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May 8, 2012 - No. 66
Charest's Democracy in Action
Down with State Violence Against the
Youth!
• Down with
State Violence Against the Youth!
• Students and their Allies Continue to Demand
a Political Solution
• Testimony from a Student in the Thick of the
Action
• Ongoing Student Demonstrations
Charest's Democracy in Action
Down with State Violence Against the Youth!
Hundreds of protestors assembled to demonstrate against
the anti-social offensive of the Charest government in Victoriaville,
Quebec on May 4-5 at the General Council Meeting of the Liberal Party
of Quebec (PLQ). Buses arrived from all over
Quebec carrying workers, teachers, students and activists from many
organizations representing issues Quebeckers
are fighting for, ranging from the right to education to environment,
decent housing, against
impoverishment, etc. The student organizations were front and centre
along with teachers and others standing with them to oppose the fee
hikes and uphold the right to education.
Hundreds of police were mobilized by the government for
the occasion in what turned out to be a vicious plan to cause maximum
harm to the students. As a result of the brutal assault, people were
seriously injured. One student lost an eye, another had his spleen
ruptured. Some had their ear drums ruptured
and many were vomiting and passing out as a result of the lethal
mixture of tear gas and pepper spray which causes asphyxiation,
vomiting and loss of bodily control.
Disinformation and the Media's Treacherous Role
Media reports on the events that unfolded in front of
the hotel where the PLQ Council was meeting were highly
sensationalized. More importantly, it is becoming evident that the
media must be in cahoots with the police in setting the trap
for the youth. It is always a competition to see which TV channel has
the best coverage of the
mayhem caused by the police which they blame on students and
demonstrators they allege are violent and vandals. The media
dutifully repeats the government, police and PLQ versions of events:
"There was disorder, projectiles were thrown, the
police were defending the demonstrators, they made efforts to catch the
vandals and unfortunately there was collateral damage in what would
have otherwise been a peaceful demonstration."
By the end of the evening, the media claimed that the
police had filled busloads of so-called vandals, future members of the
Black Block, and that perhaps society would now be delivered from their
violence.
The media applauded student associations which choose
negotiations over violence. In his keynote speech, Charest called for
the students to see the light of reason (as though they had ever lost
it), and that it was time for students to return to class.
The Trap
On Sunday, April 29, the PLQ announced that due to
possible demonstrations in Montreal, the PLQ's General Council would be
moved to Victoriaville. After this announcement, about which even the
Mayor of Victoriaville was caught off guard the hysteria was
systematically ratcheted
up a notch every hour. It was announced that concrete fences would be
placed around the hotel, that a large police force would be mobilized,
that business owners would barricade their shops.
On the afternoon of May 4, in a
mall parking lot on
Arthabaska Boulevard in Victoriaville, some 3,000 people rallied to
prepare to march toward the Hotel Victorin where the PLQ meeting was
being held. At 5:15 pm the organizers announced that they would wait
for more buses, because about a dozen had
yet to arrive. Then the speeches started: representatives spoke from
the Quebec National Teachers' Federation (FNEEQ), the Women's
Federation of Quebec (FFQ) and the Autonomous Federation of Teachers
(FAE). The contingent left the parking lot and the students and their
allies took to Arthabaska Boulevard
toward the Hotel Victorin.
 The lead banners were those
of the
Coalition Against
User Fees and Privatization of Public Services and the students whose
banner read "Together Let's Block the Hike." Among those present were
the Teachers Against the Hike, CEGEP Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, CEGEP de
St-Hyacinthe, the Quebec Federation
of Labour (FTQ), the Confederation of National Trade Unions (CSN), the
Canadian Federation of Students (CFS), striking students from
University of Montreal strike including the Federation of Students'
Associations of University of Montreal Campus (FAECUM), the
organization Estrie Against the Hike, high schools
against the hike, the FAE, the FNEEQ, the Fédération
interprofessionelle de la santé (FIQ), the teachers' association
at Montmorency College, the FFQ, the Marxist-Leninist Party of Quebec
and many others, and, of course, large contingents of students. Many
placards, each as pertinent as the next, emphasized the
Quebec people's opposition to the all-out anti-social offensive of the
Charest government and the necessity for a new direction for Quebec.
