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Le lundi 26 novembre 2012 | Volume 102 Numéro 10 Ze niouze paye peur depuis 1977

Volume 102, Issue 23

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Contents | Sommaire The McGill Daily & Le Délit mcgilldaily.com | delitfrancais.com

Monday, November 26 • le lundi 26 novembre • 2012

NEWS | ACTUALITÉS

COMMENTARY | OPINION

Brèves: Rapport Manfredi (La réponse de Munroe); Consultations: Sommet sur l’Éducation; Nouveau maire à Montréal

Les hôpitaux: désillusion comparée

Examining research ethics at McGill

Le mariage pas encore pour tous!

Le conflit étudiant terminé, que font les leaders étudiants?

From the Black Students’ Network to McGill

A look into equity and diversity in McGill’s staff

The value of naturopathy

Rape culture and love

The myth of eating local

Coupes fédérales, que devient Radio-Canada?

Se prendre au sérieux

Les médias, colorés par le conflit étudiant

Readers’ letters How a liberal became an anarchist

The Daily sits down with FEUQ’s Leah Freeman

Quit the ad hominem attacks

L’avenir des étudiants après leurs études Opinion: le budget Marceau - décevant

WZRDS GNG

ARTS & CULTURE FILMifact, concours de courtsmétrages par le TNC

FEATURES | SOCIÉTÉ

Cooling out with WEFUNK

Students petition McGill to divest from tar sands

Will McGill ever have a faculty union?

Eyes on the street at the CCA

Indian Status Cards refused at Walmart

La corruption s’arrête-t-elle là ou la justice commence?

Campus unions respond to updated protocol on demonstrations on campus

Le Délit a rencontré Earth Crusher, graffeur montréalais

Réforme du système de santé et immigration

Students demonstrate on Nov. 22

WTF is WZRDS GNG? «Danse Danse» présente la nouvelle œuvre du chorégraphe vénézuélien José Navas

HEALTH&ED | SANTÉ

Damien Robitaille, un nouvel album

Students talk about virginity

Tar sands and indigenous health

French North America reunites at Mundial Montreal

Antidepressant prescriptions on the rise

Réflexion sur le monde de l’édition littéraire

Making a game of everyday occurrences and current events

Nov. 22 demo Photos Hera Chan | The McGill Daily

Tchernobyl: le renouveau de la zone interdite en BD

SCI+TECH The death of evidence is tied to our media environment

SPORTS UFC 154 and the fan/fighter dynamic Paying attention to McGill golf

Montréal/Brooklyn celebrates creative cities

EDITORIAL | ÉDITORIAL Arthur Porter and McGill’s sketchy finances | Arthur Porter et les finances douteuses de McGill

COMPENDIUM! Campus goes to referendum

NEWS | ACTUALITÉS

The McGill Daily & Le Délit Monday, November 26

BRÈVE/MONTRÉAL

BRÈVE/CAMPUS

Applebaum, maire

Réponse de HMB au rapport Manfredi

Camille Gris Roy Le Délit

ontréal a désormais un nouveau maire. Le 16 novembre dernier, les conseillers de la ville ont élu Michael Applebaum comme maire intérimaire, à 31 voix contre 29 pour son adversaire Richard Deschamps. Il occupera ce poste jusqu’aux prochaines élections municipales, prévues pour le mois de novembre 2013. Cette nomination fait suite à la démission de l’ancien maire Gérald Tremblay, le 5 novembre dernier (Le Délit, 6 novembre, vol. 102, n° 8). Gérald Tremblay avait démissionné suite aux accusations de corruption faites à l’égard de son parti, Union Montréal Michael Applebaum était maire de l’arrondissement Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce depuis 2002. Jusqu’au 14 novembre dernier, il était membre d’Union Montréal. En 2011, Gérald Tremblay l’avait nommé président du comité exécutif de la ville. La semaine dernière, Michael Applebaum a quitté Union Montréal pour pouvoir se présenter au poste de maire intérimaire face au candidat choisi par le parti, Richard Deschamps. Il est désormais considéré comme politicien «indépendant». Les deux chefs des partis d’opposition, Louise Harel (Vision Montréal) et Richard Bergeron (Projet Montréal) avait pour leur part décidé de ne pas présenter de candidats. «Je choisis la collaboration, la transparence, et le renouveau», a annoncé le nouveau maire lors de son discours d’assermentation, le 19 novembre. Michael Applebaum a exprimé dans son discours le souhait de former un gouvernement municipal de «coalition»: «[Je tends] la main aux élus de toutes les formations politiques» pour une «politique non partisane». Le comité exécutif de la ville dévoilé le jeudi 22 novembre semble venir confirmer cette intention, avec quatre membre indépendants (incluant le maire), trois issus de Vision Montréal, trois d’Union Montréal, et deux de Projet Montréal. On note également un équilibre parmi les six conseillers associés au comité exécutif. «Je vais tout faire pour récupérer ce qu’on vous a volé et pour vous protéger des prochains qui essaieront d’en profiter», a également déclaré Michael Applebaum aux citoyens montréalais le 19 novembre dernier. «J’ai promis une plus grande transparence». Il faisait ainsi référence aux problèmes de corruption à Montréal. Sachant que la Commission Charbonneau révèle tous les jours de nouveaux éléments de corruption dans la ville, sa tâche est considérable. x

le lundi 26 novembre • 2012

u Sénat, le 17 octobre dernier, la principale de McGill Heather Munroe-Blum avait déclaré qu’elle acceptait les recommandations formulées par le doyen des Arts Christopher P. Manfredi dans son rapport sur la libre expression et l’assemblée pacifique (Le Délit, 23 octobre 2012, vol. 101 no 6). La principale avait également annoncé qu’elle apporterait le 23 novembre ses commentaires au sujet du rapport Manfredi. Vendredi dernier, la communauté mcgilloise a reçu un courriel intitulé «Réponse de la principale au rapport sur la tribune libre sur la liberté d’expression et les réunions pacifiques». La première recommandation du doyen Manfredi portait sur la réforme du Code de Conduite de l’Étudiant. À ce sujet, Heather Munroe-Blum écrit: «J’ai demandé à la professeure Lydia White, vice-principale exécutive adjointe (politiques, procédures et équité), de présider un groupe de travail dont le mandat vise à étudier cette question». Ce groupe sera formé du Doyen à la vie étudiante, du Doyen de la faculté de Droit, de trois étudiants, deux professeurs sénateurs et un représentant du Conseil des Gouverneurs. Les recommandations pour la révision du Code devront être présentées au Sénat et au Conseil des Gouverneurs au plus tard en avril 2013. La deuxième recommandation concernait la révision du Protocole James. La Principale affirme que certains changements sont déjà en cours. La Principale accepte la proposition du vice-principal (administration et finance) Michael Di Grappa au sujet d’un protocole de sécurité pour le Pavillon James. Ce protocole de sécurité devra être révisé périodiquement. La Principale mentionne également le Protocole provisoire relatif aux manifestations sur les campus de l’Université McGill, qui devrait devenir un protocole permanent. Une première version de ce protocole devrait être proposée à la communauté mcgilloise le 30 novembre prochain. La troisième recommandation de Christopher Manfredi concernait le programme de formation du Service de sécurité de McGill. Un programme d’entraînement devra être «élaboré sous la direction du doyen des services aux étudiants, en collaboration avec le directeur adjoint du Service de sécurité». De plus la Principale a annoncé qu’il y aurait des rencontres régulières – la première aura lieu en décembre 2012 – entre le Doyen à la vie étudiante, les membres du service de sécurité et d’autres intervenants sur ces questions de sécurité. x

Manifestion de soutien pour Gaza

Photo Nicolas Quiazua | Le Délit

Consultation pour le sommet de l’éducation

Photo Lindsay P. Cameron | Le Délit

BRÈVE/CAMPUS

Consultations sur l’éducation Alexandra Nadeau Le Délit

•

u cours de la semaine du 18 au 23 novembre, l’Association Étudiante de l’Université McGill (AÉUM) a tenu, sur trois jours, des consultations publiques en vue du futur Sommet sur l’Éducation prévu par le ministre de l’Enseignement supérieur pour le mois de février 2013 (Le Délit, 13 novembre 2012, vol. 102, no 9). Comme l’explique une des organisatrices de l’événement,

Robin Reid-Fraser, vice-présidente externe de l’AÉUM, ces consultations visent à permettre aux étudiants mcgillois d’échanger leurs idées sur des thèmes ciblés en lien avec l’éducation. Bien que quatre grands thèmes seront abordés lors du Sommet sur l’Éducation, dix thèmes ont fait l’objet de discussions au cours de ces rencontres. Ces thèmes s’articulaient autour de la santé monétaire des universités et des étudiants, de l’aspect social des universités et leur gestion interne, de leur rôle dans la société, ainsi que de la place faite aux étudiants canadiens, internationaux et anglophones. Robin ReidFraser explique que les organisateurs de l’AÉUM ont tenu à discuter de la place des étudiants anglophones et venant de l’extérieur du Québec en raison du contexte particulier de

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McGill et parce que ces questions ne semblent pas être à l’ordre du jour du Sommet de février. Autour d’une table où étaient suggérés divers thèmes sur un écriteau, les rencontres étaient interactives et les participants ont échangé de manière conviviale sur les thèmes proposés ou sur ceux qui les intéressaient. Malgré la centaine de personnes ayant signalé leur présence sur la page Facebook de l’événement, les consultations ont plutôt attiré une dizaine de personne à chaque jour. L’AÉUM met à la disposition des étudiants diverses informations sur ces consultations, ainsi que sur le Sommet sur l’Éducation, sur une nouvelle page créée sur son site Internet: ssmu.mcgill.ca/educationsummit. x

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NEWS | ACTUALITÉS

The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

From the lab to the battlefield Robots partly built at McGill set for deployment in Afghanistan

RHex, a robot deployed in Afghanistan served as inspiration for AQUA (above).

Laurent Bastien Corbeil and Nicolas Quiazua The McGill Daily

ilitary research at McGill has a long history. Beginning in 1984, the campaign “Demilitarize McGill” advocated for the crafting of a policy and the prohibition of military research at the University. That same year, journalists from The Daily discovered research into Fuel Air Explosives at McGill funded by the Canadian Department of Defense. In 1986, Senate – the University’s highest academic governing body – implemented the Regulations on Research Policy, a set of ethical policies that included guidelines for animal and human research. Military research, however, was not mentioned. Two years later, research into Fuel Air Explosives once again became an issue at McGill. In 2001, mechanical engineering professor David Frost began working on thermobaric bombs,

an explosive device that can produce blast waves for a much longer duration than those found in conventional explosives. In March 2010, Senate passed new Regulations on Conduct of Research Policy that ommitted the ethical regulations proposed by a new Demilitarize McGill, revived after a lull of nearly twenty years. Senate’s decision came a year after Associate Provost (Policies & Procedures) William Foster presented a draft of the policy to Demilitarize McGill. The draft, which was also showed to then SSMU VP (University Affairs) Nadya Wilkinson, contained a passage which explicitly called for the creation of a formal system of approval which would give the senior administration oversight for research with harmful potential. The section was erased at the first reading of the policy. “The policy is ready to be adopted right now, and every month that goes by without having a document like this is dangerous [and] is not good for the University. We need this to come

in force as soon as possible,” then-Vice-Principal (Research & International Relations) Denis Thérien said in a 2010 article in The Daily. At the Senate session where the Policy was discussed, Senator Darin Barney noted that the “previous section on research funded by military sources did not assume that all research from those sources was harmful, but instead was based on the premise that research funded by military sources was more liekly to have harmful applications than other granting agencies.” Student Senator Ivan Neilson said “that the amendment does not mention military research, but instread restricts itself to harmful applications. He agreed that what constitutes harmful research is subjective and that is why the responsibility is placed on the researcher.” A number of professors at McGill are currently involved in scientific research whose results often have military applications. Financed by large defense firms, the research is conducted on campus or, in some cases, at pri-

Photo Nicolas Quiazua | The McGill Daily

vate firms. In 2003, after a 12-year tenure at McGill, robotics professor Martin Buehler brought two robots from the McGill Centre for Intelligent Machines (CIM) to Boston Dynamics, a U.S. engineering company. RHex, one of the robots brought to Boston Dynamics, was partially built at McGill and was financed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), an agency responsible for the development of new technologies for the U.S. military. RHex is equipped with a built-in camera and was designed to provide unmanned reconnaissance for soldiers in battle. According to the Army Times, a weekly newspaper that caters to U.S. soldiers, several RHex robots were deployed for testing to Afghanistan in May. Buehler later led a $12-million project in 2005, called “Big Dog,” to construct a robotic mule capable of transporting equipment to soldiers over rough terrain. The program received an additional $32 million grant in 2009 for the development

of an upgraded version. Another robot, AQUA, derived from the original RHex architecture and capable of functioning underwater, is currently being developed at CIM under the supervision of computer science professor Gregory Dudek. Despite its resemblance to RHex, Meyer Nahon – a professor linked to the project – insists that AQUA is designed to “assess marine habitats and biodiversity on coral reefs.” However, Nahon said that “some researchers are working much more directly with military applications” and that there was “clearly” an issue with funding from defense firms. According to Nahon, professors conducting applied research with direct military funds are not devoid of responsibility; the ethical burden, however, should not be solely placed on them. “Maybe the University should have a policy on this,” he added. But for more theoretical research, the problem is not in the research itself, Nahon said. “The place where control has to be made is where it is going to be used.”

NEWS | ACTUALITÉS

The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

Loin des yeux, loin du cœur Le conflit étudiant fini, les leaders étudiants se rangent. Bureau-Blouin a souligné à maintes reprises l’importance de l’engagement des jeunes de notre génération dans le processus politique. Même si passer de leader étudiant à député a écorché sa crédibilité aux yeux de certains, d’autres voient sa position de député comme un atout pour la représentation de la jeunesse, lui-même ajoutant qu’il «était étudiant il n’y a pas longtemps et en conserve une sensibilité à cet égard».

