A solemn mood reigned as protesters gathered around 7:30 p.m. at the corner of Ontario and de Lorimier. Many expressed their anger and disappointment in the previous night’s election.

“The last twenty-four hours have been emotionally traumatizing,” a Concordia student who attended the protest told The Daily. “I’ve been trying to come to face with the reality of having a neo-fascist as someone with the nuclear codes, [at the head of] one of the most powerful militaries in the world, so I’m feeling pretty shitty. Honestly, I feel like I’ve lost all hope.”

“I feel like a lot of people felt like the world was trending in a somewhat good direction, and this is a slap in the face to that kind of idea,” Justinas Staskevicius, a recent Concordia graduate, told The Daily at the protest. “I think the people were lied to, I think they were sold the image of a man who they felt was a populist, and they had a lot of anger toward the system itself.”

Speaking at the beginning of the rally, one of the organizers emphasized the need for solidarity with marginalized populations in the United States.

“I’ve been trying to come to face with the reality of having a neo-fascist as someone with the nuclear codes, [at the head of] one of the most powerful militaries in the world, so I’m feeling pretty shitty.”

“The far-right populist wave, which is growing in France, in Britain, in Greece, now finds an echo in North America,” she told the crowd in French. “Faced with Donald Trump’s racism and sexism, his wealth, his disdain for poor people, for disabled people, for the LGBT community, let us come together to say loud and clear that the far-right shall not pass, that we stand in solidarity with much of the American population that will shortly suffer the wrath of Trump.”

The gathering served as “a chance for personal catharsis” for the participants, as the anonymous student described it, and the mood noticeably lightened once demonstrators took to the streets and began to chant.

“I think the people were lied to, I think they were sold the image of a man who they felt was a populist, and they had a lot of anger toward the system itself.”

“Hey hey, ho ho, Trump has got to go!” and “Tout le monde déteste les fascistes!” (“Everybody hates fascists!”) the crowd shouted as it headed westward escorted by police.

Speaking to The Daily, attendees noted the harmful impact of Trump’s words and actions on members of marginalized groups and the impunity with which he has acted.

“We need to send a clear message that we do not accept this candidate who defends the principles of white supremacy and promotes hatred against different ethnic groups, Mexicans, Muslims,” Sandra Cordero, one of the demonstrators, said in French. “He’s a rapist, this guy is a rapist […] how come no one has arrested him yet? […] Will he do it again to other people? Will he prevent justice from taking its course? […] This is a fascist, this is a dangerous man.”

Maylee, a freelance illustrator who attended the protest, expressed concern about the rippling effects of Trump’s victory. “As a person of colour and a woman […] I really hope people of colour [in Canada] will not get hurt in this. I hope there won’t be a rise of racism in the world either because someone just gave the green light to this. So for now, let’s just hope the next twenty-four hours is going to be okay, because the last twenty-four hours have been really tough.”

Police declared the demonstration illegal at 8:50 p.m., but did not take action to disperse it. Shortly thereafter, the protest reached its destination, the U.S. consulate at the corner of St. Alexandre and René-Lévesque.

“We need to send a clear message that we do not accept this candidate who defends the principles of white supremacy and promotes hatred against different ethnic groups, Mexicans, Muslims.”

Addressing the crowd at the close of the demonstration, Éric, an organizer, spoke to the relevance of the anti-fascist struggle in Quebec.

“The struggle against fascism has to be waged day after day, in our living environments, in our work environments, everywhere we are, because it requires constant education – that’s the only way we can defeat it, and certainly not by voting, which amounts to a choice between the plague and cholera as we have seen this year in the U.S.,” he said in French.

“Here in Quebec, one has only to think of the Parti Québécois with Jean-François Lisée [and his Islamophobia], the security measures that are being taken to prevent us from demonstrating – we’re not any safer here than our neighbours are.”

Looking toward the future, some of the participants found a silver lining in an opportunity to build solidarity and in an increased potential for mobilization.

“Here in Quebec, one has only to think of the Parti Québécois with Jean-François Lisée [and his Islamophobia], the security measures that are being taken to prevent us from demonstrating – we’re not any safer here than our neighbours are.”

“Perhaps the one positive thing that can happen from this situation is that people that were centrist, liberal, HRC [Hillary Rodham Clinton] supporters will become radicalized and do more than they would have had she been elected,” said the anonymous student. “I’m trying to convince myself that there’s hope, but it’s hard.”

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Students engaged with the environment and climate crisis from both a local and international perspective this year. The December 2015 COP21 summit in Paris was the subject of debate: Would anything come of the summit? Could international negotiations meaningfully combat climate change? Ella Belfer argued that domestic emissions reductions, often conditions of agreements made at such conferences, are undermined by carbon offset payments (“The carbon offset loophole,” November 30, page 14). Victor Frankel argued that COP21 could lead to needed change, but only if leaders are proactive (“Seize the COPportunity,” February 1, page 11).

The climate crisis was also fought close to home with Divest McGill’s continued advocacy for McGill’s Board of Governors (BoG) to divest from McGill’s holdings in fossil fuel companies. Kristen Perry reflected on her time as a Divest McGill activist and the pending decision on divestment, saying, “You have all of the information, you certainly have the support, and you have taken more than enough time; now all that is needed is courage” (“Progress and disappointment,” November 10, online). On March 23, the BoG decided for the second time not to divest.

Mental health on campus

Attention paid to mental health as an important aspect of campus life has only grown in recent years. Between budget cuts and increasing demand, the McGill Mental Health Service (MMHS) has been criticized by students for providing inadequate or inaccessible services. Paniz Khosroshahy argued that MMHS’s inconsistent availability and lack of communication with other university institutions makes it nearly impossible for some students to access the care they need (“Chasing mental health at McGill,” November 2, page 8). Anna Pearson recounted how her experience with MMHS left her without a plan for further care upon graduation (“Careless care,” February 1, page 9). However, one student noted that, despite the financial pressures on MMHS, they found the Eating Disorder Program to be very helpful (“In defence of mental health,” October 19, Letters, page 8).

Navigating mental health at McGill comes down to more than MMHS. Looking at ways of accommodating students in the classroom, Connor Tannas argued that trigger warnings are often misunderstood as censorship when, in reality, they can make sensitive topics easier to approach for students dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or other effects of trauma (“Trigger warnings are not censorship,” September 28, page 7).

BDS sparks campus discussion

Once again, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) General Assembly (GA) was a major site of political action and reaction on campus this year. While the Fall 2015 GA had no motions and struggled to meet quorum, the Winter 2016 GA passed a motion from the McGill BDS Action Network that called on SSMU to support boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) campaigns and to lobby McGill to divest from a number of companies that operate in the occupied Palestinian territories. While the motion failed to pass online ratification, it succeeded in fuelling important discussions in the McGill community and beyond.

