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May 22, 2012 - No. 73 Suspension of Civil Liberties in Quebec Quebeckers Oppose Special Law on
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Since this Special Law
which suspends civil liberties was adopted by the Quebec National
Assembly on May 18, the opposition to and defiance of the law has been
very broad. Besides the students, organizations of Quebeckers from all
walks of life have issued statement after statement denouncing the law
and they
too have joined the protest movement. Every night, demonstrations
continue in Montreal as well as in Quebec City and other cities across
Quebec. It is said that this has become the broadest socio-political
movement in the history of modern Quebec. Throughout the government's
campaign to criminalize the right
to resist and protest, the students have remained firmly committed to
their just cause against the fee hike. Now, in the wake of the first
night of protests to challenge the Special Law, the representatives of
the Quebec Federation of College Students (FECQ) and of the Broad
Coalition for Student Union Solidarity (CLASSE)
point out that the movement to oppose the fee hike has become
much broader to challenge the Special Law as well.
The mayhem caused by the
police is such that business
owners are being randomly arrested right on the premises of their
businesses, for wearing the red square. Bars and terrasses are being
purposely gassed and the police invade the premises assaulting patrons
calmly sitting having a beer.
On May 21, in a press
conference at the Émilie-Gamelin Park in Montreal which is where
people gather for the daily demonstrations against Bill 78, the
spokespersons of CLASSE called upon the students and the Quebec people
to defeat the Special Law by exercising their fundamental rights to
freedom of expression,
demonstration and association. "CLASSE will keep demonstrating on the
basis of the fundamental freedoms that are protected by the national
and international charters and treaties. If because of that we are
being prosecuted under Bill 78, we will face the situation. If obeying
the Bill means relinquishing our rights,
we will not do it," said Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, co-spokesperson.
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Calgary
Defend the Quebec Students and Their Right to Resist and Organize! Defend the Rights of All!
Today Quebec students have called a mass demonstration on the 100th day of their strike against tuition fee hikes. The students are fighting to provide the right to education with a guarantee. Instead of negotiating a political solution to the crisis the Quebec government has passed Bill 78 which attacks the students' right to conscience, right to assemble, and right to expression and implements police powers against the people of Quebec.
Through Bill 78 the Charest government has shut down 11 university faculties and 14 Cegeps (community colleges) for a month, after which the universities and Cegeps must reopen. It penalizes anybody who interferes with this dictate. Bill 78 bans the activities of the student associations. It makes it illegal for teachers and professors and their associations to support the students in their resistance to Bill 78. It turns people into informants inside the institutions and in the body politic as a whole. The bill states that a student association or federation of student associations is guilty of violating the Bill unless it can prove its own innocence. The people of Quebec are stripped of their right to assemble. Police must be informed of any demonstration not less than eight hours prior and the police may order a change of venue or route. Demonstrations are prohibited in an educational institution and within 50 metres from its periphery.
The Charest regime is abusing its power and introducing police powers against the students and the people of Quebec. This is not acceptable and Calgarians are protesting today to show our support for the students and to take a stand against the draconian legislation adopted by the Quebec government. Yesterday Quebec students organized a press conference and informed that they will not give up their right to assemble. They will continue their strike and continue to protest despite the unjust laws criminalizing them. They also explained that they are open now and always have been to negotiate with the Quebec government. The Quebec students are fighting to provide the right to education with a guarantee against the neoliberal agenda of the Charest government, which hands over the assets of society to the rich and makes the students pay. The Charest government is using the just opposition by the students as a pretext to ciminalize the conscience of all Quebeckers and outlaw any demonstration in Quebec not to the liking of the private monopoly interests that the Charest government serves. The youth with their spirit of resistance and defiance of what is unjust represent the change which society requires.
Bill 78 is an assault on the right to resist and organize and a law which spells real danger for all Canadians should their governments refuse to negotiate with workers or any section fighting for their rights and instead implement similar laws. It is shameful that the media in Alberta is attacking the students and blaming them for the crisis while it is silent on the brutal violence unleashed against the students and the people of Quebec and the invocation of police powers.