Louis Baudoin-Laarman Le Délit

adeau-Dubois, BureauBlouin, Desjardins: trois noms qui s’ajoutent au panthéon des leaders étudiants qui ont lutté pour l’accessibilité à l’éducation. Une fois passés l’apothéose de la grève et de l’engagement étudiant sans précédent des derniers mois, ces trois figures du mouvement étudiant, les trois porte-paroles les plus médiatisés et connus du public, sont plus ou moins passés du devant de la scène à l’oubli, où même à d’autres causes. Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois a démissioné de la Coalition Large de l’Association pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante (CLASSE), Léo Bureau-Blouin est passé en politique, et seule Martine Desjardins est restée fidèle à son poste, en tant que présidente de la Fédération Étudiante Universitaire du Québec (FEUQ). Maintenant que le calme est revenu et que la hausse des frais de scolarité est annulée, la réalité des cours revient. Les étudiants peuvent alors se demander s’ils n’ont pas été délaissés par leurs représentants étudiants, et si l’annulation de la hausse s’est faite sans ces leaders. Les représentants se sont reconvertis et mis à part, les derniers remous dans le cas de Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, ont repris le cours de leurs vies - celle de Léo BureauBlouin avec le changement qu’apporte le poste de député. Selon Robin Reid-Fraser, viceprésident externe de l’Association Étudiante de l’Université McGill (AÉUM), impliquée dans ces questions, «il est logique d’avoir des leaders étudiants qui prennent le rôle de porte-paroles, mais il est très important qu’ils restent à l’écoute des étudiants qu’ils représentent».

Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois ou la déchéance Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, généralement accepté comme ayant été la figure de proue du printemps érable, a démissionné de son poste de co-porte-parole de la CLASSE le 8 août 2012, après six mois de lutte étudiante. Élu à l’automne 2011 comme porte-parole, il était rapidement devenu le représentant étudiant le plus médiatisé, populaire au point d’être affublé de son propre acronyme: «GND». Une telle popularité devenait gênante dans une association à démocratie directe où les porteparoles représentent ensemble l’association et où les présidents sont inexistants. Selon une étudiante de McGill: «Il était légitime et bon pour le mouvement étudiant qu’il [Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois] parte»,

Martine Desjardins, toujours au jeu

Illustration Lily Schwarzbaum | Le Délit

ajoutant que «la CLASSE était devenue Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois». Une telle popularité se devait aussi de créer des ennemis, et vers la fin de son mandat, GND recevait même régulièrement des menaces de mort. Dans sa lettre de démission intitulée «Pourquoi je démissionne», rendue publique le 8 août 2012, GND annonce que «la CLASSE a besoin de nouveaux visages» comme étant une des raisons de son départ, ajoutant que «la CLASSE, avec ou sans moi, continuera à accomplir de grandes choses: je ne suis pas et n’ai jamais été un chef». Peu après sa démission, GND a reçu une offre d’emploi de la Confédération des Syndicats Nationaux en tant qu’agent de recherche, plus particulièrement sur l’historique des conventions collectives dans le milieu de la construction. Après une période de calme durant laquelle on entend peu parler de lui, Nadeau-Dubois refait surface en octobre dernier avec l’annonce de sa poursuite en justice par Jean-François Morasse, un étudiant de l’Université Laval, pour outrage au tribunal. Cette poursui-

te fait suite à ses propos du 13 mai dernier à la chaîne d’information de Radio-Canada, RDI: «Je crois qu’il est tout à fait légitime pour les étudiants de prendre les moyens de respecter le choix démocratique qui a été fait d’aller en grève». Cette phrase a été jugée par la justice comme un appel à violer les injonctions obtenues par les étudiants qui souhaitaient assister à leurs cours. Jugé coupable le 1er novembre, Nadeau-Dubois a fait appel. Passé de leader étudiant à accusé sur les bancs, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois a souffert de la fin du mouvement étudiant.

Léo Bureau-Blouin ou la consécration Figure tout aussi médiatisée que GND, Léo Bureau-Blouin, président de la Fédération Étudiante Collégiale du Québec (FECQ), a également suivi un parcours inattendu, dû à son engagement dans le conflit étudiant. À la fin de son mandat de deux ans, Léo Bureau-Blouin a quitté la FECQ le 1er juin 2012. En annonçant son départ, il s’est dit déçu de ne pas avoir pu mener à bien la lutte contre la hausse des frais de scola-

rités. Récemment, en entrevue avec Le Délit, il ajoute qu’il «estimait avoir fait son devoir». Cette démission suivait de peu certains désaccords avec la CLASSE qui avait fissuré l’image de l’union des différentes associations étudiantes. Léo Bureau-Blouin a cependant déclaré au Délit que «l’ensemble des associations étudiantes ont travaillé ensemble, ce qui n’était pas arrivé depuis très longtemps». Une coopération aujourd’hui inexistante, semble-t-il: Camille Robert, co-porte-parole de la CLASSE, a affirmé au forum sur le syndicalisme étudiant le 13 octobre dernier que «la FECQ et la FEUQ doivent être considérés comme des adversaires.» Le 25 juillet 2012, à la surprise de nombreuses personnes, Léo BureauBlouin entre en politique en annonçant sa candidature pour le Parti Québécois (PQ) dans la circonscription de Laval-des-Rapides. Cette candidature est vue comme une trahison par certains étudiants. Élu le 4 septembre, il devient à 20 ans le plus jeune député du Québec, tout en affirmant que c’est en partie grâce aux étudiants dont «on a vu l’engagement politique transposé lors des élections ». En effet, Léo

Martine Desjardins a également joué un rôle considérable dans la grève et dans le conflit étudiant. Plus âgée que les deux précédents leaders, Martine Desjardins n’est en fait pas étudiante mais enseignante, tout en étant présidente de la Fédération Étudiante Universitaire du Québec (FECQ). On peut donc supposer que la défection de Gabriel NadeauDubois et Léo Bureau-Blouin était peut-être due à leur jeunesse et, la fin de leurs études arrivée, ils ont été attirés par d’autres horizons tandis que Martine Desjardins, plus stable, est restée fidèle au poste et continue de représenter les intérêts des étudiants. Cependant, au cours de l’année dernière, on a vu certains changements au niveau des idées de la FEUQ. Traditionnellement alliée à la FECQ, les deux associations sont reconnues comme associations étudiantes modérées et plus consentantes à coopérer avec gouvernement. On a pu toutefois remarquer au cours de l’année dernière un rapprochement d’idées de la FEUQ vers la CLASSE. Selon Martine Desjardins, la prochaine étape est le sommet sur l’enseignement supérieur prévu par le ministre de l’Enseignement supérieur Pierre Duchesne pour février prochain, a t-elle annoncé lors d’une conférence de presse. À ce sujet, Robin Reid-Fraser dit d’ailleurs qu’il est important que «les associations étudiantes reçoivent des demandes claires de leur membres et travaillent à partir de cela». Les leaders étudiants vont et viennent, certains plus bruyamment que d’autres, mais perdent de leur éclat après avoir quitté le devant de la scène. Gabriel NadeauDubois nous a surpris tant par le silence radio qui a suivi sa démission que par sa condamnation en novembre. Léo Bureau-Blouin en a déçu plus d’un par sa candidature au Parti Québécois. Quant à Martine Desjardins, toujours fidèle au poste, elle a étonné les associations étudiantes de par son rapprochement avec la CLASSE, ce qui équivaut à un éloignement par rapport à la FECQ. Espérons que la relève saura représenter nos intérêts au prochain sommet sur l’éducation supérieure. x

NEWS | ACTUALITÉS

The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

Examining the state of equity and diversity at McGill Problems surrounding the University’s lack of policy, complaint mechanisms Juan Camilo Velásquez The McGill Daily

he following is the first part of a series examining equity at the university, specifically focused on faculty, staff, and policy at the university level. Currently, 11 out of 25 senior administrators at McGill are women, and one out of these 25 is a person of colour. Out of 12 faculty and library deans, four are women and none is a person of colour. The issue of equity and diversity at McGill is one that is constantly raised and examined by students and members of the administration. At October’s Senate meeting, Principal Heather Munroe-Blum presented an update to the administration’s response to the Principal’s Taskforce on Diversity, Excellence and Community Engagement. The taskforce was launched in 2009 under the purview of Munroe-Blum with the goal of creating “a forum for new ideas, initiatives, and mechanisms to better achieve excellence in pursuing our academic mission.” According to the final report released in 2011, there was a focus on the “strong links between excellence, diversity, and community engagement at McGill.” Diversity at the university level became one of most salient aspects the task force sought to address, and as such, the first recommendation of the report was to “demonstrate a firm commitment to the recruitment, retention, and professional development of diverse and excellent academic staff, administrative and support staff, and students…” The report also led to the creation of the Associate Provost (Policies, Procedures & Equity), an expansion of the former position that did not specifically deal with equity. The position has only been

where to go, and who is going to be overseeing equity issues,” said White. One of the policies under White’s purview is the Employment Equity Policy. The latest report on employment equity shows that in 2011, 104 (18 per cent) of tenure-track professors identified as female, whereas 473 identified as male. Going down the academic positions, 32.5 per cent of tenure-track associate professors and 40.3 per cent of assistant professors identified as female. In contrast, other staff groups have a stark overrepresentation of self-identified female workers: 90.1 per cent of clerical workers, 88.9 per cent of non-tenure track assistant librarians, and 71.7 per cent of library assistants identified themselves as female. The report also shows that in 2011, 14.2 per cent of staff self-identified as a visible minority and 23.7 per cent as an ethnic minority. 1.5 per cent, or 77 people have a disability, and 0.3 per cent, or 17 staff members are Aboriginal. White told The Daily that these statistics show how many people McGill employs from “designated groups.” “The federal government has a smaller number of designated groups, the provincial government has one more and McGill has yet one more. So we feel we have a broader definition of diversity and consequently of equity,” said White. White also explained that getting accurate data on membership to these groups is difficult. “It’s fairly straightforward to get data on males versus females, but for the other groups we rely on selfreporting, and a lot of people, often for good reasons, don’t want to self report and then what happens is… they count non-reports as being able-bodied white males.” According to White, McGill is currently working on developing a new survey to address the shortcomings of the current model of self-identifi-

McGill shows “an extreme lack of diversity of faculty; lack of awareness [and] commitment to diversity as more than catch phrase; [and a] lack of understanding opportunities and benefits of diversity.” 2010 report by the Equity Subcommittee on Race and Ethnic Relations held by Lydia White, who told The Daily that previously, the Associate Provost (Policies and Procedures) had some of the same responsibilities as the new position, but that it was more behind the scenes. “It’s not that McGill did not have a commitment to equity – it did – but I think that it was certainly the case that people didn’t know where to bring equity issues. So it was an attempt to make it more transparent,

cation. “McGill’s current survey that employees fill out is really quite inadequate,” she explained. “For example, it doesn’t allow you to say that you belong to more than one category. So you couldn’t be an Aboriginal person and disabled, you have to choose one and that doesn’t make sense.” The current survey does not have a question regarding sexual orientation. The Joint Board Senate

Just one of 25 senior administrators is a person of colour. Committee on Equity – tasked with reviewing recruitment and status of under-represented groups at McGill – includes subcommittees on women, persons with disabilities, First Peoples, race and ethnic relations, and queer people. White explained that when she started, “it wasn’t sort of clear to the committee itself exactly what they were supposed to be doing. And some of these subcommittees were basically dysfunctional – they didn’t have chair or they didn’t have members. I think that in the last couple of years we’ve really got that together.” In a 2010 report, the Equity Subcommittee on Race and Ethnic Relations raised some specific concerns and issued recommendations to the University, pointing out in particular an “overwhelming lack of equitable racial and ethnic diversity in all aspects of McGill University.” Among the report’s recommendations is the creation of a Dean of Diversity to “investigate, make demands, and to expect results,” pointing to similar positions at Harvard University and the University of Virginia. The report also called for the creation of an Academic Personnel Diversity position, a Human Resources Diversity position, and a Faculty/Employee of Colour Health Advocate. According to the report, McGill shows “an extreme lack of diversity of faculty; lack of awareness [and] commitment to diversity as more than catch phrase; [and a] lack of understanding opportunities and benefits of diversity.” To address these issues, the report recommends reformed tenure and promotion procedures to “reflect the needs of the current and desired people of colour faculty and to allow

for the fact that the experiences of professors of colour are not the same as those of white professors.” The Social Equity and Diversity Education (SEDE) Office, another resource for equity at McGill, aims to “provide information, education, and training to all areas of the University in order to cultivate a respectful, diverse, and supportive campus.” In an email to The Daily, SEDE manager Veronica Amberg explained that McGill could be more welcoming of disadvantaged groups by “weaving diversity initiatives throughout the University, including implementing Universal Design in curriculum and sharing other best practices of inclusive classrooms pedagogies, creating new academic programs such as an Indigenous Studies Program, reinforcing mentorship programs, specialized services and outreach and consultations with marginalized groups, [and] more intra groups opportunities for dialogues.” The University does not currently have an overarching equity policy. Within the University, some student organizations – like SSMU and the Management Undergraduate Society – have such policies, and the Arts Undergraduate Society is in the process of developing one. Last year, Student Senator Emil Briones brought forward a question to Senate regarding an overarching Equity Policy for McGill. According to the Senate meeting minutes, former SSMU VP University Affairs and Student Senator Emily Yee Clare claimed that incidents of racism were an experienced reality at McGill and that there was a lack of dialogue about racism on campus. Clare also asked why McGill was the only highranking university in Canada without an Aboriginal Studies Program and

Photo Hera Chan | The McGill Daily

without any Indigenous tenure-track faculty members. White told The Daily that a university-wide equity policy is “certainly possible,” but that she is “not convinced what it would achieve because we’ve already got a commitment to equity in a number of different places in various policies.” Instead, White explained that there have been suggestions for an overarching equity statement as part of McGill’s mission statement that can be referred to when dealing with other policies, rather than an equity policy parallel to that of SSMU. “I think this solution, at least in the short term, is much more realistic. It’s something we can do fairly quickly,” she said. Currently, there are no mechanisms specifically dedicated to equity grievances. But according to White, “there are mechanisms for general complaints and grievances, and then there are related policies, like the policy on harassment, sexual harassment, and discrimination prohibited by law.” White told The Daily that future initiatives regarding equity include the creation of an equity award and encouraging faculty from designated groups to apply for promotions. “The challenge is still to get the numbers up but McGill does not have a…positive discrimination policy,” said White. “I find this is one of the most frustrating things, that it takes so long, that even if you make corrections in the lower ranks it takes such a long time before that correction appears in the higher ranks.” “I suppose one of the other challenges is awareness, to make people more aware,” she added. “You can do it by the University setting the example in various ways and I think that is already happening.”

