concluded in 2016 that the Canadian Government discriminates against 163,000 First Nations children on the grounds of race and national and ethnic origin. Obamsawin worked to cover the process in her documentary We Can’t Make the Same Mistake Twice, which premiered with critical acclaim at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

Dr. Shaheen-Hussain currently works in the Pediatrics wing of McGill University Health Centre. He does research in Public Health, Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine. His current advocacy focuses on changing Quebec’s policy on medical evacuation flights, which does not allow for a caretaker of the patient to be present. This disproportionately affects Indigenous children, who are often airlifted from northern Quebec to hospitals in Montreal or in Quebec City.

After Dr. Shaheen-Hussain’s advocacy, along with leading Canadian pediatric associations at the Valentine’s Day event, the provincial government now says it will allow parents to accompany their children on medical evacuation flights.Dr. Shaheen-Hussain commented to the CBC that “[the change in policy] warrants cautious optimism, in the sense that our government lamentably has a history of broken promises to Indigenous communities. This very well may fit into that history as well.”

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Connor Spencer – VP External

The VP External is responsible for representing McGill students’ interests at the municipal, provincial, and federal level and lobbies on the behalf of SSMU. She’s responsible for SSMU’s political campaigns and maintains active communication between student associations, civil groups and campus labor unions. As of yet, SSMU is not a member of any active student federation, but holds observer status with the Association for the Voice of Education in Quebec (AVEQ). As such, the VP External attends AVEQ meetings.

During the Fall semester, Spencer oversaw the hiring of the Sexual Violence Policy Coordinator, a full-time contract position within SSMU dedicated to sexual violence prevention work on campus. Spencer also works with the Community Affairs Commissioner who is currently working on establishing student co-ops to provide alternative housing to Milton-Parc, which can be financially straining for students. Spencer also mentioned that student inhabitants may contribute to gentrification and noise pollution in the area, which has been a recurring issue for the past few years.

This winter semester, Spencer hopes to focus on Indigenous Affairs. “There is an event series we created […] to get Indigenous Affairs off the ground,” said Spencer, referring to the Indigeneity and Solidarity events, which will feature film screenings, workshops and conferences. There will also be a guide released for settler students articulating “how to navigate Indigenous affairs on campus in a way that doesn’t overburden Indigenous groups on campus.” The event is scheduled for next Monday, on January 15.

In terms of community affairs, Spencer is overseeing the launch of the McGreen Project. The project will provide a service to collect old furniture from students on move out day, furniture which will then be refurbished and sold to international students in September at an affordable rate. In conjunction with the McGreen Project, Spencer is launching a waste management campaign for Milton Parc residents and students. “Over the last couple of years, there has been some […] confusion on where residents should go if there are noise complaints.” Spencer is working toward a plan in conjunction with the Community Affairs Commissioner, the Dean of Students Chris Buddle, and the former Deputy Provost & Student Life and Learning Ollivier Dyens to consolidate a plan.

Spencer will be launching a campaign informing students of the Quebec student movement, the importance of provincial representation, and why McGill students are part of provincial associations. SSMU is currently not affiliated with a provincial student association. However, an affiliation referendum will be held this semester to determine whether SSMU will be associating with Association for the Voice of Education in Quebec (AVEQ), or L’Union Étudiante du Québec (UÉQ). “It seems to me that before we can make a decision between which student association we want to associate ourselves with, we first have to have a campaign informing students why they should care, […] and why it’s important that we join a provincial student association,” said Spencer.

Isabelle Oke – VP University Affairs

The SSMU VP University Affairs (UA) serves as the primary liaison between the McGill administration and the undergraduate student body, advocating on the latter’s behalf at monthly Senate meetings and maintaining open lines of communication between on-campus student group and SSMU representatives. The VP UA’s portfolio also includes heading the library improvement fund, the SSMU Equity Committee, the academic roundtable, and the SSMU research and advocacy committee.

