Maple Spring: Nearly 1,000 Arrested as Mass Quebec Student Strike Passes 100th Day

Amy Goodman
Democracy Now! / Video Report
Published: Friday 25 May 2012
After three months of sustained protests and class boycotts that have come to be known around the world as the "Maple Spring,"

More than 400,000 filled the streets of Montreal this week as a protest over a 75 percent increase in tuition has grown into a full-blown political crisis. After three months of sustained protests and class boycotts that have come to be known around the world as the "Maple Spring," the dispute exploded when the Quebec government passed an emergency law known as Bill 78, which suspends the current academic term, requires demonstrators to inform police of any protest route involving 50 or more people, and threatens student associations with fines of up to $125,000 if they disobey. The strike has received growing international attention as the standoff grows, striking a chord with young people across the globe amid growing discontent over austerity measures, bleak economies and crushing student debt. We’re joined by Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, spokesperson for CLASSE, the main coalition of student unions involved in the student strikes in Quebec; and Anna Kruzynski, assistant professor at the School of Community and Public Affairs at Concordia University in Montreal. She has been involved in the student strike as a member of the group, "Professors Against the Hike." 



Get Email Alerts from NationofChange
Author pic
ABOUT Amy Goodman

Amy Goodman is the host of "Democracy Now!," a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on more than 900 stations in North America. She is the author of "Breaking the Sound Barrier," recently released in paperback and now a New York Times best-seller.

Top Stories

1 comments on "Maple Spring: Nearly 1,000 Arrested as Mass Quebec Student Strike Passes 100th Day"

Joncleir

May 25, 2012 7:14pm

It's stunning really how little media attention this strike receives in the US. My friends at UQAM have given up a semester to remind Canada and the world that education should be central to our culture and to our political economy - not the accumulation of wealth or the subsidization of Canada-based international corporations.