A group of Jewish students at McGill argued that the conflation of Judaism and Zionism is harmful, and that engaging with and supporting BDS is a crucial step in ending Israel’s human rights violations against Palestinians (“Making space for Jewish resistance,” February 15, page 9). Hundreds of students, alumni, and faculty from McGill and beyond, including Noam Chomsky (“Rectify the misrepresentation of BDS,” March 10, Letters), signed letters condemning Principal Suzanne Fortier’s response to the online ratification results, in which she stated that the BDS movement was “contrary to the principles of academic freedom, equity, inclusiveness and the exchange of views and ideas in responsible, open discourse.”

Histories, experiences of racism

Analyzing the historical roots of racism and sharing their experiences, our writers put forward both global and personal perspectives on racism this year. Inori Roy-Khan made the topic the focus of her column “Minority Report,” in which she spoke of cultural appropriation, whitewashed allyship, and the persistent nature of racism. In his column “Shadows of Slavery,” Nadir Khan narrated histories of domination and resistance in the transatlantic slave trade. Roy-Khan called for an end to police violence against Black youth in the U.S. (“Kids deserve to be kids,” November 9, page 9), and Khan traced the roots of this racist brutality to the era of slave patrols (“Policing the racial hierarchy,” February 1, page 10). Meanwhile, Laura Xu examined the racist origins of drug prohibition in Canada and the U.S. (“The colour of pot,” February 22, page 11).

Closer to McGill, Francesca Humi described how, as a French speaker, she is “caught in between spaces and places” when attempting to articulate her racial identity in France (“Between places and spaces,” March 21, page 10). Ralph Haddad and Nadine Tahan uncovered the orientalist assumptions behind Principal Suzanne Fortier’s selective condolences in response to terrorist attacks around the world (“On selective grief,” November 23, page 8), while an anonymous student described the racism they experienced during a teaching placement and the subsequent lack of support from the Education faculty as a “personal hell” (“Speak louder than racism,” February 8, page 9).

2015 federal election

Students weighed in as Canada sought to shake off nine years of Conservative leadership in the October 2015 federal election. Gregoire Beaune observed during the campaign that, like progressive parties around the world, the New Democratic Party (NDP) had drifted to the right and abandoned its past socialist ideals (“The orange drift,” September 8, page 10). For Jules Tomi, this cost the party the election: in an effort to rebrand the NDP as a more palatable centrist party, leader Tom Mulcair made it into an unappealing shell of its former self (“Lessons in hope and disillusionment,” October 26, page 9). In response, Malaya Powers and Jacob Schweda, co-presidents of NDP McGill, argued for a more nuanced analysis that acknowledges the NDP’s progressive tax plan and campaign commitments (“Progress over pessimism,” November 9, page 8).

Meanwhile, Gavin Boutroy pointed to the emptiness of the leaders’ debate on the economy (“The meaning of ‘the economy,’” October 15, page 8), and Xiaoxiao (Alice) Liu praised Green Party leader Elizabeth May for going above and beyond as her Member of Parliament (“On waiting for representation,” September 1, page 10).

The election was also as good a time as any to reflect on democratic reform. Erin Dwyer warned that the 2014 Fair Elections Act could lead to the disenfranchisement of vulnerable groups, such as youth, Indigenous people, seniors, and homeless individuals, all to the benefit of the Conservatives (“The Unfair Elections Act,” September 14, page 9). After the election, Louis Warnock emphasized the need to introduce a proportional component into Canada’s electoral system to ensure equitable representation (“Toward democratic reform,” November 23, page 9).

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Proposed political stances

Secretary-General Danielle Toccalino explained that, because PGSS currently has very few political positions, it was difficult for her to represent PGSS in the elaboration of AVEQ’s political stances. Toccalino sought Council’s feedback on the proposed political stances that AVEQ had not yet adopted due to a lack of mandate from a majority of the associations at the table. PGSS is not a member of AVEQ, but External Affairs Officer Bradley Por told Council that a referendum on provincial affiliation would likely be held in April.

Several councillors saluted Toccalino’s initiative in increasing PGSS’s political presence, but some noted concern that this list of positions, which covers a set of social justice and fiscal policy issues and does not include stances already adopted by AVEQ, was not a good starting point.

“It’s a reasonable idea on the surface that PGSS have a new position book, but […] it’s being developed from ideas from AVEQ, which is an organization that we haven’t decided whether we want to be a part of yet, rather than coming from PGSS and PGSS members – it makes sense that our positions should be originating from within,” said Graduate Student Association of Neuroscience representative Brent Dawe.

“I know that this document is trying to start a conversation, but I’m not sure it’s the right start, because it seems to me that a lot of these positions lack nuance.”

Toccalino expressed that the list was not intended to be adopted as is, and more substantive policies on the respective topics would be written if PGSS were to adopt them.

“I really want things to come from the ground up, but there’s been a history at PGSS of very few things coming from the ground up,” said Toccalino. “There are things […] that other people bring from external parties that could be very well beneficial to our members, so […] it’s simply to get the discussion started.”

Equity Commissioner Régine Debrosse emphasized that many of the proposed positions would require detailed and nuanced examination before potential approval.

“A lot of these positions have to do with equity questions […] and reading these is a little bit hardcore,” said Debrosse. “I know that this document is trying to start a conversation, but I’m not sure it’s the right start, because it seems to me that a lot of these positions lack nuance – some of them are incomplete, some of them go against the work of some people on campus, some of them take sides on very big debates. […] It’s going to be a complicated discussion if it’s framed in terms of this document.”

The discussion was tabled indefinitely, with the understanding that councillors would consult with their constituencies regarding next steps. In addition, as part of a set of bylaw amendments, Council adopted the separation of the Policy and Positions Manual into two sets of documents, one containing internal policies and one containing external political positions.

Other business

Environment Commissioner Amir Nosrat brought to Council an updated version of the Environment Policy, the first such update since 2007.

The updated version was unanimously adopted.

“What’s happening here is an update of the language […] that’s needed to make the policy relevant to modern conceptions of environmental sustainability, and it also provides more specific actionable policy directives,” said Nosrat. “Primarily, it’s co-curricular education that really drives the policy, and there’s also […] advocating for policies that improve our communities, whether it be in a local setting or in a global setting.”

In the wake of an incident last November where a student was sued in order to destroy his Master’s thesis, Council adopted amendments to the University/Industry Research Partnerships policy, introducing additional conflict of interest disclosure requirements and stating PGSS’s opposition to “efforts by private corporations to revoke research publications or theses.”