One of the office’s main projects this semester is the “Know Your Rights” campaign. This campaign will focus on unpaid internships by “getting people thinking about how internship policies are strangely set up against students” as Oke puts it. The campaign will additionally begin to bring attention to open educational resources, which include “anything you can use in classroom for educational purposes that has an open license.” Free material is available online, but textbooks are still mandatory for many classes, and often expensive. The University Affairs office will present the “Textbook Broke” social media campaign in different faculties, which will encourage students to take pictures of their textbook receipts and post them online.

Over the course of the semester, Oke hopes to lay a solid foundation for the establishment of a sanctuary campus program at McGill. This program, already in place in some American universities, hopes to provide a safe space for students and people lacking legal documentation. For the past semester Aishwarya Singh, the SSMU Policy and Advocacy Research Commissioner, has been doing research regarding the documentation requirements for students. “Right now, if a student’s visa expires, he or she is immediately de-registered from the university,” explained Oke. “In this case, the idea would be to implement a system where students in the process of renewing their visa would be able to still submit assignments.”

Oke also hopes to mobilize students around what the ideal library would look like. In the future, McGill will demolish the McLennan library to build a new, more modern one. Oke wishes to gather as many student opinions regarding what the new library should look like, in order to recognize their visions.

Maya Koparker – VP Internal

The VP Internal is in charge of the official SSMU listserv and primarily oversees communication between SSMU and its members. Furthermore, Koparkar works with the First Year Council (FYC) to help first-year students plan campus events. Last semester, Koparkar oversaw the joint Downtown-MacDonald campus Halloween event in collaboration with other student organizations. Event planners underwent training on being active bystanders, resolving conflict, and planning accessible and inclusive events on campus. The Fall semester also saw the launch of the new and improved SSMU website, which was redesigned to streamline the user experience.

This Winter semester, Koparkar is working on new, practical guides to better assist student organizations and SSMU. “I’m planning to create a how-to guide for social media and communications at SSMU,” said Koparkar. The guide would provide incoming students with information about different media sources for various types of services, as well as strategies for running campaigns. On a larger scale, Koparkar is hoping to create an event-planning guide outlining resources, best practices, and sustainability. The event planning guide is to be available as a checklist for all McGill students. “This would be something that anyone can use. […] it’s good for executives to come to one another if they have questions, but having it codified and providing some documentation that people can refer to […] easily would be a good thing to do.”
With the mid-semester Faculty Olympics on the horizon, the VP Internal hopes to ensure that the event is financially feasible, as the incipient closure of the SSMU building means SSMU will be operating outside the building, and will thus incur larger unforeseen financial costs, unlike previous years. Koparkar hopes to see the continuation of inclusive events on campus, which were a large part of her election platform last year. “We have our signature events, but there is also room to improve,” said Koparkar.

Looking ahead towards transition, Koparkar mentioned that SSMU may have more involvement with Frosh 2018 than in previous years and is in conversation with Campus Life and Engagement (CLE). Koparkar is also currently liaising with the office of the Deputy Provost Student Life and Learning to allow for better relations between administrative services and the student body.

Jemark Earle – VP Student Life

The VP Student Life position is relatively new, created in 2016 when several executive portfolios were restructured. It deals with clubs and services, mental health initiatives, and independent student groups. One of Earle’s major responsibilities is to organize Activities Night, which has been highly successful so far: Fall Activities Night broke attendance records, featuring over 300 groups and clubs.

Winter Activities Night this semester will take on January 16-17. Earle is optimistic about the event, although it will feature slightly fewer clubs and groups than the Fall version and will run for only two days. This time around, Earle is working on a partnership with the newly-launched SSMU Eats app to provide hot drinks for students waiting in line outside.

Activities Night will coincide with another key event for the Student Life portfolio, Mental Health Awareness Week. Earle will be partnering with different groups and services such as Students In Mind, who will be taking the lead on the closing days of the event series. “On the Advocacy and Outreach Committee, we have various members who are part of their departmental health committees,” said Earle, “so we’ve gotten fresh ideas, and we’re collaborating with different departments on some of the events.” In contrast to previous years, he and his organizing team have tried to vary the types of events held during Mental Health Week to attract more students, and to make them more accessible by, for example, scheduling more events in the evening rather than during class time.

