For almost seven months, they did what others thought impossible. After enduring disinformation from media, and endless questions from those who asked “why?” Their only answer was, “why not?”
Feb. 2nd 2012, before the strike vote
Marching in the snow,
the rain, the heat, and the nude, what began as a student strike became one of
the largest social movements in North American history. The movement touches
upon many issues such as inequality, women’s rights, the environment, and of course,
accessibility to education.
Former Liberal finance minister, Raymond Bachand released the 2011 budget, that would involve
in a tuition increase of $325 per year for the next five years starting autumn
2012. However, the student associations were reportedly not consulted, which
weathered the storm for the following months ahead.
Léo Bureau-Blouin speaking after a rainy protest Nov. 10 2011
“We will remember this
as being the year that young people stood up, and the year we won,” he said.
“And if the government
still doesn’t understand, well, next winter we’ll be even more!”
No one knew how much
more that would be…
By February 13th
2012, schools all across Quebec began voting in favor of a general strike. By
March 22nd, approximately 310,000 CÉGEP and university students
vowed to walk out on their courses until the Charest government would drop the
increase.
“… Our children will go
to school, and when they open their history books- in 2012, the 22nd
of March, that day will be known as the day when the youth of Quebec stood up,”
shouted former Coalition large de l’ASSÉ (CLASSE) spokesman Gabriel
Nadeau-Dubois into a microphone, during what would be a memorable speech.
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois giving his speech March 22nd 2012
That day brought the
largest student protest Canada had ever seen- so far- with over 200,000 people,
garnishing support by professors, families, activists and workers’ unions. The
government did not budge on their decision.
April 5th (Day
53) had officially declared the action as the longest student strike in the
province, breaking the 2005 record of five weeks. That year, Jean Charest had
attempted to cut $103 million from the grant and loans program. This time, he
would not listen so easily to the chants.
April 22nd
marked Earth Day, to spread awareness on the state of our environment, to
protest against Plan Nord and Prime Minister Harper’s XL Pipeline. The event,
seeing figures as David Suzuki Foundation member Karel Mayrand, Greenpeace,
also invited the student associations.
Unfortunately it would
be the Plan Nord convention of two days prior that brought the world’s
attention to the movement, when Charest’s comments led to riots downtown.
Suddenly newspapers like Al-Jazeera and the Guardian would recognize the
situation in Quebec.
April 20th - Plan Nord convention turns violent
May 4th - Riots during government negotiations
The police brutality
during the movement resulted in two students losing use of an eye, and was
called into question by the United Nations and Amnesty International.
May 18th the
government passed the draconian Bill 78 that would result in heavy fines if
police weren’t warned at least eight hours in advance of a protest taking place. The bill violates the Charter of Rights & Freedoms and was
condemned by lawyers. There were many debates in the National Assembly in which
Parti Québécois leader Pauline Marois demanded Jean Charest to negotiate
with the students until an agreement was met.
May 22nd
marked 100 days of strike; “100 days of struggle, 100 days of defiance.” With the
impatience of the Quebec population and the anger over Bill 78, it became the
largest protest to date- with an estimated 400,000-450,000 people. It was also
the largest act of civil disobedience since Bill 78 was violated by students
refusing to share the route with police.
May 22nd saw over 400,000 people
Protests in France,
England, Vancouver, New York and other parts of the world were scheduled to
mark the movement’s milestone; the red square thus grew more symbolic.
During the month of May
there were long attempts of negotiations with the government. By then,
education minister Line Beauchamp had resigned, seeing herself no longer apart
of the solution. By the second negotiation attempt, former Premier Jean Charest
made a surprise visit by sitting with FECQ, as well as the Fédération étudiante
universitaire du Québec (FEUQ) and CLASSE, despite this group being finger-pointed
whenever violence took place, even though most protests were peaceful. The former
Premier, to the dismay of many, only sat with the students for thirty minutes.
On June 1st,
Bureau-Blouin’s mandate as FECQ president ended, many worrying what would happen
next. Éliane Laberge would be next in line to fill his position.
Two months later, Charest
called for an election campaign. By then, Bureau-Blouin became candidate for
the Parti Québécois.
The summertime didn’t
slow down. Each month students continued to meet every 22nd to remind
the government the movement is still strong, with nightly protests occurring
since mid-April.
August 22nd had an estimation of 100,000
“My only regret is
leaving before seeing Jean Charest gone,” wrote Nadeau-Dubois in a letter to Le
Devoir, as he announced his resignation as CLASSE spokesman. This came as a
shock to many, but he had mentioned earlier in the movement he didn’t plan on
renewing his mandate post-strike.
By the 29th
of August, certain universities were still on strike, marking 200 days since it
began.
At last on September 4th,
in what will stick in the mind of Quebecers for many years, the Parti
Québécois was elected as government. Pauline Marois became the first female premier
in the province, while Léo Bureau-Blouin is the youngest MNA in the history
of the National Assembly.
Pauline Marois election night
In a press conference
the following morning, Marois declared the tuition increase and Bill 78 are
abolished. She has vowed to schedule an education summit involving all the
student associations in order to discuss alternatives to fund university
education in Quebec.
In the words of Mahatma
Gandhi; “First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you.
Then you win.”
"Together, we blocked the increase"
Until the summit takes place, another march is scheduled
September 22nd at Parc Lafontaine for 2:00 pm.
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