The event looked at the reality in Spain following the collapse of the real estate bubble and the current economic and social crisis. Squatting is defined as taking residence in an unoccupied or abandoned building (usually residential). Squatters do not have legal permission to occupy the space.

“The unemployment rate for the general population is 25.8 per cent and for people under 25, the unemployment rate is 54.3 per cent.”

According to Enrique Llanes, who has been a squatter for more than five years in the United Kingdom and Spain, “90 per cent of squatters do not choose this life by choice, it is a necessity.”

Spain has been facing a housing crisis since the collapse of the real estate bubble in 2008.

“In 2007 there were more than 420,000 foreclosures and around 220,000 evictions of families.” Carol Galais, a member of the Collectifs, explained. “In 2012, every 15 minutes, a family lost their home in Spain due to foreclosures.”

According to Galais, since 2002, the Spanish government and banks have been encouraging housing construction as a means to boost the economy.

Veronica Crespo, another member of the Collectifs, continued, “Spanish banks gave out loans irresponsibly during this period. The loans covered 80 per cent to 100 per cent of the total cost of the home. At the height of the construction boom, 750,000 homes were built [per] year and yet no one believed that there was a real estate bubble […] until the burst in 2008”.

“The unemployment rate for the general population is 25.8 per cent and for people under 25, the unemployment rate is 54.3 per cent,” Crespo added.

The European Union has classified Spanish mortgage laws as a violation of consumer-protection rules. Currently, 13 to 15 per cent of homes are unoccupied in Spain. In response to increasing suicides of evicted homeowners, the Spanish government issued a two-year moratorium on evictions.

According to the presenters, housing is not considered a human right in Spain. In Canada, there have been efforts to push the government to enact adequate housing as a human right. In 2012, Bill C-400 was introduced to ensure secure, adequate, accessible, and affordable housing for Canadians. However, this bill failed to pass in February 2013.

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Prior to this new collective agreement, the CUUSS-TS and the CULEU had been working without a contract for more than four years.

In addition, on September 17, the United Steel Workers union from Concordia’s Loyola campus and Sir George Williams campus signed collective agreements after working without contracts for four and five years respectively.

The Daily was unable to reach CUUSS-TS or CULEU by press time, but spoke with other negotiators from Concordia unions still in the midst of negotiations. More than half of the 13 Concordia University unions are still without contracts, but are currently in negotiation with the administration.

David Douglas, president of the Concordia University Part-Time Faculty Association (CUPFA) – one of the unions currently negotiating with the administration – told The Daily that he was informed in September that the university’s administration was changing its negotiation team. In an attempt to bring the issue more directly under the control of the university’s new office of Faculty Relations, the chief negotiator was replaced.

“They were changing their focus for the negations. Gone is the approach to completely re-write our present collective agreement. In its place, an expressed desire to redirect the negotiations and limit the scope of articles under discussion […] to concentrate on smaller number of central issues and seek resolution on these items,” Douglas told The Daily.

Patrice Blais, CUPFA’s new Chief Negotiator, welcomed this novel approach. “We feel there is a great potential to resolve our negotiations in a timely manner if we pursue a limited number of articles,” said Blais.

Concordia University did not comment on the administration’s view of the ongoing negotiations, according to Christine Mota, spokesperson for the university. She did, however, note that they “will continue to negotiate in good faith.”

When asked about the future of their negotiations, Douglas said, “These issues will not be easy, and we have considerable work to do ahead of us. Looking forward, we are cautiously optimistic.”

As for McGill, there are five accredited unions representing 13 bargaining units. Out of these units, four do not have contracts but are in the negotiating process; the rest all have written-out contracts. Unions and their contracts protect members from low wages and a lack of job security.

There are also two associations on campus for non-unionized staff, where membership is entirely voluntary. Unlike most Quebec universities, McGill faculty members are not unionized. Management-level non-academic staff also do not currently have a union, restricting their collective bargaining power.

Unions have struggled in the past with McGill. Many contract negotiations have been forced to go through provincial arbitrators. As well, during a strike by McGill University Non-Academic Certified Association (MUNACA) members in 2011, McGill secured multiple injunctions against MUNACA in an attempt to stop on-campus demonstrations such as picketing.

With files from Michelle Blassou and Margo Budline.

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Perpetuation is the band’s second album after 2009’s Unspoken Words. Burnet is the lead singer of Derelict and also behind most of the band’s lyrics. Currently the band consists of five members: Eric Burnet, Simon Cléroux, Jordan Perry, Max Lussier, and Xavier Sperdouklis. All five members have other occupations or are still in school. Burnet works in a high school as a community worker for a program called Youth Fusion, which aims to counter Quebec’s high secondary school drop out rates.

After getting to know Burnet and a bit about the band, we began talking about their new album. Burnet explained the double meaning of the album’s name, which reflects the circumstance and survival of the band. After Unspoken Words and a national tour, several members of the band quit the group. This left the remaining members with a decision about whether or not to perpetuate their group, hence Perpetuation. The name also refers to the album’s socio-political tinged first single:

“Struggling for accumulation

Cyclical over-consumption

Finite space filled up with waste

Perpetuation of scarcity”

According to Burnet, Perpetuation is about capitalism. Essentially, the capitalist system that we exist in today continues because there is a conscious decision not to reverse capitalist inequality. The over-consumptive lifestyle of America has lead to an obesity problem, while malnourishment continues to haunt the world’s poor. According to Burnet, in theory, there should be enough food for everyone. However, greed persists and the capitalist system continues to perpetuate personal accumulation.

No less politically charged is Perpetuation’s appropriately brutal cover, illustrated by Cate Francis. It portrays a wealthy man in a burning mansion, ingesting money. Burnet says it was inspired by the popular saying, “When the last tree has been cut down, the last fish caught, the last river poisoned, only then will we realize that one cannot eat money.”

Burnet explains to me that metal music is a style that does not appeal to everyone, but, like all genres of music, it should be appreciated and acknowledged nonetheless.

Derelict is nominated in the category of metal group of the year for the upcoming 13th Annual Independent Music Awards in Toronto this March, the only east coat band in the running. In addition,  Derelict is currently in the running to be featured in the Heavy MTL festival this August.

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