NEWS | ACTUALITÉS

The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

Radio-Canada sous la loupe Faire plus avec moins Stéphanie Fillion Le Délit

adio-Canada est en pleine transformation. Alors que ce média s’adapte à un monde de plus en plus multiplateforme avec de moins en moins de ressources, l’avenir du télédiffuseur public soulève des questions. Ce débat était le sujet d’un atelier lors du congrès annuel de la fédération des journalistes du Québec, qui avait lieu la fin de semaine du 16 au 18 septembre, à Saint-Sauveur. «Radio-Canada est-il en train de s’éteindre à petit feu dans l’indifférence générale?». Voilà le thème sur lequel le sujet a été analysé par l’ancien vice-président du CRTC, Michel Arpin, ainsi que par le directeur de l’information de Radio-Canada, Michel Cormier. En effet, les perspectives sont de plus en plus sombres pour RadioCanada, alors que le média s’adapte à un monde demandant de plus en plus d’information rapide et omniprésente, mais dont le budget fond à vue d’œil. Alors que le CRTC a commencé à étudier le mandat et l’avenir du radiodiffuseur public lundi dernier, l’ancien vice-président du conseil ne pense pas que le média est porté à disparaître: «RadioCanada va résister au temps. Les contribuables ne sont pas prêts à investir davantage dans la radiodiffusion publique qu’ils le font présentement, mais ne sont pas prêts de le voir disparaître», explique Michel Arpin. Il soutient que l’avenir du média réside en une adaptation de ses services, entre autres avec une nouvelle synergie avec son équivalent anglais. Ainsi, il croit que l’investissement dans les canaux spécialisés, comme RDI ou encore Artv, pourra rapporter à Radio-Canada.

Pour Michel Cormier, directeur de l’information, un des plus gros défis actuels du réseau est l’adaptation à la présentation multiplateforme et la diversification de l’offre d’information, le tout en gardant les nouvelles pertinentes et différentes. En effet, la nouvelle réalité du monde médiatique demande aux réseaux d’information d’offrir les nouvelles instantanément et à plusieurs endroits: à la radio, la télévision en direct, sur le web et les réseaux sociaux. Cette situation demande un réaménagement dans la manière de présenter l’information, puisqu’il est difficile d’y diffuser la même nouvelle d’une façon pertinente de 8 à 22 heures. Pour ce faire, le rendez-vous de soirée vise à aller plus loin dans les sujets en y faisant des analyses: «C’est le lieu pour approfondir les sujets, c’est ce qu’on sent que les gens réclament», explique Michel Cormier. La rédactrice en chef du Devoir, Josée Boileau, s’est faite critique face aux choix éditoriaux de RadioCanada. Elle dit ne plus savoir à quoi s’attendre lorsqu’elle écoute le téléjournal: «Parfois, le bulletin de nouvelles ouvre avec un fait divers, et un autre jour, on y analyse un sujet pendant les 15 premières minutes», affirme t-elle. «Dans ces rendez-vous quotidiens, mon problème, c’est que je ne sais pas à qui Radio-Canada parle. Je ne sais pas dans quoi je vais, j’ai l’impression que RadioCanada se cherche», a-t-elle conclu. La journaliste soutient que RadioCanada provoque la confusion en offrant de l’information régionale, nationale, des faits divers et l’analyse dans les bulletins de nouvelles. «Lorsque j’écoute TVA, je sais à quoi m’attendre. Pas à Radio-Canada», déplore-t-elle. Avec les chaînes d’information en continu, un des défis de Michel Cormier est aussi de présenter, toute la journée, des nouvelles pertinentes

Illustration Lily Schwarzbaum | Le Délit

et différentes. Il explique le succès de ce choix par les bonnes cotes d’écoutes des émissions du soir, comme celle d’Anne-Marie Dussault. Michel Cormier souhaite également trouver un moyen de concurrencer avec le journalisme d’opinion qui se fait de plus en plus omniprésent et de plus en plus populaire dans les autres médias. La question du mandat a aussi été effleurée, alors que le journaliste Julien Paquet, de Transcontinental, a questionné le besoin de RadioCanada d’aller chercher des cotes d’écoute. L’ancien vice-président du CRTC s’est fait clair à ce sujet: «S’il n’y a pas d’écoute, pourquoi les contribuables devraient-ils continuer à payer?», a répliqué Michel Arpin.

Alors que l’avenir de ce média réside dans une nouvelle synergie avec la CBC, la discussion qui avait lieu samedi a également étudié les difficultés de la branche anglaise du réseau. En effet, les parts de marché sont beaucoup plus faibles chez l’équivalent anglais de RadioCanada, et la chaîne française devra ainsi absorber les déficits de la CBC. La Canadian Broadcasting Corporation fera en effet face à plusieurs défis financiers. Le lock-out de la LNH contribue à ce déficit: «Sans le Hockey night in Canada, CBC connaît une importante baisse de revenus publicitaires. L’avenir s’annonce sombre si on veut miser seulement sur les revenus publicitaires», explique Michel Arpin.

Le mandat et le financement du réseau seront étudiés pendant les deux prochaines semaines par le CRTC, une première fois depuis plus de dix ans. En mars dernier, le budget fédéral annonçait des compressions budgétaires de 10% à Radio-Canada. Le média se voit ainsi amputé de 115 millions de dollars sur trois ans et 650 postes seront perdus lors de cette période. Le directeur de l’information de Radio-Canada, pour sa part, mise sur la réorganisation du réseau et les recommandations du CRTC. Pour la question du financement, Michel Cormier n’espère pas vraiment recevoir plus d’argent du gouvernement, puisque selon lui, c’est un choix démocratique qui a été fait par la population canadienne. x

Les médias et la crise étudiante Camille Gris Roy & Mathilde Michaud Le Délit

u congrès de la Fédération Professionnelle des Journalistes du Québec (FPJQ), la conférence «Avons-nous bien couvert le conflit étudiant?», le samedi 17 novembre, avait pour but de discuter de la couverture médiatique du «Printemps Érable». Pierre Tourangeau de Radio-Canada, Daniel Girous du Centre d’études sur les médias, et Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois étaient invités à venir débattre du rôle des médias dans la crise étudiante.

Selon Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, les médias n’ont pas toujours bien couvert le conflit étudiant. Celui-ci a évoqué la façon dont les journalistes ont traité la CLASSE en particulier et comment ils l’ont stigmatisée, en tant que co-porte-parole de la CLASSE. En entrevue avec le journal La Presse, il a déclaré que les médias «ont mal saisi le mode de fonctionnement de son organisation, qui était en rupture d’un point de vue démocratique avec ce qui se fait habituellement». Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois a également parlé du fait que les médias traitaient moins des enjeux de société amenés par la crise mais couvraient plutôt les événements un par un.

Récemment, une étude sur l’«orientation» qu’ont prise les médias durant le conflit étudiant a aussi été faite par le Centre d’Étude sur les Médias (CEM) de l’Université Laval. En étudiant quelques 4 000 articles différents, ils ont décelé une réelle division entre Le Devoir et les trois autres quotidiens payants de Montréal. En effet, alors que Le Devoir semblait plutôt en faveur des étudiants, The Gazette, La Presse et Le Journal de Montréal ont quant à eux démontré une plus grande hostilité à leur égard. L’atelier en tant que tel a eu droit à certaines critiques; peu de journalistes se sont prêtés au jeu et ont accepté les critiques du CEM et de

monsieur Nadeau-Dubois. Plus de professionnalisme aurait été apprécié de la part des journalistes. Aux critiques constructives, le fameux

«moi, moi, moi je suis objectif», qualifié d’«arguments d’une épistémologie naïve et volontariste» par Le Devoir, a fusé. x

Illustration Lindsay P. Cameron | Le Délit

NEWS | ACTUALITÉS

The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

The Daily talks to the vice president of FEUQ’s National Council of Graduate Studies

eah Freeman recently became one of few anglophone students on the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec’s (FEUQ) Executive Committee, one of the student associations to sit down with the provincial government next spring for the education summit. Freeman is a member of McGill’s Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS). Full interview at mcgilldaily.com.

The McGill Daily (MD): How did you get involved with PGSS and FEUQ? Leah Freeman (LF): In August I went to a meeting, a PGSS orientation meeting where [FEUQ President] Martine Desjardins was attending…as well as the President of the Quebec Council for Graduate Studies, Marc-André Legault. At that time, they were discussing their campaign around the election… and that’s when it became clear that there was a position available at the FEUQ as VP of the Quebec Council of Graduate Studies. So I expressed interest. […] I was elected interim by their board of directors, and then last week we went and had a congress… And I presented my platform to all of the members. And the members

elected me to this position. MD: You were just talking about your platform – do you want to describe that? LF: […] I think it’s really important to talk about student contribution and accessibility to education, but I think there was a lot more to the story than just that. I think that became the sound bite of the strike, which is worthwhile and it’s something to be discussed. So in particular, what brought me into this role was investigating university-industry partnerships. And I think if any university is going to have them, McGill is going to be one of the top universities to have those kinds of partnerships. I’m not here to badmouth those partnerships, I just think there’s a lot of information we don’t know and don’t have yet in terms of how those work and where the student fits into that and the social impact those partnerships are going to have. So my role is going to be, you know, I’m working with researchers at McGill, and other universities across Quebec, and we’re going to do some research around what do these partnerships look like, what do the contracts look like, and where does the student fall. Part of the attractiveness of these university partnerships is

that they are a pathway to employment for students. If we can bring industry closer to the schools, then the students are trained in the direction of employment, and then when they leave they have links and networks to get jobs within these research fields. And that’s typically what happens is that with research in universities you get some fundamental basic knowledge on these, and then you’re able to transfer that knowledge into a private industry and develop something new there, a patent and things like that within that industry, and the industry profits. I think what they’re trying to do is kind outsource that research and development into the universities, and what’s attractive for the universities is that if they develop a patent, then they can reap some of the benefits from it. But I think we need to look at what is the partnership there – so how much of the patent – if it gets realized, if it actually gets commercialized – how much of that goes to the student, how much of that goes to the university, and how much of that goes to the industry. What’s happening is that a lot of these jobs that typically are in the private field are now going into the public field, and becoming publicly funded partially, and

Photo Hera Chan | The McGill Daily

so the jobs that students used to have when they left the universities aren’t there anymore because they’re in the university. MD: What do you feel that, being a McGill student, you will bring to the FEUQ executive? LF: I think there’s been a real opening in student organizations in recognizing the needs of students in English language institutions. I think members came together and realized that more needed to be done in order to reach out to anglophone students. And I think it’s worked, especially…in terms of the involvement

of Concordia and McGill in student mobilizing, how much more involved anglophone students are feeling connected to student politics. […] So now FEUQ documents are accessible in English, which I think was step one. Step two was having some English members participate. So there is another English member on the executive who is a Concordia student, and I think my role is twofold: one is I know I can be a voice for English students in this organization. —Compiled by Jessica Lukawiecki

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10 The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

Étudiants et chômage Plus de diplômés ont un avenir professionnel incertain. Théo Bourgery Le Délit

De toute façon, notre CV ne sera jamais assez rempli.» La phrase résonne dans les couloirs des résidences de McGill. Synonyme d’une angoisse réelle envers le monde du travail, qui tous les jours semble plus complexe et plus inaccessible pour de nombreux futurs bacheliers. C’est sûr, la possibilité de sécuriser une place dans une entreprise à la sortie de l’université parait de plus en plus impossible et beaucoup perdent espoir; on repousse la graduation d’un an, on part voyager, préférant éviter la question: «À quoi ressemblera mon avenir?». Depuis la crise de 2008, l’économie mondiale va de mal en pis: l’euro, de l’autre côté de l’Atlantique, entraîne dans sa chute des pays entiers, comme la Grèce ou l’Irlande. En Grèce, l’Organisation de Coopération et de Développement Économiques (OCDE) estime que le chômage chez les jeunes (la portion des 16-25 ans) est de 55%, soit plus d’un jeune sur deux. Dans l’Europe en général, il est de 20.9%; le Canada offre un aperçu relativement meilleur, mais les chiffres sont toujours mauvais: 14.1% en 2011, selon le Huffington Post. Les statistiques ne sont pas seules à rationaliser la panique qui règne chez les professionels: aujourd’hui, la population planétaire a dépassé le seuil des sept milliards d’habitants. Il ne s’agit plus d’être bon pour être remarqué: il faut être le meilleur. «Ce qui compte le plus, c’est le GPA», dit Sydney Maumusson, élève d’économie de troisième

Illustration Matthieu Santerre | Le Délit

année à McGill. De nombreuses heures passées à remplir des formulaires, écrire des dossiers et prendre contact avec des entreprises pour des stages lui ont appris qu’un chercheur de tête ne va en général découvrir le profil d’un étudiant «qu’avec un CV et un livret scolaire»: seuls ces deux critères vont décider de la chance d’avoir un entretien. La logique est claire: si le GPA est médiocre, impossible de décrocher le stage. Catherine Stace, conseillère au Service de planification de carrière de McGill (le Career Planning Service, CaPS), voit au contraire les choses d’un autre œil: «le plus

important, c’est de prendre part à la vie estudiantine». Cela veut dire s’impliquer réellement dans une association ou dans un groupe; être un membre actif, pour pouvoir dire à l’employeur «voilà ce que j’ai fait». De son point de vue, cela est même plus important qu’un stage en entreprise, où «il existe le risque de n’apprendre qu’à servir du café aux collègues». Les élèves sont entrainés, malgré eux, dans un cercle vicieux: en Amérique comme en Europe, les employeurs voient leurs chiffres d’affaires baisser et sont forcés, pour rester à flot, de licencier des proportions parfois considérables

de leurs effectifs. D’après un article publié dans le Globe and Mail, les entreprises ne peuvent pas se permettre «d’embaucher des personnes jeunes et sans expérience». Catherine Stace constate en effet une offre moins importante de postes de la part de grandes compagnies: ce sont plutôt les petites et moyennes entreprises (PME) qui font signe à CaPS, n’offrant toutefois jamais plus d’un poste.