Council also passed a short mental health policy focused on advocacy, and a statement of solidarity with students arrested at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in India.

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Substantive criticisms of this undemocratic proposal have been offered elsewhere. What I want to do here is to address a procedural argument advanced by some councillors, which is that regardless of the merits of the amendment, the fair thing to do was to “let the students decide” by putting the question to referendum. If we consider the circumstances in which the motion was passed at Council, we’ll find that this argument was made in bad faith, and those councillors whom it sincerely convinced have been duped. Indeed, in allowing this amendment to go to referendum, Council failed in its duty to represent students with proper diligence.

First, the wording of the proposed amendment exactly mirrors that of an existing clause in the SSMU regulations that applies to motions coming to Council. This is not only lazy, but also highly inapprioriate, as it fails to account for the specificities of a GA – most glaringly the fact that Council is a representative body, while a GA is a direct-democratic one. Although SSMU regulations allow GA motions to be brought from the floor, it is unclear how or whether the amendment provides for this; further, it does not specify whether the two-thirds voting threshold applies to online ratification. If passed, the amendment would introduce severe ambiguities into SSMU’s highest governing document. The movers of the proposal showed an unacceptable level of carelessness in drafting it, as did Council in approving it.

Second, the referendum question was rushed in at the last minute, tacked on as a guerilla amendment to a set of unrelated maintenance changes to the constitution. In accepting such an amendment, Council neglected its duty to take the time to consult its constituencies regarding the wording of the amendment, or regarding other methods of achieving the amendment’s goals. Putting the question to referendum immediately was not, as claimed, a meaningful act of consultation, but rather the precise opposite. It has forced students to vote on an immature and confusing question with unclear but significant consequences.

Third, in taking the vote on the amendment by secret ballot, Council displayed a reprehensible lack of transparency. Access to a representative’s voting record is a constituent’s democratic right, and councillors should not take the denial of this right so lightly. It is not unreasonable to assume that, perhaps aware of the amendment’s substantial shortcomings outlined above, some councillors made a conscious choice to evade accountability.

In electing our representatives to SSMU Council, we entrust them with the responsibility to make informed and responsible decisions on our behalf. At the February 25 meeting, a majority of councillors betrayed that trust. Disappointments such as this one are a regular occurrence in representative bodies, and it may well be that they are inherent to representative democracy itself. Ironically, such incidents only stand to show how important it is to defend students’ right to freely discuss and decide on whatever they wish in a direct-democratic forum like the GA.

Igor Sadikov is a Commentary & Compendium! editor at The Daily, but his opinions here are his own. To contact him, email igor.sadikov@mail.mcgill.ca.

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Council received a report on the budget, discussed proposed procedures to address conflicts of interest for thesis supervisors, and passed a policy regarding affiliation with and disaffiliation from student federations.

Adopting a policy on affiliation and disaffiliation

Anticipating PGSS’s potential affiliation to one of Quebec’s two new student federations – the Association for the Voice of Education in Quebec (AVEQ) and the Union étudiante du Québec (UEQ) – External Affairs Officer Bradley Por moved to adopt a policy to establish procedures for affiliation with and disaffiliation from student federations.

In proposing the policy, Por sought to avoid repeating the disastrous experience PGSS underwent when it attempted to disaffiliate from the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) – a legal battle that has been ongoing over the past six years and has cost PGSS hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The policy stipulates that PGSS will only consider joining a student federation that signs a binding agreement providing that PGSS has “the right to terminate its affiliation when the membership expresses its will to disaffiliate.”

The policy further states that a referendum regarding continued membership in the federation must be held at least once every five years, as well as regarding any membership fee increase beyond inflation.

“The context here at McGill is very sensitive to disaffiliation and I see the impetus to [overdo] it.”

Postgraduate Philosophy Students of McGill University Association (PPSMUA) representative Frédérick Armstrong expressed concern that the policy might be redundant, given that the bylaws of both federations that PGSS is considering joining already contain clear affiliation and disaffiliation procedures.

“The context here at McGill is very sensitive to disaffiliation and I see the impetus to [overdo] it,” said Armstrong.

“But it seems that if you affiliate with an association with a binding written policy […] that gives you the right to disaffiliate. My worry is that federations may be reluctant [to sign] that [separate] agreement,” he said.

In response, Por argued that federation bylaws might change, and that a reluctance on the part of a federation to sign a separate agreement guaranteeing a right to disaffiliate could be a warning sign in itself.

“My worry is that federations may be reluctant [to sign] that [separate] agreement.”

The motion passed with three abstentions, and the policy will now go to the Policy and Structure Advisory Committee (PSAC) for review.

Moving toward a balanced budget

Financial Affairs Officer Behrang Sharif presented a budget update and quarterly financial report. Despite facing both unforeseen expenses and lower revenues than accounted for, Sharif said that he is planning to run a balanced budget this year.

“We were confused in the previous years […] when we were budgeting […] our revenue,” said Sharif.

“We were not looking at how much revenue we had from the membership fee last year [… and] we were [projecting] an increase of 4 to 5 per cent. […] Because our accounting system was not very clear, we never actually understood that we were digging into some of these lines more than we actually have money.”

“We were confused in the previous years […] when we were budgeting […] our revenue.”

“The total revenue that we actually could foresee for this year was more than $200,000 less than what was in the budget that I had received,” he added.

Sharif also noted that an unforeseen $30,000 had to be budgeted toward the CFS court case, and that more related expenses are expected as the 2017 court hearing date draws closer.

Reports

Academic Affairs Officer Devin Mills reported that the Council of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies will consider adding conflict of interest disclosure to the annual progress tracking procedure for thesis students at its next meeting, which will be held today. This is a follow-up to an issue that was brought to Senate’s attention in December, when Mills and other graduate senators submitted a question regarding the management and ownership of companies by McGill professors.

Equity Commissioner Régine Debrosse informed Council of the launch of a peer support group for racialized students, and said that the Social Equity and Diversity Education (SEDE) office will hold an equity workshop for Thomson House staff.

Debrosse also asked Provost Christopher Manfredi, present at Council, when a Black Studies program would follow the recently introduced Indigenous Studies minor. Manfredi responded that there are currently no such plans.

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International tuition deregulation

Arts Senator Erin Sobat and Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) VP University Affairs Chloe Rourke submitted a question regarding the conflict between the University’s continued push for international tuition deregulation in all programs and its professed commitment to financial accessibility for international students. Sobat expressed skepticism as to how the University could proceed with deregulation without making sacrifices either in terms of educational accessibility or revenue generation.

