Quebec has 17 universities that attract students from Quebec, other Canadian provinces, and other countries. Out of these universities, 14 are in the city of Montreal, the largest city in the province. With a rich history, a relatively strong arts scene, and of course an expansive nightlife, Montreal is a perfect city for students coming to study at McGill, Concordia, or any of Montreal’s universities. Quebec offers more than it seems at first sight, and not all of it is positive. Even with a lot of cultural diversity and a large migrant population, Quebec’s latent xenophobia is becoming stronger.

If passed, the Charter of Quebec Values, or Bill 60, would institutionalize intolerance, and increase feelings of fear and of being unsafe for many groups on campus. According to Kira Page, external coordinator at the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) McGill, the Charter, as well as the proposed changes to already-existing language laws, is already having effects on people of colour and migrant communities in Quebec. As an example, a survey conducted by Geneviève Pinard Prévost at the Université de Sherbrooke showed that “88 per cent of Muslim women said they no longer feel safe leaving their homes.” Pinard Prévost’s sample size of 388 might be small, but such a high ratio can nevertheless not be ignored. Pinard Prévost said herself that, “It may not look like a lot of women in the total of Muslim women in Quebec, but it’s a lot of women who live with this kind of problem in the province.”

Beyond making communities and individuals feel unsafe, Page states that Bill 60 would create an access barrier to employment for many people. Ellen Aitken, Dean of McGill’s Faculty of Religious Studies, firmly believes that Bill 60 would affect faculty members, in that they would “in a sense, be forced to hide part of their identity.” Aitken continues, “It would create an environment in which the fullness of who we are as human beings, as scholars, and as social beings interacting with one another could not be expressed fully, and I think that is a very chilling environment in which to learn.”

Page explains that in Quebec, “various iterations of a political and social need for things like cultural protection, sovereignty, or the self-determination of francophone communities have often turned into a xenophobic, anti-immigrant politic that is deeply white supremacist, colonial, and racist.” No matter its original intention, Bill 60 is now used as one of Quebec’s many soldiers of xenophobia. While traditionally defined in the New Oxford American Dictionary as an “intense or irrational dislike or fear of people from other countries,” xenophobia can be further defined to include a dislike or fear of other cultures, languages, and religions.

At McGill’s tri-annual debriefing in December, Suzanne Fortier stated that Bill 60 is already affecting McGill’s recruitment of faculty and students, with certain faculty members already considering leaving. Outside the limits of McGill, Aitken says that Bill 60 and Quebec’s xenophobia would “be a real disincentive for anyone applying from outside. It would probably even be a real disincentive for some Quebecers coming to McGill.”

“It would create an environment in which the fullness of who we are as human beings, as scholars, and as social beings interacting with one another could not be expressed fully, and I think that is a very chilling environment in which to learn.”

In January 2014, McGill submitted a brief to the National Assembly commission working on Bill 60, in which it made clear that it would have a strong detrimental effect on the university’s environment, and would destroy what a university is and should be. The brief states that a university is “an environment that brings them [the students] face to face with a reality that goes beyond the experience they have had until now, and helps them to develop their judgement and critical thinking.” It is very clearly implied that Bill 60 would hinder and negatively affect this environment. As well, the brief says that Bill 60, if implemented, would fundamentally alter the nature of the university as an institution, as “the institutional autonomy of a university is defined as the ability to manage its mission according to its own rules of governance, in complete freedom and without interference from any third party, including the government.”

Taking Aitken’s position of Bill 60 affecting McGill’s faculty, this same brief clearly states that Bill 60 would have a negative effect on the student population itself, as “McGill hires nearly 3,500 of its students on teaching contracts in their disciplines (as lecturers or teaching assistants), to supervise examinations, work in the University libraries or bookstore, do office work that is partly subsidized by the central budget, fill research assistant positions, or serve as floor monitors in the student residences.”