Let's show our support for the students and people of Quebec and as well continue to take our stand here to support all those fighting for public right and in defence of their rights, against laws which criminalize their struggles such as the postal workers, Air Canada workers and hospital workers to name a few. Let us step up the work to defend the right of the First Nations and workers against the plunder of their land and labour by big oil. Let us also be clear that the police powers used in Toronto during the G8/G20 in Toronto, the Olympics in Vancouver, the militarization of our downtown and city during the G8 in Kananaskis, and all the major summits since APEC have been used to establish the ground work for further criminalization of the right to resist and organize. This is what the Quebec law also seeks to accomplish. It must not pass!
Get informed, join the discussion and join in to defend the rights of all!
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Hamilton
Oppose Bill-78 in Quebec! No to Government Violence and Attacks on Political Opposition!
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Today, students, workers and concerned individuals across Quebec mark 100 days of resistance. Across the province, students and their supporters are taking to the streets to oppose the recently passed Bill-78, and to continue to defend the right of all to education. We, a group of concerned community members, stand in Hamilton with them, joining our voices to theirs in opposing the austerity agenda of governments and the attempts to silence such opposition through force and violence. Join us!
Last week, the Liberal Charest government in Quebec officially passed Bill-78, a law that makes the student and social movements basically illegal. It is a desperate move by a government which has lost its legitimacy to stop political opposition to its wrecking of the education system. For over three months, the mass of students and their supporters across Quebec have been demonstrating and organizing daily, in the streets and in public halls, in opposition to the proposed tuition fee hikes, which would see university costs to students soar by close to 80% over seven years. This movement began when the main college and university unions called a strike against the fee hikes, after holding a vote in which students in large numbers favoured a strike. The government has attempted, through fraud negotiations and outright police brutality, to stop the movement but has failed. In fact, the movement has only grown. Artists, teachers, workers from many sectors and concerned community members have joined and broadened the student movement. In the face of this growing opposition, the government continues its refusal to find a political solution that would address the concerns of people. Instead, the undemocratic Bill-78 has been passed.
What Is Bill 78?
Bill-78 is a Special Law that the Charest government adopted on May 18, which deprives students of their basic civil liberties and negates the right of all Quebeckers to organize against government policy. Among other things, it shuts down affected post-secondary institutions, forces employees back to work, bans public assemblies of 50 or more people, and permits the government to arbitrarily defund student associations. It also imposes heavy fines (ranging from $1,000 to $135,000) on individuals and organizations who exercise their right to demonstrate. Also, the law empowers the Ministers of Education, Justice and Public Security to violate the very laws of Quebec in dealing with the student unions and their supporters. Quebeckers from all walks of life have denounced this attack on civil liberties of not just the students but the entire society. The law negates the rights of all to freedom of assembly, freedom of speech and the right to conscience, as well as their right to oppose and resist government policies which are not in their interest. Once governments refuse to negotiate and instead resort to draconian law and order measures and launch brutal police attacks against students, workers and others fighting for their rights, what is left? It must not pass!
As Hamiltonians we are very concerned about the unfolding events in Quebec, and in Ontario where the McGuinty government is refusing to negotiate with the teachers and federally where the Harper government has been passing back-to-work legislation which sanctions the refusal of monopolies to negotiate conditions of work and violating the rights of Canadians in the name of public security. We encourage everyone to join us to inform themselves about these alarming developments. Oppose the disinformation against the students which blames them for the police violence! Support the students!
Windsor
Anti-War Coalition Meets to Discuss Significance of
Quebec's Special Law
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Following their weekly anti-war picket, members of the Windsor Peace Coalition discussed the draconian "Special Law" passed by the government of Quebec against the youth and students and all those who support them. It was decided that a public meeting should be held to oppose the suspension of civil liberties and to bring together everyone possible to discuss the significance of the law for all Canadians. The invitation for the meeting states:
"This month's meeting will discuss the significance of Bill 78 passed on May 18 by the Charest government against the students of Quebec. The legislation suspends civil liberties under the pretext that the students and those who support them are a threat to public safety and many other things. It is of concern to all Canadians.