In response, Principal Suzanne Fortier argued that the two are not incompatible, noting that “the funding formula in Quebec is so complicated” that this might not be obvious at first glance. In regulated programs, international student tuition is redistributed among all Quebec universities; in contrast, deregulation would allow McGill to keep the entirety of its international tuition fees, a portion of which could then be used to enhance bursary programs, Fortier explained.

Medicine Senator David Benrimoh noted that studies have shown that an increase in tuition combined with an increase in bursary programs slightly improves accessibility for lower-class applicants, but reduces it for the middle class.

“We’ve been working very hard […] to establish special financing programs […] through philanthropic donors,” Provost Christopher Manfredi said in response. “That is a perennial problem, I understand that.”

Financial situation and budget

Reporting on the financial state of the university, Vice-Principal (Administration and Finance) Michael Di Grappa informed senators that the university’s financial deficit went up from $95 million to $98 million in the past year, and that its provincial operating grant decreased from $353 million in 2013-14 to $341 million in 2014-15.

The accumulated costs for the deferred maintenance of McGill’s building and IT infrastructure are estimated at $1.3 billion, Di Grappa said, and the bond McGill plans to issue to cover these costs risks lowering its credit rating. He also noted that enrolment has increased by 1.24 per cent between 2014 and 2015.

Arts Faculty Senator Derek Nystrom noted that student enrolment has been increasing even as the number of tenure-track faculty has remained “fairly static.” According to his calculations, between 2011 and 2014, student enrolment has increased at a rate of 32 students per faculty member, while the overall ratio is of 23 to 24 students per faculty member.

“We’re adding students at a much higher rate than we’re adding faculty members, which is bad news for all sorts of reasons,” said Nystrom.

Speaking to 2016-17 budget planning, Provost Christopher Manfredi said that the Quebec government is planning to shed an additional $200 million in education funding, despite the fact that “there was the news recently that the province [is] in a surplus situation.” According to Manfredi’s estimate, this cut will likely amount to a reduction of 2 to 2.5 per cent to McGill’s provincial operating grant.

Whistleblowing policy and student discipline

Senate approved revisions to the Policy on Safe Disclosure, which aims to protect people who disclose academic, financial, and research misconduct at McGill. The policy, which was reviewed by a working group struck for that purpose, now includes additional procedural guarantees for those accused of misconduct, as well as measures to increase the policy’s visibility, such as the addition of a statement of principles and of the word “whistleblowing” to the policy’s title.

“It’s an uneven playing field; the point of the statement of principles is to even out the playing field. To present it as if it’s already a level playing field [is misleading].”

University Libraries Senator Marc Richard expressed concern that the statement of principles did not commit to protecting the reputation of the accused respondents who are found innocent. Richard moved to amend the sentence reading “All reasonable steps shall be taken to protect the position, reputation, privacy and confidentiality of the ‘discloser’” to include the respondent as well.

Angela Campbell, Associate Provost (Policies, Procedures & Equity) spoke against the amendment, arguing that the policy has provisions to protect the respondent, but that this should not be included in the preamble, since the policy is meant first and foremost to protect the “discloser.”

Benrimoh concurred, saying, “It’s an uneven playing field; the point of the statement of principles is to even out the playing field. To present it as if it’s already a level playing field [is misleading].”

The amendment was defeated, and the revisions were passed as presented.

Presenting the 2014-15 annual report of the Committee on Student Discipline, Associate Dean of Students Glenn Zabowski noted that the year was the fourth in a row with a decline in the overall number of disciplinary cases, and the second consecutive year with a decline in cases of cheating. The total number of cases decreased from 276 in 2013-14 to 240.

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SSMU restructuring

Council spent over an hour discussing two provisional proposals from the executive committee to add an executive position to SSMU. Both proposals would involve the separation of the VP Finance and Operations position into two positions – one for each portion of the current portfolio – as well as the elimination of the VP Clubs & Services position and the redistribution of duties among the remaining positions. The first proposal would also create a VP Student Life position, while the second would split the VP University Affairs position into a VP University Relations and a VP Student Affairs.

Executives noted that SSMU has seen significant growth in the executive portfolios since the structure of the executive committee was last modified in 1988. President Kareem Ibrahim argued that most executives are unable to fulfill the entirety of their mandates, despite working between 70 and 85 hours per week.

“Executive burnout is not unique to this year,” Ibrahim said. “There is genuinely not enough time in the work day […] to accomplish all these tasks.”

“If students really want a student association that’s able to do more and really expand its scope, we need more money and resources to back it up.”

VP University Affairs Chloe Rourke noted that most of the portfolio items added in the last ten years went to her portfolio, including the recent addition of mental health. Speaking in favour of the second proposal, she insisted that equity and mental health should stay with the VP or VPs who work most closely with the representation of student interests to the University.

VP Clubs & Services Kimber Bialik spoke against the second proposal, arguing that it was “setting up the VP Internal to fail” by making them responsible for events as well as clubs and services, which have multiplied “exponentially” over the past 15 years. She noted that the two positions’ responsibilities have similar timelines, and their combination would create an unbearable amount of work in the summer and the fall.

Several councillors raised the possibility of creating new administrative positions or “associate VPs” to help the executives instead of creating a new position. Rourke noted that this would impose training costs and lead to increased bureaucratization.

“You get the most work for your money with executives,” said Rourke, noting however that “if students really want a student association that’s able to do more and really expand its scope, we need more money and resources to back it up.”

In a straw poll taken at the end of the discussion, a plurality of councillors expressed their dissatisfaction with both proposals, though more were in favour of the first than the second. According to Ibrahim, the topic will be discussed again at the General Assembly (GA) today, and any change to the executive structure would eventually go to referendum.

Provincial representation

VP External Emily Boytinck updated Council on her involvement in the two burgeoning Quebec student federations, the Association for the Voice of Education in Quebec (AVEQ) and the Union étudiante du Québec (UEQ).
Boytinck explained that AVEQ is distinguished from UEQ by its lower proposed fee levy of $3.50 rather than $4.50, an equal vote for all member associations independent of the number of students they represent, and the presence of other anglophone associations as likely members.

“That’s a lot of money we’re giving, but our share of the vote is actually very little.”

Medicine Representative Joshua Chin expressed concern that, due to its large membership, SSMU would be paying more money to AVEQ than other member associations.

“That’s a lot of money we’re giving, but our share of the vote is actually very little,” said Chin.

Boytinck responded that each student should make an equal contribution as a matter of solidarity, since they share in the collective benefit of provincial representation.
“Our students should be paying the same amount as every student across Quebec pays for the exact same service,” said Boytinck, noting that the alternative option of joining UEQ would likely lead to “backroom politics” among the student associations with a greater vote share.