Zone du marché du travail: étudiants interdits? Catherine Stace réfute cette équation, rappelant qu’une carrière «ne va jamais en ligne droite»,

qu’elle est parsemée d’expériences multiples qui ne peuvent être imaginées a priori. S’il est effectivement rassurant d’avoir un but clair le plus tôt possible, les chemins à prendre sont nombreux, inconnus et changent fondamentalement d’un jeune à l’autre. Il est naturel d’avoir une idée en tête qui, petit à petit, laisse place à une autre, puis une autre, jusqu’au moment où l’étudiant peut se dire avec conviction: «Voilà ce que je veux et peux faire». En clair, pour la conseillère de CaPS, la pensée inquiétante «je vais recevoir mon diplôme et je ne sais pas quoi faire» est tout à fait naturelle; si les réponses sont de plus en plus complexes, elles existent néanmoins. Un problème fondamental est enfin celui de l’information; beaucoup d’élèves ne sont pas au courant des sessions d’informations de CaPS, ou comme l’indique Sydney, «de la façon dont marche le site myfuture [site qui recherche une carrière adéquate pour chaque étudiant, ndlr]». Non seulement ça, mais le processus pour décrocher un stage ou un «petit boulot» est «compliqué et fatiguant»: ce sont des heures passées à faire en sorte que rien ne soit laissé au hasard, éviter le petit détail qui peut jouer à la défaveur du candidat. L’économie devient constamment plus opaque, plus incompréhensible. La croissance est devenu un idéal, le taux de chômage une inquiétude de tous les jours. Jeté dans un tel environnement à la fin de son baccalauréat, l’angoisse de l’élève universitaire est bien compréhensible; et avant que cette dernière laisse place à un sentiment d’espoir… il y a encore un long chemin à faire. x

OPINION

Un budget à la hauteur de mes attentes

Mathilde Michaud Le Délit

out au long de la campagne électorale, les partisans du changement se sont fait rabattre les oreilles avec la nécessité de voter stratégiquement, de s’assurer que les Libéraux ne reviendraient pas au pouvoir. Pour ce faire, nous devions voter pour le Parti Québécois (PQ). De fait, le 4 septembre dernier, la population québécoise s’est prononcée. Contre le gouvernement libéral. Pour du changement. Mais pas trop. Juste du changement minoritaire. Avec une forte

opposition pour réguler ce changement. Pourtant avons-nous réellement eu droit au changement? Nous ne pouvions en être sûrs avant le dépôt du budget. Ce budget tant attendu qui avait déjà attiré la haine de la Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) et de son chef François Legault avant même d’avoir officiellement vu le jour. Le 20 novembre allait être le jour fatidique où nous pourrions juger de l’étendue de notre erreur. Le 20 novembre est arrivé et c’est un budget à la hauteur de mes attentes qui a été dévoilé. Le principal qualificatif que nous pourrions attribuer au budget péquiste – aussi appelé le Budget

Marceau en l’honneur de son «père biologique» Monsieur Nicolas Marceau, ministre des Finances et de l’Économie – c’est le «budget du déficit zéro». Mais l’équilibre budgétaire à quel prix? Quoique nul ne puisse s’opposer à l’idée d’avoir un budget où nos dépenses ne dépasseront pas nos revenus, le PQ y est parvenu à force de concessions qui ont complètement dénaturé la plateforme avec laquelle ils s’étaient fait élire. Comme le disait si bien Françoise David, co-porte-parole parlementaire de Québec Solidaire (QS), dans son communiqué de presse suivant la publication du budget, il s’agit aussi du «budget de la déception».

Un déficit zero au détriment des services sociaux Taxe santé, redevances minières, autant de promesses qui ont été les principaux arguments menant à l’élection du parti, autant de promesses ont été mises de côté. En quel honneur? Les excuses sont aussi diversifiées que mauvaises. Dans l’optique d’une égalisation du budget, les membres du gouvernement tentent de nous faire avaler des coupes au niveau des services sociaux. Un maintien de la taxe santé, même si on nous avait promis son retrait (retrait qui est aussi soutenu par la CAQ, ce qui n’est pas peu

dire), une future indexation des frais de scolarité et un statu quo tout à fait inacceptable des politiques sociales, arguant que c’est la seule façon de parvenir à diminuer les dépenses de l’État. Cependant, ce même gouvernement tourne le dos à une entrée d’argent considérable, tant de fois promise et chiffrée en détail par le Parti québécois: les redevances minières. Ceci n’est qu’un bref aperçu de l’ampleur de la désillusion générée par l’arrivée du Parti Québécois au pouvoir. N’allez pas pour autant croire que je puisse penser que le Parti Libéral ou encore la CAQ auraient pu faire mieux. x

NEWS | ACTUALITÉS

The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

Students push for University divestment from fossil fuels, Plan Nord Petition faces “political stigma” and inactive committee Hera Chan The McGill Daily

group of students, Decorporatize McGill, recently launched a petition urging McGill to divest its holdings in fossil fuel companies and firms directly involved in the Plan Nord, the Quebec government’s controversial plan to develop the natural resources extraction sector in the north of the province. The petition will be presented to the Committee to Advise on Matters of Social Responsibility (CAMSR), a Board of Governors committee that last convened in April 2009. McGill’s endowment totals $983 million, according to the December 2011 report on the Publicly Traded Equity Holdings of the University that was released after an Access to Information request filed by U3 Economics student Christopher Bangs. The University invests in 14 companies that extract tar sands and an additional 13 that lobbied for Plan Nord, according to a statement released by Decorporatize. McGill invests in 35 of the top 100 companies that the London-based Carbon Tracker Initiative have identified as having the largest carbon reserves in coal and the top 100 companies with the largest oil and gas reserves, according to the group. The total amount of McGill’s endowment currently invested in fos-

sil fuel companies and Plan Nord is not currently available – nor have smaller corporations involved with fossil fuels and Plan Nord, in which the University may also invest, been listed. According to Curtis Murphy, a student involved in organizing the petition and the greater environmental initiative, the petition had just over 200 signatures as of noon last Wednesday and will be submitted before the end of the Fall 2012 semester. Their tentative deadline is December 16. CAMSR will only review petitions supported by 300 signatures with a fully documented brief identifying the social injury that is effected by the investment. A company will not be deemed to cause social injury, however, if it merely does business with companies that do. The petition is “not about forcing McGill to divest, but [presenting] an opportunity to do something positive and also live up to the values of a research institution that is interested in science and the environment,” Murphy told The Daily. The petition is part of a greater campaign across North America, where students at 33 other universities have also begun to take action. Murphy explained that this doesn’t have to be a choice between the environment and the economy. “We need to question the political stigma that says we need the tar sands to power our economy,” he said. However, political stigma may not be the only obstacle to the campaign – CAMSR’s inactivity will also

Illustration Hera Chan | The McGill Daily

likely pose a problem. In the last five years, CAMSR has met twice: once in 2007 to consider a petition for McGill to divest from tobacco investments - which resulted in a recommendation made to the Board to divest from tobacco which was ultimately approved – and once in 2009 to consider a petition for McGill to divest from holdings in Sudan, which did not result in a recommendation. Current CAMSR student member and Post-Graduate Students’

Society (PGSS) Secretary-General Jonathan Mooney told The Daily he has “been communicating with the Secretariat to try to move forward with the terms of reference review, but there have been some challenges in terms of scheduling.” Last year’s CAMSR student member and former SSMU President Maggie Knight faced similar scheduling conflicts. “The way [CAMSR] is currently structured, it is entirely reactive and has no proactive mandate,” Knight

told The Daily. “Realistically, reforming this committee is unlikely to be a priority for the administration.” However, Mooney said he is confident that the committee will meet “if the petition has met the requirements in the regulations.” Similar motions to petition McGill to divest holdings from tar sands and Plan Nord have been submitted to SSMU and AUS during General Assemblies this year. Both passed, but only with consultative bodies since quorum was not met.

Indian Status Cards rejected by major retailers Quebec lacks complaint procedure Nathalie O'Neill The McGill Daily

ndian Status Cards have recently been refused by major Montreal stores, according to several sources. The cards, issued by Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada under the Indian Act, provide federal tax exemptions to Status Indians. While the majority of major department stores recognize the cards, Walmart and Zellers reportedly only offer tax exemptions to Aboriginal people from Kahnawake, and recent reports indicate instances of stores in downtown Montreal also refusing the Status Cards. Céline, a Saint-Constant Walmart employee who declined to provide her last name, confirmed

that the store previously only accepted cards from Kahnawake, but also cited a policy change in the past year to include all Status Indians, of which there are over 70,000 in Quebec. Ken Williams, who lives on the Ontario Moose Deer Point Reserve, claims otherwise, reporting that his card was refused only a few weeks ago, on October 24. According to Williams, Walmart’s receipts intended for store records state that only Kahnawake cards are to be accepted. Williams was unable to obtain a copy of the receipt. There is no consistent complaint procedure in Quebec for those whose Status Cards are refused, though such avenues exist in other provinces. The Assembly of First Nations is officially responsible as a resource for support, but has failed

to respond to Williams’ complaints. Larger Quebec bands, including the Cree, Algonquin, and Mohawk, choose to represent themselves independently of band associations. The lack of affiliation networks between Quebec bands means that negotiations are often done on a smaller scale, such as in Kahnawake’s recent agreement with the provincial government granting them an exemption from the Quebec Sales Tax (QST). According to Williams, the refusal of Status Cards is evidence of a “lack of understanding of what the Indian Act is all about.” In a 1986 conference of Native lawyers, the Indian Act was described as a recognition that “the government understands that they took our land without paying.” Williams also said that a “lack

This Walmart located in Saint-Constant, a twenty-minute walk from Kahnawake territory, reportedly does not accept Indian Status Cards.

Photo Ken Williams

of understanding” on the part of employees regarding the Indian Act and its requirements might

explain the lack of consistency in the application of tax exemptions under the Act.

NEWS | ACTUALITÉS

12 The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

Students mobilize against commodification of education More than 60,000 students with strike mandate Carla Green The McGill Daily

ast week was marked by student strikes and protests across the world, including more than 60,000 CEGEP and university students on strike in Quebec on November 22. Yesterday, the Association pour une Solidarité Syndicale Étudiante (ASSÉ) organized a demonstration in Montreal in solidarity with the ongoing student movement, drawing about 5,000 protesters into the streets, according to ASSÉ spokesperson Jérémie Bédard-Wien. “We’re marching in solidarity with the hundreds of thousands of students who are fighting daily against the commodification of education in other countries as part of the global strike in education week,” Bédard-Wien told The Daily. “We’re proud to join this global movement today.” This fall, the Parti Québécois cancelled the tuition hikes for Quebec students that had been implemented by Jean Charest’s Liberal government – but protesters gathered nonetheless, echoing the marches that occurred each 22nd day of the month during the student strike, which often saw up to 200,000 participants at a single demonstration. Bédard-Wien called Thursday’s march “a natural continuation of the Maple Spring,” emphasizing the Quebec student movement’s signifi-

cance in a global context. “We must realize that commodification is an international problem posed by international institutions. The OECD [Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development], the European Union – and that does not spare Quebec,” he said. SSMU VP External Robin ReidFraser was among the McGill students who attended the protest. She attributed the lack of a McGill strike vote for November 22 to activism at McGill “taking a different turn” this year. “I think there’s a different level of energy, it’s not quite the same as it was last semester,” ReidFraser told The Daily. “But I think there are still lots of people from McGill at the demonstration.” Simon, a Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) student and member of its mobilization committee, attended yesterday’s march as one of several costumed participants. The mobilization committee organized a group of students to attend the protest in Christmas-themed costumes, dubbed the “Santa Bloc.” Simon told The Daily in French that his Santa hat with knitted white braids wasn’t just a festive joke, but a political statement that reached beyond the traditional rhetoric of tuition hikes and education summits. “[Our costumes] are a way of protesting Christmas as a holiday of widespread capitalist consuming,

Photo Hera Chan | The McGill Daily

and at the same time of protesting the new law, which criminalizes wearing masks during protests,” he said. “Now you get not only a fine but can also go to prison if you get caught wearing a mask during an ‘illegal’ demonstration.” Bédard-Wien claimed that the scope of the protest reached beyond Quebec and struggles over tuition. “We’re not only marching in solidarity with the student movement, but also with the Palestinian

struggle as it faces, once again, attacks from Israeli imperialists. We’re not a movement that’s content with fighting for only our rights, but also to improve society and link up with other progressive parts of society,” he explained. Despite a significant anti-capitalist contingent at Thursday’s demonstration, Bédard-Wien declined to comment on whether he considered the Quebec student movement to be inherently anti-capitalist.

“Imposing normalized education systems on the American model is imperialism. As for capitalism – some people would love that I address this, but I will not,” he told The Daily. An hour into the march, the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal tweeted that the protest had been declared illegal but that it would be “tolerated if no criminal acts occur.” There were no reported arrests.

McGill to institute a permanent demonstration and protest protocol Campus unions condemn the drafted versions of the proposal Lola Duffort The McGill Daily

reliminary consultations between student, staff, and faculty unions and the administration concerning revisions to the University’s Provisional Protocol Regarding Demonstrations, Protests and Occupations on McGill University Campuses have elicited strong responses. A provisional version of the Protocol was released in mid-February by Provost Anthony Masi to the McGill community immediately following the conclusion of the fiveday occupation of Deputy Provost (Student Life & Learning) Morton Mendelson’s sixth-floor office in the James Administration building. In an email sent to the McGill community last Friday, Principal Heather Munroe-Blum stated that work was “under way on adapting the Provisional Protocol into a permanent protocol,” and that an updated draft would be released

on November 30 to solicit feedback from McGill staff and students. McGill’s non-academic workers’ union (MUNACA), its teaching union (AGSEM), and its support employee union (AMUSE) have all signed a statement, published in the Commentary section of this issue of The Daily, stating that it “condemns in the strongest possible terms the proposed [protocol] that was released to campus unions on November 9.” It goes on to say that the proposed protocol “contravenes the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, which explicitly protects the freedom of all citizens to engage in principled, nonviolent protest,” and concludes that they are particularly worried that the proposed protocol could be manipulated to “criminalize the activities of labour union members and their supporters, whose right to participate in campus demonstrations, rallies, and lawful picketing is clearly violated by these terms.” An updated version of the

Protocol – dated October 30, though still in draft form – released to student unions and obtained by The Daily includes several passages not included in the original Protocol. One of them is the stipulation that, “The more intense (in terms of degree of inconvenience to normal university activities, number of participants, level of noise, tone of discourse, level of anger expressed, etc.), and/or the more deliberately disruptive, and/or the longer (in terms of duration of inconvenience) and/or the more confined the space in which it takes place, the greater the liklihood [sic] that the assembly, protest or demonstration will be deemed not to be peaceful.” It is this passage that AGSEM– McGill’s Teaching Union president Lilian Radovac takes particular issue with. “How do you quantify the level of anger expressed? And more to the point, who judges? The tone of discourse? That’s even more vague,” she said. “The University says this

will mean that a demonstration will be deemed to not be peaceful, which is the pretext by which they can take measures under civil and criminal law.” When solicited for feedback on the updated draft of the Protocol, Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) executives also responded to this passage in their communications with Michael Di Grappa, VicePrincipal (Administration & Finance). “The current criteria are more subjective and could be misused to stop people from demonstrating or protesting. For example, using a metric like ‘number of participants’ or ‘duration’ or degree to which the space is ‘confined’ to determine whether an assembly is peaceful is absurd on the face of it,” they wrote. Their response also stated that the Protocol “seem[ed] to make more of an issue of ‘disruption’ by threatening students with increased penalty based on ‘intensity’ and ‘duration’ of protests as ‘disruptions’ rather than as ‘nonviolent

acts,’” and argued that “there is a contradiction in working to protect students’ rights to protest and then simultaneously stating that protests are forbidden if they become inconvenient to some people.” Executives from AGSEM, AMUSE, and MUNACA all told The Daily that they did not understand the need for a Protocol on demonstrations at McGill in the first place, given already-established provincial and federal laws on the subject. “There are already government laws and regulations that govern how we would form protests and demonstrations and McGill does not need to go above and beyond the law,” MUNACA President Kevin Whittaker told The Daily. Reached at 5 p.m. on Friday, Director of Internal Communications Doug Sweet said that the administration did not have time to prepare a comment, but referred The Daily to the consultation process outlined in MunroeBlum’s Friday email to McGill community members.