"Instead of negotiating with the students in response to their legitimate proposals for how to finance post-secondary education in a manner that upholds the right to education, the Charest government has given itself "special powers," suspended civil liberties and criminalized the students. Teachers, professors and any education workers who support them or fail to report on them are also targeted. The law interferes with the student associations if they fight for the rights of the students, deprives them of student dues and many other unacceptable things.
"We support the students in Quebec and all the people who have come out to oppose the suspension of civil liberties. All of us saw what happened at the G8/G20 Summit in Toronto when the police arrested and brutalized over 1,000 people without cause. Enough is enough!
"We are also concerned that the McGuinty government in Ontario is refusing to negotiate with our own teachers and is imposing unacceptable wages and working conditions while threatening to legislate them if they are not accepted. Similarly, the Harper government has intervened to impose back to work legislation against postal workers and Air Canada workers to deny them their rights within the framework of collective bargaining.
"The Harper government is also passing new "public safety" legislation which is being denounced as seriously violating the privacy rights of Canadians and for concentrating more powers in the hands of the Minister.
"We call on everyone to stand with the Quebec youth,
discuss
together the significance of this draconian legislation that is being
massively protested in Quebec and do the same ourselves."
Join the Discussion!
Demonstrations Across Quebec, May 18-21
Photo Review
May 18
On May 18, following the adoption of the Special Law, the Charest Government's abuse of power was denounced across Quebec by all sectors of society. The only ones not denouncing it are from the offices of the Charest government, and the bankers and monopolies it serves.
Thousands of students and their allies rallied in front of the National Assembly hours before the Special Law was adopted. They marched through the streets of Quebec City for hours into the night. People said that whether one is for or against the tuition fee hikes, Charest's Special Law is an attack on everyone and is a matter of concern for all.
The evening of May 18 saw the 25th consecutive evening demonstration in Montreal, with more than 20,000 demonstrators gathering at Emilie-Gamelin Park to denounce the Special Law and its criminalization of political life in Quebec. The Special Law was condemned as a martial law that regulates everyone's lives. Students on work placements said the law will even be posted in their workplaces. Despite media trying to incite an atmosphere of anxiety all evening, people held to their preoccupations of discussing with one another what can be done about the situation they are facing.
Fresh slogans appeared on people's signs and banners: "Charest, Dictator of Quebec"; "Quebec for Quebeckers -- We Remember October 1970"; "In no way are we responsible for this crisis"; "Jean Charest, you might get order, but you will never have peace!"; "This is a crisis of the students, it is a cry of the people!"
Before the start of the march, around 9:00 pm, the Montreal police began to announce over a loudspeaker the conditions to which the demonstration must adhere. This was drowned out by the people's taunts and heckling. The march then began by heading north on Berri with the chant, "Tonight we demand democracy!" a response to not only the Special Law but the anti-mask law passed the same day by the City of Montreal.
As the march passed, everyone came out of their houses to express their support. People in restaurants interrupted their dinner to come outside and applaud the demonstrators. By the time the march reached St-Urbain Street, many had joined the action and the numbers looked like they had swelled to as many as 30,000.
In front of the CEGEP de Vieux Montréal, police attempted to arrest a youth for wearing a mask. They were met with a wall of resistance from other youth chanting, "We won't back down! We won't back down!" and were apparently blocked from arresting the youth. The demonstration then proceeded to the headquarters of the Montreal Police (SPVM), where the slogans of the youth ardently denounced the police: "SPVM -- political police"; "Montreal Police, in service of the Special Law"; "Fascist Charest, get out!"; "What's your message to the youth? Shut up?"; "Criminals in the Parliament!"
Once the head of the march reached René-Lévesque Boulevard, the demonstrators in the middle of the procession at La Gauchetière Street and St-Laurent could smell smoke and tear gas. There was a wall of at least 25 to 30 riot police who began to move towards the crowd stuck on St-Laurent as they tried to turn back the way they had come. The police advanced, striking their batons on their shields.
