“This night represents what we want to do; that is bringing people from different backgrounds together, to create an event that has the biggest possible impact”

Fundraising for students taking the TOEFL exam

Opportutoring was born from an initiative by Solin residence students in late 2015. At the time, there was no syllabus or formal organizational structure. Less than a year after its conception, Maes and Kenz-Ali Boubekeur, both McGill undergraduate students, decided to restructure the initiative to better assist refugees learning English. Together with other students, they developed a curriculum and joined Enactus McGill, a community of social entrepreneurs. In the fall of 2016, Opportutoring as we know it was created.

Opportutoring’s mandate seeks to help refugees adapt to their new community by teaching essential reading and writing English skills. Some of Opportutoring’s students are planning on taking the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) in order to qualify for acceptance at English-speaking universities. Others want to get the necessary credentials to pursue various professions in their countries of resettlement, and to better communicate in their new context.

Opportutoring’s mandate seeks to help refugees adapt to their new community by teaching essential reading and writing English skills.

Boubekeur expanded on the issues facing students intending to take the TOEFL: “The problem is that the test is at the same price everywhere in the world, that is about $220. This means that it is the same price for someone living in North America [as it is] for a refugee. Since many of them face financial hardships, the goal of the event is to raise money to allow them to pass the TOEFL.”

Boubekeur added: “We are exhibiting the artworks done by Alaa, and a portion of the night’s receipts will go to him and his family, to help them in their reinsertion.”

Currently, Opportutoring is also a contestant in the finals of the Social Enterprise stream of the Dobson Cup, McGill’s annual startup competition. Boubekeur further explained that while the event would help cover the direct costs of students currently being tutored, winning the Dobson Cup would “enable [Opportutoring] to become an actual NGO, and to expand to other universities. It would also allow us to develop our network of students and tutors.”

Opportutoring is also a contestant in the finals of the Social Enterprise stream of the Dobson Cup, McGill’s annual startup competition.

A diversity of artists

The night started with a performance by Montreal band Ruby Skies. In an interview with the Daily, Luca Martial, the band’s drummer, said, “We wanted to play tonight because we thought Opportutoring’s cause is definitely worthwhile, and that the way the show would take place was original because of the many artists performing at the same time.”

They were followed by music from Super Freddy and Zèra, and dance performances by Léa Tremblay Fong and Martine Castera. Their off-stage performance, in the middle of the crowd, had a clear feminist stance. They outlined their abs and muscles on their bodies with lip gloss, and threw face powder at each other’s faces. A crowd member could distinctively be heard yelling “You don’t need it!” Following their performance hip-hop duo stormed out to Princess Nokia’s famous song “Tomboy.” Later, sol.Evol and Nectar performed on stage.

Participants were struck by the variety of artists. Charles Sirisawat, a U1 liberal arts student, noted the “wide ranging works of art.”

Martial agreed, saying, “[The] artists were really diversified, […] we were excited to be in contact with individuals from various backgrounds.”

“[The] artists were really diversified, […] we were excited to be in contact with individuals from various backgrounds.”

Maes added, “Everyone has something different to bring, and we wanted to bring these differences together around a common cause.”

“Opportutoring’s common theme is that we want people from different worlds to make something cool. We wanted to bring these different artists together to show that you just need to get together to be able to do awesome things,” said Boubekeur.

“Opportutoring’s common theme is that we want people from different worlds to make something cool. We wanted to bring these different artists together to show that you just need to get together to be able to do awesome things”

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A personal journey

“The idea was to have a facilitated discussion that brought these questions to light,” said Caroline Lou, one of the SSMU sustainability commissioners and organizers of the event. “A lot of the time, when we talk about veganism or sustainable eating, we don’t recognize that it’s not accessible to everyone, whether it’s for socio-economic reasons, for reasons of personal health, or because of cultural ties to certain food. We really wanted to focus on a more intersectional approach to this issue.” Lou explained that the goal of the event was to show how everyone, including non-vegans, can make responsible choices with food consumption.

“Through this conversation, we [hoped] to show people that even if you’re not vegan and you don’t eat local all the time, it’s about making conscious choices to become more sustainable, and not necessarily about reaching this pinnacle goal that is unattainable. It’s a work in progress for everyone, and even if we’re not perfect, the point is that we’re trying every day.”

Alison Gu, another SSMU Sustainability Commissioner and organizer, mentioned that the discussion also aimed to address different perceptions and practices surrounding veganism.
“There are a lot of negative stereotypes around veganism, and I think it has a lot to do with white feminism veganism,” explained Gu. “If you only eat vegan products but you are heavily consuming chocolate, coffee or tea, products which are harvested and produced in a way that exploits workers and humans, there’s a contradiction in that if you care about animals, why don’t you care about humans?”

In response, Natalie Quathamer, a McGill alumni who studied dietetics, stated that the most sustainable option must be considered: “That’s true. For example, I am vegetarian most of the time, but if I go to a dinner party and am served meat, then I eat it because it is the most sustainable option. I guess the most important thing is trying to find the best route in all options.”

Consuming consciously

“The key is to find the right balance,” said Quathamer, emphasizing the importance of balancing health and environmental concerns when choosing the most sustainable option. “In the developing context, meat is very important. We have a privilege for the simple fact that we are growing up in this country. However, if you are in a developing country, eating meat may be the healthiest option, but also the most sustainable one. Yet, today, 80 per cent of agricultural land goes to feeding livestock. ”
They mentioned that eating meat can be an important part of people’s diets, as “one thing missing in every plant-based product [is] vitamin B12, which can only can only be found in animal products.”

“You can become anemic if you are missing B12 and feel fatigue,” Gu noted. “You can take supplements or eat a lot of nutritional yeast to keep a healthy diet.”

GMOs

One participant raised a question about Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), and how GMOs impact food sustainability. Gibson explained that GMOs were created by crossbreeding plants: “There are the commercially produced plants that we eat, and other wild types of the same plants,” Gu said. “A lot of GMOs is just putting strong genes of wild plants into the commercial types. It’s not the mad scientist thing that is often portrayed. […] The general scientific consensus is that there are no adverse effects of GMOs.”

When asked about the health impact of GMOs, Gibson encouraged participants to look at systematic meta analyses, which, according to Gibson, compile hundreds of studies and create a more reliable sources of information. “There is a famous study of mice with huge tumors after eating only GMOs. But the truth is that most studies that are done against GMOs are not scientifically reliable. In this case, the kind of mice that were picked already had a greater risk of developing tumors.”

Veganism at McGill

When asked about vegan and vegetarian options available at McGill, Gu claimed that she has seen real progress on the availability of vegan options around campus.

“In my first year, there were barely any vegan products,” she said, “and everything that was vegan looked gross and was disgusting and expensive, and they didn’t change it at all. Now they’re getting much better. When they have a vegetarian option, they try to make it vegan, just because everything that is vegan is also vegetarian. And McGill recently started a partnership with Aux Vivres, which is a vegan restaurant. They are much better at being more inclusive.” She also stressed the importance of not only considering what we eat, but how we eat, highlighting the contradiction of heavily packaged vegan products. “Being vegan also does not necessarily mean eating sustainably. […] For example, the Aux Vivres products are all vegan but they are all packaged in plastic, which was recently changed to be non-recyclable. They started out with recyclable plastic but now they are going backwards. I think it’s important to try to balance out those two things, especially if your goal to be vegan is to be helping the environment.” Lots of vegans eat a lot of imported products, something that is detrimental to the environment,” added Gu.

Gu explained that with the promotion of the vegan lifestyle, we must be mindful of the products we consume. “Meat, for instance, contributes to global emissions in a significant amount, and more so than people realize,” she said. “[In promoting veganism] we also have to be careful about social sustainability as well, thinking about equity and treating humans well, as well as treating animals. And there are people who are only vegan because they care about the animals and that it is fine. But in just that, when you are trying to advocate for a cause that you care about, doing so in a way that is understanding of everybody’s different situations.”