COMMENTARY | OPINION

The McGill Daily & Le Délit Monday, November 26 • le lundi 26 novembre • 2012

Réflexion sur le système de santé actuel Sofia El-Mouderrib | Science ça!

e vestibule était superbe: du tapis, des aquariums, de hauts plafonds et… des sourires! Tous ces gens en uniformes blancs nous souriaient, nous rassuraient. Même la secrétaire était de bonne humeur! Je n’étais pas dans un hôtel cinq étoiles, mais bien dans un hôpital aux États-Unis, en Caroline du Nord. C’était il y a trois mois, après qu’un proche s’était cogné la tête en plongeant dans une vague au bord du Cap Hatteras. Après une arrivée en ambulance les infirmières s’en occupèrent immédiatement. Pendant que je remplissais les papiers dans la salle d’urgence, j’ai constaté que nous étions environ 10 personnes assises dans ce qui ressemblait davantage à un salon qu’à une salle d’attente. Quand le médecin est arrivé pour ausculter le blessé, j’ai voulu me pincer tant je n’en croyais pas mes yeux. Le docteur avait l’air calme et était parfaitement bronzé. Il s’est excusé de l’attente, paroxysme de ce moment surréaliste. Mais qu’est-ce que c’est que cet hôpital? L’auscultation, le scan, la lecture du scan par un radiologue et l’auscultation finale se firent en deux heures. Court périple vers le nord… Le bâtiment était beige, les chaises grises, l’odeur désagréable. Aucun sourire, ni de beau tapis cette fois-ci. Une morosité régnait, c’était triste. Soirée dans un hôpital de la couronne nord de Montréal. C’était la semaine dernière alors qu’un proche souffrait d’un calcul reinal. Si son admission fut immédiate, la visite du médecin et les soins tardèrent. On ne s’adressait pas à la famille, seulement au malade qui pourtant ne pouvait que difficilement répondre aux questions. On ne nous rassurait pas, ne nous informait pas ni des soins prévus, ni des délais. J’étais invisible et impuissante. Dans le corridor, des gens dormaient sur des civières, les infirmières et infirmiers courraient dans tous les sens, et les médecins se faisaient rares. Vingt heures plus tard, sans même avoir pu compléter le diagnostic ni aucun conseils ou informations on quittait l’hôpital: «on vous rappellera si on voit quelque chose sur la radio». Cette différence de traitement représente en fait une différence de plusieurs liasses de billets! Les

soins effectués en Caroline du Nord auraient en effet coûté plus de 200 000 dollars. Entre 1957 et 1961, le système de santé universel fut instauré dans tout le Canada. La volonté des citoyens de tout le pays à créer une gratuité d’accès aux soins dans le but de respecter des valeurs d’équité et de justice sociale était à la source de ce grand projet. Cette volonté est d’abord née en Saskatchewan, puis le gouvernement fédéral a mis en place les mécanismes légaux d’un océan à l’autre. De nos jours, ce système universel est toujours en place, mais souffre d’attente chronique et de carence en médecins et en infirmières. La problématique est multiple. Le Canada ne se classe que 10e dans la notation du Conference Board du Canada (un organisme à but non lucratif et non partisan). L’écart entre la première place et la nôtre peut s’expliquer par: l’accès à la médecine de première ligne, les soins accordés aux malades chroniques, l’attente en urgence, l’attente pour rencontrer un spécialiste et l’attente pour les chirurgies. Au banc des accusés comparaissent le sous-financement et les agences de santé, mais aussi le coût des médicaments. En 2008, le rapport Castonguay créait une polémique. Le but des travaux commandés par le gouvernement libéral était d’établir un maximum de possibilités afin d’ «en avoir pour notre argent». Le budget du ministère de la santé engloutissant environ 50% du budget total annuel et n’en voyant pas les répercussions positives attendues dans le réseau de santé, il était normal de réévaluer les aspects organisationnels et financiers du système. Par contre, les conclusions n’ont pas plu pas aux défenseurs de l’universalité, soit la Coalition Solidarité Santé et les Médecins Québécois Pour le Régime Public (MQRP). En général, la marchandisation des soins par un réseau privé, la privatisation de la gestion des hôpitaux, ou l’instauration d’une franchise annuelle selon les soins accordés et le revenu sont des mesures qui ne plaisent pas à la population non plus. Effectivement, l’aspect idéologique prend toute la place dans ce débat puisqu’on peut faire dire n’importe quoi aux chiffres. Selon des exemples étrangers et des faits fiscaux établis, tout est possible: privé, gratuité, deux vitesses, un médecin de famille pour tous les Québécois, ou encore un Québécois par médecin de famille. Les sciences économiques et sociales sont loin d’être exactes. Il incombe donc à la population de décider, de prendre position avec les données présentées. A-t-on soif de justice sociale ou de responsabilité individuelle? D’équité ou d’égalité? De solidarité ou d’efficacité?

Le bipartisme du Québec pourrait nous amener vers une alternance d’idéologies opposées ad vitam aeternam. C’est ce qui est arrivé avec la taxe santé. Instaurée dans une lignée de tarification des services à l’époque du gouvernement Libéral, son annulation faisait partie du programme de campagne du parti présentement au pouvoir. Ce va-et-vient constant crée la dette et la confusion. Un référendum pourrait être la solution, car cela permettrait d’engager les gouvernements des vingt prochaines années à prendre une direction spécifique. L’universalité, les deux vitesses ou la privatisation? Au moins, cela forcerait les partis à prendre des décisions dans le cadre d’une ligne directrice. Alors que je croyais vivre dans un pays riche, ma désillusion a été grande quand je mis les pieds dans cet hôpital beige. Cette visite m’a fait réaliser que ce n’était de la faute de personne et de tout le monde à la fois. Elle m’a attristé puisque je suis certaine que nous avons les moyens de tout régler, d’arriver à de hauts standards dans le régime public comparables à ceux des pays scandinaves et du Japon. Ça m’a aussi fait aussi réaliser le sacrifice social que les Canadiens ont fait en 1957. Ils ont renoncé aux luxueux tapis, à un service clientéliste exemplaire, aux télés dans les salles d’attente et aux aquariums pour que plus de gens soient en santé. Bien plus en santé que nos voisins du Sud dont les choix furent différents. x

Graphics Le Conference Board du Canada

COMMENTARY | OPINION

14 The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

Rad love means (more than) always saying you’re sorry Rape culture, the oppressor in me (and you), and community healing Ryan Thom Memoirs of a Gaysian

The first of a two-part piece.

few months ago, I jokingly told a white, gay male friend of mine that a good way to get over the embarrassment of a dance partner accidentally feeling his erection while grinding is to “reach around and find out if they have one, too!” Without missing a beat, my friend replied, “That’s actually a really rape-y thing to say.” I was shocked. I – the poet-activist, the queer performance artist of colour, the sexual assault hotline counselor, who had experienced sexual harassment and aggression more times than I could count by the time I turned sixteen – a perpetrator of rape culture? Was I really being called out? For a joke! About innocent groping on the dance floor! I wasn’t a part of rape culture, I was a survivor of rape. I had nothing to apologize for. Right? Obviously wrong. Yet it took me an embarrassing amount of time to understand this, and by the time I did, it was too late to apologize for my inappropriate defensiveness. Even now, I struggle to fully understand the problematic nature of that joke,

and struggle even more to accept that there is a current of rape culture that runs through my perceptions of the world. Yet this is an issue that affects every liberal and leftist community – indeed, every liberal and leftist person – that I have ever encountered. We are so capable, so ready, to see the face of evil in others and so blind to its features in the mirror. When I consider the ways in which I was taught the nature of sex and love, it should come as no surprise that rape culture is rooted deeply in my understanding of the sexual world. What models was I given, what examples did I have? I spoke the language of violence long before the rhetoric of consensuality and antioppression was ever known to me. I knew rape intimately, without words, knew rape before I knew its name. The face of rape is, for me, the face of my first lovers, boyfriends, forays into sexual exploration. Violence is inextricably intertwined with my experience of sex; until recently, I never knew sex that was not violent in some way. I want to ask my communities, classmates, blood and chosen families: for how many of us is this true? How many of us wandered, innocently intentioned, into bars, clubs, parties, relationships, marriages – and discovered a sexual world full of silence, “tacit” agreements, and blows struck in the name of “loving too

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much”? How many of us – trans* people and queer people and women and children of colour especially – were first kissed drunkenly, first groped by a stranger in a bathroom or on a dance floor? How many of us believed that we should be grateful for these moments because this is just the way sex is? That a little discomfort, pain, or abuse, is just the price we have to pay to know that we are capable of being loved? How many of us have been assaulted and assaulted so many times, so blithely, that we can no longer tell the difference? I am not proposing that we excuse rape culture and its perpetrators. On the contrary – I am suggesting that to expose rape culture, its pervasiveness and insidious erosion of the soul, we must open our eyes to the reality that the difference between good and evil, oppressor and oppressed, is not always so clear as we would like. That the evil done to us most often becomes inscribed in our bodies, our ways of knowing the world. That anyone is capable of being assaulted, and anyone is capable of assault, not only regardless of what we have survived, but often because of it. To know this, to speak it, to face the reality that there is something deeply broken in our communities is to begin to unravel the silence and shame that hold rape culture together. To accept that I was

Illustration Amina Batyreva | The McGill Daily

wrong, that the oppressor lives in me, is perhaps the bravest and most difficult thing I have done. It is harder still to know that I am not yet healed, not yet free of my own evil, will still fail and do wrong. Yet I know I must face this oppressor-in-the-mirror, must hold myself accountable, must demand nothing but the ongoing

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process of justice from my body and self so that in turn, I may ask, fight, demand – receive – justice from the community and people I love. Ryan Kai Cheng Thom is an activist and artist working on self-reflection and humility. Contact them at: memoirsofagaysian@mcgilldaily.com.

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COMMENTARY | OPINION

The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

Le mariage pour tous Une réalité moins réjouissante qu’on ne pourrait le croire situation a commencé à changer en 2012 alors que l’état du Minnesota s’est positionné à 51% contre une constitutionnalisation de l’interdiction du mariage égalitaire. Quelques semaines plus tard, le vice-président Joe Biden a fait une déclaration à la presse à la Maison Blanche, se disant«absolument confortable avec le fait que les hommes mariant des hommes, les femmes mariant des femmes et les hommes hétérosexuels mariant des femmes hétérosexuelles aient accès aux même droits». Barack Obama a suivi son vice-président et a créé une vague sans précédent de soutient à la cause homosexuelle. Finalement, le 6 novembre, on a assisté à une légalisation du mariage homosexuel dans trois états, grâce à un référendum de l’opinion publique. Cela démontre l’importante évolution des mentalités des citoyens de ces états.

Mathilde Michaud Le Délit

a place des homosexuels dans la société a toujours animé de nombreux débats. Présente à tous les moments de notre histoire, autant chez les Grecs, les Romains que les Américains, l’homosexualité en a vu de toutes les couleurs. Qualifiée de maladie par les uns, de péché ou d’abomination par les autres, et même de «mauvaise orientation de l’affectivité» par la Fédération Protestante de France, il faut tout de même rappeler qu’elle a longtemps été acceptée. Dans l’Antiquité les relations interpersonnelles étaient considérées non pas en vertu des critères biologiques homme-femme, mais plutôt selon la structure sociale et la capacité d’accéder à un plaisir charnel partagé. La construction sociale de la place des genres en parallèle à l’opposition formelle de la majorité des grandes écoles de pensée religieuse ont eu tôt fait de rendre le sujet tabou. Depuis quelques décennies, la majorité des grands pouvoir occidentaux se targuent d’avoir fait un grand pas au niveau des droits de l’homme. La parité des sexes est presque atteinte, le fameux «separate but equal» américain n’existe plus et les homosexuels n’ont plus besoin de se cacher pour s’aimer. Mais est-ce vraiment le cas ou simplement de l’hypocrisie? Bien que le mariage homosexuel soit légal dans plusieurs provinces canadiennes depuis bientôt dix ans et sur l’ensemble du territoire canadien depuis 2005, il ne s’agit pas là d’une norme à laquelle se conforment bien des États. Seulement 13 pays ont actuellement adopté des lois légalisant le mariage gai et dans certains de ceux-ci la situation semble quelque peu bancale.

Une durabilité du statu quo difficile En janvier 2012, les membres de l’opposition officielle fédérale ont craint un retour en arrière de la part du premier ministre Steven Harper. Effectivement, bien qu’il ait affirmé lors de sa dernière campagne électorale qu’il ne remettrait pas en cause la légalité du mariage homosexuel et de l’avortement, l’enjeu a refait surface quant au sort réservé au mariage égalitaire lorsque le divorce a été refusé à deux femmes. Le premier ministre canadien a cependant confirmé, lorsque Le Devoir lui a fait part des

Désillusion au sein de la communauté homosexuelle

Photo Fuse

craintes émises par l’opposition, qu’il ne rouvrirait pas le dossier du mariage homosexuel. Il reste sur la position du gouvernement bien qu’il s’y soit originellement opposé lors de l’adoption du projet de loi C-38 qui officiellement légalisait le mariage gai pour l’ensemble du Canada en 2005. Parallèlement, bien que très peu de Canadiens se diront ouvertement homophobes et que la grande majorité d’entre eux tentent d’éviter le plus possible l’utilisation d’expression comme «c’est tellement gai» ou encore «t’es fif» afin d’établir un espace sécuritaire, pour les homosexuels, cela révèle-t-il une réelle conviction ou des paroles en l’air pour avoir la conscience tranquille? Nous vivons encore malheureusement dans une société ou le «oui, mais pas dans ma cours» prône.