The closer the contingent
came to the hotel, the more it
seemed clear that something was not right. There were only a dozen
police officers in front of the hotel doors, very different to the
daily presence of hundreds of police officers on foot, on bicycles and
on horseback beating their shields and armed to the
hilt. There were no security fences, no barricades, with the exception
of the kind put up by the side of the road for marathons. By 6:00 pm,
these had been pushed back by the demonstrators who militantly crossed
the grass and went as far as the front door of the hotel. There a squad
of riot police stood. During
this time, speakers standing on a sound truck denounced the Charest
government. Then, all of a sudden, the police started throwing
canisters of tear gas. They did not issue their mandatory warning to
declare the demonstration illegal or the order to disperse.
The very powerful and noxious tear gas, called
2-chlorobenzylidene malononitrile, or CS, mixed with pepper spray,
asphyxiated everyone, caused nausea and vomiting and loss of
bodily-control. The scene was apocalyptic.
 Huge quantities of gas were
launched creating mayhem -- people vomiting, getting injured, running
and
holding each other to be sure no one was left to fend for themselves.
Medics denounced the unacceptable situation and the use of this
ultra-toxic gas against the demonstrators. How many were
injured? The count is not known but injuries included a bloody neck
injury from a plastic bullet, another person who went into respiratory
arrest, perforated eardrums and an almost completely severed ear, two
others who were sent to hospital having suffered head trauma and
another who lost an eye. The media reported
109 injuries but every demonstrator was injured physically, morally and
emotionally. This included people of all ages, seniors, youth, workers
and women.
Squads of police and riot police simply started pouring
out
from behind the building and attacked and continued to throw the gas.
The trap had been sprung. To the everlasting shame and disgrace of the
Charest government, its police forces and the official media, such
barbarity is carried out in the name of democracy, human rights and law
and order. The media's collaboration included making the announcement
on television that
the demonstration was illegal, even though it was not
made to the demonstrators. This was a pathetic attempt to fool the
Quebec
people watching the news on television to blame the youth for the
violence and mayhem. Furthermore, all those who had come to support the
demonstration
but said they would leave if it was
declared illegal, were also betrayed. They too were caught in this
brutal ambush.
The riot squad continued to
form a line blocking the
street in front of the hotel, forcing one section of the demonstration
behind the
complex where the PLQ General Council Meeting was being held while the
other
half regrouped in the street to the side of the hotel.
Also revealing the intentional nature of the trap, a
van of the Quebec Police was in the large parking lot surrounding the
complex,
without police protection. The anger of the crowd was such that at
around 7:50 projectiles were repeatedly
thrown at the vehicle and again the riot squad arrived from
behind the hotel and more gas was thrown at the
students; at around 8:00 pm a police car literally drove into the crowd
creating chaos and increasing the anger and outrage of the
demonstrators. The one contingent of the demonstration had now
managed to join the other part
of the demonstration in the street. The riot squad then pushed the
demonstrators back toward their starting point, the
parking lot of the mall. The police continued to launch tear gas into
the mass of people which moved slowly, reluctant to abandon the
demonstration but unable to maintain its coherence. All of a sudden
people started shouting that the Liberal Council meeting had been
delayed. It was a rumour to add to the
confusion that prevailed.
As the majority of the demonstrators persisted in
holding the integrity of the march and the riot police pushed them back
to the starting point of the event, passers-by denounced the attacks on
the students and shouted at the police. "I've never seen such
disgusting actions," one mother told TML.
During the demonstration, Highway 116 was blocked by the
police, meaning that when the demonstrators tried to leave
Victoriaville they could not wash up or find a bathroom anywhere near
the buses. On the highway, one could see at least three buses stopped
by police and police cars rushing around.
Jean Charest's Democracy
This was the most despicable demonstration of Jean
Charest's democracy in action. While the demonstrators were being
beaten, shoved and gassed, Charest presented his keynote speech on the
theme: "Together for a Greater Quebec."
Premier Charest, Minster for Youth, perhaps believes
that with grand declarations, speeches, traps, attacks and crimes
against the students and people, and strategies to maintain power, he
can buy some time and act with impunity as he sees fit to deliver
Quebec on a silver platter to the monopolies. He is very
mistaken. A battle is being waged for the future of Quebec and the
Quebec youth, workers and people are in action to affirm their popular
will.
The People's Democracy
The spokesperson of the National Federation of Quebec
Teachers (FNEEQ) said that he represented 30,000 teachers, including
17,000 college professors. These people work every day with Quebec's
youth. He reiterated his organization's unconditional support for the
movement against the tuition hike. "Charest,
Beauchamp, Bachand & Co. don't consider that education is a right,
but a commodity. There are no more students in the universities, but
clients seeking to maximize their investment. It's accounting logic,
which distorts the political choices that Quebec has made in the past."