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Continued Injustices

Carlee Kawinehta Loft, the Indigenous Affairs Commissioner at SSMU, spoke first. She started off by reading the land acknowledgment, then pointed to the fact that recent cases are not unique, and that injustices against Indigenous people are a nationwide problem.

“The injustices they faced happened far from here, in territories you maybe haven’t even been to, but remember that injustices and colonial violence happen here too, in this territory, here on the unceded, stolen land of the Kanien’kehá:ka.”

Loft explained how Canadian institutions are responsible for perpetuating these injustices on a national and local scale. “These injustices occur due to the nation-wide implementation of various Canadian systems which systematically devalue Indigenous lives,” she explained. “These [systems] include the child welfare system, the so-called justice system, the educational system, and many others.”

At the end of her introductory speech, Loft expanded on the responsibility of university students to use their educational privilege to learn and care about Indigenous issues, in order to enact change. More than just a commemorative event, the demonstration aimed to encourage allies (i.e. non-Indigenous folks who wish to support) to take action.

“I’m happy you came today but remember that your action doesn’t stop here. It doesn’t stop today and there are many ways that you can reach out. You go and become involved with different activist organizations, you can look into where to to donate.”

This point was emphasized by the next speaker, Nakuset, who is the executive director of the Native Women’s Shelter in Montreal. “Look into the organizations that are doing the work, either join them, model them, use them as role models and help us, because when you all came to this land, we helped you, and we would like it if you returned the favor.”

She highlighted the resilience of Indigenous people, who, against all odds, are still alive today, and are pushing for their rights to be respected. “After all the things that the government has done to us we should all be dead, but we’re still here, and we are just trying to have a fighting chance.”

Nakuset is a survivor of the Sixties Scoop, a state-sanctioned assimilation process which took place during the 1960s, and which saw Indigenous children being taken from their families to be placed in foster homes or put up for adoption.

“Most of us were brought up to be ashamed of our cultures,” she explained. “I ended up getting my education right. By working at the Native Women’s Shelter, I create projects to help Indigenous women, because we see here in Montreal that there is a lack of services for Indigenous people, and there is injustice on so many levels.”

Referring to the Brady Francis’s case, for which no one has been arrested yet, and which further exemplifies injustices in the Canadian legal system, she stated: “Our people keep dying and […] no one is held accountable. And this is today so what is going to happen tomorrow? What are we going to do as a community to make sure that things change?”

Devastating consequences

Talia, a student at Concordia University, spoke next, sharing her lived experience and personal history. She recited a poem, which can be found in The Daily’s commentary section this week.

“I grew up exactly like Colten, Tina, and Brady, in poverty, in foster care with drunk, young parents who constantly fought in front of us. I have a lot of those memories, that I am not trying to forget, but that I’m trying to let go, as I try not to let them direct my path.”

Originally from Saskatchewan, she highlighted the importance of being aware that even if Indigenous racism and prejudice may not be as visible in Montreal, “they’re very fucking real out in the prairies. I remember being in grade [school] and realizing that no matter what I did with my life, they would see nothing more than my brown skin, and not even consider me human.”

The Fight is Happening

Ben Geboe, the executive director of the American Indian Community House in New York City, put forth some numbers, and further highlighted the resilience of the Indigenous community and the necessity of taking action. “Right now there are 95 cases against the Canadian crown for the rivers, the mountains, the lakes. It’s not an ideological or passive battle, it is actually happening. We are languishing, but yet we are surviving with the help of great activism.”

Denzel, one of the drummers, expressed his thoughts on the event and on allyship. “I am happy with the turnout, happy to see how many people came out to support us. It’s important to have appeal from all and to have them join us because we all need to call for justice for Indigenous people, not just [from] Indigenous people.”

Similarly, Talia claimed that “non-Indigenous and every minority in Canada needs to learn the history, and fight with us.” She finished her speech by recounting a prophecy an elder told her.

“It’s a prophecy that we had seven generations ago that we were going to lose and suffer for seven generations. Then for another seven generations we are going to start to heal, and reclaim our language, our names, and our clans. I am that eighth generation that will help spark the fire. If I had known my culture when I was a weak kid, I’d probably be a lot further in life, and would probably love myself a lot more.”

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Voting will start on March 27. The Daily spoke to Mohamed Sesay, a Postdoctoral Fellow from McGill currently conducting fieldwork in Freetown, the country’s capital city, about the current situation in Sierra Leone following the first-round of the elections.

Mohamed Sesay, a graduate of the University of Sierra Leone, is part of the Yan Lin Centre’s Research Group on Global Justice. Sesay holds a PhD in political science from McGill University, which he received in 2016. His current research engages with the institution of chieftaincy in post-war Sierra Leone, and how this traditional authority can be restructured to conform to rules of modern governance without undermining its contemporary social relevance. On top of that, Sesay is also contributing to a global project examining the nexus between conflict, justice, and development.

The McGill Daily (MD): How would you describe the current atmosphere in Freetown, and Sierra Leone in general? What has been the public’s response to results of the first round?

Mohamed Sesay (MS): The current situation in Sierra Leone is peaceful. It is getting back to normal as public offices are reopening and kids are going back to school after they were shut down a week or two ago. A few weeks before the elections, there were expectations that there would be violent outbreaks. There are several reasons for that. First, these elections are contested, as the incumbent government has been in power for two terms, and the current president cannot run for re-election. The current minister of finance is the presidential candidate of the party in power, the All People’s Congress (APC), which seeks to maintain power. Second, new opposition parties, other than the traditional Sierra Leone People’s Party (SLPP), have been created. These include the New Grand Coalition (NGD), and Coalition For Change (C4C), which have contested the elections and made opposition very serious. Potential violence led the Office of National Security to raise the level of security threat to the second level. The international community worried. Yet it turned out to be largely peaceful, even though there was some violence, which nevertheless remained very localized.

The general public accepted the results as representative of their will. Several factors have acted in favour of this positive response. First, the National Electoral Commission (NEC), which announced the results, has become a largely credible commission to the people. Before results were announced, a coalition of civil society organizations, the National Election Watch (NEW) projected that there would be a runoff. Results confirmed this prediction, lending the group credibility and respect. Second, an important factor to the democratic process in the country is the provision that a candidate needs at least 55 per cent of votes to get elected directly in the first round. If this number is not reached, candidates need to build alliances with other parties. That provision has made it possible for smaller parties to see themselves as a stake in the electoral contest, as alliances have become an inevitable part of the electoral contest. Third, international observers wrote statements about the elections that were largely positive, and concluded that the elections were fair. On top of that, local observers unanimously concluded that they were fair. One last factor I wish to put forward is the progressive announcement of results, in a 25 per cent increment, which prepared the minds of Sierra Leoneans to what the results would be.

MD: Have outbreaks of violence happened during the current elections? How are politics changing in the country?

MS: There was never, in fact, widespread violence following elections in Sierra Leone. Some level of trust is building nationally in the institutions responsible for conducting elections. The NEC has been able to establish itself as the credible institution to monitor elections, and a majority of Sierra Leoneans accept results they announce as reflective of the people’s will.

There have been shifts in the political culture of politicians. They too put more trust in institutions. For example, in 2012, when the opposition party was not satisfied with the results, it went to the Supreme Court. This very fact shows change in the country’s political culture. The media is changing too. I was impressed by the role of the national broadcaster. Ten years back, the incumbent party dominated it clearly, and it served as a tool for propaganda. Now, it creates greater space for opposition parties, and even allows some criticism of the incumbent party.

There has also been some shift in the political culture of the general public. Before and after the war there existed a high degree of political intolerance. People were very attached to their ethnic group, and to their region, and political elites emphasized differences to gain votes. Each political party depended on one particular region. Now we see that a sizeable portion of Sierra Leoneans are voting across regional and ethnic lines.