Et, en effet, la question est récemment ressurgie dans deux pays: la France et les États-Unis.

Forte opposition au mariage égalitaire En France, l’opposition au mariage homosexuel est revenue en force à la suite du dépôt d’un projet de loi qui permettrait de légaliser le mariage entre deux personnes de même sexe. La décision du gouvernement de discuter de ce sujet de façon exclusivement parlementaire n’a pas plu à tous et nombreux sont ceux qui se sont levés pour manifester. Malheureusement, seulement un des camps fut réellement représenté dans les rues françaises dans les dernières semaines. Groupes religieux et extrême droite française se sont rassemblés à de nombreuses reprises afin de démontrer leur opposi-

tion à la loi et réaffirmer le besoin d’avoir un père et une mère pour chaque enfant. Le samedi 17 novembre 2012, entre 100 000 et 200 000 manifestants se sont rassemblés dans les rues des plus grandes villes de France. D’autres manifestations sont prévues pour le 8 décembre. Pour une société qui se dit tolérante cela me semble bien contradictoire.

Tout de même une petite lumière Le 6 novembre 2012, la communauté homosexuelle et tous ceux qui la supportent ont cependant pu se réjouir. Les ÉtatsUnis, qui sont depuis longtemps un des bastions de l’opposition au mariage entre personnes du même sexe, ont vécu un retournement de situation impressionnant. Alors que des référendums avaient rendu le mariage homosexuel illégal dans le passé, la

Au sein même de la communauté homosexuelle les opinions sont mitigées face à l’adoption du mariage pour tous. Contrairement à ce que l’on pourrait croire, tous n’y sont pas totalement favorables, mais pas exactement de la manière dont nous pourrions l’imaginer. Effectivement, comme l’explique Claire Young, professeure de droit à l’Université de Colombie-Britannique, dans son article Loosing the Feminist Voice: Debates on the Legal Recognition of the Same-Sex Partnerships in Canada de nombreux problèmes sont soulevés par le mariage; notamment l’adoption d’un mode de vie hétéro-normatif. En effet, cela amplifierait la marginalisation de couples homosexuels qui prennent la décision de ne pas se marier. Mariana Valverde, professeure de criminologie à l’Université de Toronto, pense plutôt que le mariage homosexuel ne peut pas être considérés comme étant différents. Elle le définit comme un mariage traditionnel avec, comme seule différence, deux personnes du même sexe. L’enjeu principal dans ce débat reste une question de droit et de discrimination. La problématique l’entourant est bien plus importante que la possibilité d’obtenir un simple papier statuant deux personnes comme étant légalement unies et économiquement reliées l’une à l’autre. Il s’agit de permettre à tous, sans considération de leur religion, orientation sexuelle, culture ou race d’avoir accès à un droit, qui, bien qu’il ne soit pas un besoin fondamental, reste un droit et non un privilège. x

COMMENTARY | OPINION

16 The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

We don’t want to ruin (y)our good time An open letter to the McGill community The Black Students' Network Commentary Writers

efore you roll your eyes at yet another article that cries out against racism on campus, know that we aren’t going to reiterate the oh-so-familiar argument about whether or not something is racist. However, as black students at McGill University in 2012, we consider ourselves fortunate to be able to address issues of racism; thirty years ago, the Black Students’ Network (BSN) and black students around campus would not necessarily have been able to speak up against the racist situations they encountered. We are frustrated that the blackface incident was permitted in the “Safe Space” of a SSMU event. The incident is an example of how SSMU has failed to enforce its equity policy. Those of us in BSN who attended 4Floors went with the intention of having fun, but the presence of students in blackface took away from the festive experience. While we recognize people’s right to freedom of expression, we would like to echo Davide Mastracci’s point that “The right to free speech does not mean the right to an audience” (Bull & Bear, “Halloween Costume Controversy,” November 2). We are frustrated that such an offensive image was allowed to circulate within the McGill community. A person had to allow the culprit entrance to the event, a photographer was needed to take the pictures, and someone had to post and approve the images on Facebook. How did none of these people realize that this was unacceptable? If preventive measures had been taken by any one of these

people, the extent of the damage would have been greatly reduced. A staff member of the Bull & Bear (the publication that posted the controversial photo) commented on the article, “It’s McGill, what do you expect from people who forced MUS to cancel tribal Frosh three days before the event?” This comment is indicative of a sentiment that is shared among many on campus, who attempt to justify offensive incidents in order to protect the integrity of social events. What do we expect? We expect to be able to attend events and not feel targeted and uncomfortable. One person’s fun should not come at the expense of others’. Moreover, we are frustrated at McGill’s response and SSMU’s apology, which included no decisive points of action to prevent the incident from happening again. We would like to stress that these offensive acts are not isolated incidents. For instance, at a Halloween event this year at the University of Florida, students from a fraternity dressed up in blackface. Despite the fact that the event took place off campus, the University of Florida has taken a very proactive stance. The Orlando Sentinel wrote that the university held a town hall meeting the week after in order to address “the issue and its effect on the Gainesville campus of almost 50,000 students.” Janine Sikes, spokesperson for the University of Florida, was quoted saying: “We recognize that what they did is hurtful and perpetuates racist stereotypes of African Americans....We work very hard to create a welcoming environment for all of our students regardless of race or ethnic background.” By contrast, SSMU VP University

Affairs Haley Dinel’s explanation felt more like a slap on the wrist. Dinel said that “this year there was ‘no substantive talk’ on the issue, and that the current executive team felt ‘uncomfortable’ monitoring the door” (“Blackface and other costumes stir controversy at 4Floors,” News, November 1, page 2). As a result, those of us who are supposed to be protected under the umbrella of SSMU’s “safe space” mandate are instead fighting to uphold it. As members of the McGill community, we recognize that SSMU must be held accountable for what happened and we demand that they take more decisive actions to prevent this from occurring ever again in the future. We speak for all marginalized groups when we ask that SSMU effec-

Illustration Amina Batyreva | The McGill Daily

tively enforce its equity policy. We expect McGill to uphold its standards of “advancement of learning” for its “outstanding” students as emphasized in the University’s mission statement. If McGill is to be measured against the “highest international standards,” then it must address the often evaded issues of race. The tolerance and/or denial of offensive situations in which race plays a key factor are not unusual occurrences. If we as the student body of McGill fail to recognize the relevance of challenging race consciousness today, we are doing ourselves and the wider community a disservice. We’d also like to emphasize that the sole purpose of this letter is not to berate SSMU or the McGill com-

munity, but to educate. University is not just meant to be a learning experience within the classroom, but a place where we are provided with an opportunity to learn and grow as individuals. We learn from the people we meet and the conversations we have. University is not a place to be coddled; it’s a place to be challenged. What we see and experience here is only a microcosm of what we will experience later in life. Let’s take this time to learn from our mistakes.

This statement was issued by the Black Students’ Network of McGill University. You can reach the organization by writing to bsnmcgill@ hotmail.com, or by going to their website at ssmu.mcgill.ca/bsn.

In defense of naturopathic medicine Toward a model of holistic healing Molly Swain Commentary Writer

hen we question the ‘legitimacy’ of alternative forms of medicine, such as naturopathy or homeopathy, what exactly is it that we are questioning? The efficacy of the treatments? The training of the doctors? The philosophy behind the practices? What is it about alternative medicine that raises the hackles of so many well-intentioned critics? Why is it that conventional medicine is often considered immune to criticism, especially in Canada, where our beloved ‘universal’ healthcare is so highly valued? Currently there is little to no evidence – scientific or otherwise – that suggests that naturopathic or homeopathic treatments are more dangerous than conventional medical treatments, nor is there evidence that doc-

tors of alternative medicine are more likely to commit fatal medical errors. Actually, the opposite is true: according to the Journal of the American Medical Association, 20 to 30 per cent of mainstream medical patients receive contraindicated care in the United States, and up to 98,000 people die each year due to medical errors that include unnecessary and dangerous surgery, unnecessary medication, and other doctors’ errors. This makes mainstream medical errors one of the leading causes of death in the U.S. Furthermore, naturopathic doctors are just that: doctors. Comparative studies done on Medical Doctor (M.D.) and Naturopathic Doctor (N.D.) curricula show that naturopathy students at accredited schools throughout North America, including the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, receive comparable biomedical and diagnostic sciences training. Many schools actually

require that their students take more credits in these areas than other medical schools, as well as extra training in fields of study not covered by mainstream medicine, such as homeopathy, counselling, and clinical nutrition. Many schools also begin the hands-on clinical training a year or two earlier than their mainstream counterparts. Conventional medicine is premised on a dichotomy between ‘normal’ and ‘pathological,’ and focuses on the suppression of symptoms in order to return the body to a general and largely vague conception of normal that stems from essentializing conceptions of physical and mental health. Conventional medical discourse has been used to condone coercive, non-consensual medical procedures and experimentation on the bodies of women of colour, poor women, disabled folks, and genderor sexually-variant folks. The concept of the ‘normal’ body

in medicine (and society as a whole) is one that is inherently white, middle or upper-middle class, heterosexual, able-bodied, ‘sane’ and male. This idea of normalcy is one that produces and maintains a hierarchy of bodies and health, where deviant bodies and behaviours are pathologized, devalued, and even criminalized, especially if the deviance is not ‘curable’ ie: disability, mental illness, queerness, et cetera. Naturopathic medicine, however, takes a holistic approach to illness that recognizes both the uniqueness of individuals’ experiences, bodies, and minds, as well as the interconnected social, environmental, and spiritual elements that affect our bodies and contribute to our health and well being. This integrated approach means that naturopathic doctors treat the causes, along with the symptoms of disease, using the most natural and non-toxic treatments, as well as work-

ing with the patient to educate and devise strategies for long-term, multidimensional health. Am I advocating for the wholesale dismissal of conventional medicine? Absolutely not, and neither do the vast majority of alternative medical practitioners, including naturopathic and homeopathic doctors. However, it is important to recognize the downsides and limitations of mainstream medical foundations and practice, and to expand our definitions of health and treatment in order to prioritize and value the well-being of all bodies in order to create strong and healthy communities. Molly Swain is a U2 Joint Honours Women’s Studies and Religious Studies student. She digs autonomy and self-determination, especially with regard to her physical and mental health. Molly can be reached at molly. swain@mail.mcgill.ca.

COMMENTARY | OPINION

The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

The locavore myth Eating our way to a better world. Really? Campus Crops Commentary Writers

ocavores are people committed to buying and eating food produced locally. The ‘locality’ of a product can vary widely, from province-wide to the 100-mile diet. Eating locally has many advantages that explain its increasing popularity: fresher, healthier, and tastier products; less environmental impact via reduced transport, packaging, and processing; and cheaper products when there is no agent between producer and consumer. Buying local is a thumbs-up for the local economy, supports responsible land development (preservation of green spaces and farmlands), and creates community by connecting buyers and farmers. Being a locavore is a political statement, an environmental choice, a health-conscious act, and a way to support producers near your home. Or so the conventional wisdom goes. The reality is that the locavore ‘movement’ – or rather, ‘trend’ – faces serious limitations in both its aims and form. By taking for granted that local food systems are inherently good, the locavore trend does not fully take into account all of the environmental and social implications of its followers’ actions. When the only environmental aspects addressed are food mileage (from farm to plate) and the amount of food processing/packaging, buying local food does not accomplish much for the environment. Other aspects of food production, like the inputs at the farm itself (chemical fertilizers, pesticides, use of oil-powered machinery, irrigation, et cetera), are largely relevant in assessing the sustainability of a local food system, yet they are ignored by locavorism.

Additionally, issues of social justice are not addressed by the locavore fad. Since locavorism does not look at the production and distribution of food past the lens of distance, the living and working conditions of farmers and workers along the food production line – especially migrant workers – are not considered. Although large farmers and those who find a spot in their local farmers’ market would benefit from a locavore food system, small farmers who would have to provide big retailers like supermarkets would have to sell their products at highly competitive (i.e. very low) prices, maybe too low to fulfill their needs. Furthermore, there is no active support of workers’ rights in the locavore ideal. Workers (migrants, temporary or other) can be found on the farm and in the production line – where they process, package, and distribute food not bought directly from the producer. Many of these workers are underpaid, work in dangerous conditions, and are generally already marginalized people. Locavorism is not concerned with the conditions of workers or small farmers, and hence fails to address issues of social justice in the local food system. By definition, though, locavorism cannot even adapt its aims to such criticism, and can’t address broader environmental and social issues like the ones outlined above. The locavore trend is individualistic in nature and fuels the belief that changes in personal consumer behavior can solve structural and systemic problems. It is focused on comforting and accommodating the individual consumer rather than correcting inequities that are endemic to the capitalist system. Moreover, the locavore is reduced to a unidimensional consumer: it is assumed that the only way to

Illustration Amina Batyreva | The McGill Daily

effect change is to ‘vote with your dollars.’ However, market participation is not community participation: ‘one person, one vote’ doesn’t apply to the marketplace. Instead of giving equal power to all voices, the locavore food system allocates votes according to wealth, and traditionally marginalized people, far from being empowered, continue to be marginalized. Along the same lines, the locavore lifestyle is generally only accessible to middle- or upper-class individuals. Since money and time are not distributed equally among everyone, local food products tend to be less accessible to people who have less money and/or time on their hands due to multiple factors, including but not limited to race, gender, ability, and educa-

tion. Many working- and lower-class people simply do not have the time or resources to find locations that sell local food products, and pick up food from a location that may be far from home. Locavorism, by once again ignoring the needs and conditions of marginalized people, makes it impossible for them to participate in and benefit from local food systems. Locavorism means well, and it does get the ball rolling on pointing out some major problems within our system; however, just consuming local food is not enough. We need to be considering all aspects of the food industry and making sure that every problem is addressed. We cannot ignore the people that the locavore movement leaves out and we cannot ignore the environment.

