It doesn’t matter what you think about the protest against tuition fee hikes, this isn’t about accessible education anymore. Now, everyone in Quebec’s right to protest, organize and express themselves freely is at risk. As of last night, people’s right to just go out and have a good time is at risk, too. Friday, after a last-minute 48 hour session of the Assemble Nationale, the Charest government passed Bill 78…
Year: 2012
I’ve seen the future, brother…but so has Jean Charest
Jason C. McLean on the newfound passion in people like Jean Charest and Gerald Tremblay and how it shows that the Quebec student strike is about so much more than a few hundred dollars in tuition increase, it’s about the future…
Montreal artist Rémy Couture’s trial set to pit artistic freedom against state censorship
How to describe the bizarre case of local artist Rémy Couture? Some in the media seem to have coined a new and disturbing term for it: art crime (also the title of a sympathetic documentary on the subject). You see, arguably, Coutures only ‘crime’ is that he is pushing the boundaries of good taste with his horrific images of women being dismembered and people being crucified…
Austerity in Europe
I’ve said for years that if a country tries to put austerity into practice for an extended period of time, an eventual revolution will be the outcome. In Greece and France this past week that is essentially what happened. I have no doubt there is more to follow. France elected Francois Hollande of the Socialist Party last week…
MCA & Me
Anyone who knew either of his names knows by now about the passing of 47 year old Beastie Boy Adam “MCA” Yauch. He passed away last Friday after a three year battle with cancer.
Looking back, I find it hard to uncover a bigger musical or political influence in my life then that which the Beastie Boys left. Adam Yauch of course had a big part in that.
The truth about proposed anti-mask laws unmasked!
With all the protesting going on these days, Montreal has become a veritable political theatre for all manner of agitprop and self-expression. Of course, no anti-whatever rally would be complete, these days, without the requisite Guy Fawkes masks, bandanas worn as masks, balaclavas (aka ski masks), etc. What do all of these things have in common? Wearing them may soon be a criminal offense punishable by jail time (up to 5 years!)…
The Spring of Student Discontent
The student strike and protest is now entering its fourth month, they have spawned more than 160 protests in 72 days in Montreal alone. The protests have now garnered international attention including coverage on CNN and Al Jazeera. In my (new found) opinion, the actions of the students are completely justified. This whole state of affairs revolves around the Quebec government’s rising debt…
The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Versus Democracy
If anything good has come out of the unfortunate death of Trayvon Martin, it has to be the unwanted exposure of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). ALEC is not a lobby, nor is it a front group, it is a council made up of 2000 legislators and 300 corporations. The corporations sit on nine different task forces and vote with these legislators to approve “model” bills…
The Comment Tree – Canadian Budget Reaction, Summit of the Americas, Liberal Party of Canada
The Comment Tree is a weekly collection of posts and commentary from social and mainstream media sources – keeping up to date with the topics of interest in the current news cycle, international and domestic.
The Rise of the South
Hemispheric leaders gathered in Cartagena, Colombia this past weekend for the Summit of the Americas. From the onset, it seems one thing was made perfectly clear; the flock no longer fears the wolf. Decades of influence and meddling on the part of the United States left many Latin American countries as poor, failed states; a consequence of propping up puppet dictators across a continent…