For example, the APC (whose historical electoral base is located in the North of the country) won the elections in 2007 because it got votes from people living in South. I recently heard people say that they were voting because the government did not perform, which is something that was not common practice in the past, and shows an evolution in the political culture of the people.

MD: There have been lots of discussions about the use of blockchain technology in the elections (originally used to keep track of cryptocurrency transactions, this technology consists of a digital ledger, a book, in which all transactions are recorded and which is widely accessible thus permitting accountability). What is your opinion on the question?

MS: I would expect technology to be a trend in Africa, and not just Sierra Leone. One reason for this would be an increasing interest to use technology to run elections, in order to reduce the ability of politicians and voters to engage in fraudulent practices. However, for Sierra Leone to be the first country to use it shows that the level of trust for the voters and institutions is still quite low, and I am no sure whether we should be happy about that.

Also, there has been a lot of reporting about this new technology, but I don’t think we know for sure that it has created any impact in the credibility of the election. When the NEC announced the results, 154 polling had to go through a recount stations because of irregularities, following requests made by parties. That’s the reason why there was a two-day delay in the announcement of results.

Furthermore, after the final results were announced, votes were annulled in 221 polling stations due to overvoting (when the number of ballots cast is superior to the number of people registered to vote). In total, there were 139,427 invalid votes, which is a huge number, and we are yet to know why we had so many. Consequently, I am not sure of the extent to which the blockchain technology was able to prevent malpractices.

MD: Is the peaceful transition of power that occurred in Liberia influencing Sierra Leone? How so?

MS: Yes, in some ways. The building of a democratic process needs to have a regional perspective. Twenty or thirty years ago in West Africa, there were a lot of military coups. Even though countries have internal dynamics, there are regional factors and norms, and there has been progress in consolidating democratic governance. If democratic overturns in West African countries become common, it will create a trend. Liberia and Sierra Leone come from the same past of bad governance and conflict. The conduct of elections in Liberia could become a sort of inspiration for actors in Sierra Leone to be committed to institutionalizing the democratic process. As democratic norms develop and expand, it will become increasingly difficult for politicians to stand against them. It is however important not to give too much weight to these external forces, but I would not rule them out either.

MD: Where do you see Sierra Leone going from these elections?

MS: I am not sure, but I think elections are here to stay. Nonetheless, I am not too sure what they mean for the broader democratic process, as the political elite may be using elections to provide a facade that we have democracy in Sierra Leone. What I mean is that we are yet to see democratic norms being played out in the daily lives of the people with improvements in the socio-economic situation of the country.

On top of that, the number of women that voted in the elections is very low, and even lower than in past elections. Elections have not translated into an inclusive space that would allow women to fully take part in the democratic process. I believe that this can be explained by the fact that structures of exclusion and injustices are still intact even though we have elections. Politicians will present that to the international community to get investors in the country. We have democracy, but not fully yet.

Also, the peace building process will continue. I don’t see the country relapsing into violence anytime soon. Given what the country has gone through, many Sierra Leoneans would not want to go back to those days of violence. In terms of reconciliation we have made progress, as people just want to move on.

Overall, I would say that I am cautiously optimistic about the future of the country. I am looking forward to the second round of the elections. If the incumbent wins we will have a continuation in the governance of the country, which has not been able to transform the lives of Sierra Leoneans. But when you look at the opposition party’s manifesto, it is not that different. If we don’t have alternative way of promoting socio economic development, it will also impact in the rate at which the peace building process will be continued.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

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Treatment of child prisoners

“Israel does not differentiate between the child, the elderly, the women,” said Omar Ben Ali, a speaker and Palestinian refugee participating in the event. “In the eyes of the Israeli occupation, every Palestinian is an enemy. Every Palestinian must be punished.”

Ben Ali, who is from the Jenin region of the Israeli-occupied West Bank, is currently stateless because of the Canadian government’s refusal to recognize his claimed refugee status.

Ben Ali emphasized that the Ahed Tamimi case is not an isolated incident, as all Palestinians under occupation, including his wife and children in Palestine, are at risk of violence.

“When I see Ahed al-Tamimi, I see five daughters of mine”, said Ben Ali. “Every second, I have a fear that my daughter will be subjected to what Ahed al-Tamimi is subjected to. Not just my daughters, but […] all Palestinian children.”

According to the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, approximately 700 children are put on trial in military courts each year. Recent cases include the detainment of Abdel-Raouf al-Bilawi and Razan Abu Sal, two 13-year-olds, who were sentenced to four months in prison in January this year for throwing stones at occupation forces. They are reportedly the youngest Palestinian prisoners to date, and the youngest prisoners in the world.

Both al-Bilawi and Abu Sal live in the occupied West Bank, like the Tamimi family members, where Human Rights Watch have documented multiple cases of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) being physically abusive, and where the Tel Aviv based Haaretz has reported on allegations of IDF officers purposefully disabling Palestinian youth.

“With Ahed Tamimi we have a young person who happened to be born Palestinian, who happened to be born into occupation of her land, who happened to be born into the resistance struggle of her people for freedom and justice,” said Dolores Chew, another speaker at the event told the audience.

In Israel, there are two distinct legal systems in operation: the civilian legal system applied to Israeli citizens and a military court system applied to the Palestinian population.

According to the prisoners rights group Addameer, there are currently 350 Palestinian children in Israeli detention. According to a study published on October 2017 by Israeli rights groups HaMoked and B’tselem, the Israel Prison Service (IPS) incarcerates Palestinian youth under harsh conditions, such as night interrogations without the presence of a guardian or a legal counsellor. The report states that 91 per cent of interviewed minors were arrested at night, and minors were not made aware of their right to remain silent, or their rights to counsel. Such detainment is unlawful: Israeli law prohibits night interrogations.

Moreover, Israel, as a signatory of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1991, is obliged to uphold international juvenile justice standards which mandates that “[t]he arrest, detention, or imprisonment of a child […] shall be used only as a measure of last resort.”

Chew noted that while minors are unlawfully arrested and interrogated, “soldiers […] have authority from the Israeli state to invade homes regularly, vandalize the contents, destroy food, terrorize children asleep in their beds and shoot them in the head. All this with absolute impunity.”

A report published by Breaking the Silence, a non governmental organization (NGO) run by former Israeli soldiers, mentioned the discretion given to soldiers to open-fire and identify targets, which led to massive casualties of unarmed Palestinians.

“It is the Israeli state declaring ‘we can do this to you and get away with it’,” said Chew.

“With Ahed Tamimi we have a young person who happened to be born Palestinian, who happened to be born into occupation of her land, who happened to be born into the resistance struggle of her people for freedom and justice”

Right to resist

This state-sponsored military campaign on Gaza operates in areas which are legally under Palestinian authority. Most of the attacks perpetuate the persecution of Palestinian children in villages within the West Bank.

The Palestinian West Bank is currently separated into three administrative divisions: Areas A, B, and C. Each division operates under varied levels of civil control by the Palestinian Authority (PA) and Israeli occupation forces. Areas A and B comprise respectively of only 18 and 22 percent of the West Bank, and are supposed to be administered under the PA. The remaining 60 per cent, Area C, is occupied by Israeli forces, and is considered to be illegally administered under international law. Nabi Saleh, the village where the Tamimi family resides, is part of the former division under PA control. However, the Israeli state maintains de facto authority and governance through raids conducted by Israeli soldiers to arrest and detain Palestinians. Chew stated that Palestinians under the occupation have the right to resist these actions.

“The […] Zionist state of Israel flagrantly violates international law,” she said. “The occupation of Palestine is the longest military occupation in modern history. Under international law, people under occupation have a right to resist. Therefore what Ahed and other Palestinians do to resist occupation is their legitimate right under international law.”