Several councillors spoke to the importance of representing the interests of international students at the provincial level. “While we can lobby McGill about [international tuition deregulation], it’s very much about government regulation,” said Arts Senator Erin Sobat.

Council expressed interest in hearing from representatives from both AVEQ and UEQ before putting a potential affiliation to referendum.

Dyens on student well-being

Addressing Council, Dyens detailed several areas for improvement in services to students. On mental health, Dyens suggested doing “more prevention,” merging McGill Mental Health Service and McGill Counselling Service in order to work in a “more holistic way,” assessing students in less stressful ways, and embedding counsellors in faculties. On accessibility, he noted that the Office for Students with Disabilities continues to struggle with budget cuts, and that “physical accessibility at McGill […] sucks, essentially.”

“Physical accessibility at McGill […] sucks, essentially.”

Dyens further noted that “the legalistic culture we have” is not “conducive to good relationships” with student associations, and that students do not feel like they are treated as individuals at McGill. Responding to a question, he added that “there are a lot of places where we could provide lower costs,” such as food and housing, but that this was currently impossible due to budgetary constraints.

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The McGill Daily (MD): Could you talk a bit about your party, your program, and how it’s different from other parties?

Miguel Figueroa (MF): The main point of departure is that we consider the crisis situation of capitalism, not only in Canada, but internationally. […] The Harper Conservatives are probably the most reactionary, pro-war, misogynist, anti-Aboriginal government in Canadian history, so obviously there needs to be an alternative. But the alternatives that are being offered are really quite feeble and tepid, and all within a narrow box of neoliberal economic dogma – the primacy of the market, the idea that business is what creates employment.

We’re the only party in this election campaign that’s talking about the ‘s word,’ about socialism. […] Even the Greens, with respect to transitioning our economic model toward a greener economy, are within the context of finding market-based solutions to this problem, basically upholding the status quo.

Canada’s fundamental transition to a greener economy will involve massive investments in renewable energy and transportation systems to move toward high-speed rail and other forms of massive transit. […] All of these things can only be done, first of all, if the Canadian people own, control, and develop our energy resources socially, as opposed to [these resources] being developed by the private oil monopolies. Secondly, we’ll need that wealth [from nationalizing energy] in order to finance that kind of significant transition in our economy. […] So we call for nationalizing energy.

“The Harper Conservatives are probably the most reactionary, pro-war, misogynist, anti-Aboriginal government in Canadian history, so obviously there needs to be an alternative.”

MD: How do you see the way to move forward in this kind of direction in Canada? What do you see as the best way to put these issues back into public consciousness?

MF: Even one communist in Parliament would change that institution – we could raise things in Parliament that right now aren’t being discussed at all. […] The corporate-run media virtually blacks us out, so it’s very tough, but what we’re finding is that where we do reach people, people have the sense that the system is in crisis and the problems are systemic. People are really searching for alternatives, perhaps more than they have been in a long time.

MD: What is your vision for a socialist or communist Canada? How do you envision it as different from those experiments that might not have been successful in the past?

MF: If you measure capitalism today by its early days, when there was the slave trade, child labour – well, that’s not capitalism today, that was a long time ago. […] But for socialism, that’s [usually] the end of the debate – tried it once, didn’t work. […] The next wave of socialism will be rather different from the earliest experiences, for no other reason than we’ve learned a lot of lessons about the importance, for instance, of working people truly having control and a sense of ownership over the building of a new society. It shouldn’t be built on their behalf, passively.

“The next wave of socialism will be rather different from the earliest experiences.”

MD: What is your party’s position on Canada’s role in colonialism, for instance, as it relates to the occupation of Palestine?

MF: In general, it’s a shameful role that Canada’s playing internationally, a very aggressive, pro-imperialist role. […] We’re the only party in this election campaign that says that Canada should get out of [the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)]. […] We call for a truly independent foreign policy based on peace and disarmament.

Our party unreservedly supports and is in solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinian people for their right of self-determination, and for the right to have a viable independent state and an end to the occupation, tearing down the wall, ending the seizure of Gaza, the release of political prisoners.

MD: What about Canada’s relationship with Indigenous communities here, on whose lands it’s built?

MF: The Truth and Reconciliation Commission report says that the [Canadian government’s] policy against the Aboriginal peoples constitutes cultural genocide, and yet our government won’t even recognize that, much less implement the 94 recommendations that the commission proposed. That’s outrageous, so we’re also obviously in solidarity with the struggles of Aboriginal peoples, for the just resolution of their outstanding land claims, for their right to self-determination in the sense that they should be recognized as nations within Canada in the constitution – and so should Quebec and the Acadian peoples.

“In general, it’s a shameful role that Canada’s playing internationally, a very aggressive, pro-imperialist role.”

MD: Earlier, you mentioned democracy, mass participation in the building of a new society and worker participation [in its building]. This is something that goes deeper than just electoral democracy, so what kind of work does your party do between elections and what can other people do to create those conditions today?

MF: We don’t believe in coups or conspiracies, we think that socialism will only come when the majority want it to come and are prepared to act to bring it about. […] We think it’s likely that there will be a convergence of social forces and political forces into a kind of people’s coalition, including the Communist Party, but other left forces as well. For us, the battle of real social change is the battle of ideas, and getting working people particularly to start becoming conscious of their place in society.

MD: Is there something you’d like to say to us specifically as university students? What is our role in this broader struggle?

MF: You have your whole future ahead of you, and it’s a future that is pretty bloody bleak. The cost of housing has exploded, the cost of getting an education, it’s completely out of control. If anybody should be voting en masse it should be young people, because you have the most at stake. I think it’s really important for students to be conscious about what their interests are, but then to go out and express it everywhere: at the polls, but also in your communities, on your campuses, and in social struggles.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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In addition, the Council voted to endorse the proposed sexual assault policy, expected to come to Senate for approval in September, as well as McGill Inter-Union Council’s campaign for a campus-wide $15 per hour minimum wage.

Budget and impact of CFS case

Presenting the 2015-16 budget, Financial Affairs Officer Nikki Meadows noted that most areas suffered a 10 per cent cut on average to begin paying back costs associated with the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) court case.

Legal fees associated with the CFS disaffiliation court case cost PGSS about $185,000 in 2014-15, and approximately $138,000 in 2013-14. In addition, PGSS has had to pay CFS, under protest, over $300,000 of outstanding membership fees accumulated since 2010, in order to be able to hold the disaffiliation referendum in January 2015.