He added, "We are all involved in matters
as important as accessibility to higher education... Thanks to the
student movement, Charest's neoliberal vision has hit a wall!"
Next, the speaker from the Quebec Federation of Women
(FFQ) denounced the anti-social government of Jean Charest. She spoke
of the consequences of the privatization of public services on women,
which are forcing a return to the past with regard to their working and
living conditions, by transforming women
into care units for their families and loved ones, on matters that
include health, education and access to housing.
The representative of the Autonomous Federation of
Teachers (FAE) said that "up to now batons have been the main spokesmen
of the Charest government. The battle that the students are waging
against the tuition hike goes far beyond the interests of the students.
It is the government policy of ‘user pays' which
forms the backdrop of this debate and this model of social and economic
development." He added that this issue is the concern of all citizens
of Quebec. He stressed the arrogance shown by Charest, unprecedented in
Quebec, toward the students and population. Speaking on the tuition
hike, he added: "Our ideal:
totally free tuition -- from preschool to university."
Véronique Laflamme of the housing group Front
d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU)
explained: "Today in Victoriaville, it's obvious that demonstrators
include not only a large number of students but also unions,
community groups, and groups of women, teachers, and citizens from
various regions of Quebec. The message that all these organizations are
expressing is the same: We don't want a project for society which is
basically to hijack the collective wealth for the sole profit of the
rich and their big enterprises. We've
had enough!"
Since the 2010-2011 budget, not a week goes by -- or,
since the start of the students' strike, not a day goes by -- without
the ideological direction of the Charest government being questioned,
she said. "The government has tried hard to make us forget that the
government itself has created the deficit by decreasing
the taxes paid by the wealthiest and their large companies. This has
removed significant revenues, but people are not fools," Laflamme said.
Serge Petitclerc of the Collective for a Poverty-Free
Quebec points out: "Whether the protest is against the 82 per cent
increase in tuition, or against increased taxes, the $200 annual health
tax or the 20 per cent hike in electricity prices starting in 2014,
it's the
‘user pays' logic that's being denounced. And this increase in fiscal
charges is being made on the backs of the poorest and the middle
class." "In the name of a so-called fair share, the gap in wealth is
increasing, inequalities are increasing. This is a very bad joke that
has lasted long enough!" Petitclerc added.
"Right before our eyes," says Régine Laurent,
President of the Interprofessional Health Care Federation of Quebec
(FIQ), "public services are being turned into business affairs, and the
health network has not escaped this. Therefore, it is not surprising
to note that the most alarmist criticisms about the future of the
public health system in Quebec come directly from representatives of
business interests. While these representatives see a fertile market
from which to reap profits, the Liberal government confirms its
willingness, through its choices, to enrich the private
sector to the detriment of the collective. The public-private
partnerships, intermediary resources and the 'disinsurance' of various
services are good examples of this. Together with the regressive health
tax, these bad decisions of the Liberal government all have the same
consequence -- to send the bill to the middle
class or low-income people while the rich continue to become richer."
Laurent also pointed out that it has been demonstrated many times that
private funding of services is more costly than public, especially when
it comes to healthcare.
 
 
 
  
 
Victoriaville, May 5
 
On Saturday, May 5, the
march started 2.5 kilometres from the Congress Centre where the
participants heard speeches by representatives of associations opposed
to shale gas exploitation, the
Victoriaville CEGEP student association and a representative from the
Peace Festival for the town. They all greeted the students from the
CEGEPs of Trois-Rivières, Outaouais,
Rimouski, Sherbrooke and Victoriaville as well as the high school
students. Placards demonstrated not only opposition to shale gas
exploitation, but also the clear fact that
the government has no credibility among the people.
"The state must not back down in the face of the
violence," Jean Charest declared. Shame on him, everyone saw who was
violent and who was not.
Students and their Allies Continue to
Demand a Political Solution
While students are preparing to vote on the government's
proposals, the students and their allies continue to denounce the state
violence that was used against them in Victoriaville and demand a
political solution.
The demonstration's organizer, the Coalition Against
User Fees and the Privatization of Public Services, denounced the
government and police management of the student conflict, which for now
three months has contributed to the escalation of tensions between the
two parties and has raised the anger expressed
in the May 4 demonstration in Victoriaville.