A major challenge facing Earle is the SSMU building closure. Last semester, he and his team initially did a poor job of communicating relevant information to building tenants and students at large, sparking confusion and anger. Now, however, it seems that things are going more smoothly – according to Earle, locations have been found for most SSMU services.

“We’re working on getting space for everyone who is a tenant of the building,” he told The Daily. “There are a few outliers that require specific needs, such as Midnight Kitchen, the Players’ Theatre, the Musicians’ Collective, […] so we’re still working on those because they […] can’t just go into any building. […] We’ve spoken to the groups, and […] if worse comes to worse, they would change their programming for that period of time. […] Hopefully, by the time September rolls around, we’ll have at least the first few floors back.”

Muna Tojiboeva – President

The president coordinates the activities of SSMU and determines the long-term vision of the society. Over the fall semester, Tojiboeva has worked on increasing SSMU’s representation at the University level on various committees.

This winter semester, Tojiboeva will be conducting consultations with stakeholders on campus to strengthen the role of the Francophone Affairs committee. The Francophone Affairs Committee, created in the fall, and having met several times throughout the semester, are currently discussing what resources are available or needed for Francophone students at McGill. By the end of the semester, Tojiboeva hopes to come up with recommendations to “ensure the long-term stability and continuation of this project in years to come.”

One of Tojiboeva’s main projects is to increase student representation at the Board of Governors (BoG) level by increasing collaboration among elected members of the Board. The BoG, a body which has final authority over academic matters at the university, is comprised of representatives from various campus groups. Undergraduate students are represented by the SSMU president, who is one of the 25 voting members. One of Tojiboeva’s initiatives, the Pre-Board meeting, will allow students to discuss important agenda items in advance to the BoG meeting. “I am focusing on the implementation of pre-Board of Governors meetings so that students are able to contribute and have a say about what goes on at the highest decision-making body at McGill,” said Tojiboeva.

The SSMU president will also be updating the internal regulations of the Judicial Board, “these [internal regulations] have not been updated since 2012 and still refer to governing documents that no-longer exist,” told Tojiboeva.

Lastly, Tojiboeva will be continuing her work with Spinyt to develop the SSMU Eats App. The SSMU Eats app will allow students to save up to 70 per cent on restaurant meals, and allow restaurants to liquidate food at the end of the day to reduce food waste.

Esteban Herpin – VP Finance Candidate

The VP Finance is responsible for the overall financial stability of SSMU and more specifically administers the Society’s investment funding group. The position has been vacant for two months, since the resignation of Arisha Khan on November 16, 2017. Following Sarah Abdelshamy’s withdrawal from the VP Finance by-election this term, Esteban Herpin, a third-year Finance student and a former member of the Management Undergraduate Society’s (MUS) Corporate Relations team, remains the only candidate for the position.

On January 12, a public candidate Q&A was held, during which Herpin answered questions from SSMU executives and students. When asked by VP External Connor Spencer, “What type of relationship do you feel the SSMU executive should have with the administration?” Herpin mentionned that SSMU should work with the administration wherever possible.

Herpin was particularly concerned with mental health on campus, saying, “I think that [mental health issues on the McGill campus are] very intense from what I compare with other people in [different] parts of the world and Canada, there’s the issue of stress.” If elected, Herpin hopes to improve upon mental health by asking the McGill administration to have “more data and more surveys on how students feel throughout the semester, and [to use them] more effectively.”

Herpin’s election platform additionally emphasizes more support for students struggling with mental health: he mentioned the inadequate resources dedicated to mental health, which, according to Herpin, amount to $0.40 per semester per student. However, regarding student fees overall, Herpin claimed that he “would like to cut down costs, just in general.”