*Anna, a Palestinian student present at the rally told the Daily in an interview, “International law grants Tamimi, and many other Palestinian activists placed under PA division control the right to legally resist the presence of Israeli soldiers […] on their land. It is important to distinguish ‘aggression’ from ‘legal resistance against colonialism.’”

According to the United Nations General Assembly Resolution 3314, the definition of aggression does not “prejudice the right to self-determination, freedom, and independence […] particularly [of] peoples under colonials and racist regimes […] nor the right of these peoples to struggle to that end and to seek and receive support.” Moreover, the UN has recognised the right for occupied populations to use legitimate armed force to see “liberation from colonial and foreign domination” in numerous occasions.

“The Israeli occupation of Palestine is illegal, and has always been colonial,” said Anna, referring to the Israeli state’s decision not to withdraw from Palestine in 1967 despite a unanimous decree of the UN Security Council to adopt Resolution 242, which called for the “withdrawal of Israel armed forces from territories occupied.”

Under international law, people under occupation have a right to resist. Therefore what Ahed and other Palestinians do to resist occupation is their legitimate right under international law.”

Inaction from the international community

“As Western governments are supporting the Israeli occupation, what will become of us?” asked Ali. Ali claimed refugee status on arrival in Canada almost ten years ago, a status which has been denied despite being unable to return to Palestine due to the occupation. He subsequently applied for immigration status under humanitarian and compassionate grounds, but that however was too refused.

One of the speakers, Andrew Welsh pointed out that Canada currently does not recognize the existence of a Palestinian state.

“It is not a coincidence that in 2016, the Trudeau government passed a motion condemning the BDS [Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions] movement,” said Welsh.

In February 2016, Canada’s Parliament passed a motion condemning the BDS movement, a grassroots movement seeking a peaceful resolution to the Israeli occupation.

“We need to be in solidarity, with those that are fed up,” said Welsh in French. “Fed up by the lies of the government, that claims to have no money to finance the creation of jobs, but has the money to build new weapons. Canada is going to increase its military budget by 70 percent. A part of this budget will go in the support of the Zionist occupation of Palestine.”

Anna explained in an interview to The Daily how the extent of apathy of Palestinian human rights is reflected in the international responses towards cases like Tamimi’s.

Anna stated that the content and amount of information, or lack thereof, published in Western news sources such as the New York Times and Newsweek further reflects the inaction of the international community.

She explained how, for example, Tamimi’s trial was postponed from January 31 to February 6 and finally to February 13, but “Western news sources have, for the most part, refrained from publishing the news of this postponement.” Anna illustrated her point by noting how an article published by the New York Times (NYT) on February 4 regarding the change of date of the trial was taken down.

In an article published in December 22, 2017, the NYT included the perspectives of several Israeli figures, such as Yossi Klein Halevi, a senior fellow at the Shalom Hartman Institute, a Jewish research and education institute, who stated that “when you see yourself as under permanent siege, your greatest fear is the loss of deterrence.” However, Anna told the Daily that this statement does not reflect the experiences of Palestinians because “Israeli occupation forces control the movement of Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank, and Palestinians are thus the people under siege.”

Active support and worldwide protest

“For those of us living at a great physical distance from Palestine where we don’t experience the heel of a military boot on our necks,” stated Chew, “it might have seemed that things were relatively quiet, relatively peaceful but the […] [Israeli airstrikes] on Gaza just a few hours ago are a reminder that this is a state of continuing war and civilians including children are the targets.”

On the day of the rally, the Israeli military carried out multiple strikes overnight in the Gaza strip, killing two Palestinians in an Israeli tank fire. The same day, two Palestinian teenagers were killed near Rafah, the southern region of the border, for approaching the border in an allegedly “suspicious manner.”

“We need to make people aware that even when Palestine drops out of the news for us over here, Palestinian people have to live the daily indignities of occupation,” continued Chew.
“You are the ones who have to stand for the Palestinians,” continued Ali, echoing Chew’s words and stressing the importance of international solidarity. “Because even Palestine’s children no longer trust in these [Western] governments.”

“Palestine’s children only call for the people, those who are free all over the world,” said Chew, quoting resistance movements such as “Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS),” which have been “called for by the people of Palestine.”

“We need to make people aware that even when Palestine drops out of the news for us over here, Palestinian people have to live the daily indignities of occupation”

BDS was formally nominated for the a Nobel Peace Prize by the Norwegian parliamentarian Bjornar Moxnes, backed by the support of his party, the Rødt (Red) Party. BDS is currently active in Montreal among other resistance groups such as Tadamon, an organization in support of Palestinian human rights.

“We must continue the pressure, there is an end in sight. […] Ahed, we send you our love and deepest solidarity,” concluded Chew.

*Names changed to preserve anonymity.

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Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev approved on a decree concerning an alphabet switchover without warning last Monday, likely in response to the unpopularity of the new apostrophe-heavy alphabet adopted last October. Nazarbayev signed off on a 32-letter version of the alphabet that almost nobody has seen before, and ordered officials to ensure that the alphabet be implemented within the next seven years. The new alphabet contains fewer apostrophes, which have been replaced in favour of accents. Prior to the decree, Kazakhstan used a 42-letter Cyrillic alphabet. The government has advocated for the new alphabet which they claim will be better suited for typing on computers, in order to boost to country’s modernization. Prior to the most recent alphabetical switch, one Kazakh newspaper, Arqalyq Habary, was already publishing with the new alphabet. In the Gabit Musirepov district of the North Kazakhstan region, authoritieshave already began issuing letters to residents in the new 32-letter script. They will now have to change their alphabet again.

Written with material from the official website of the President of Kazakhstan, and Eurasianet.

Lima, Peru – Wednesday, February 21

At least 44 people are dead after a bus fell approximately 200 meters into a ravine in Ocoña District of the Arequipa region in southern Peru. The operator Rey Latino stated that the bus was carrying around 45 people, but police stated that there were probably more passengers on the bus because additional passengers boarded en route and did not appear in the initial register, suggesting the official death toll with increase. The bus also did not have permission to drive on the Panamericana Sur highway, its permit having expired in 2016 according to the Regional Management of Transportation of Arequipa. Road accidents are common in Peru, where roads are not considered to be safe, and bus drivers lack training. Nevertheless, Peruvian judicial authorities and police claim that these high crash rates are due to the speeding and imprudence of drivers. This is the second most deadly crash of the year, however: in early January, a bus collided with a truck careened off a cliff, killing 48.

Written with material from El Mercurio.

Victoria, Seychelles – Thursday, February 22

A new marine protected area has been created in the Indian Ocean around the Seychelle islands. The zone is 210,000-square kilometres wide, an area equivalent to nearly half of the Black Sea. The government’s goal in creating this sanctuary is to protect the sea and the archipelago’s economy, which is heavily reliant on fishing and tourism. The new zone is the result of a financial deal brokered by American NGO The Nature Conservancy. The NGO levied $21 million to pay off an outstanding sovereign debt, in exchange for conservation funding to protect this ocean-dependent nation. Environment minister Didier Dogley said that by 2020, close to a third of Seychelles waters will be protected against deep-sea mining, dredging, oil and gas exploration, and unregulated and illegal fishing. Like many other oceanic nations, Seychelles is one of the nations most vulnerable to climate change, rising sea levels, and ocean acidification, as its economy is almost totally reliant on marine resources.

Written with material from AFP.

Juba, South Sudan – Friday, February 23

South Sudan’s northern state of Tonj was recently the site of brutal clashes that caused the death of at least 30 people. The new governor of the state, appointed two days earlier, blamed tribal clashes between two Dinka tribes subclans, but also vengeance following cattle raids. These conflicts remain, according to the politician, “the major challenges in the state.” On the same day, UN investigators said they had identified more than 40 South Sudanese officials and military officers alledgedly responsible of war crimes and crimes against humanity. The civil war started five years ago in 2013, following a split between President Kiir and his former Vice President, Riek Machar. Tens of thousands of people have died, and between 2.5 and 4 million people have been displaced.