"For months we have been pointing out that the
government's total contempt only makes matters worse, but it's not
enough to say: we told you so!" said Véronique Laflamme, one of
the Coalition's spokespersons. "The Charest government should have
acknowledged long ago the population's anger instead of
hiding behind complacency and repression," she added.
"While the Liberals keep
calling for calm on the part of
the student leaders, the police forces use violence to repress civil
disobedience. This situation of double standards must stop. People
could have lost their lives yesterday. It's time the Premier clearly
denounced the police violence," added Jeanne Reynolds,
co-spokesperson for the Broad Coalition for Student Union Solidarity
(CLASSE), a student association member of the Coalition.
"Last Friday evening, we witnessed a real tragedy.
Children were overcome by the tear gas. We feared for one student's
life. It's totally unacceptable that police intervention can lead to
such situations," said Quebec Federation of College Students (FECQ)
President, Léo Bureau-Blouin, another student association
member of the Coalition.
The Coalition also denounced the police set-up of random
and abusive selection and arresting hundreds of protestors on the buses
back from Victoriaville. It joins its voice with that of Amnesty
International and the League of Rights and Freedoms condemning the
violations of the right to freedom of expression,
the right to protest and the most elementary guaranteed judicial rights
which have been witnessed since the beginning of the student strike.
These are fundamental rights guaranteed by both the Charter of
Rights and Freedoms of Quebec and the Canadian Charter of
Rights and Freedoms.
Three members of the Lux
Éditeur Collective, who
were on site, said on the social network Facebook that one of the
injured demonstrators had indeed "received a rubber bullet squarely in
the face." They mentioned that "the police refused to call an ambulance
to the site and told us to call 911," and that they
also "prevented rescuers from doing their job, deliberately gassing and
charging them."
A student, who wished to remain anonymous, asked, "In
front of the hotel, it seemed as though everything was set up by the SQ
to explode. Feeble fences that were easy to dismantle, pallets of
bricks for some renovation, and knowing that the parking lot next to
the hotel was still under construction, so had an
incredible amount of rocks and paving stones. Why did the police make
sure that all the flower pots near the hotel were removed while tons of
bricks were readily available?"
The day after the clashes, Josée Simoneau of the
Arthabaska-et-de-l'Érable health and social services centre
(CSSS) indicated that nine people -- including three police officers --
were treated at emergency for injuries. Two young demonstrators were
seriously injured.
Maxence Valade, 20-years old, spokesman and executive
member of the CEGEP Saint-Laurent student association in Montreal
suffered a head trauma and lost an eye, after having received a
projectile in the face. Alexandre Allard, also 20-years old and a
student at University of Laval also suffered a head trauma.
Far from condemning the police violence, the Premier
continued on the path of provocation and saluted the "remarkable" work
of the Sûreté du Québec considering the "very
difficult circumstances."
"I can tell you one thing: I don't know many Quebeckers
who would want to be in the shoes of the Sûreté du
Québec police officers who were there Friday night," he said at
the closing of the Liberal Party of Quebec (PLQ) congress. "Billiard
balls, bricks, the Sûreté du Québec didn't have
those. And the Sûreté
du Québec fulfilled a very difficult mandate of protection. And
they did the best they could."
He didn't reject the possibility that SQ agents could
have made "mistakes." "It's possible. There are mechanisms to correct
these things," he said in reference to the Quebec police officers' Code
of Ethics.
For the students and their
allies, it's clear that all
this violence is aimed at breaking their determination but it's not
working. As one student in Victoriaville pointed out, "many of us have
to wear a mask at demonstrations, because of the police photos taken.
Some of us are under telephone surveillance and are
followed home. Since the start of the student strike, more than 1,100
arrests have been made. The majority are arbitrary, for blocking
traffic or illegal assembly. A large part of the students on the bus
risked a recurring arrest if their bus had been stopped by the highway
patrol.
"Luckily we arrived safely. After an incredibly
emotional week, a particularly difficult day, it is inconceivable to
contain our hatred for this regime. We go to sleep at night even more
convinced that the government's attempt to divide us will only further
unite us."
Education Is a right!
Support the Just Struggle of the Students!