Part of Herpin’s platform comprises increased funding for clubs, emphasizing operational changes aimed to provide a net benefit for students. In the Fall semester, the only funding towards Culture Shock, a weeklong event series that address issues of race, colonialism, white supremacy, and xenophobia for students of colour, was cancelled. Herpin was not aware that the funding for Culture Shock and its parent organization Quebec Public Interest Group-McGill (QPIRG) had been removed. However, he responded that he would like to “take meetings with those students” following a question on accessibility for racialized students during the Q&A.

Other aspects of Herpin’s platform include financial transparency and investment. The election results will be announced on January 18 after a three-day polling period.

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Divest McGill is a student-run group on campus that demands the University divest from fossil fuel companies. The campaign at McGill has been running for the past five years.

Morgen Bertheussen, a member of Divest McGill, told The Daily that “[we’re] here today, because CAMSR […] decided to reject our [last] demand [to divest] because they had said the worst effects aren’t being felt today and there was no social injury to McGill’s investment into fossil fuels.”

According to the terms of reference for CAMSR by the Board of Governors, “the term ‘social injury’ means the grave injurious impact which the activities of a company is found to have on consumers, employees, or other persons, or on the natural environment. Such activities include those which violate, or frustrate the enforcement of rules of domestic or international law intended to protect individuals against deprivation of health, safety, or basic freedoms, or to protect the natural environment.”

“There’s so much evidence that proves […] that social injury is happening. We’re meeting them today with books on the fossil fuel industry impact and [on] climate change,” said Bertheussen. “In a few steps, they have all this information to divest from the fossil fuel industry. The new chair worked for Petro-Canada for 18 years.”

The new chair is Cynthia Price Verreault, who will serve on the Board until June 30, 2020. An alumna of McGill, Price Verreault also worked as the Director of Retail Services at Petro-Canada from 1982 to 2000.

Another member of Divest McGill, Annabelle Couture-Guillet, expressed, “We wanted something educational; it doesn’t always work to be confrontational. For me divestment is about talking about climate change, yes there’s the political side of it, but it’s really just bringing attention.” Couture-Guillet expanded on this, saying, “Our goal is to interact with the community at McGill. [Climate change] is what many of us study every day in class. That’s maybe the most ironic part of the whole thing.”

“We wanted something educational; it doesn’t always work to be confrontational. For me divestment is about talking about climate change, yes there’s the political side of it, but it’s really just bringing attention.”

“The McGill administration is willing to set up meetings with us. Whether these meetings are effective is another question. They recommended a test fund for fossil free investment, and this fund has been implemented but it is very small, starting with five million,” noted Hala Fakhroo, a member of Divest McGill at the event. Comparably, McGill’s endowment is $1.6 billion.

“It’s nice to see faces of friends who support this cause, and building a community of caring [about] this really relevant issue. We’re really dependent on our people power, we try to have an event once a semester but we meet often to engage. Small projects based on committee work are usually implemented,” Bertheussen later added.

As members entered into the James Administration Building, many seemed surprised by the demonstration. Ram Panda, chair of the McGill Board of Governors, and Price Verreault shook hands, smiled, and made some stifled small talk with Divest McGill members. Couture-Guillet commented, “It’s important we establish a relationship, rather than have a contrarian discourse. Obviously, it’s still very frustrating, but more progress can be done if we’re on good terms with each other.”

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Approximately ten people attended the forum. These individuals were mostly members of student groups such as the Sexual Assault Centre of McGill’s Student Society (SACOMSS) or representatives from campus media. Connor Spencer, the SSMU VP External, was the sole representative of the SSMU executive in attendance. A livestream was provided by TV McGill (TVM) and the video is available on their website.

Spencer, who led the forum, began the discussion by acknowledging Indigenous land rights and discussing the events that transpired last year which catalyzed the campaign for a Sexual and Gendered Violence Policy within SSMU. Spencer referenced the allegations made against former SSMU President Ben Ger and former VP External David Aird, which resulted in their respective resignations.

Spencer made it clear that she wanted the forum to serve as a space for people to air their concerns, discuss rape culture on campus, and explore possible routes SSMU could take moving forward to develop a Sexual and Gendered Violence Policy.

