Disappointing

I was very excited last night when Fanta Pants said "I hear pan-demonium coming up the street!"  I grabbed my phone and raced out the door.  We live in a lovely part of suburbia so the only student demonstration action I see or hear about is in the media and I since I've been following this strike quite keenly I was keen to see it up close!

Well, I was very disappointed when the demonstrators walked past.  There were only eight of them!?!?!  Are you serious?  They were obviously expecting more as they had a security detail...

miserable effort...

I get the feeling that there is a real English v French thing happening with this debate too.  There seem to be far less English speaking students involved and people around here don't seem to be supporting the whole strike like they are in the French speaking areas.

The provincial government and the student associations had been negotiating seriously for the last few days but last night they called it quits without an agreement.  The government is refusing to continue to put a freeze on tuition fees (which are currently the lowest in Canada) and the students are refusing to accept that.  The new fees will take effect in September when the new academic year starts but who knows what will happen?  Will some students not re-enrol?  Are they cutting their noses off to spite their faces?  It's their education and futures that will suffer for the sake of $250 a year.  I try very hard to understand the cultural and social history of Quebec to see where the roots of the argument lie but I just can't come to grips with the call for free higher education.

The most militant of the student groups has vowed to disrupt the Formula One Grand Prix which is scheduled to start next week.  If that does happen it would be very embarrassing and disappointing for the whole of Montreal which seems to live for its summer festivals and tourist attractions.

xx