Canada: Student protests and chaos in downtown Montreal

 Quebec student strike

Downtown Montreal continues to be rocked by unprecedented conflicts. Last night, during another evening of student protests (the 27th^e) and supporters in reaction to Law 78, a surge in violence led to the arrest of 300 people and left 10 injured, including four police officers, according to Quebec authorities.

During the night, 305 people were arrested and briefly detained before being released after being notified of the amount of the fine to be paid for the offenses committed. Since the implementation of Law 78, demonstrations of this type have been declared illegal, as the route was not provided to the police as required by this legislative decision. Since the passage of this special law, it seems that tensions between students and police forces have been rekindled, prolonging this student protest movement that has lasted for three months.

Not only does this situation prevent stakeholders from negotiating to reach a fair solution, but more and more Quebecers believe that this special law puts an end to the freedom to demonstrate and gives rise to anti-democratic behavior on the part of the authorities. In addition, the current semester is suspended until mid-August (in universities and colleges on strike).

Note: According to Statistics Canada, "In terms of the theoretical ability of Quebec students to pay, 40% of them receive no financial assistance from their parents and two-thirds have left home. More than 80% of them work and study full-time. Half of Quebec students live on an annual income that corresponds to the poverty line."

 Can they really pay higher tuition fees?

Les jeunes n’ont pas toujours raison, mais la société lorsqu’elle les frappe a toujours tort (Roland Richer)