Despite numerous police tactics to try to split the event into several groups, the protesters did not fall into the trap. They continued their march after each attempt.
Outaouais
More than 300 people -- students, teachers, parents, families and professors from the CEGEP de l'Outaouais and the Université du Québec en Outaouais, as well as members of social organizations -- rallied Friday night in Gatineau to oppose the Special Law. A young construction worker said, "This is my first demonstration since 2005, but it's the same struggle. It's [Bill 78] that made me come out tonight."
The police presence was "discreet" compared to previous nights, with only 15 cars in view. They feigned leniency towards the demonstrators, saying, "Tonight, we won't be applying the law, but tomorrow..." This was just three hours after the law passed.
Militant slogans rang out through the city streets: "Whose streets? Our streets!"; "Bill 78 and the injunctions won't break us!"
Amongst the population of the Outaouais, there is broad unanimity in the opposition to the Special Law and its attack on rights.
Sherbrooke
Hundreds of students, parents and others rallied on the steps of the courthouse on May 18 to take action to defend their rights and oppose the Charest Government's draconian Special Law. They began by discussing their concerns and voting on what actions to take that night. They first marched to the constituency office of Premier Jean Charest who is the MNA for Sherbrooke. They marched through the streets, forming a square at the intersection of King and Belvedere, eventually marching to the Jacques Cartier bridge. The democratic and peaceful resolve of the students to stick to their demands in defiance of the Special Law was in sharp contrast to the actions of the Charest Government and police who provoked a confrontation and assaulted the students with tear gas and stun grenades. The night before, a similar action was declared illegal as a pretext to assault the students.
There have been nightly demonstrations in Rimouski for the last week. On May 18, the students and their allies again took their anger to the streets to denounce the Charest Government and the adoption of the Special Law by the National Assembly. Support for the youth and students is contagious -- everyone is sporting the red square: parents, workers and seniors. Likewise, red flags wave in the seabreeze along the promenade of the city's major thoroughfare.
The students and population of Trois-Rivières are
also present and accounted for in the broad opposition to the Charest
Government's Special Law. They took to the streets on May 18 to
denounce the attacks on the right to education and the rights of all.
May 20
Montreal
Five thousand students were joined by people from all
walks of life
to rally at Emilie-Gamelin Park and within two minutes the police
declared the demonstration illegal and started to viciously attack the
demonstrators. Their violence was so wild and they created such mayhem,
it became evident to everyone who causes the violence in these
demonstrations. The obvious plan of the police to attack so viciously
as to deter people from demonstrating totally backfired as the defiance
of the Special Law only becomes stronger. "If we are thousands on the
streets, they will have to arrest us all," people say as they defy the
police to show just how unacceptable the law is.
Everyone is cursing Jean
Charest for refusing to settle the student
strike through negotiations and increasingly the talk turns to
wondering what he is really up to with this Special Law. Even
high-ranking
specialists in police repression interviewed by the media wonder at the
chaos that has been created as a result of this law.
Three hundred people were arrested that night, including two
journalists, one of whom was wearing goggles to protect against the
tear gas. The Concordia University TV cameraman was attacked by police
four times during the course of the evening, destroying his lens so as
to put the direct recording of the police violence out of action.
One demonstrator was nearly crushed when a police officer on horseback
attacked him to take away his camera.
One of the students told TML,
"We are demonstrating peacefully against
the fee hike, against the Special Law and for the right to express our
opinion. It is the police who attack the demonstrators, not the
demonstrators who attack the police. It is the police who start
charging so as to divide the demonstration and then chase everyone
away. They are very violent. They attack everyone indiscriminately.
They want to make the cost of speaking out against the Special Law very
high, to scare everyone. It is unacceptable to us."
Even shopkeepers who are allegedly defended by passing this Special Law
denounce it:
"The police create panic.
