Posts Tagged ‘tuition’

More on Montreal’s Magnificence

Friday, June 1st, 2012

(The new face of power.)

If you caught yesterday’s post listing a few reasons as to why the world ought to watch Montreal and Quebec, you may have noticed that I missed what is perhaps the most fascinating aspect of all: the median age of those who started this movement is about 21 years old.

While the crisis in Quebec is not the first youth movement in history, it’s the first time I’ve seen one this close to home. I don’t remember my generation making anywhere near an impact when we were that age. It’s not that we weren’t equally motivated. It’s that technologies that exist today for the masses weren’t around 10 years ago.

Now, the younger generations – those who’ve been immersed in the Net and social media for most of their lives – are showing the rest of us how to truly harness the real power we’ve been unleashing.

With an even more immersed and interconnected generations on the horizon, along with the proliferation of these new tools to even the oldest generations, uprisings like those in Montreal and on Wall Street are sure to be dwarfed by the revolutions yet to come.

The Whole World is Watching Montreal

Thursday, May 31st, 2012

109 days. That’s how long they’ve been protesting in Montreal. Over 3 incredible months. What started out as a demonstration against an impending 80% tuition hike has now blossomed into a full-out fight for civil rights.

Now, whether you’re Canadian or an unCanuck (a term I’ve never heard used until just now), there are many great reasons you should be paying attention to what is happening in Quebec. Here’s three:

Reason 1: It’s massive. Over 400,000 people – 1/4 of Montreal’s total population – have been out in simultaneous protest.

Reason 2: It’s about more than tuition fees. The movement has always targeted the systemic corruption in government, highlighting the way powerful corporations and big business get taxpayer-funded benefits while taxpayers themselves get the shaft.

But now that Premiere Charest clumsily stifled the right to protest, the movement morphed into protecting individual liberties, saving our precious democracy, and, most importantly, sending a clear message that we will not stand idly by while civil rights get violated.

Reason 3: The Montreal uprising is just a sign of things to come. Humans everywhere on earth are undergoing a great awakening. The internet is fostering a social revolution, shifting unprecedented powers into the hands of the masses. Governments, corporations and other major institutions will prove no match for millions of coordinated humans working together in real time.

A new day is coming, where actual democracy gives everyone a voice. With this newfound solidarity we will build a more just global civilization. People will take priority over profits, cooperation will supersede competition, and a brighter, more secure future will be upon us.

Quebec Crushing Charter of Rights

Friday, May 18th, 2012

Watch out, Quebeckers, North Korea is coming. And its name is emergency Bill 78.

Penned during an all-night session by Premier Jean Charest’s government, this bill sets strict limits on public demonstrations and threatens stiff penalties to anyone trying to exercise their right to gather in protest and exercise free speech.

“This bill, if adopted, is a breach to the fundamental, constitutional rights of the citizens,” says the bar association president Louis Masson, who goes on to note how “The scale of its restraints on fundamental freedoms isn’t justified by the objectives aimed by the government.”

The precedent set here isn’t just bad for Quebec, it’s bad for our entire country. If they can do it there, why not everywhere?

So a handful of individuals seize the protests as opportunity to resort to vandalism and violence and the entire movement gets punished. How typical! No wonder police go undercover to disturb the peace… it so readily negates populist uprisings.

Which is really too bad, because I love what the students have been doing. I love their energy, their spirit, and their tenacity in the face of a domineering establishment. And really, their cause is just. Sure, they already pay the lowest tuition in all of Canada, and the hikes are relatively small. But that’s no reason not to expect better.

Instead of hating on Quebec’s students for being engaged in our democracy, maybe a better question is ‘Why aren’t the rest of Canadian students out demanding lower costs for themselves?’