Written with material from IOL.

The post International news briefs appeared first on The McGill Daily.

Tuesday, February 13

Ahed Tamimi’s trial began at the Ofer Military Court on February 13 behind closed doors, as an Israeli military judge banned media from entering the court. Tamimi’s trial has been deemed illegal by United Nations human rights investigators, who stated that it violates her rights under international law. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have also condemned Tamimi’s detention. Tamimi garnered international media attention in December, after a video of her slapping and hitting Israeli soldiers went viral. Every year, the state of Israel detains and prosecutes 500 to 700 Palestinian children as it continues to illegally occupy the Palestinian West Bank.

Written with material from the JPost and AlJazeera.

Venezuela update

Wednesday, February 14

According to a report published in December 2017, the economic, social, and economic crisis in Venezuela has caused more than one million people to leave the country between 2014 and 2017. Of the entire population of forced migrants, only 103,000 have requested refugee status, in the region and in Spain. In 2017, 17,130 demands for refugee status were registered by the Brazilian Federal Police. Brazil and other neighbouring countries are reinforcing police and military presence on their border with Venezuela, boxing in the country’s citizens to face famine and social unrest.

Written with material from the IOL.

Ethnic violence displaces 34,000 in DRC

Tuesday, February 13

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) reported that ethnic violence has pushed over 22,000 people to flee from the north-east of the Democratic Republic Congo (DRC) to Uganda. In total, 34,000 people have fled the province of Ituri since the beginning of the year. Since the beginning of the month, thirty people have been killed following fighting between Hema herders and Lendu farmers of the province. In December 2016, President Joseph Kabila refused to step down despite his term coming to an end, leading 120,000 to flee the country in 2017. Domestic and international fear of a new civil war in the DRC increases as ethnic clashes continue in the central African country.

Written with material from the O Globo and Internacional Estadão.

“Modicare” announced at Indian union budget meeting

Thursday, February 1

The establishment of “Modicare” was announced at the Indian union budget meeting for 2018-2019. The program will allow about half of the Indian population to gain access to health insurance. While the government has described the scheme as “the world’s largest government funded health care program,” the government has come under criticism. The programme is described as an initiative to court poor rural voters in next year’s general election, as many of them struggle with high healthcare costs. India currently is one of the world’s lowest spenders in public health, with only about one percent of its GDP being invested in the sector. The country is also plagued by a shortage of hospitals and doctors, but the government has taken steps towards making health services more accessible.

Written with material from The Times of India.

The post International News Briefs appeared first on The McGill Daily.

Out of the 3,600 members of FMRQ, a professional union representing medical resident associations from the universities of McGill, Montreal, Sherbrooke, and Laval, 97 percent voted in favour of a strike, with 99 percent of McGill residents voting in favour. According to Christopher Lemieux, the president of the FMRQ, this is the highest proportion of favorable votes from Quebec’s four medical residents associations.

Negotiations between the Quebec’s Ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux (MSSS; i.e. ministry of Health and Social Services) and the FMRQ started eighteen months ago, in the fall of 2016. After 16 meetings between the two parties, and an intensification of negotiations in late 2017, they reached a stalemate in December 2017 as the government’s position had remained mostly unchanged. The last collective agreement between MSSS and FMRQ has expired March 2015.

Union demands

Medical residents are workers of the health system employed by hospitals, but affiliated with a university. *Robert, a medical resident at McGill University Health Centre, told The Daily that medical residents are paid a fixed annual salary, without remuneration for overtime work.

“In theory, we’re not even employees,” said Robert. “If a nurse who is an employee is expected to work, let’s say forty hours per week, and any hour over that, they have to get paid overtime. A resident is expected to just take their salary and work as much as their supervising doctors tell them to.”

Under the 2015 collective agreement, a first year resident earns a fixed salary of $44,552. The salary is calculated on an annual basis rather than an hourly basis. The yearly wage, when factored in with the 72 hour per week workload, amounts to 11.9 dollars per hour of pay. As of May 1 2018, this will be less than the new provincial minimum wage of twelve dollars per hour.

According to Lemieux, residents’ salary is on average twenty seven percent less than what a Specialized Nurse Practitioners (SNPs) would earn with the same amount of experience.

“SNPs fully deserve their salary, but […] we wish […] for the Ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux to acknowledge the importance of medical residents in Quebec’s health care system.”

“We wish […] for the Ministère de la Santé et des Services Sociaux to acknowledge the importance of medical residents in Quebec’s health care system.”

The FMRQ are demanding a 17 percent increase in remuneration for medical residents. According to Lemieux, residents in the province of Quebec have the lowest salaries in Canada; there is a thirty percent gap in wages between Quebec and other provinces.

“The MSSS has never accepted the comparison with other provinces, because they argue that the cost of living is lower in Quebec than in other provinces.”

Residents are also asking for a new contract for maternity leave, as medical residents do not receive their full salary amount on leave.

“The MSSS only calculates their remuneration on [a] leave bas[is] on their base salary, and not counting bonuses. These account for about twenty percent of medical residents’ salary. As a consequence, female medical residents are disadvantaged relatively to other professionals when they go on maternity leave. We have fought on this point for a while, but still have not reached a satisfying agreement.”

“The MSSS only calculates their remuneration on [a] leave basis on their base salary. […] As a consequence, female medical residents are disadvantaged relatively to other professionals when they go on maternity leave.

72 hours of work per week

“On average, medical residents work 72 hours per week; it is difficult for us to work more,” told Lemieux, emphasizing a need for change in working conditions.

“It is not rare for medical residents to remain on duty for 16 hours straight more often than the legal limit of six times over a 28 day period. Yet, the ministry wants us to work more, and to decrease our salaries. It is simply unacceptable.”

“It is not rare for medical residents to remain on duty for 16 hours straight, more often than the legal limit.”

In 2009, Quebec outlawed 24 hour shifts for medical residents in response to a grievance filed by McGill residents, as shifts longer than 24 hours endanger both patients and residents. This point was reiterated in the case against the McGill University Health Centre in 2011, where 24-hour shifts required of medical residents were deemed to violate the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. According to the evidence used in a case led by the FMRQ against the McGill University Health Centre, medical residents are 2.3 times more likely to crash their vehicles after working 24-hour shifts.

According to the evidence used in a grievance case led by the FMRQ against the McGill University Health Centre, medical residents are 2.3 times more likely to crash their vehicles after working 24-hour shifts.

Lemieux mentioned that medical residents are also responsible for multiple duties which include teaching medical students, and various academic obligations. “We are still in transition on certain points. Consequently, after work, we have readings to do, presentations to prepare, and research projects to work on,” said Lemieux.

“Fifty percent of residents present burnout symptoms, which is worrying. The medical profession has changed over the last twenty years: it is time for the ministry to acknowledge that and to reform the framework around the profession.”

Robert commented that the Quebec health care system systematically relies on residents, but is “designed […] for the government to save a lot of money.”

“It is time for the ministry to acknowledge that and to reform the framework around the profession.”

In 2015, the Quebec government passed Bill 10, abolishing individual health boards and merging 28 regional health boards to centralize the decision-making process. The bill, which cut 1,300 administrative jobs, was expected to save the government $200 million per year. Bill 20 was subsequently introduced among other budget cuts, which proposed minimum patient quotas on family physicians. The Critical Disability Studies Working Group (CDSWG) criticized the policy in an open letter, as the quotas would cut out support services, “cutting budgets and staffing in an already overburdened system.”

“I don’t think the public realizes how the health system and the ability to see patients is built around that,” told Robert. “There aren’t enough personnel that are seen fairly and treated with normal working conditions to cope with the demands, it’s not set up that way.”