“How are folks feeling about the conversations that are happening on campus? How are they feeling about the conversations that are happening at the [administrative] level? How are they feeling about the conversations that are happening at the grassroots level?” Spencer asked. “Where [does SSMU] fit in between that and how can we construct what we do next around addressing those feelings and concerns?”

Advocating for survivors of gendered and sexual violence has always been a student-led movement at McGill. This work has been done on a volunteer basis, most often by marginalized students.

“Almost always this labour that is done around sexual violence is unpaid, and the folks that are doing this labour are majority women or non-binary folk, and often of color,” said Spencer. “The delegitimization of labour that goes into this work is something SSMU has been complicit in in the past and I really, really hope that moving forward we can find a way to not be complicit.”

“Almost always this labour that is done around sexual violence is unpaid, and the folks that are doing this labour are majority women or non-binary folk, and often of color.”

One attendee raised concerns about the difficulty involved in mobilizing the student body on these issues, and the limited participation by a select group of students.

“The challenge that I see is often in these conversations it’s the same people over and over again,” continued the attendee in question. “A lot of these people have a lot of experience, […] and that’s really great, but something I worry about in these conversations [is] how we get students to actually say what they need, because to me that’s basically what informs us.”

On October 12, SSMU passed a motion acknowledging that rape culture is present on McGill’s campus and within SSMU. According to Spencer, who submitted the motion, she felt it necessary that student union members be conscious of the real impact rape culture has on campus.

“We read the motion, it was voted on, no one had anything to say. That terrifies me,” Spencer continued. “I think the movers and I were a little surprised [by] that, and the speaker did a really great job of [saying] ‘Not just questions or debate about this motion, but would anyone like to make any statements?’ And it was just silence. That showed me that we need to address more [of] the specific things that we as elected student representatives can be doing.”

One member of the audience expressed frustration with the recent defunding of events like Culture Shock and Social Justice Days, suggesting that SSMU should continue to provide funding for programs and events that provide education and mobilize the community.

“The challenge that I see is often in these conversations it’s the same people over and over again.”

Spencer noted that “ideally students will be offered a choice in pursuing a report process when the SSMU policy is put into place.” She continued, “There will be issues in making a policy [due to] lack of resources and a lack of expertise. […] The student executives do not have as much information as other campus groups which are dedicated to gender and assault issues.”

Spencer further contended that SSMU has a responsibility to its constituents, especially because some of its drinking-oriented events pose a particular risk for sexual violence. Some smaller measures have been implemented, namely a blacklist for events. Should a student report to an event organizer that he or she was made to feel unsafe by an individual, or if an event organizer finds that an individual behaved inappropriately at an event, said person would not be allowed at future events.

Dorothy Apedaile, a U4 science student, raised concerns about this issue. “[Something] to keep in mind when looking at these large events is [that] often we come in with the attitude of how we [can] change the entire event, coming in from the outside and not realizing the work that is happening within these circles to combat sexual violence.” She continued, “I worked very closely with the frosh community this summer to bring in new policies for them […] I think there is a lot of movement within these communities to address violence, sexual violence, and the issues that come up [at these campus events]. […] I think they’re sometimes an easy target when we talk about rape culture […] I think it needs to be looked at in the bigger picture, besides just these events on campus.”

“I worked very closely with the frosh community this summer to bring in new policies for them. […] I think they’re sometimes an easy target when we talk about rape culture.”

SSMU has only recently begun to discuss adopting a formal procedure for handling allegations of sexual violence. As it stands, the only resource is a short sexual harassment policy in the SSMU employee manual. Currently, SSMU provides no resources to help members of the student union manage recovery from sexual assault or violence.

Continued discussion on the policy will occur throughout the year in the form of focus groups, forums for survivors, and another open forum.

“The hope is to continue consultations throughout this semester and into next semester, once we get a baby draft,” said Spencer. “We’re still figuring out what that process is going to look like and it’ll largely be informed by what the students tell us.”