PGSS is currently suing CFS for the recognition of its 2010 disaffiliation vote as valid and the return of the membership fees, with the court case set for 2017.

Meadows indicated that the cuts would likely be maintained in future years. While PGSS has been able to save about $130,000 to $140,000 to be used for CFS-related debt in the Special Projects Fund balance, that money represents only about one third of the amount still owed.

“We’re making dents in it, but it’s a lot of money,” commented Meadows.

Student Services funding

In response to concerns amongst the student body regarding decreased funding of Student Services and increased overhead costs imposed on the unit, Dyens came before Council to present a summary of Student Services’ financial situation.

In 2015-16, the administrative overhead costs charged to Student Services by the central administration will amount to $588,733, up from $326,312 the previous year and only $30,679 in 2009-10. Additionally, the University’s $112,000 transfer to the unit’s budget will be eliminated, having already been reduced in previous years from $443,905 in 2009-10.

Dyens justified the cuts to the unit by invoking the $6 million surplus the unit has accumulated over the past few years and the rest of the university’s difficult financial situation.

“There used to be enough money for the university not to charge this [overhead fee], there’s not enough [anymore],” he said. “Unfortunately, right now it’s a zero-sum game; it’s a limited pie.”

Several councillors asked that the Deputy Provost provide details on salary expenditures in the unit, which will have increased by over $1.8 million since 2014.

“My experience is that [there are fewer] people providing services,” said Postgraduate Philosophy Students of McGill University Association (PPSMUA) representative Frédérick Armstrong, questioning whether the salary increases were reflective of an increase in non-administrative staff.

“There’s a limit to how much healthcare services we can provide – we are not a hospital.”

Although he failed to provide details, Dyens indicated that the increase was due both to new hires and salary increases, noting that “salaries at McGill were too low” compared to its competitors.

Addressing the increasing demand and months-long wait times at the Mental Health Service, Dyens emphasized the need for a preventative strategy to reduce student stress by investing in areas like supervision and advising.

According to a Mental Health Service estimate, the hire of 25 new full-time staff would be required to meet current demand, a $1.5 to $2 million expense. Dyens noted that, while possible, this would “create unsustainable expectations.”

“There’s a limit to how much healthcare services we can provide – we are not a hospital,” he added.

Recognizing that relying on the surplus was “unsustainable” beyond a few years, Dyens hinted at the possibility that an increase of the Student Services fee would be necessary. Student fees currently provide 75 per cent of the unit’s revenues.

Dyens also said that there was room for the elimination of “redundancies,” such as the existence of Mental Health and Counselling as two separate services.

“Before we reinvest, we want to make sure these services are as efficient as can be,” he said.

Student federation, public transit

External Affairs Officer Julien Ouellet brought forward a motion for PGSS to join the Projet pour un Mouvement Étudiant, an “incubator” for a new Quebec student federation created in the wake of the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec (FEUQ)’s imminent collapse. PGSS is currently a member of FEUQ.

The motion entails the ratification by PGSS of the PPME’s formal contract of association, which grants PGSS a representative on the PPME’s board of directors. If the PPME is successful in creating a new student federation, PGSS members will have the opportunity to join it via referendum; if unsuccessful, the PPME will be automatically dissolved in two years.

The motion passed with six abstentions.

Council approved bylaw changes moved by Council Director Régine Debrosse to increase the size of the Board of Directors from seven to nine members, and to allow for the Board to elect a chair who is not the secretary-general.

Ouellet updated Council on his initiative to extend reduced fare public transit to university students above the age of 25 by instituting an opt-outable fee. Ouellet said that the Société de transport de Montréal (STM)’s marketing team looked favourably upon the idea, and several other student associations agreed to join the project.

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Demonstrators began gathering at Phillips Square around 6:30 p.m., joined shortly thereafter by neighbourhood contingents formed in North, East, and South-West Montreal. The group set off around 7 p.m..

Having promptly declared the demonstration illegal, police agents from the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) and the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) confronted the group at several locations and deployed large amounts of tear gas, injuring protesters and passers-by, including children. According to Radio-Canada, SPVM spokesperson Laurent Gingras was unable to give an exact reason for the dispersion maneuver.

“They didn’t let us walk, they gassed us after twenty minutes,” one protester told The Daily in French. “It was seriously appalling.”

Many fled into the metro. Some of the remaining protesters were kettled on Maisonneuve, with the night ending in 84 arrests.

“It’s obvious that the escalation of repression we’ve seen in the last few years is the result of a political directive to nip all protest movements with a radical discourse in the bud,” CLAC wrote in a press release. “To be clear, we will not allow ourselves to be chased, beaten, and repressed without a fight.”

[flickr id=”72157649992779663″]

Day of action for International Workers’ Day

From 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., protesters associated with the Coalition opposée à la tarification et à la privatisation des services publics, a coalition of over 85 social groups fighting cuts to public services, blocked access to the Banque Nationale tower, inhibiting its activities. At the same time, roughly 300 protesters occupied the offices of Québecor Media. These actions were followed by a demonstration that drew thousands of people.

“The main reason why community organizations are mobilizing is because the people we work with on a daily basis are experiencing the consequences of austerity,” Coalition spokesperson Véronique Laflamme told The Daily in French. “These are people who are seeing employment integration programs for people with disabilities being cut, seeing their welfare cheques being cut, seeing social housing being cut […] people who have less and less access to quality public services because of cuts to healthcare and social services.”

“Community groups do a lot of work with very few resources. They’re overburdened and it’s harder and harder for them to fulfill their mission, because there are more and more people who need help,” added Laflamme.

Joining the mobilization for the day of action, twenty-four CEGEP teachers’ unions across Quebec voted for one-day strike mandates to protest severe government cuts to education.

Quebec’s labour board ruled on April 30 that the teachers’ strike was illegal, and the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) advised its members to comply with the ruling. Despite this, successful picket lines were held and classes cancelled at many CEGEPs, including Maisonneuve and Rosemont in Montreal.

A similar number of university and CEGEP student associations were also on strike.

Quebec author Anny Schneider, who attended the morning protest, insisted on the importance of continuing to mobilize non-student sectors of the population. “I think there aren’t enough older people [protesting] – people are afraid for their jobs, for their social positions,” she told The Daily in French. “I remain hopeful.”

Looking forward, protesters and organizers emphasized the need to continue to build momentum toward strong mobilization in the fall.

“We’re determined, and we cannot let this go. We’re already seeing the ravaging effects of austerity measures throughout Quebec,” said Laflamme. “The battle of the next few months is a battle for the redistribution of wealth.”

Some expressed concern over the brutality of the police repression, and its potential impact on mobilization.