“The reason that the residents’ strike ended just after 4 hours a few years ago is because without residents, the health system collapses.”

“The reason that the residents’ strike ended just after 4 hours a few years ago is because without residents, the health system collapses.”

On September 19, 2011, the FMRQ had mandated a strike during salary negotiations with the government. The strike, which occurred from 8am to around 11:30 am resulted in an agreement which included a 20.3 percent increase in salary over five years, and a 6 percent annual increase in salary, a doubling of on-call hourly wages, and a $210 teaching stipend for every rotation.

Lemieux told the Daily that the MSSS is currently unresponsive, and ignores medical residents’ demands. However, the FMRQ will not call a strike yet.

“Medical Residents Associations have voted in favour of supporting a strike if we need to call one. However, we are not there yet. We want to give the ministry the chance of coming back to us in good faith, with serious reform proposals. […] We want new people around the table of negotiations because those that are here are not responsive to our demands, and do not attribute value to the work of residents.”

“We are not there yet. We want to give the ministry the chance of coming back to us in good faith, with serious reform proposals.”

Working Conditions

Alongside having to work long hours, medical residents are subject to the stress of being constantly evaluated by their superiors. A 2017 survey revealed that 40 percent of medical residents had been intimidated by their superiors, and other hospital professionals, into working more.

Robert explained, “you’re basically evaluated all the time. […] Imagine if you’re at a job, just working, and everything you do in that job […] is being supervised. […] So no matter how tired you are, whether you haven’t eaten, which is common, you’re being evaluated. […] it takes a toll.”

Surveys done between 2008 and 2011 showed that between 45 and 50 percent of Canadian medical residents have been victims of harassment, intimidation, and mistreatment during their residency. A 2013 survey done by Resident Doctors of Canada found that medical residents often experience yelling and shaming, racist and homophobic remarks, as well as negative and unconstructive feedback.

Robert told the Daily, “who are you going to complain to? Your supervisor? The one [who’s] writing these [evaluations]?”

“Who are you going to complain to? Your supervisor? The one [who’s] writing these [evaluations]?”

He further explained: “I work really hard, but I burn out, because it is so important for me to impress my supervisors, and it’s like a bit of a pathology because I’m obsessed [with] it. […] At the end of the day, when you come home, and you have a relationship, you have friends, family, and you’re just burnt out. You’ve worked to get this for 72 hours per week.” A new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association shows that thirty percent of medical residents have depressive symptoms, as opposed to eight or nine per cent in the general population.

“The [residents] are seeing patients frantically, working furiously to get these kind of scores, so that they can […] achieve their dreams […] they’ve been treated in this way so that the system works,” said Robert.
Robert detailed the evaluation criteria residents are subjected to, which determine a resident’s evaluation for each shift.

“The [residents] are seeing patients frantically, working furiously to get these kind of scores, so that they can […] achieve their dreams. They’ve been treated in this way so that the system works.”

“How was I as an advocate? Did I get on the phone and, if their patients don’t get the stuff done, am I calling and yelling? […] did I read enough? […] did I critically appraise the literature? […] was I honest? Was I sensitive? Did I have responsibility? Did I communicate with compassion and empathy? Did I realize my own limitations? Did I seek advice when needed? Was I ethical? […] You get marked on all those things by each doctor you work with.”

“Was I honest? Was I sensitive? Did I have responsibility? Did I communicate with compassion and empathy? Did I realize my own limitations? Did I seek advice when needed? Was I ethical? […] You get marked on all those things by each doctor you work with.”

Robert mentioned that professional expectations contribute to a disregard of personal needs, which is a normalized working condition for residents.

“It’s a job for which you get minimum wage but your whole future depends on it, and […] the stress of being constantly evaluated… constantly. If you make a decision to go to lunch instead of seeing an extra patient, you wonder how that’s going to reflect. […] The way that I get these [scores] is by sacrificing meals, not going to the bathrooms, and putting my needs last. […] we’re used to doing this. […] So you’re really being evaluated on an insane number of things, all the time.”

“If you make a decision to go to lunch instead of seeing an extra patient, you wonder how that’s going to reflect. The way that I get these [scores] is by sacrificing meals, not going to the bathrooms, and putting my needs last. […] we’re used to doing this.”

Gender based intimidation

*Janet, another medical resident, spoke to the Daily about gender-based intimidation. “There’s still a subculture that’s not really spoken about that glorifies stereotypically masculine traits as better than stereotypically feminine traits. […] It’s very patriarchichal. […] It’s a strange dynamic because the majority of the residents and medical students are women, but more staff are men with […] preconceived notions about gender roles,” said Janet.

“There’s still a subculture that’s not really spoken about that glorifies stereotypically masculine traits as better than stereotypically feminine traits.”

According to a Canadian Medical Association survey done in 2017, the proportion of male and female doctors is almost equal (48 percent female; 52 percent male). Women are a majority in younger generations of doctors until the 45-54 age group. Senior professionals remain largely male supervisors, who conduct evaluations on a board range of criteria from ‘Interprofessional relationships with physicians’, to ‘sensitivity & respect for diversity’. Janet told the Daily that female residents “negotiate the role of being taken seriously” as medical professionals, but are pressured to “do the song and dance” as students who are evaluated by the same supervisors over a multi-year process.

“We’re being graded by these people, so we have to be able to laugh at their jokes, and go along with what they say, even if it’s inappropriate. […] it’s difficult because we have no objective body of people we can talk about that to.”

“We’re being graded by these people, so we have to be able to laugh at their jokes, and go along with what they say, even if it’s inappropriate.”

“It’s exhausting. […] It’s also true in a lot of different fields. It’s not unique to medicine, but it’s […] something we have to contend with.”

Robert concluded, “[The health care] in Canada is free, and there’s a lot of great things about it, but it needs to be more humane for the people that work in it, and that will improve the quality of care for patients in it too.”

“It [The health care system] needs to be more humane for the people that work in it, and that will improve the quality of care for patients in it too.”

*Names changed to preserve anonymity

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One year later: a rise in hate crime for Quebec and Montreal

The mass shooting, which occurred last January at a mosque in Quebec City, left six people dead and nineteen injured. In Montreal, a ceremony was held in City Hall on Monday, followed by community rallies titled “We Refuse to Forget,” which were attended by more than 1, 000 people in at least seven contingents.

The vigil’s speaker read the name of the victims, and a moment of silence was held for Azzedine Soufiane, Khaled Belkacemi, Aboubaker Thabti, Abdelkrim Hassane, Mamadou Tanou Barry, and Ibrahima Barry.

Francois*, a member of McGill Anti-Racist, spoke with The Daily about standing in solidarity with Quebec’s Muslim community and “mobili[zing] people against the rise of racism.”

“There has been a normalization of violence since last year against people identified as being Muslim,” said Francois.

In early December 2017, the number of hate crimes directed towards Muslims in Quebec City had already doubled from 21 attacks in 2016 to 42 in the first 11 months of 2017. Montreal has also seen a rise in hate crime after the mosque attack; a mosque was vandalized in the Montreal Pointe Saint Charles neighbourhood less than a week after the attack on January 29.

A McGill alumnus participating in the vigil, who wished to remain anonymous elaborated more on such a normalised violence.

“The election of Donald Trump to the American presidency has played a role in validating racism in the U.S., but also in Canada, Quebec, and elsewhere,” so it is important to “stand up against Islamophobia, and any form of prejudice.”

“Quebec city happened a year ago [and] it’s a toxic context that we have right now,” said Mary Ellen, one of the co-organizers of the Plateau Mont Royal contingent, in an interview with The Daily. “We’ve seen the rise of the extreme-right groups […] in Quebec. These discourses expressed by the extreme right, […] and these groups are now coming out with more determination.”