Testimony from a Student in the Thick of the Action
 I was responsible for one of the buses leaving from
Montreal. With me were 35 students. My role was to ensure that all the
students returned to Montreal safe and sound. I talked to them all
about their rights with regards to the police, how to react in the
event of an arrest, what questions they are obligated to
answer as well as lawyers who they could contact. I warned them all
that the SQ has different tactics than the Montreal Police (SPVM). That
there would be a risk of tear gas used in Victoriaville, contrary to
Montreal where use of the gas is prohibited. I explained first aid at
protests, from Maalox to lemon juice,
the best ways to react in the face of tear gas, pepper spray, chemical
irritants. To be sure to change their clothes when leaving the
demonstration, to remove all traces of chemical products, or even paint
markings from police, sometimes invisible to the naked eye. It's the
typical demonstrator's routine. We were all
stressed knowing that at any moment, the bus could be intercepted by
police, or even fully searched. We never feel safe from the police,
even though we're only trying to defend our rights. Well, anyway, once
in Victoriaville, the city was dead. Under siege. The streets were
blocked, the business closed, windows
fortified, the trash bins, public ashtrays and flower pots hidden far
from anyone. We, unions, student associations and citizens finally head
toward Hotel Victorin.
In front of the hotel, it seemed
as though everything
was set up by the
SQ to explode. Feeble fences that were easy to dismantle, pallets of
bricks for some renovation,
and knowing that the parking lot next to the hotel was still under
construction, so had an incredible amount of rocks and broken pavement.
Why did the police
recommend all the flower pots be removed while in direct proximity to
the hotel, tons of bricks were visible? Once in front of the PLQ
meeting place, the demonstrators
calmly surround the fence. Quickly, the barricade falls; it was not by
staying quiet and obeying that we would disrupt the congress. Citizens,
elderly and students on
the same side, the other side of the "security perimeter." Shockingly
the police didn't immediately intervene, leaving us wondering about the
legality of our actions.
Then, the police disappeared to make space for the riot squad. By the
dozen, marching in step. Each equipped with a much longer and more
imposing baton than the
SPVM and already equipped with gas masks. Apart from the dismantled
fence, a totally passive and symbolic gesture, in my opinion, no sign
of violence on behalf
of the protestors. All of a sudden smoke starts coming from everywhere.
The SQ launches phenomenal amounts of tear gas into the crowd.
Demonstrators start throwing
projectiles in response to this unrestrained attack. Eyes irritated,
breathless, some of my comrades vomit from excessive coughing. This is
the
kind of moment in which
one recognizes the solidarity of a people. Demonstrators aiding one
another. The youth helping the elderly get away from the gas,
explaining how to manage the
situation. Students giving relief for victims' eyes on one side, a
group
transporting a gravely incapacitated comrade on another. We rinse our
mouths to avoid swallowing
more of this disgusting product; we look for our close friends to
ensure their safety. At this point, the majority of people are behind a
nearby residence. Slogans are
barely heard, but mostly people are very confused. They don't know
where to
head across the battlefield. I look up, a helicopter is less than 30
metres above. An incredible
roar extinguishes the sounds of the tear gas cans exploding nearby. To
my left, clashes between police and demonstrators. In front of me, a
heart attack, they're trying
to resuscitate him. To my right, a student falls, his face covered in
blood. His eardrum has burst. While a team of nursing students comes
running, I do my best to keep
onlookers from the scene, to make space for the ambulance team. The
ambulance is late; the riot squad is blocking its arrival. There's
panic, no one knows the
comrade's state, but one thing is sure, we have to act fast. A police
car approaches to bring help; people move to clear the path. The police
chat with demonstrators
who are screaming at them to hurry up and save this student. The only
response is that the police car leaves while the man is still
unconscious, on the ground. I
approach the first aid scene, continuing to keep onlookers back. Then,
as if by surprise, the riot squad pushes the demonstrators to within
two metres of the injured
youth. We all rush to make a human chain between the tear gas, pepper
spray and the medical team who is trying to move the victim as quickly
as possible. It was
useless to shout "THERE IS AN INJURED PERSON HERE!" We were met with
the usual
insensitivity.
Tears come to my eyes. For
once it's not from the tear
gas. It's from
seeing all this repression we are suffering, from seeing this regime
of fear and the police state
in which we are living. It's the realization of, once again, the
injustice, the government's desire to see us silenced. A cry. A
liberating cry. A cry signifying all my
distress escaping from inside me. I can't continue. We retreat from the
police force. A police officer tries to randomly arrest a young man, a
dozen demonstrators
run to his aid to free him. To my right I see the one with the injured
ear in the ambulance. I turn myself, full-heartedly, toward the
assembly of people.