A full blown local movement is necessary to do that, for in order to make widespread structural change, everyone needs to be involved. A movement like this is already in the works, we just need to join it!

qu’ils doivent démontrer sur Internet qu’ils sont capables de se prendre tellement au sérieux qu’ils ont le devoir de commenter un article écrit par un inconnu dans un journal francophone à McGill alors qu’ils étudient à l’UQAM. Appréciez l’ironie de la situation. Je la trouve délicieuse. Deux semaines plus tard, j’ai récidivé. J’ai écrit une autre chronique. Pauvre eux, n’est-ce pas? Ils ont dû faire une crise d’apoplexie. Après cela, ils sont sans doute allés se chicaner sur Facebook avec un carré vert. Que de temps gaspillé. Le temps que les gens prennent à se prendre au sérieux est fascinant. Le temps utilisé pour faire un commentaire de 2 000 mots sur Facebook sur la nécessité de réélire Obama, alors que tu vis à Longueuil, aurait franchement pu

être mieux utilisé à échanger une photo de chats. Réfléchissez là-dessus lors de votre prochain échange enflammé sur Facebook. Vous aurez sûrement plus de plaisir autour de burrito cat que de prendre deux heures pour dire que Stephen Harper est la pire nuisance à la démocratie canadienne depuis John Colborne. N’oubliez pas, nous sommes sur cette Terre pour avoir du plaisir. Faites ce que vous aimez avec sérieux, mais quand vous vous prenez au sérieux, un chaton meurt quelque part. Comme c’est la dernière publication avant le solstice d’hiver, je me permets de vous souhaiter un joyeux solstice d’hiver. Ou «Joyeux Noël », avec le petit Jésus dans la crèche. x

Campus Crops is a student-run urban collective on McGill’s downtown campus. They organize workshops and film screenings on food politics issues, and have an on-campus garden space used to share and learn gardening skills by growing food. Find out more about Campus Crops at campuscropsmcgill.blogspot.ca. Join them for a film screening and discussion on food politics on Monday, December 3, at 4:30 p.m., Madeleine Parent room (former Breakout Room; Shatner building, 2nd floor).

Se prendre au sérieux Jean-François Trudelle | Attention, chronique de droite

IL est plutôt difficile d’écrire sur la désillusion quand on n’est pas soi-même désillusionné. Je doute que je serais capable d’écrire

cette chronique si je l’étais. Je doute que vous la liriez aussi. Ma chronique «Attention, chronique de droite» existait avant d’être publiée dans Le Délit. Elle est née alors que j’étais au cégep. Si elle était encore écrite comme elle l’était avant, je doute que j’y prendrais plaisir. Je doute que vous la liriez aussi. Elle a toujours porté le même nom. Elle a toujours été «de droite». Quand j’étais au cégep, c’était une chronique d’un conservatisme déluré que je regarde désormais avec grand scepticisme, pour ne pas dire avec honte. Il faut bien que jeunesse se fasse. Pourquoi garder le nom? Parce qu’il m’amuse. Pourquoi garder la chronique? Parce qu’elle m’amuse aussi.

Trop de gens prennent ce qu’ils font au sérieux. La moindre erreur devient un drame. La moindre divergence devient intolérable. Le moindre problème devient la fin du monde. Trop de gens prennent leurs convictions trop au sérieux. Ce n’est pas grave de changer. Ce n’est pas grave non plus de ne pas être d’accord de temps à autre avec sa propre famille idéologique. Ce sont des choses qui arrivent. Ça fait sûrement de vous des gens plus intelligents d’ailleurs. Alors, oui, ma chronique m’amuse. Je l’écris comme un camouflet à ceux qui se prennent au sérieux. C’est ce qui me motive. Retournez voir les commentaires sur ma chronique «J’aime la Reine» (Le Délit, Volume 100, numéro 19). En gros, ce sont des gens qui sentent

COMMENTARY | OPINION

18 The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

Letters Unions denounce McGill protest protocol

The illusion of discourse Dear Daily,

Dear Daily, McGill’s Teaching Union (AGSEM), the McGill University Non-Academic Certified Association (MUNACA), and the Association for McGill University Support Employees (AMUSE), condemn in the strongest possible terms the proposed Protocol Regarding Demonstrations, Protests and Occupations on McGill University Campuses that was released to campus unions on November 9. In its current form, the Protocol conflates mere inconvenience with violent disruption and therefore tramples on the right of McGill community members to express all but the weakest forms of political dissent. In doing so, the Protocol contravenes the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, which explicitly protects the freedom of all citizens to engage in principled, nonviolent protest. Although the Protocol will affect every member of the McGill community equally, whether they be faculty, students, or staff, we are especially concerned that the policy will be used to criminalize the activities of labour union members and their supporters, whose right to participate in campus demonstrations, rallies, and lawful picketing is clearly violated by its terms. For these reasons, we do not accept the legitimacy of the Protocol and will not consent to its application. Given the magnitude of the threat to our fundamental rights, we call on all members of the McGill community to join us in condemning the Protocol and to work together with us to prevent its implementation. —AGSEM, MUNACA, and AMUSE

Readers have, no doubt, noticed the vast numbers of articles regarding racism published in The Daily this past semester. There has been no shortage of opinions both in published articles and online comments, and this is important. However, there has been a frightening amount of denial of racism from the McGill community. The illusion of discussion does not mean that the voices that need to be heard and believed are heard. This discourse around racism must exist, and it must occur in a way that pushes people to understand the reality of racism. Specifically, people of colour must be allowed to define their own experiences with the assurance that feelings of racism will be believed, and there should be space for them to do so. White people need to acknowledge and believe in the existence of racism and understand that because of their privilege it may be difficult to see the everyday existence of racism. There needs to be a release of the illusion of equality, and an acknowledgement of how racism manifests itself in both overt and subtle ways. It is seen in the aversion of eye-contact, the trailing around a shopping mall, the doubting of experiences, the stereotyped reputations, the bodily exoticization, the existence of othering – the list is endless. Reading articles regarding racism can be perceived as understanding the effect of racism, but if you are not experiencing it on a daily basis, you can never have lived experience, and you can never fully know it. Anti-racist work is a conscientious action, that must be noted continuously and integrated into daily lifestyle. In terms of concrete suggestions, the authors – the Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) Board – would like to see all students pursue anti-racist knowledge. We would like to specifically see the SSMU executives continue to attend specific anti-racist workshops (beyond general anti-oppressive training) throughout the year, to prevent issues such as blackface at 4Floors. We would like more integration of anti-racist work into academic programs, and McGill to make more of an effort to discuss the presence of racism and white supremacy ingrained within the university. We are talking about racism and antioppression, but there needs to be a way to hold people to higher standards – to hold people accountable for their actions. QPIRG is available to offer antiracist and anti-oppression workshops, amongst others.

“End the siege! Free Palestine!” Dear Daily, From South Africa to Kanesatake, indigenous peoples have, at times, turned to arms in their struggles against colonialism. The battle against British imperialism in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh has often been pointed to by Western observers as the ultimate example of non-violent resistance. Such observers have attempted to dictate this false paradigm of resistance as the only legitimate form of anti-colonial action. The reality is, however, that armed resistance played a crucial role in ridding the Subcontinent of the British yoke. Keeping this in mind, a re-contextualization of the discussion around the current events in Gaza is warranted. Make no mistake, Palestine is a colonized land and its Arab majority is its indigenous population. And yet, so much of the mass media coverage and popular discussion around the siege of Gaza treats the current incarnation of the conflict as a self-contained spat, initiated by ‘bloodthirsty and militant’ Arabs. Newspaper headlines that make uncomplicated reference to Israel’s ‘right to self defense’ neglect entirely the anticolonial nature of armed resistance in Gaza. Such headlines further disregard the sequence of events that brought the conflict to its current stage. From the beginnings of ethnic cleansing in 1947 to the start of the current blockade and siege in 2007, Palestinians have been struggling to survive in the face of Zionism’s racist oppressions. Some Palestinians have made the choice to take up arms in their resistance. When the Israeli government targets the elected representatives of the Gazan people, they are not defending themselves; they are further entrenching their occupation. When the common question, ‘What is Israel supposed to do in the face of rocket fire?’ is asked, McGill Students for SPHR respond with: “End the siege! Free Palestine!” —McGill Students for Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights

Ya done good

Don’t read the comments Dear Daily, Commentary provides a useful space for discussion unconstrained by the themes of other sections. The editors for this section must exercise care in what they choose to publish, as their articles both shape the structure of ongoing discussions on campus and represent the most visible face of the paper’s principles. “Ro-dee-NO” (Commentary, September 6, page 6) by Natalie Church was intended to take on the themes of rape culture, colonization, and racism that permeate Frosh events. Unfortunately, it skipped about and rarely made strong links between Frosh events and the problems it attempted to point out. Several similar critiques, published later, made the same points much more concretely. Similarly, Ethan Feldman’s more-radikal-than-thou rant (“Dear Boot-Licking Apologists,” Commentary, November 8, page 8) was entirely redundant given Sheehan Moore and Flora Dunster’s article “Amnesia in wartime” (Commentary, November 8, page 8), which managed to critique the militarist aspects of Remembrance Day while allowing that it could be more than that. Publishing the better articles first or alone would have, in both cases, kept focus on the issue at hand rather than allowing the commentariat to divert argument to the tone or style of the articles. In both cases, Commentary also gave the ‘other side’ several letters and articles that missed every legitimate criticism of the original, while reinforcing dominant narratives about race, gender, and class, often in smugly insulting ways (such as Alex Simakov’s snide dismissal of “cis-gendered” (“Dear baton-licking pacifists,” Commentary, November 15, page 6). The Daily has a mission to give voice to marginalized individuals and communities. Articles reinforcing dominant, reactionary narratives do not fit this, and demand a response that diverts discussion from the original issue. If The Daily is serious about its principles, it ought to work to publish the best critical pieces it can, while restricting hard copy responses to those which actually engage critical pieces within those principles. The rest of the responses can be seen easily enough in the comments online. —Benjamin Elgie Ph.D. 3 Neuroscience

Dear Daily, Thank you for publishing this thoughtful article (“A distorted up vision of justice,” Editorial, November 12, page 15). The goal should be to imprison people only when needed for the safety of others. Mandatory minimum laws only serve to make minor criminals into hardcore criminals, encourage gangs, and increase prison populations at the cost of all taxpayers. Again, thank you for helping to alert the public to the dangers of these insane policies. —Dave Lane UC Santa Cruz

Modus operandi The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will publish anything, 300 words or less. The Daily will

—Board of Directors of QPIRG McGill

—Sarah Feldman U3 Political Science and English Literature

COMMENTARY | OPINION

The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

How I was betrayed by liberal democracy A story of disillusionment and homecoming Mona Luxion Through the Looking Glass

used to be scared of anarchists. I thought anarchism meant chaos: a lack of order or a society wracked by constant violence. Those who espoused it must be pessimists, saboteurs, thugs. Instead, I described myself as a democrat and a liberal: I believed in voting for accountable representatives and ensuring equal rights under the law. Failures of that system, I thought, could be resolved through petitions, law reform, and media exposés – the ‘fourth arm’ of government. That’s how my textbooks taught me the U.S. had won its victories over racism and sexism, in any case. This is a story of what changed my mind. I first became an activist when I was nine or ten: residents of a wealthy neighbourhood had decided to assert control over public parks that happened to be close by, trying to ban volunteers who had been restoring those same natural areas to health over the years. With friends, family, and fellow volunteers, I wrote letters and attended county board meetings, speaking out against the blatant hijacking of public space by a tiny but vocal minority. We had greater numbers and scientific backing on our side, and we played by the rules. I couldn’t understand why, even so, they won. Years later, after 9/11, I marched against increasingly ludicrous calls to war from the U.S. government. Neither the international outcry, the editorials pointing out lies about weapons of mass destruction, or our small pacifist vigils made any

difference. At larger demonstrations, I feared that the people in black chanting “resistance is justified when people are occupied” would scare off public opinion. If we appealed to common sense and shared values, I believed, opinion polls would show opposition to the war, and surely someone in the Bush administration would realize it was a bad electoral strategy. We all know how that worked out. I had tough conversations about vegetarianism, debating the pros and cons of eating meat that was raised as ethically as possible, versus soy that is shipped halfway around the world and contributes to global warming, the destruction of traditional agriculture, and farmer suicides in India. I realized that violence and destruction are an inextricable part of life, and started making moral decisions based on what would cause the least harm in the end, rather than an arbitrary ban on the most visible forms of violence. The financial crisis of 2008 came around, and with it, an entire industry of trying to explain complicated financial practices. But I’ve never understood the underlying principle: the drive for profit. I get that if you’re running a shop, say, you need to make enough to buy your supplies wholesale, and to pay the rent, and to pay your employees or support yourself. But why is it considered a moral virtue to want to make more than that? Why is it considered necessary for the economy to grow faster than the population, except in order to satisfy investors’ greed? I guess I was ready, when I started hanging out with socialists, to listen to their critiques. And although I didn’t agree with all their solutions, what they had to say about capital-

ism made a lot of sense. I agreed with the idea we should value sharing rather than the survival of the ‘fittest.’ And their arguments about needing radical change rather than reform were only confirmed when I started working around lobbyists and my last illusions about elected representatives being beholden to their electorate were shattered. I spent time on feminist and social justice blogs, where I learned theories and terms that confirmed what I’d always known: that life was a heck of a lot harder for some people than others based on their race, their gender, and histories and systems outside their control. Reading people’s stories and reflections taught me that one-size-fits-all answers always privilege some and leave others behind. But national governments are clearly too far away to take into account the particularities of each individual’s life. At the same time, I was reading climate change literature that pointed toward small, self-reliant communities as the only scale that would be adaptive enough to deal with a future of changeable weather and inevitable conflict. Visiting New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, I saw that mutual aid had helped people much more than government assistance, which was at best slow and mired in bureaucracy, at worst, destructive. So when I met people working to build decentralized, locally-rooted communities of mutual aid, who rejected oppressive hierarchies, believed capitalism to be a major part of the problems in our world, and understood that the relationships between violence and power need more than simple yes/no answers, it felt like coming home.

Illustration Bracha Stettin | The McGill Daily

When I found out they were anarchists, I was scared: would they turn out, in fact, to be destructive nihilists? But instead they helped me rediscover values I’d half-forgotten in the rat-race: share, don’t be selfish, listen, speak up when someone’s being hurt, don’t follow rules without knowing why, money can’t buy

the important things, being yourself is awesome, and yes, you can build the world you want to live in. In Through the Looking Glass, Mona Luxion reflects on activism, current events, and looking beyond identity politics. Email Mona at lookingglass@mcgilldaily.com.