“There’s a lot of people who don’t want to come back to demos because of how violent it’s become,” a student at CEGEP du Vieux-Montréal, who attended picket lines there, as well as the night protest, told The Daily in French. “The repression is very strong.”

“I’ve never seen so many police in Montreal,” said Schneider. “It’s very unhealthy; it scares me, it saddens me, but I will continue to express myself.”

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Budget surplus, Student Services funding

Provost Anthony Masi informed Senate that, despite an initial forecast of a $7 million deficit, the projected balance of the 2014-15 budget is a $4.3 million surplus. For the second year in a row, the government has provided unforeseen funds to the university following a revision of student enrolment numbers, resulting in a budget surplus despite severe cuts to the operating grant.

“Two years doesn’t make a trend – yet,” said Masi, also noting that additional expenditures during the month of April could reduce the surplus.

The 2015-16 budget, expected to be approved by the Board of Governors on April 28, forecasts an additional $11 million reduction in the operating budget, to be mitigated by the continuation of cost-cutting practices introduced in the past two years, such as the hiring freeze on administrative and support staff. International students in faculties with deregulated international tuition – Engineering, Law, Management, and Science – will also face a 5 per cent tuition increase.

The budget also includes a $4.75 million revenue increase from additional overhead charges imposed to the university’s “self-funding” units, including Student Services, which is mostly funded by student fees. According to Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning) Ollivier Dyens, the changes will require Student Services to allocate $1.5 million of its accumulated $6 million surplus to new overhead charges.

“There’s no way we can commit to [maintaining current levels of service].”

Student Services also receives a yearly grant from the provincial government. Responding to a question from Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) VP University Affairs Claire Stewart-Kanigan, SSMU President Courtney Ayukawa, SSMU Arts and Science Senator and incoming VP University Affairs Chloe Rourke, and SSMU Arts Senator Jacob Greenspon, Dyens left open the possibility that this grant could begin to be partially distributed to other units instead, noting that 25 per cent of the $1.8 million grant is already being allocated to Athletics.

“The government grant we receive is meant to fund services to students, [which] include McGill Student Services, but also things such as the Dean of Students, Service Point, advising, the libraries, et cetera,” said Dyens. “If we face unsustainable cuts over the next few years, we may have to use part of that grant to ensure the viability of services to students. We would be able to do so only because Student Services has an accumulated budget surplus of more than $6 million – this is not a long-term solution.”

Student senators voiced concern about the long-term sustainability of the funding of Student Services, a unit already unable to meet student demand and reduce wait times.

“Student Services was previously planning to be using some of that surplus to be doing things like hiring new therapists, but now they are not able to […] meet the increase in demand because of these new overheads,” said Stewart-Kanigan.

Dyens noted that $3.5 million of the surplus was still available, but warned against creating “unreasonable expectations.”

“We could use the entire $6 million to […] bring wait time to zero this year; however, it would mean [that] next year, we’d be unable to do so, and we would create an unreasonable expectation on our services,” he said. “Even if we were to address these needs right now, the demand keeps increasing. […] It’s just not sustainable, we need to find solutions that are more creative.”

Asked by Ayukawa whether the University could commit to maintaining current levels of service after 2016, Dyens said, “There’s no way we can commit to this. What we can commit to is [to] try as hard as we can to do it.”

Mission statement

Associate Provost (Policies, Procedures & Equity) Lydia White presented for approval an updated mission statement and a statement of principles for McGill. Taking into consideration feedback from the discussion of the proposed changes at the February 18 Senate meeting, the Academic Policy Committee (APC) revised the proposed statement by removing “engaging the wider community” from the mission statement and revising the principles to be “academic freedom, integrity, responsibility, equity, and inclusiveness.”

Greenspon and Ayukawa raised concerns over the insufficient emphasis on teaching in the mission statement, and on students as recipients of education. “It’s emphasizing research a bit more than teaching,” said Ayukawa.

The new mission statement was approved, with one vote against.

Research conduct regulation review

Vice-Principal (Research and International Relations) Rosie Goldstein verbally updated Senate on the progress of the review of McGill’s Regulation on the Conduct of Research. A working group charged with making recommendations to this effect was struck last fall.

Although it recommended some changes to the regulation itself, the working group mostly made procedural recommendations to improve the implementation of existing rules. Among these were two items to be added to the standard research approval process: a statement that the researcher “has considered the consequences of the research,” and an indication whether the sponsor of the research “operates harmful applications into which research could foreseeably be incorporated,” with an explanation of the balance of benefits and harms of the research if necessary.

Goldstein said that she would conduct consultation among the vice-principals and the deans before bringing the report of the committee to Senate in the fall.

“My expectation was that the report would be made public [today],” said Stewart-Kanigan. “Members of the community haven’t been able to see any sign of the work we’ve done so far.”

Medicine faculty council

Senate approved the creation of a faculty council for the Faculty of Medicine, to be composed of representatives from faculty leadership, academic staff, and students.

“The Faculty of Medicine was perhaps unique in the university in not having a formal faculty council,” said Dean of Medicine David Eidelman.

The council will act as an advisory body to the dean, and will review its terms of reference within two years.

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“We’ve […] been hosting teach-ins and workshops during usual class time to give folks something else to go to, [as] a popular education tactic so that folks have the opportunity to come out and continue learning […] from one another, in a way that is much less hierarchical than class generally is,” explained Women’s Studies student and strike committee member Molly Swain.

Strike committee members employed a combination of soft pickets, hard pickets, and noise disruption to successfully cancel most classes scheduled during the two weeks. Although most students respected the strike mandate and did not attend class, tensions between picketers and strike-breaking students ran particularly high on certain occasions.

“We ask basically for the same respect from the folks who don’t necessarily agree with the strike.”

On one occasion, after a professor and around six students were prevented from accessing their classroom, the professor decided to move the class to an office instead of cancelling it. Picketers followed the students to the office and engaged in noise disruption, causing discomfort and fear among the students inside, according to reports.

“I was very scared, everyone in the room was very uncomfortable, very scared. […] They kept pounding on the door, they kept on making noise, and we couldn’t do anything,” said Blare Coughlin, one of the students who attended the class. “By enforcing the strike in such a loud, pressuring way […] it’s very alienating.”

Swain acknowledged that some of the tactics used contributed to tensions between students, but emphasized students’ responsibility to respect the strike mandate.

“Folks disagree on tactics; folks feel that if things get too confrontational, it can be uncomfortable for people,” said Swain. “We ask people to leave, and we always give them the opportunity to do so if they choose.”