Beyond institutionalized bills such as Bill 60, xenophobia is clearly present in language issues. In 1977, Quebec’s National Assembly passed a bill called the Charter of the French Language, or Bill 101, which has been controversial even amongst Quebec residents. Very broadly, this Charter is meant to define the role of the French language in the province, and the accompanying language rights. While Bill 101’s many articles all serve to strengthen the French language, they can have negative aspects, especially on some anglophone populations. After the implementation of the Bill, Quebec experienced a large emigration of these populations, leading to the closing of many anglophone schools.

Under Bill 14, businesses that serve the public would have needed to communicate in French with their customers. Furthermore, buisnesses with 26 to 49 regular employees would have had to make French the language of the workspace. Such rules make it much more difficult for immigrants in Quebec to create and run a business and make a living if their French language skills do not meet the required standard.

All of these aspects of present-day Quebec do not paint a very attractive portrait of the province, a fact simply exacerbated by certain components of next month’s electoral platforms. With so many universities, it would be unwise for Quebec to close the door, or at least make the door very hard to open, to international students because of its cultural policies and behaviour.

In an earlier version of the article, The Daily incorrectly stated that, according to Kira Page, the Charter would have a negative effect on Quebec’s international image. In fact, Page said that the Charter has negative effects on people of colour and migrant communities in Quebec. The Daily regrets the error.

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A 2010 poll showed that 58 per cent and 50 per cent of the British population associate Islam with extremism and terrorism respectively. Only 13 per cent thought Islam promoted peace, and 6 per cent believed it to promote justice. 33 per cent of the British population believed Islam to be a violent religion, with 68 per cent associating it with the promotion of female oppression. This poll was commissioned by the UK’s Exploring Islam Foundation (EIF), and conducted by YouGov, an internet-based market research company.

As a result of the poll, the EIF launched the Inspired by Muhammad campaign. The campaign explores Muhammad’s views on social justice, women’s rights, the environment, charity, education, healthcare, animal welfare, human rights, and coexistence, showcasing these views as the basis of Islam. Campaign posters – featuring Muslim Brits working in fields such as social justice and women’s advocacy – were placed in tube stations, in bus stops, and on cabs. Each poster’s photo of the profiled individual was superimposed with a message that parallelled their proclaimed individual social belief with Muhammad’s social belief on the same subject. One poster profiled a human rights barrister named Sultana Tafadar, with the message “I believe in women’s rights. So did Muhammad.” Each campaign poster showcased a variation of this message.

The website has a number of different sections, explaining who Muslims are, as well as who Muhammad was. A large portion of the site is dedicated to explaining what Islam is as a religion, and in the process, counters negative preconceived ideas about Islam’s connection to violence, Jihad, the status of women in Islam, and the hijab. While the public campaign posters do serve their purpose, inspiredbymuhammad.com has the benefit of reaching populations beyond the UK, seeing as Islamophobia and misconceptions about Islam are international.

One Muslim convert – living in Montreal and who chose to remain anonymous – is skeptical of the campaign. “It is difficult to change people’s minds when they have a set idea.”

Some of the ways the material was presented in this campaign also made this person uncomfortable, as they stated “It is mentioned that Islam came to correct some of the human errors that slipped into the practice of Judaism and Christianity. I can’t help but think of what human error has slipped into the practice of Islam.”

Imam Bukhari holds that there are other ways, beyond campaigns like Inspired by Muhammad, to reduce misrepresentation. “I always stress that the most effective way to break down these misrepresentations is to implement the teachings of our religion in our daily life, as our holy Quran told us and our Prophet (peace be upon him) showed us through his good example. Through our practices, we can show […] how Islam places importance on human rights, dignity, social justice, family values, and equality,” Imam Bukhari said.