In my bar people were calmly having a drink
and the police entered the bar and started spraying everyone with
pepper spray. It was unbelievable that you can be sitting there and get
invaded by police and pepper strayed." "We don't agree with setting
things on fire on the streets, but to invade the bars and start
throwing tear gas canisters at peaceful patrons is beyond belief!"
"I was beaten and pepper sprayed on my own terrasse! The tables and
chairs were broken," said the owners of the bar l'Absynthe.
Meanwhile, the denunciations of the Special Law carried on. The
President of the Nurses Federation, Régine Laurent, denounced
"the
abuse of power by the government to settle a student conflict. The law
not only attacks the students but the society, she said and drew the
parallel between this law and the law passed against the nurses to
suppress their struggle by the government of Lucien Bouchard.
The Coalition Opposed to User Fees and Privatization of Public Services
called on the people to not falter in the face of the Charest
government's campaign of fear and to show their strength of numbers in
the streets of Montreal on May 22. The Coalition members were
themselves out in force.
The Coalition also prepared a reponse to
the anti-social offensive of user feeds imposed by the Liberal
government in the last two years. A Quebec Day of Action as well as a
massive campaign of popular education will be revealed in the coming
weeks. Coalition members also have a mandate to give serious
consideration to calling a strike by all of its constituent
organizations. "This government, which says it wants to restore social
peace with its Special Law, is only exacerbating popular discontent. In
a
situation where the government is drifting dangerously towards
authoritarianism, it is our duty to not remain silent and to demand a
public debate, not only for the respect of fundamental rights, but on
taxation, social policy and the future of our society!" said
Véronique
Laflamme of the Popular Front for Urban Revitalization (FRAPRU).
May 21, Patriots Day
In Quebec, the demonstrations on May 21 began during the day to celebrate Patriots Day. In Montreal some 43 activities started with a 10,000 strong demonstration which highlighted support for the student struggle and the opposition to the suspension of civil liberties.
The statement of the Marxist-Leninist Party of Quebec on
the
occasion pointed out that the same institutions, said to be democratic
when they were imposed on the people 175 years ago when the uprising of
the Quebec
patriots calling for a modern Republic was suppressed today
deprive the people of civil liberties just as they did then. "What
sort of democracy is it which imposes martial law to defend itself?"
the statement asked.
Montreal
During the evening, many more people joined in the action, swelling the numbers to more than 10,000 people. The demonstrators attempted to march on the Jacques-Cartier Bridge, but were blocked by the riot squads of the Quebec Police.
Sherbrooke
In their desperation to enforce the Special Law, for the
first time, on May 21, police in Sherbrooke started arresting as many
people as they could. This led to the arrest of 36 people for
participating
in a demonstration the law declares illegal. There were about 100
people in
the demonstration.
The police started by arresting one person. The students protested by
sitting down on the street at which point they were arrested, one
student explained.
"The demonstrators were entirely peaceful," explained a young woman who
filmed the entire thing.
Hull
One hundred people demonstrated in the Hull section of Gatineau on May 21. Police on the ground confirmed that organizers did not provide police with the details of the action, as the Special Law requires. Police action was limited to encircling the demonstration and directing traffic.
"It is precisely when demonstrating is made illegal that it is time to demonstrate," a CEGEP student said. He pointed to the irony of making how the demonstration is organized the point of illegality since, clearly, it was against the law to throw rocks before the law was passed.
Seven buses of students and members of the community are
attending the demonstration in Montreal on May 22, as well as a bus
from the University of Ottawa.
Ste-Hyacinthe
In Ste-Hyacinthe, the events marking Patriot's Day were marked by opposition to the Special Law. The current Liberal government was compared to the Chateau Clique of 1837-38 when the people fought to affirm the popular will in the form of a Republic which would enshrine the popular sovereignty. Many of the discussions addressed how to break the impasse which the Charest government has created. Discussion also addressed the upcoming Quebec election and how to get rid of the Liberals. Everyone is wearing the red squares to indicate support for the just demands of the student movement against the fee hike.
(Photos: TML Daily, Montreal Openfile, uzine.ca, The Link, J. Cyr, E. Garneau, guib, S. Lessard)
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Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca