Video: Highlights from June 22 Casseroles in Montreal (at the end, promising to come back July 22 for an even bigger show of solidarity!)

Since the epic concert de Casseroles video that went viral on May 24, the rest of Canada has stepped up to show solidarity with the students in Quebec (and a broader popular movement of citizens concerned about the draconian and far-reaching "loi special" Law 78).

View the June 13th Facebook event page here.

UPDATED POST:

So-so-so-Solidarité!

St. John's citizens gather at Harbourside Park before the march.

Casseroles solidarity marching up George Street:



Solidarity march making it's way to the banks...




EARLIER POST:

St. John's citizens made themselves heard on the first Casseroles Night in Canada on May 30, and are invited to meet up at Harbourside Park for round two on Wednesday June 6th around 8 PM.

St. John's Casseroles Facebook event page

National Casseroles Event event page

People of all ages are welcome!

Bring your pots and pans, and something to hit them with! If anyone has any suggestions as to how to make this event bigger and better, please share in comments.

Leave your house at 8pm and clang your way down to Harbourside Park. Hopefully the noise will attract others to join in! When we get to the park, keep making noise and see how big of a crowd we can gather!


The news source Rabble.ca has called for weekly Casseroling to continue showing solidarity with the student movement in Quebec and disapproval for Quebec's Law 78, which restricts Canadian's civil liberties, but to also make our discontent over Bill C-38 heard loud and clear. Let those in power know that Canadians are paying attention!

Members of Occupy NL have also created a postcard (front and back downloadable from that link) that you can send to your MP about the ominous, undemocratic Omnibus bill C-38.

See you in the streets!

Concert de Casseroles in NEWFOUNDLAND to Support Students in Quebec

Concert de casseroles (concert of pots and pans) in support of the demands of the Québec students and against law 78. 

TONIGHT - Sunday, May 27th, 8:00 p.m., at Harbourside Park.  

Show your colours: wear red, especially a red square!

This is not organized by an "organization"; we are doing this to demonstrate our support for the Québec demonstrations, and we are doing this to show we value civil rights.

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What's a pots and pans concert?

A beautifully shot video of Quebec's nightly demos: http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2012/05/25/montreal-pots-and-pans-video-bill-78_n_1546694.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false

Wondering what the student strike has to do with you?

10 Points Eveyone should now about the Quebec Student Movement: http://montreal.mediacoop.ca/story/ten-points-everyone-should-know-about-quebec-student-movement/10896

Wondering what Law 78 is all about?

Why it's wrong from the Quebec Bar Association: http://www.barreau.qc.ca/fr/actualites-medias/communiques/2012/05/18-etudiants and a translation at: http://www.newappsblog.com/2012/05/quebecs-emergency-decree-its-hard-to-call-it-a-law-78.html

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/306691286086521/
Related posts:

• University Tuition in Canada: some historical perspective.
• UPDATED POST: On the student movement in Quebec
•  Massive student protests in Montreal

Our General Assembly will take place directly after this event, at around 8:30 at Harbourside Park

Update:  Here's the CBC article about the event

A recurring argument in news commentary about the Quebec student strike is that Quebeckers pay the lowest university tuition in the country so they have no justification to protest tuition hikes.  These commentators tend to frame prevailing tuition rates in Ontario and BC as "normal", and thus the Quebec tuition rates as abnormally low.

Click graph to expand

Massive student protests ongoing in Montreal -- on March 22nd, 200,000 protesters took part in a demonstration in downtown Montreal . Exactly a month later, on Earth Day, another 200,000 people took to the streets. And yet another month later, only picking up steam, a wave of people in red packed downtown Montreal on May 22nd, nearing 300,000 strong.


Great recap: Ten Things Everyone Should Know about the Quebec Student Movement
In response to the emergency law passed, Law 78, people have this to say: Arrest me!

Downtown Montreal on May 22, 2012

Concordia Student Union General Assembly operates using horizontal decision making like that used by the Occupy movement, and they spearheaded the student strike originating at Concordia. More info here about how this started.

For up-to-date and reliable info on the Montreal student protests, check out the Montreal Media Co-op and Concordia University TV (CUTV) to watch the recap videos and livestreams from the student protests.

Resources

You can also visit the Concordia Student Union site. And the McGill Student Union has a Student Strike FAQ up on their site.

Visit the CLASSE website for more info as well. CLASSE is a temporary national student organization that includes, across Quebec, more than 76,000 members in many student unions from both colleges and universities. 

Visit the MobSquad website for info on the campaign against tuition hikes.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

The Maple Spring is important to all Canadians, and not just Quebec. Here's why.

That's why Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, past student leader of CLASSE, has undertaken a cross-Canada speaking tour to help spread the message of resisting austerity and defeating the stranglehold of neoliberalism across this country.

Massive student protests have been ongoing in Montreal since March 22nd, when 200,000 protesters took part in a demonstration in downtown Montreal. Exactly a month later, on Earth Day, another 200,000 people took to the streets. And yet another month later, only picking up steam, a wave of people in red packed downtown Montreal on May 22nd, more than 300,000 strong.

June 22, as expected, was a massive show of solidarity across Canada (and of course massive amounts of people on the streets of Montreal and across Quebec).

Every month has a 22nd, so here's to ongoing shows of solidarity and support! Check out the global call to resistance on the 22nd of every month.

As of Sept 20th, after the inauguration of Pauline Marois' minority Parti Quebecois government (and the defeat of Jean Charest's government (he was also defeated in his own riding)), the tuition fee hikes have been repealed.  However, the Concordia Graduate Students Association, still fighting for a very realistic goal of free education in the province, along with other student groups such as CLASSE, will show that they are still organized and come out for a demo on Sept 22.

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Click here for a refresher on what this conflict is about: The Conflict: 101 
Here is a great explanation of the context for the current mobilisation of students in Quebec. Free education is not a new idea, neither is it impossible. In fact, "it was the state’s very own idea on the recommendation of a Royal Commission, a choice that was respected and prized for four decades."

Downtown Montreal on May 22, 2012

Great recap: Ten Things Everyone Should Know about the Quebec Student Movement.

In response to the emergency law passed, Law 78, people have this to say: Arrest me!

Concordia Student Union General Assembly operates using horizontal decision making like that used by the Occupy movement, and they spearheaded the student strike originating at Concordia. More info here about how this started. View this video on the 8 Myths of Tuition Hikes.

For up-to-date and reliable info on the Montreal student movement, check out the Montreal Media Co-op and Concordia University TV (CUTV) to watch the recap videos and livestream from the student protests.

Resources

You can also visit the Concordia Student Union site. And the McGill Student Union has a Student Strike FAQ up on their site.

Visit the CLASSE website for more info as well. CLASSE is a temporary national student organization that includes, across Quebec, more than 76,000 members in many student unions from both colleges and universities. 

Visit the MobSquad website for info on the campaign against tuition hikes.