“Should the strike get voted down, the strike committee is not going to […] keep picketing, out of respect for the decision of the collective body, and we ask basically for the same respect from the folks who don’t necessarily agree with the strike,” added Swain.

Whereas, Women cover band

In an attempt to ease tensions and lighten the mood, striking students formed a cover band called Whereas, Women in order to enforce classroom disruptions by means of musical performance.

“We thought we might try a more fun and inclusive tactic,” Women’s Studies student Kelly Schieder told The Daily at the band’s debut performance, which took place in the IGSF building on the morning of April 10.

“It’s a way for noise disruption to happen and for us to fulfill our mandate in ways that are somewhat less confrontational,” added Swain.

The band, whose repertoire ranges from 90s hits to classic protest songs, also staged a show on April 13 to celebrate the last scheduled class of the year in the department. The class was cancelled with no issues, and the festive atmosphere elicited a positive response from the students who had come to attend the class.

“They took a different approach, and I’m really thankful for that,” said Coughlin.

Unaccommodating professors

The strike committee attempted to coordinate the enforcement of the WSSA strike mandate with IGSF faculty, as the WSSA had done during the 2012 student strikes. However, despite their stated opposition to austerity measures, the professors were largely unaccommodating this time around, with some indicating that they would call security on picketing students.

“We went into this having communicated with the IGSF […] beforehand, and their response to us was very similar to what we received in 2012, which was, basically, ‘We’ll do the best we can to support you, but we also need to make sure the profs are getting the support they need,’” explained Swain, who was in her first year at McGill during the 2012 student strikes.

“[In 2012], professors said that if we put up picket lines, they wouldn’t cross them, so we effectively cancelled class fairly easily. […] The reception from the professors [this time] was not as accommodating at all to the strike.”

In an interview with The Daily, IGSF Director Carrie Rentschler expressed opposition to austerity measures, but argued that the precarious nature of the IGSF instructors’ position made it difficult for them to support the striking students.

“I am anti-austerity. We have seen here at McGill a round of budget cuts in the millions […] – they are hampering our ability to provide the kinds of education that we want to provide here at the institute,” said Rentschler.

“None of us have the protection of a union. Our instructors work on contract basis, which means their positions are precarious – not because we make them precarious, but they are by nature precarious. So those instructors don’t have the kind of protections you would have if you were a union person going on strike.”

“This has given folks a little bit of taste of what this can look like, and they can take that and make it their own in the fall.”

On April 4, the strike committee published an open letter expressing its disappointment with the IGSF’s response to the WSSA strike.

“We understand that the IGSF is receiving threats that their professors […] could lose their jobs or not be paid if they attempt to accommodate or support striking students,” the letter reads.

“What we do not understand is why they have chosen to accept these conditions wholesale and have proceeded to repress our resistance to these same forces instead of working with us to challenge those above them in the university hierarchy, as we are putting ourselves at risk to do.”

With the strike now over, the strike committee will continue working with the IGSF to attempt to establish assessment procedures that do not penalize students who were involved in the strike.

“We’re going to be meeting with them to ensure that everybody in this situation comes out of it feeling like there’s no remaining hostility, and that students who have been involved in the strike feel like they’re protected moving forward in their degrees – and the profs also feel comfortable continuing to teach folks,” said Swain.

Both Coughlin and Swain also said that they look forward to the continuing mobilization in the fall.

“In the fall, we’ll be able to mobilize a lot more, because people won’t be scared about finals […] hanging over their heads – so I’m actually kind of hopeful for fall,” said Coughlin.

“This has been a learning process for the strike committee, but it has also been a learning process for Women’s Studies students as a whole,” noted Swain. “Mobilization is going to happen in a new way in the fall […] – this has given folks a little bit of taste of what this can look like, and they can take that and make it their own in the fall.”

—With files from Marina Cupido

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Although the organizational details of the strike were left to the discretion of a newly formed strike committee, the GA did vote to hold a ‘soft’ picket line, meaning that individuals will be discouraged, but not prevented, from crossing it. Invigilators, also unionized under AGSEM as a separate bargaining unit, have the legal right to refuse to cross a picket line preventing access to an examination location.

“It was great to see this many people out, and have an actual debate with so much of the membership about what McGill has offered and how we respond,” said AGSEM Mobilization Committee Chair Mona Luxion, speaking as an AGSEM member. “I think it’s going to take a lot more than this to get major concessions from McGill, but […] I really see this as the first step in an ongoing process.”

The TAs’ current bargaining priorities are a wage increase and the codification of a limit on TA-to-student ratios. McGill countered the TAs’ demand for a 5 per cent yearly wage increase with an offer of an increase equal to that of the Quebec public service workers, with a one-year lag. As the public service workers’ agreement is currently in negotiations, the amount is as of yet undefined.

According to AGSEM TA Bargaining Committee Chair Giulia Alberini, the administration has staunchly refused to compromise on the TA-to-student ratios, as well as on the TAs’ other demands, such as a new harassment-related grievance resolution policy. The last two bargaining sessions were held in the presence of a mediating conciliator, and at least one more session is planned in the coming days.

“What I think is absolutely clear from this meeting is that the membership is really disappointed in what McGill has offered,” said Luxion. “I think that a visible action, especially one that is a strike and does have a real disruptive effect on McGill and in TAs’ lives, is going to start a lot of conversations […] and I think this is the perfect time to do it – while we’re talking about austerity across the province.”

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A total of four McGill student associations will thus be on strike on April 2 in conjunction with the Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (ASSÉ)’s mass protest against austerity, joining over 100,000 students province-wide. The Association des étudiant(e)s en langue et littérature françaises inscrit(e)s aux études supérieures (ADELFIES) will also be on strike for the day, and the Association générale des étudiantes et étudiants de langue et littérature françaises (AGELF), striking since Monday, will remain on strike until April 3.

LSA’s one-day strike passed by a vote of 310 to 197, with a turnout of 76.6 per cent. The strike vote at the WSSA GA passed by a vote of 39 to 9. The motion included a provision to hold another GA on April 7 to consider the renewal of the strike.

“I think it’s really important that we’re actually coming together as a collective and engaging with the topics that we address theoretically [in our courses], and doing something about it, and doing grassroots organizing,” U3 Women’s Studies and Political Science student Sula Greene told The Daily, “especially in an institution that we all criticize in classrooms and find super oppressive.”

The Department of English Student Association (DESA) also held a GA on Tuesday, but it failed to reach quorum for a strike motion. The GA voted to instead hold a strike vote by secret ballot on Wednesday, but this also failed to reach quorum. Although 57 per cent of those voting voted for a strike, the turnout was only 14.4 per cent, while 20 per cent, or 205 students, was required.

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