“We’ve seen the rise of the extreme-right groups […] in Quebec. These discourses expressed by the extreme right.”

“This kind of context,” they continued, “causes […] the politicians to then fall behind. They say to themselves, ‘We don’t need to protect the Muslim citizens of Canada, we’re going to do law Bill C-62, we will cancel the inquiry commission on systemic racism.’ Now more recently, when the Muslim communities requested […] the fight against islamophobia, most of the political parties and politicians deserted that idea. […] It’s problematic. […] We will not forget. Six people were killed. These were peaceful citizens.”

“We will not forget. Six people were killed. These were peaceful citizens.”

Reluctance from the Prime Minister’s Office

On January 5, 2018, the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) sent a letter to Prime Minister Trudeau’s office calling for the designation of January 29 as the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Islamophobia.

Quebec politicians on both the left and the right, including members of the Coalition Avenir Quebec (CAQ) party, and the Parti Quebecois (PQ), and Phillipe Couillard, leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec and the province’s current Premier, have voiced their opposition to a province-wide Day against Islamophobia, finding the language to be too “controversial.” Prime Minister Trudeau, while recognizing Islamophobia as the reason for the massacre, has not adopted a formal position vis-a-vis the letter.

“Many politicians appeared in front of cameras following the shooting, but they are not ready to take any concrete action for real change to happen. They do not understand the gravity of the situation when they dodge the question or outright say no to this idea,” said Ehab Lotayef, an IT manager at McGill.

Lotayef’s blog post, which calls people to voice their support in favor of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Islamophobia, states that “establishing commemorative days or months are a tool to assert the need for action and solidify support for the downtrodden.”

“What will make Trudeau, Couillard, Mayor of Quebec City Régis Labeaume, or Mayor of Montreal Valérie Plante declare January 29, or any other day, a day against Islamophobia is not the killing of six, sixty or even six hundred people in cold blood in one incident,” insists Lotayef. “What will make them act is when they see 60,000 people marching in the streets of Quebec City, Montreal, and other cities across the province and the country on January 29, commemorating the Quebec City massacre, year after year.”

“What will make them act is when they see 60,000 people marching in the streets of Quebec City, Montreal, and other cities across the province and the country on January 29, commemorating the Quebec City massacre, year after year.”

Politicizing anti-Islamophobia

In response to the letter, the PQ has pointed out that there already exists an international day for the elimination of racial discrimination, but some claim that the province’s electoral context might be playing a larger role in politicians’ response to the NCCM’s letter than many are willing to admit, what with provincial elections to the National Assembly looming in October 2018.

“Politicians just want to win far-right voters, and are afraid to lose some [votes],” said Lotayef. “Bill 62, which passed at the Quebec National Assembly in October 2017, is one example of this trend. The bill prevents any person with clear religious attire to be provided public service. This means that Muslim women who wear the niqab would not be allowed in public transport. It is simply not applicable.”

More to be done at McGill

The McGill’s administration has, in cooperation with the Institute for Islamic Studies, the Muslim Students Association, the SEDE Office, and the Joint Board-Senate Committee on Equity, organized a commemorative ceremony to remember last year’s events, but speaking with The Daily, Francois feels there is “a lot still to be done on campus.”

“McGill should do whatever it can to prevent islamophobic, racist, or xenophobic thought to foster within its communities and […] be supportive and inclusive of groups facing difficulties,” stressed Lotayef. “The situation is getting more and more complicated for Muslims in Quebec. It is dangerous in rare cases, [and] difficult in many cases. […] Actions such as this one [the vigil] show that people do not accept these acts and want Quebec, as well as Canada, to become more inclusive. We should do all that we can as citizens of Quebec and Canada to ensure equality and peace for everyone.”

“McGill should do whatever it can to prevent islamophobic, racist, or xenophobic thought to foster within its communities and […] be supportive and inclusive of groups facing difficulties.”

*Name changed to preserve anonymity

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While the grassroots organization collectively hopes to expose the increasingly repressive nature of prisons through workshops, political parody, and criminal cabaret, the Termite Collective does not hold a singular line of thinking that members have to follow. One member explained that the Termite Collective prioritizes a “shared value system brought together by concerns regarding life inside prisons.”
The night’s discussion began with an overview of the history of prisons in Canada, and their relation to Canada’s colonial and expansionist past. The topic transitioned to a discussion about the lived experiences of Canadian inmates, particularly Black and Indigenous populations, who are overrepresented in prison.

Members of the collective explained how Black and Indigenous people are more likely to receive poor treatment in prison: in 2015-2016, out of 1,800 “use of force” incidents in federal institutions (i.e. the use of inflammatory agents, such as pepper spray, the use of restraint equipment, weapons, as well as the display and/or use of firearms), 30 per cent involved Indigenous inmates and 18 per cent involved Black inmates. According to the report, 36.6 per cent of the incidents involve inmates with an identified mental health issue, and people of colour in prison are far less likely to receive counselling for mental health issues.

The discussion eventually gravitated toward the understanding of the debate around prisons. The collective stressed the importance of being critical of laws that function to control rather than to prevent harm, which are often put in place to empower elites. Concepts of restorative and transformative justice were also discussed. The “Lunch and Learn” event concluded with a group discussion where participants engaged with members of the collective to share experiences.

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What is Creative Art Therapy (CAT)?

Participants took part in various arts-based exercises and drama therapy, during which Agiman explained that, based on Jungian theories, the goal of CAT was to enable freedom of expression through the arts, for traditional psychological therapy may be daunting for people struggling to put words to feelings. CAT thus ostensibly uses the arts as a mediator between patients and therapists. Agiman described a “distance effect,” where participants believe what they do is detached from them, but they are in fact projecting parts of themselves.

Agiman explained how, despite holding a PhD in theater, they enrolled in Concordia’s graduate drama therapy program in 2009 and graduated in 2013 with the will “to do something useful through theater.” Agiman now works at the Institut de Formation à l’Aide Communautaire à l’Enfant et à la Famille (IFACEF), the Community Assistance Institute for Children and Families, and at the Centre d’Art Thérapie Tealtro as an art therapist, drama therapist, and psychodrama therapist.

A typical CAT session

While some therapists are specialized in one branch of CAT, Agiman explained that they favour a more holistic approach, adapting prescribed exercises to each individual patient’s case. A typical CAT session lasts for about an hour, though the length varies according to the number of participants, and is typically divided into three parts.

Firstly, participants warm up for about 15 minutes, allowing them to “get rid of the outside world,” as Agiman puts it, in order to focus on the present moment. The second part, the main activity, lasts thirty minutes. This is the time during which issues are brought up through the chosen artistic practice.

The third and final part, called the closing, encourages patients to name emotions that came up in order to encourage awareness of what happened during the exercise. According to Agiman, the closing is the most important part of a session, as it enables people to cool down after an emotionally intense experience.

During the warm-up, the five participating students were encouraged to state their name, and an animal that corresponded best to their personality, and then justify their choice. Responses included cats, a giraffe, a dog, and a bird, and Agiman explained how each animal has distinct characteristics, which allows therapists to better understand their patients, supplemented with an insightful justification.

The “Six Part Story”

Warm-ups were followed by the “Six Parts Story,” an exercise from the arts branch of CAT: participants were instructed to divide a piece of paper into six parts, similarly to a comic book, and draw a story from their imagination. According to Agiman, such a metaphorical self projection enables a deeper insight, for while participants are in a “distance affect,” each element of the story reveals aspects of the participants’ personality.

Some therapists choose not to interpret the drawings, explained Agiman, but she believes it can accelerate the healing process for patients and increase the quality of her therapy.