Slowly, the demonstrators
succeed in advancing toward
the hotel. They see the door is blocked; they quickly change their
course under threat of the batons. The
battlefield has moved toward the parking lot with earth and pavement.
In the demonstrators' anger, rocks are thrown at the police. A
desperate expression of the rage
of some.
After ten minutes, the SQ pulls out their pressure guns
used to shoot rubber bullets. I carry a student to a portion of grass a
bit behind to attend to her ankle. A
student medic arrives right away to inspect the bleeding wound, "You'll
need stiches my love. You have six hours to get to a clinic before the
bandage loses effect."
The riot squad succeeds in advancing a bit. Chaos then descends;
everything is blurry in my head. All I can see is a silhouette falling.
I turn. I recognize it. On the
ground, my friend, covered in blood, his eyes bulging. Shouts from my
friends, tears on my face. I shout to people to back up, to give him
air. I turn toward the riot
squad, to try in vain to protect him from further violence from these
"agents of peace." I scream my rage at the riot squad. At that moment,
they're less than nothing, pawns of the state. I feel powerless.
Everything happens so fast. A
friend takes me by the arm to pull me away. I walk, in the rain, toward
the starting point. I cry,
I can't go 20 metres without crumpling into a heap in the middle of the
road. My body no longer follows my thoughts. We're not in a movie,
we're not in the Arab
world. We're in fucking Quebec?? I meet a teacher who tells me about
the shattered teeth of a young girl she had helped, having caught a
rubber bullet. Farther on,
a friend from nursing tells me about the shattered knee cap of another
boy. Finally I arrive at the bus. We are all on the ground.
On the bus, our clothes continue to give off gas.
Everyone is coughing, everyone is blowing their noses. The atmosphere
is heavy. Being in charge of the bus,
I was quickly warned about the police blockades on the highways. Buses
from McGill, Concordia and Montmorency were arbitrarily stopped on the
highway headed
toward Montreal. We are all on alert with all the police lights
lighting the highway 20. A roadblock filled with about 30 patrol cars
chills my blood. The bus is filled
with students who have already been caught by police, who would love to
arrest them without cause. Many of us don't have the choice to wear a
mask at
demonstrations, because of the police photos taken. Some of us are
under telephone surveillance and are followed home. Since the start of
the student strike, more
than 1100 arrests have been made. The majority are arbitrary, for
blocking traffic or illegal assembly. A large part of the students on
the bus risk a recurring arrest
if their bus is stopped by the highway patrol.
Luckily we arrived safely. After an incredibly emotional
week, a particularly difficult day, it is inconceivable to contain our
hatred of the current system. We go
to sleep at night even more convinced that the government's attempt to
divide us will only further unite us.
Ongoing Student Demonstrations
Montreal, May 3
With the theme "For a transparent government," "We have
nothing to hide," close to 1,000 students gathered at
Place-Émilie
Gamelin in Montreal on May 3 for the ninth evening
march against the tuition fee hike, wearing only their underwear. The
humour was also aimed at the City of Montreal's proposed bylaw
forbidding the youth from wearing
masks during demonstrations.
"We have nothing to hide! Unlike the Liberals!" they
shouted. The "82% increase is indecent!"; "Mme Beauchamp, I have no
money left to buy myself clothing"; and many
other slogans highlighted their demands.
"Students are so angry with the Charest government that
they decided to change the climate of violent police attacks with a
little humour," one of the participants told TML.
The demonstrators marched to Lafontaine Park and then to
Laurier Park, applauded by pedestrians and people in their cars.
Montreal, May 2
Teachers at CEGEP
Maisonneuve in Montreal demand a political solution, not court
injunctions to end the student strike.
Banner reads:
"Charest has let things drag out -- who will pick up the pieces?"
Outaouais, April 28, 30
 
Top: students at the
CEGEP d'Outaouais hold their general assembly, April 30, 2012. Bottom
left: picket line at the Université du Québec en
Outaouais, April 28, 2012; bottom right: riot police move in on
university students, April 18, 2012.
Students in the Outaouais remain resolute despite
attempts to use police violence and injunctions to break their strike.
At the CEGEP d'Outaouais, attempts to impose injunctions have not
succeeded because of the unity of the students, teachers and
administration that injunctions are not a solution to the conflict and
are only making the situation worse.
Montreal, April 27
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