The topic of religion and by extension, Islamophobia, is an interesting one in secularized Canada. Canada’s Multiculturalism Policy aims to foster a better understanding and respect for religions, as well as highlighting the importance of religious coexistence. Imam Bukhari holds that Canadians are “open, kind, and understanding,” that there is a strong “Canadian spirit of acceptance,” and that Canada as a nation treats its citizens with “respect and dignity.” Nevertheless, Statistics Canada reports that in 2011 – the most recent year for which statistics are available – religion (though it was not specified which) was the second highest hate-crime motivation. In accordance with this, Imam Bukhari holds that Canadian Muslims have had to deal with negative Islamophobia-fueled encounters, especially when “viewed or categorized as outsiders who are to be tolerated or accepted.”

Quebec is a bit different from the rest of Canada. Its policy, as described by Michael Dewing – of the Social Affairs Division of the Parliamentary and Information Research Service, is one of “interculturalism.” Overlapping with this is Quebec’s strong emphasis on secularity, which reached a new high – or low – when the ruling Parti Québécois government announced that in the fall of 2013, it hopes to introduce a Charter of Quebec Values that would effectively ban the wearing of religious symbols such as the hijab, the kippah, the turban, and the crucifix in the public sector, including schools and hospitals.

While a problematic issue in itself, it should be emphasized that this Charter is not directly a reflection of Islamophobic attitudes. Nevertheless, concerns do exist, as evidenced by the previously mentioned Muslim convert, about Islamophobia at least partly fueling the bill.

The Muslim convert goes on to say, “When I tell people that I lived in Algeria they invariably ask me if I had to wear the veil or if I had any trouble as a woman…no and no. There is always this assumption that it is a Muslim country, so it must be oppressive to women.”

Misconceptions like these are damaging to the Muslim population living in Quebec. Programs, campaigns, and overall education about Islam are therefore necessary in order to finally end Islamophobia.

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—Zoë Knowles

Asbestos
October 2012
One of the most heated health issues at McGill this year revolved around the controversial asbestos study conducted by retired McGill professor John Corbett McDonald. On October 18, 2012, McGill cleared McDonald of any misconduct – which included allegedly working with the asbestos industry and consequently fabricating his study’s research about asbestos’ health concerns. But his innocence is still questioned. The controversy around this study affected the way that McGill viewed its education and research process. We, as students, should always be critical of what we learn and not assume that professors are infallible. This controversy has sparked debates over reliability, accountability, and the way that studies should be conducted at McGill. McDonald deemed certain types of asbestos “innocuous,” although asbestos is linked to cancer. As a result, asbestos industries have cited McDonald’s flawed study to promote asbestos usage. However, McGill investigators found “no evidence of scientific misconduct,” on MacDonald’s part, according to the CBC.

—Zoë Knowles

HPV Study
January 2013
In January 2013, McGill launched a study called Carrageenan-gel Against Transmission of Cervical human papillomavirus (HPV) infection (CATCH) to evaluate a new method of HPV prevention. A seaweed extract, carrageenan, has been identified as an inhibitor of HPV infections by the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. The CATCH study involves the application of a Carrageenan in gel-form as a personal lubricant before sexual intercourse, in order to prevent the spread of the virus. The plan is to recruit 465 women, who are sexually active and university-aged, to apply the gel before sex. Half of these women will be given the Carrageenan gel, and the other half will be given a placebo. This study will show both the effectiveness of the Carrageenan gel in preventing HPV and in treating existing infections. While a vaccine preventing HPV was released in the market a few years ago, it does not prevent all strains of HPV, which in turn can cause cancers in the throat, tongue, penis, vagina, vulva, anus, and cervix. If successful, the study will revolutionize the treatment of HPV, which is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI), making this a very important study. However, the problem with the study is that is seems to be geared only towards cisgendered women, presumably those who are heterosexual. However, HPV can be contracted by any sexually active individual, including men, and the testing of this drug should be open to individuals of all genders and sexual orientations.

