Thank you for resigning from your position as Quebec Education Minister and giving up politics Monday. Your decision makes the Quebec government just a little bit less corrupt, and, perhaps, just a little bit less incompetent. Best of luck to your repl…
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From Orangutan: Good riddance, Line Beauchamp,
Thank you for resigning from your position as Quebec Education Minister and giving up politics Monday. Your decision makes the Quebec government just a little bit less corrupt, and, perhaps, just a little bit less incompetent. Best of luck to your replacement, Michelle Courchesne, herself a former Quebec Education Minister, from
Continue readingFrom Orangutan: To those who think free education means lower quality,
In Finland, Denmark, and Sweden, post-secondary education is free, and in the 2011 Global talent index of 62 countries, Finland, Denmark, and Sweden finished in second, third, and eighth positions respectively for the reputation and resources of their business schools and universities. In Denmark, in particular, not only is there
Continue readingFrom Orangutan: Dear Chilean Students,
Thank you for expressing your support for the college and university students that are currently striking in Quebec. I am happy that you too have criticized the neoliberal policies of the province’s Jean Charest government. I would also like to convey my gratitude, in particular, to Camila Vallejo (pictured), one
Continue readingFrom Orangutan: Canada’s Tiananmen Moments,
This is what police in Quebec are doing to striking students. I know that some people won’t like that I called this post “Canada’s Tiananmen Moments,” but by placing Quebec police brutality within a larger and even more disturbing context, I would hope that the violence against Quebec students stops, once
Continue readingFrom Orangutan: Dear Inspiring Students,
As the Quebec student strike continues, it was reassuring for me to learn Tuesday that over 60 per cent of postsecondary students across Canada would join a similar strike in their own province. This news comes from a survey of 2,200 globeandmail.com readers, taken between May 2 and 7, who expressed
Continue readingFrom Orangutan: Dear Quebec students,
As Martine Desjardins, president of the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec (FEUQ), said after the 22 hour negotiating marathon between Quebec student federations (which at last included La CLASSE) and the government, “This is not the end of the strike. It is the beginning of the end of the conflict.”
Continue readingFrom Orangutan: Dear Line "The Godfather" Beauchamp,
Well, isn’t it ironic that while you have stated that you won’t sit at the same table with the student organization La CLASSE because the latter supposedly does not respect the values of your Quebec Liberal government, you did, in fact, sit at a table of 15 to 20 people,
Continue readingFrom Orangutan: Dear English-speaking Canadians,
Please find, below, a handful of links to the few reports in English that fairly portray the current situation in Quebec concerning protests against proposed post-secondary education tuition hikes. Unfortunately, the English-language press has not done a stellar job in reporting the complexity of the key issues, something that is
Continue readingFrom Orangutan: To Line Beauchamp,
What if La CLASSE were a Jewish group, or a Hindu group, or a Buddhist group, or a Muslim group, or in other words, a group whose beliefs you don’t follow, but a group that nonetheless plays an important role in Quebec society? Would you still refuse to negotiate? In
Continue readingTattered Sleeve: Québec Students: You’re Coming Along
After school is over you’re playing in the parkDon’t be out too late, don’t let it get too darkThey tell you not to hang around and learn what life’s aboutAnd grow up just like them, won’t you let it work it out As I type this, thousands of youth are
Continue readingTattered Sleeve: Québec Students: You’re Coming Along
After school is over you’re playing in the parkDon’t be out too late, don’t let it get too darkThey tell you not to hang around and learn what life’s aboutAnd grow up just like them, won’t you let it work it outAs I type this, thousands of youth are ou…
Continue readingTattered Sleeve: Québec Students: You’re Coming Along
After school is over you’re playing in the parkDon’t be out too late, don’t let it get too darkThey tell you not to hang around and learn what life’s aboutAnd grow up just like them, won’t you let it work it out As I type this, thousands of youth are
Continue readingFrom Orangutan: Dear CUNY and SUNY students,
Thank you, students at the City University of New York (CUNY) and the State University of New York (SUNY) for writing a beautiful open letter of support of the student strike in Quebec. I am elated that three of you from Brooklyn College visited Montreal over spring break to understand
Continue readingFrom Orangutan: Cher Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois et al.,
Thank you for displaying a rare from of patience and reason in the face of rhetorical manipulations and illogical accusations from lawyer, political scientist, and journalist Christian Dufour during a debate Tuesday on the Denis Lévesque show. Mr. Nadeau-Dubois, one can easily grasp your intelligence and clarity of thought compared
Continue readingFrom Orangutan: Bonjour Jean Charest,
You sure did blow off some smoke and pull out some mirrors Monday when you denounced the Coalition large de l’association pour une solidarite syndicale etudiante (CLASSE) for refusing to condemn the vandalism and social disruptions in Montreal. Last I checked, violence is not part of the CLASSE’s mandate, obviously.
Continue readingFrom Orangutan: Dear Line Beauchamp,
Why would you offer a proposal to Quebec students that would place them in further debt, and then claim that you knew the students would reject the proposal? Is that not a waste of time, especially when one considers that the student boycott is costing taxpayers $104,000 an hour (or
Continue readingFrom Orangutan: Dear Line Beauchamp and Jean Charest,
Why do you both insist that Quebec tuition fees must increase to keep the quality of education at expected standards? This premise is simply incorrect. My readings, for example, have taught me that although the price of attending a post-secondary institution in the United States has risen over the past
Continue readingFrom Orangutan: Dear Line Beauchamp,
Doesn’t it bother you, as a woman who is the Quebec Minister of Education, that given that women still do not earn the same salaries as men, raising tuition fees means that women will pay more for their education now and in the decades it takes them to pay back
Continue readingWorld Headlines Review: Riots and Disparity: Rome, London and Toronto
International headlines in the last two weeks have reported a massive amount of social unrest and unsettling news across the developed world, including riots and economic data which on the surface may appear discordant and unrelated, but are united as part of larger political and economic trends. Fees Protest, by
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