Strikes...

Note the bilingual signs?

The university students are on strike!  (As well as on going action from daycare workers and baggage handlers).  Montreal has several large universities and the students are very unhappy about increases in fees which are currently some of the cheapest in Canada.  It's been going on a while now and yesterday they held a massive demonstration which brought the downtown to a stand still.  It's estimated that any where from 100,000 to 200,000 took place!  Fortunately it was very peaceful.

In addition to boycotting classes, their movement seems to be gaining momentum and they're planning more action.  Earlier in the week they shut down the Champlain Bridge (which is the busiest bridge in Canada) for an hour during morning rush hour and caused total traffic chaos.

I'm not sure what to think of it all.  On one hand their fees are less than the rest of Canada and I do think that as a graduate's earning potential is increased with a degree they should contribute more.  But I also understand not wanting to start your working life with a massive debt.

On the other hand I'm pleased to see some action!  Opinion is pretty divided here but what is pretty universal is the people of Montreal are pleased to see someone taking the Government to task.  It appears people have been pretty apathetic about poor services, lack of infrastructure maintenance and recent tax increases.  One letter to the editor reads "The citizenry is awake now.  Apathy is a word of the past!".  For Quebec's sake I hope so!

xx