—Sarah Fortin

Promising multiple sclerosis treatment
March 2013
Successful clinical trials using bone marrow transplantation (BMT) were carried out in a small group of patient with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Though a highly risky from of treatment, BMT has been found to be effective in preventing relapse in patients with MS. This study was based on immunological research at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) and the Université de Montréal. The principle investigator of the study was Amit Bar-Or, a neurologist and researcher at the MNI and director of the Experimental Therapeutics program – which, according to Bar-Or, is “a program that grew from [their] interest in trying to study the biology of a human condition by studying people with the human condition.” In particular, with a disease like MS where no real animal model exists, researchers are finding it more effective to study the biology of what is actually changing in the human with the illness, by assessing early phase clinical trials such as this BMT study in humans.

—Diana Kwon

Nanoparticles for brain disorders
March 2013
Today, the number of Canadians affected by brain tumours and disorders, such as Alzheimer’s, are on the rise. One of the main issues in terms of treatment for these diseases is that less than half of the administered dose of medicine contained in current drugs actually reaches the brain. Sebastien Boridy, a Pharmacology graduate student at McGill, is currently looking into developing the technology to administer nanoparticles into the brain. Nanoparticles provide a uniquely effective way of delivering drugs to the brain because of their specificity and improved penetration into target areas in the organ. These drugs hold huge potential for the future treatment of brain disorders.

—Diana Kwon

Understanding the cultural impacts of HIV/AIDS in the Middle East
March 2013
HIV/AIDS is a global crisis – over 34 million people are estimated to have contracted with HIV in 2011. This is a particularly large issue in the Middle East, due to the fact that HIV-related topics are a cultural taboo in this region, which leads to very few efforts in research, and a lessened chance of affected individuals reaching out for help. Saoussan Askar, a graduate student in Sociology at McGill, is studying how HIV and AIDS is conceptualized and discussed in the Middle East by conducting a discourse analysis of media outlets in these areas. Thus far, Askar has found little or no mention of safe sex or treatment of HIV, and an exclusion of the questions of why and how transmission occurs. The results have pointed to the need to address certain cultural taboos related to HIV in the Middle East in order to be able to provide better prevention and treatment measures.

—Diana Kwon

The neurochemistry of music
March 2013
Daniel J. Levitin, a professor of Psychology at McGill, aided by his post-graduate research fellow, Dr. Mona Lisa Chanda, has discovered multiple benefits of playing and listening to music. The effects of the latter on the reduction of pre-surgery anxiety were found to be greater than the usual prescribed pre-operation medication. Music was found to strengthen the immune system by increasing the number of important mucosal antibodies and natural killer cells. The research also showed that music plays a role in mood management and in human social bonding. On the topic of further research, the authors will examine probable differences between playing and listening to music, and found a correlation between oxytocin – the ‘love drug’ – group affiliation, and music, as well as the possible similarities in chemical pathways between musical pleasure and other forms of pleasure, such as sex and food.

—Julie Prud’homme

University’s attempt at energy reduction
March 2013
McGill has completed an array of projects aimed at decreasing its energy consumption and improving sustainability. McGill partnered with the Energy Management Group to make the University’s energy “more visible and easier to track.” The company has installed 400 real-time energy metres in seventy buildings on campus. The results from these metres can be accessed by anybody online at mcgill.pulseenergy.com. Projected energy savings from recent projects that involve “heat recovery from a data centre, a ventilation upgrade in a chemistry building, or upgrades to one of the library buildings, range from $100,000 to $300,000 for each project,” accoding to the group. McGill has succeeded in lowering its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent since 2002. While it may seem productive for McGill to partner with an outside organization to help with energy needs, it would be worth looking at its own resources – staff, graduate, and post-graduate students – for help on these issues. One of the means through which McGill is doing so is by undertaking an applied student research project dubbed the “McGill Energy Project.” This project has allowed undergraduate students to build an energy systems map for McGill. It has also given them the opportunity to develop methods to forecast the university’s energy demand and optimize steam and chilled water origination. Involving undergrads is a good step on the university’s behalf, but careful consideration of background and experience should be taken before assigning these students to bigger projects.

—Ralph Haddad

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