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Students unaware of closure

The building closure was announced to the student body through McGill’s “What’s New” listserv this fall semester, then through a SSMU statement e-mailed to undergraduate students in October. However, many students were unaware of the building closure until a public Facebook invite for the information session was made, although some within SSMU had known about the closure well in advance.

“We were made aware that SSMU was going to be closing about a month ago,” said David Marchionni, the VP Communications of WalkSafe McGill.

Marchionni mentioned that some operations, such as student clubs were made aware of the closure later than other groups, “it was made clear to us that the services were being informed, but it was not clear that other clubs would not be informed. […] We figured that if they were telling us, they were going to tell […] everyone, and that turned out not to be true, considering that most people found out by a Facebook event.”

“We figured that if they were telling us, they were going to tell […] everyone, and that turned out not to be true, considering that most people found out by a Facebook event.”

When questioned why it has taken so long for all students to be informed, Hughes answered that details were not available then concerning the scope and timing of the renovations. In response to the criticisms, Earle has promised to expand office hours to answer additional questions from student clubs. The University will also be meeting bi-weekly to discuss how to mediate communication.

How will clubs and services be relocated?

McGill will be referring student services to a new location, and move future events to one of the libraries on campus. Tenants including student clubs and services will have access to the building until the end of February to relocate. Hughes announced that student groups will ideally be notified by mid-November of their new locations but there is no guarantee on the timeline.
The Players’ Theatre is currently struggling to find a method to move out their technical equipment, valued up to thousands of dollars.

“Even if we have a company to dismantle […] we’re going to face a loss of an entire season, as we have no space to perform,” said Nadine Pelaez, the technical director of the theatre company. According to Pelaez, students are not qualified to dismantle their equipment, meaning that they need to pay for a moving service.

“Even if we have a company to dismantle […] we’re going to face a loss of an entire season, as we have no space to perform.”

Pelaez commented on the financial impact of having to move their operations, “The Players’ Theatre was founded in 1921, and is one of the only English black box theatres in the Montreal, community. […] We are funded by ticket sales, from our six shows a year, and end of year drama festival. Without them, it will be difficult to move on in the future. […] I had wanted to make this a theatre company of Montreal, to grow our company and having this closure sets us back completely.”

Hughes mentioned that the financial impact of the move hasn’t been estimated yet, therefore there is currently no guarantee of funding help if student groups face financial difficulty. McGill will not commit to subsidizing spaces if clubs or services face rental increases but announced that ‘help’ will be available for moving, such as access to bubble wrap.

When a representative of Queer McGill asked if the future locations will be accessible, as their organization mandates accessible spaces, Hughes responded, “We live in Montreal.”

Criticism from the McGill community

“There is a complete lack of respect. […] Our company found out in May, and it was very unprofessional in that they didn’t give us information. We were told there would be an end of August announcement, but the statement was a month late. We struggled with avoidance from the SSMU executives, they were not answering e-mails, or giving us dates to meet with them,” said Pelaez.

“I do feel that there is a lot of solidarity with other clubs who face issues with rentals, with storage, and with being without answers.” The only McGill student club verbally assured that their club “will be fine,” regarding storage and access, was the McGill Quidditch team.

“We were told there would be an end of August announcement, but the statement was a month late. We struggled with avoidance from the SSMU executives, they were not answering e-mails, or giving us dates to meet with them.”

On the lack of transparency in the process, Marchionni commented, “I can understand why some services […] would be moved, […] because they are SSMU services rather than student clubs. […] I do understand why student clubs would be upset by this, […] it was […] very sloppy execution,” continued Marchionni, “On behalf of the other clubs I’m in and everyone else, it’s kind of a stab in the back.”

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Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid, typically administered intravenously or through transdermal patches for chronic pain management. Developed in the 1960s by Paul Janssen, a noted Belgian physician, fentanyl has become an increasingly popular prescription. However, its efficacy and addictive nature has resulted in widespread abuse. An overdose in fentanyl can result in severe respiratory depression, sleep apnea, and death. Just 3 milligrams will kill an average-sized adult, and according to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC), it is 50 to 100 times more potent than morphine.