Two exercises of drama therapy followed. The first activity paired participants. One of the group members were told to repeat the phrase “I want it”, while the other was instructed to continuously answer “You can’t have it.” Roles were then reversed and repeated, and after the exercise, students were encouraged to share their feelings with one another. The goal of the activity was to understand one’s reaction to a non-evolving argument, both in a position of control and submission, portrayed by the opposite phrases “You can’t have it”, and “I want it,” respectively.

The second exercise was called the “magic box.” Agiman asked participants to put an emotion or a feeling that they wanted to eliminate inside the box. Second, she asked them to take an emotion they wished to bring home. Participants specified various emotions from peace to confidence, which allowed the main activity to conclude on a positive note. The event finished with sharebacks of participants who evoked their experience of the workshop.

“It feels good to be able to discover things about yourself with people who are here for similar reasons.”

Reactions from students

Ebby Crowe, SSMU’s Mental Health Commissioner and a participant in the workshop, spoke with The Daily and reported “as a creative person, [she] found it extremely helpful.”

“It feels good to be able to discover things about yourself with people who are here for similar reasons,” she explained.
Crowe hopes that workshops like Mental Health Awareness 101 can assist students who struggle with mental health issues, and who are otherwise unable to find adequate support and resources on campus.

“I hope that [former Deputy Provost Student Life and Learning] Dyens’ successor will be able to connect more with the lives of students and to bridge the gap between the administration and the student body” Crowe elaborated. “I hope that he or she listens to us [students] more. I believe that it is important to have creative outlets for students to express themselves in a non-judgemental manner.”

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Why is net neutrality so important?

Tim Wu, a law professor at Columbia University, coined the term ‘network neutrality’ in his 2003 paper, “Network Neutrality, Broadband Discrimination”. Widely known as ‘net neutrality’, the term refers to the principle that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) should enable access to all online content and applications regardless of the source, and without favouring or blocking particular products or websites. In 2015, the Obama administration enacted regulations to protect net neutrality. Since 2015, however, the FCC has changed hands. Itis now led by Ajit Pai, a former Verizon executive; one of the main ISPs in the United States. Under his leadership, the FCC initiated the repeal of the 2015 regulations.

In Canada and abroad, internet users will be affected by this change in American legislation. Without net neutrality, large corporations would be able to slow down access to certain types of Internet or data usage. This will give a competitive advantage to certain websites over others, namely those able to purchase access to internet ‘fast lanes.’  Should the new regulations be put into effect, the most immediate consequence to global internet users would likely be a rise in prices for popular services such as Netflix and Spotify. Laura Tribe, the executive director of Open Media, explained: “if Netflix has to pay extra to make sure that it’s in Internet fast lane in the United States, they’re going to have to pass those fees onto their customers. And it is really unlikely that they will limit that to just their American customer base when they can diffuse it over to a larger audience.” In addition, some websites may simply disappear; non-American websites and websites refusing or unable to pay ISPs could become less accessible to Americans, an incredible large market.

Net neutrality in Canada

There could also be legislative consequences for Canada, which has regulations preventing major Internet providers, like Bell and Rogers, from breaking net neutrality. Major Canadian corporations wish to change these laws, allegedly in order to fight against piracy. According to documents obtained by Canadaland in December, Bell is leading a coalition of companies, including Rogers, Cineplex, and Cinémas Guzzo, that intends to pressure the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC)  into creating a not-for-profit corporation that would maintain a list of websites peddling pirated content, and force all internet service providers in the country to block access to them.

According to Michael Geist, a law professor at the University of Ottawa and Internet policy expert, the implementation of this new corporation, called the “Internet Piracy Review Agency” (IPRA), could lead to much more. “If you make the argument that you’re in a position to block for these purposes (i.e. pirated content), it seems pretty obvious that we’re going to see other groups say that you ought to be blocking for other purposes.” Geist further stated that website blocking may not be effective against piracy, as he is not aware of any study demonstrating the contrary. The scholar also pointed to the fact that blocking one website creates a vacuum, leading to the creation of many more websites, further rendering this potential policy inefficient.

 A spokesperson for Navdeep Bains, the Minister of Innovation, Science, and Economic Development stated: “Net neutrality is a critical issue of our times, much like freedom of the press and freedom of expression that came before it. That’s why our government has a strong net neutrality framework in place through the CRTC. While other parts of the world are focused on building walls, we’re focused on opening doors.” Since the article was published in December, neither have Bell nor other corporations cited in the documents made public statements regarding the issue.  If the FCC bill were to be put into action in the U.S., a domino effect could lead many countries to follow the American example. Hopefully, Canada will uphold its stated values, and defend net neutrality.

What can be done

8 in 10 Americans are in favor of net neutrality. Even though their voice has been ignored by the recent vote, they have the power to pressure their government. Many people have already teamed up online to voice their opposition to this decision. Online petitions exist, as well as websites enabling people to contact Congress directly, to pressure them to stop the FCC with a “Congressional Review Act.” In Canada, non-profits, such as Open Media, fight to preserve net neutrality. They wish to rally the global Internet community behind the American cause and are currently organizing a global petition to support their cause. Canadians can also directly contact their representatives to express their opinions.

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On Monday, January 8, the Trump administration announced the termination of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) permits for more than 250,000 Salvadoreans within 18 months. Those who currently live and work in the United States now have until September 9, 2019 to find another way to stay in the country or to make arrangements to move. TPS is a program created by the U.S. in 1990 meant to authorize immigrants from countries affected by violence, natural disasters, or disease to live and work legally in the country. The status has been granted to El Salvador several times over the last twenty years, most notably when two earthquakes devastated the country in 2001. Since then, according to the Center for Migration Studies, these Salvadoreans have become one of the best integrated groups of immigrants to America: they represent more than 135,000 households, 85 per cent can speak some English, 88 per cent are part of the labour force, and 10 per cent are married to U.S. citizens. Further affected by the termination are nearly 200,000 children born in the U.S. to Salvadoreans with TPS. Families will be broken up as parents who have been stripped of their TPS will not be automatically allowed to stay with their children, who have U.S. citizenship.

The Department of Homeland Security stated in its official report that “the substantial disruption of living conditions caused by the earthquake no longer exists.” Nevertheless, the report ignores the fact that El Salvador is currently one of the most dangerous countries in the world largely due to gang violence: in 2015, the country had 109 homicides per 100,000 people, a number 22 times higher than the United States. The Salvadorean government has been lobbying the U.S. to extend protections, but the Trump administration seems adamant as it also looks to determine the fate of TPS for Honduras and other countries currently supported by the status.

Written with material from BBC news, and the U.S Department of Homeland Security report

Protests in Iran

Two weeks have passed since the beginning of popular protests in Iran. The demonstrations have resulted in 22 deaths and more than 1,000 arrests, marking the largest protest movement in the country since the Iranian Green Movement, wherein protesters demanded the removal of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad following allegations of electoral fraud in the 2009 Iranian presidential elections.

People have taken the streets to voice their discontent with the Iranian government: following the 2015 nuclear deal, which lifted crippling sanctions on the country, inflation and unemployment have persisted. Though the central message of the protests is difficult to discern, there appear to be principal themes: people are expressing their opposition to the Supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, by ripping down portraits of the religious leader on the streets. Secondly, rising unemployment and other economic issues, like high prices for food and gas, highlight the corruption impeding equitable distribution of benefits in spite of the economic growth that has been taking place since 2015. Moreover, youth unemployment rates stagnate at around 24 per cent for citizens aged 15 to 24. The declining living standards have spurred negative public sentiment against the Iranian government.

While the country has now returned to a calmer state, the resentment that fuelled the protests has yet to be addressed. Some experts have called the situation in Iran a “crisis of expectation,” as many of the promises of last year’s presidential elections have yet to be fulfilled. A U.S. intelligence official stated that even though demonstrations had more or less ended, “concerns were not going away, as they are symptomatic of long-standing grievances that have been left to fester.”

Written with material from BBC news, CNN, and VOA news.

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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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