After the United States, Canada is the world’s second largest consumer of prescription opioids. The relative ease with which fentanyl can be prescribed in Canada has led to high demand for the drug, mainly as a consequence of dependency. Some individuals, when they are no longer able to access the drug through their doctor, turn to street distributors.

Quebec, meanwhile, has a unique history of illicit substance distribution by biker gangs and the mob. According to some sources, fentanyl may have entered the local drug market accidentally, due to improper drug manufacturing practices. Dealers often use the same tools to cut different drugs; unfortunately, as fentanyl is extremely potent, trace amounts can be mixed unintentionally with other substances, with potentially fatal results. As a result, communities across Quebec must prepare for the fact that fentanyl could be found in more popular drugs such as MDMA, PCP, cocaine, heroin, alprazolam (Xanax), and ketamine.

As of August 2017, there have been over 90 drug overdoses in Montreal, 10 of which have been definitively linked to fentanyl. Mayor Denis Coderre currently “[wants] to speak to everyone concerned by this situation,” and has launched a pilot program to train more first responders. Meanwhile, the Quebec Ministry of Health is working on legislation to increase the availability of naloxone, a substance that counteracts the effects of a fentanyl overdose.

McGill has yet to offer any resources or information on the growing fentanyl crisis in Canada, or methods by which students can keep themselves safe. However, Hashana Perera, Director of Student Health Services, did acknowledge the crisis during a press conference on September 14. She claimed that Student Health Services will provide naloxone and drug-testing kits for students as soon as Quebec legislation permits.

Sonya Bharadwa, Executive Director of McGill Student Emergency Response Team (MSERT), emailed The Daily about measures that the university is taking to address the crisis.

“As of now, the only first responders that have access to and training to use naloxone are paramedics,” explained Bharadwa. “Recently, the government of Quebec announced a plan to expand the scope of people allowed to administer the medicine.”

“As of now, the only first responders that have access to and training to use naloxone are paramedics.”

“MSERT is working with Student Healwth Services,” Bharadwa continued, “as they are currently building a training module for naloxone that they can offer McGill community members. They will also help us find a supplier for naloxone so that MSERT can carry it. Until then, our current protocol is to call 911 for suspected overdoses, monitor vital signs, and provide stabilizing care until EMS arrives. In terms of fentanyl safety, we hope that in addition to the clinic, which does have injectable doses of naloxone, both floor fellows and MSERT will receive naloxone training, as this will provide nearly a 24-hour response plan.”

It is well known that students are highly susceptible to recreational drug use, especially when exposed to environments such as student residences. Growing concern over the possibility of fentanyl overdoses on campus has increased the demand for naloxone training to be given to McGill floor fellows.

When investigating protocols concerning fentanyl overdoses in residences, a floor fellow who wished to remain anonymous told The Daily that “administering naloxone to students in residences is strictly forbidden, as it poses too high of a liability risk to the University.”

“In my opinion,” the floor fellow continued, “this policy is incredibly shortsighted and ignorant of naloxone’s purpose and mechanism of action. In light of the recent surge in opioid overdoses throughout Montreal, floor fellows have been pushing Student Housing and Hospitality Services to facilitate workshops and training related to the fentanyl crisis and overdose first aid.”

“This policy is incredibly shortsighted and ignorant of naloxone’s purpose and mechanism of action. In light of the recent surge in opioid overdoses throughout Montreal, floor fellows have been pushing Student Housing and Hospitality Services to facilitate workshops and training related to the fentanyl crisis and overdose first aid.”

Another floor fellow encouraged colleagues to take a free naloxone administration workshop offered by a local organization unaffiliated with the university. Many floor fellows have already taken this training. Despite being well-equipped with knowledge of harm-reduction and certified in administering naloxone, however, they are officially prohibited from taking any action to prevent a fentanyl overdose from becoming fatal.

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