Dear anonymous An open letter to people that read open letters Marcello Ferrara The McGill Daily

o people only read The Daily to hate it? From the internet alone, it would seem an irrefutable proposition. Oh look, another article about The Daily! I’m tired of them as well: the self-referential debates, the mockheroic struggles made public, the name-calling, the inside jokes: it’s like Rape of the Lock but without wit. But here we are, you and I, reader and writer. We do not know one another, and we likely never will. All that unites us is the text, this text, printed on pulp paper, or loaded on HTML. Among the many enigmatic aphorisms of French philosopher (sigh) Jacques Derrida, the most famous is: “There is nothing out-

side the text.” Whatever Derrida originally meant, we can take it that if we reconstruct meaning within a text, we cannot account for what is outside the text, namely the audience, context, and author. I italicize ‘author,’ for it is the most uncertain of all three outside-text criteria and the focus of the article. Dear Daily-dissenters: enough with the hateful, bilious ad hominem remarks. Stop attacking the author. I wonder why, considering I’ve been around the internet for nearly a decade now (in the most explicit, nihilistic territories, mind), I was so surprised to read the comments leveled at the article, “Dear Boot-Licking Apologists” (Commentary, November 8, page 8) and its author ‘Ethan Feldman.’ I use the scare quotes because I’ve never met the individual using

that screen name, and therefore can pass no judgement on them. Even if I had met them, what kind of sanctimonious prick would I be to insult (or vouch for) them on a public forum, and why would that even be pertinent to a published article in a paper that prides itself on aspiring professionalism? Our reactions should be based on the text alone; if we’re already on a witch-hunt, we lose the message. Now, I wouldn’t claim to have some kind of godlike authorial voice on criticism, advocating any type of critical thinking over another, but the ‘nothing-outside-text’ approach prevents cheap shots like this one: “‘U5’ Philosophy student. On the Van Wilder Plan I see. This is a sad cry for attention.” Or my two other favourites: “YOU’RE A MORON, HOW DOES THIS GET PUBLISHED?????”

and “Besides, it’s not like you can EVER get a job anyways. Goodbye and kindly fuck yourself.” Even the more restrained comments like, “Your poor logic and the insanity of this piece perfectly explains why you haven’t managed to graduate in 5 years,” are devoid of textual support, as if it were an absolute truth. Of course, this is an utterly futile effort. To improve the quality of the internet is like shooting a water pistol at an oncoming tsunami. The internet always seems to me to be divided like the Biblical Red Sea: on one shore Wikipedia, and the other, 4chan. However, I cannot stand to see such utter disrespect leveled against any fellow student, and their entire faculties of study. It was sad moment to see Feldman respond in the comments section with, “A lot of negativity came from this article and it’s nice to

be addressed as a human being.” The problem is, going back to Derrida, that even the insults were intended to a human face, and not the arguments themselves. It may seem inhuman to remove authors from criticisms of their work, but ultimately I think it preserves their dignity as human beings. Perhaps the most shocking thing about the article (maybe I shouldn’t have been surprised) was the fact that these were McGill students, and that their skills in critical thinking didn’t seem to extend outside class. Perhaps we at McGill should live up to our own myth of entitled privilege – the myth that we are better than everyone else – in class and out. Marcello Ferrara is a U1 student in English and Geography. He can be reached at marcello.ferrara@ mail.mcgill.ca. Come at me, bro.

20 The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

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Who’s afraid of a faculty union? McGill exceptionalism and its discontents

hat are professors? Are they collegians, with administrators as colleagues? Or are they workers, with bosses, like almost everyone else? What say should they have in the way McGill is run in the future? McGill is the only university in the city of Montreal without a union representing its professors. Concordia, Université de Montréal (UdeM), and Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) all have them. In fact, Concordia has two: one for full-time profs and another for part-timers. The professors at UQAM went on a month-long strike in 2009 in response to internal austerity measures. Three weeks ago, Concordia’s parttime faculty voted 95 per cent to authorize a strike mandate for their union leadership, following several months of strenuous contract negotiations. It is no secret that the culture of McGill – among students, professors, and administrators – is the most conservative of the Montreal universities. The vast majority of McGill students did not want anything to do with the red squares of the Printemps Érable (and some donned small green squares to prove it). Faculty members here are likewise almost universally unconcerned with forming a labour union. Almost. Amidst all the collegiality at McGill, there is a small group of professors who are asking some serious questions about their place at this university. Recent changes to professors’ pension plans have left a bad taste in the mouths of many, because of both the changes themselves and the way in which they were introduced. Last year changed things in Montreal, and here, too. Only time will tell just how much, and in what ways. *** The strength of Quebec’s union culture comes from the massive wave of organization during the Quiet Revolution, as the province awoke from the Grande Noirceur of the Duplessis era. McGill was a bit late to the party, but we’re getting there. In the past five years, the support employees (mostly students), research employees, course lecturers, and invigilators have all formed unions or joined existing ones. We’ve had some strikes too – AGSEM (the union of teaching assistants) struck in the spring of

2008, and MUNACA (non-academic staff) was on strike throughout last fall – but they have left campus racked with bitterness, and professors’ responses to these disputes have been far from unanimous. So what is it about McGill’s culture that prevents faculty unionization? And how might it change? There is a belief that McGill is in some way different and better than the universities that surround it. We are the Harvard of the North. We were founded in the Edenic epoch of the 1820s. We have old stone buildings. Fuck you, bumblebees. Trite as it may sound, it is clear that this mode of thought affects governance and academic labour here. “Upper administration acts as if it’s an honour to be here,” East Asian Studies professor Thomas Lamarre told me. Lamarre no longer finds that notion as compelling as it once was. One retired professor who spent forty years here said that there’s a sense that “unions are for the people who clean the toilets.” As it stands, McGill’s professors can choose to be part of the McGill Association of University Teachers (MAUT). A lot of them do. According to Alvin Shrier, the association’s president, there are over 900 members, representing between 55 and 60 per cent of the teaching body. A lot of them don’t join, though. Professors can be elected to Senate, but many of them feel, in the words of one prounion prof on Senate, that the body will never have more than “a weak veto power.” Observe the McGill website’s organizational chart. Senior administrators and bodies like the Board of Governors are represented by a familiar McGill concept: small bubbles. When you click on a name or a governing body, the people over whom the bubble has power become illuminated, with the chain of authority represented by thin black lines. Senate’s bubble sits to the side, however, unmoored and unconnected with any thin black lines, neither more nor less powerful than any other actor in governance. When clicked, it illuminates nothing. *** There are only two seats for academic staff on the McGill Board of Governors, which has the final say on all matters of policy. So MAUT is currently the only game in town for many professors. But MAUT is also not certified as a union, and cannot negotiate collective agree-

ments or contracts for working conditions, as unions do. Shrier, a professor of Physiology, told me about one of the ways in which he brings faculty concerns to higher ups like Principal Heather Munroe-Blum and Provost Anthony Masi. “We sit down and we have a nice conversation, oftentimes over a lunch, where we can discuss issues of concern from both sides. And it is, I like to say, a collegial conversation.” Collegiality is a concept and a word of ultimate import to MAUT. It guides everything the organization does. They have a whole committee devoted to it. Shrier used the word repeatedly in our hour-long conversation. In the most recent issue of the MAUT newsletter, then-VP Communications Terry Hébert writes to members with a collegiality-inked pen. MUNACA strike? Shows cracks in collegiality. Changes to the pension plan? Rather uncollegial. The Faculty Club on McTavish? Cheery and collegial. Several professors I spoke to who favour unionization described MAUT and its devotion to collegiality as an “old-boys’ club,” and a weak body for faculty advocacy. Shrier has become acquainted with Provost Anthony Masi through their time in Senate, and sees him as a colleague. He has chaired Senate committees that Masi has sat on, and vice versa. He rejects the categorization, though. “I’m not an ‘old-boy,” he said, stressing that his involvement in MAUT leadership is a relatively new endeavor, having been tapped for leadership only out of a dearth of interest. Derek Nystrom, a professor in the English department, doesn’t share MAUT’s love of collegiality. For him, collegiality is the Febreze that hides a bad smell, rather than a fresh mountain stream. “The incessant repetition of the word collegiality is a kind of reaction formation to the fact that it’s not a collegial environment, that in fact the decisions of the University are largely top down,” he said. In 2010, Nystrom had four pro-union posters about course lecturers torn off the door of his office. The posters were ordered torn down by Masi. Nystrom never heard anything about it from MAUT, even after the story was covered in The Daily and the wider Montreal press. Not collegial. Nystrom said that his prior job at a college in the United States was “a genuinely collegial experience of shared governance. And yet never once when I was

there did I hear anyone ever say ‘collegiality,’ because we didn’t have to say it.” *** During the MUNACA strike last fall, a number of professors got together under the banner (sometimes literally) of the McGill Faculty Labour Action Group (MFLAG) to advocate for the support workers. As the strike got nastier and nastier, MFLAG members penned a series of open letters, some gathering hundreds of signatures. In the spring, MFLAG moved on to advocating for students who were facing disciplinary charges as a result of protest actions. A professor speaking on condition of anonymity said that MFLAG provided an outlet for “isolated faculty.” “It was such a relief,” the professor said. Many of the professors who got involved in MFLAG have now begun to talk openly about wanting to start a proper union. Some would like to use MAUT as a starting point to move towards a union, while others would rather reject the association altogether. The sense of separation between some faculty and the administration has been growing in the past few years. Many professors supported the unionization of course lecturers by AGSEM over the course of 2010, and objected to the way in which McGill treated the efforts of the union to organize them. Last year, the administration threatened the salaries of professors who wanted to take their classes off campus so as not to cross the picket line. At least one professor never crossed the picket line, and wasn’t paid. A year ago, as MUNACA workers picketed yards away from the James Administration building, McGill initiated broad changes to the faculty pension program. Most pension plans are defined benefit (DB) plans, into which both the employee and employer make contributions. Post-retirement income is guaranteed, and is not tied to the fluctuations in the stock market. This creates something of a cushion for employees, because if the pension tanks in the stock market, the employer is still required to pay out benefits. Professors hired at McGill before January 1, 2009 will stick with the old hybrid pension plan, which combined elements of a DB plan with a defined contribution plan (DC). Professors hired after January 1, 2009

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The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

Text: Michael Lee-Murphy | Illustration: Amina Batyreva will move to a pure DC plan. The new plan passes the risk on to the employee, but will save McGill money. It is the new risk associated with an increasingly volatile stock market that has some McGill professors worried. Faculty members at all other universities in Montreal have DB plans. Professors are upset about more than the changes to the plan. The plan was changed with little to no consultation – let alone approval – with professors on any large scale. As a result, we now see MAUT questioning the manner in which decisions are made about professors’ working conditions. In MAUT’s November 2011 newsletter – its most recent – the association’s Professional and Legal Officer Joseph Varga printed a survey of pension plans at 26 Canadian universities, and reviewed the processes by which pension decisions get made. Only two universities in Canada, the University of British Columbia and the University of Western Ontario, have purely DC plans. Concordia, UdeM, and the UQ system all have DB plans. Of the 26 schools Varga looked at, half required faculty association approval for changes to the pension plan, and more still required at least some form of consultation. The final paragraph of Varga’s explanation of the survey perhaps best sums up our professors’ concerns with the way the pension issue was handled here: “A minority [of universities surveyed] allow for unilateral Board-approved changes to their pension plans. Approximately 80 per cent of the faculty associations have extensive agreements with their respective institutions concerning access to information, especially useful when negotiating compensation issues, including pensions. McGill is not one of them.” Shrier acknowledged that if there had been a union, maybe the pension issue would have been resolved differently. Ultimately, for

Shrier, the movement toward a DC pension with increased employee contributions was something that needed to happen anyway, because of McGill’s current financial situation. The collegial approach, as opposed to the union/adversarial approach, “is not hurting us,” he said. The defined contribution plan may not be what professors want, but it’s what McGill needs. For Lamarre, the new pension plan is somewhat grim. “The logic is that if you can’t succeed in the stock market then probably you should die.” If the anonymous prounion professor who joined MAUT is trying to change the thing from within, then Lamarre – who has a pair of doctorates in fields ranging from oceanology to Japanese poetry – is the bomb-thrower on the outside wanting to tear down its walls. (Bomb-throwing aside, Shrier and Lamarre were equally collegial during our interviews, both offering me tea.) The process of asking the administration for concessions in the MAUT context is degrading, in Lamarre’s mind. “Not a kind of abuse we should accept,” he said. Speaking at a CKUT-sponsored lunch at Community Square in front of James Administration on November 16, Lamarre told the assembled crowd that activists at McGill need to adopt a distinctly administration-style tactic: preemption. “We have to act preemptively. Let’s all just unionize now, we don’t need permission. We don’t have to beg for leniency,” he said into a scratchy microphone after holding a banner reading “McGill Feminist Anarchist Bloc.” *** The current agitations surrounding unionization are not the first attempts at starting a faculty union. For that, we have to go back to the 1970s. Sam Noumoff was a Political Science professor from 1967 until 2006, and was one

of the original handful of professors who worked on an early unionization campaign in the 1970s. He and others gathered as many as 120 professors into a fledgling McGill Faculty Union (MFU), but the effort never made it to certification. Noumoff said that some of the difficulties in attracting membership were the MFU’s ties to the Confédération des syndicats nationaux, which was seen as “too francophone, and too radical.” An October 1973 MFU letter of support for striking support workers asks colleagues not to cross picket lines. “We believe that no employer has the moral right to ask employees to cross a picket line to come to work,” the unsigned letter reads. The MFU sued the McGill administration and MAUT for engaging in collective bargaining without the mandate to do so. MAUT said it was merely “consulting.” Noumoff and his fellow unionists lost in court, and that was that – no faculty union. The difficulty in organizing, however, was deeper than the courts, and had something to do with that old McGill exceptionalism. The sense was, Noumoff said, that “the McGill tradition, whatever that is, would be trumped by a collective agreement.” While some are advocating for the abandonment of MAUT in favour of something new, there are several professors who are actively working on the democratization of university governance from within. Greg Mikkelson is one of them. Mikkelson was among the many McGillians beaten by riot police while walking across campus during the November 10 festivities. But his work on changing university governance started long before then. He began advocating for a more ethical pension plan in 2003, which eventually became available in 2008. The new ethical option, it turned out, wasn’t so ethical, with stocks in mining companies and other nasties. Mikkelson ran for MAUT Council last year, and was elected to a two-year term. In

his biographical statement from the candidacy he wrote, “Over 10 years of experience have convinced me that we need to democratize McGill from top to bottom. First the teaching assistants, then the non-academic staff, and finally students have risen up against un-collegial, authoritarian administration. It is time for us to join these other McGill constituencies in exercising our freedom and responsibility to govern.” (Collegiality, Mikkelson said, should really be a synonym for democracy.) Mikkelson is hesitant to say what his specific plans are for the MAUT council, but said he is “agnostic” about unionization. Unions for him are “second best to worker control.” “In the context of a university, it would be worker and student control,” he told me. As to what effect worker control would have on a place like McGill? After thinking for a long moment, Mikkelson responded with a question of his own. “Ultimately, who knows? I believe it would transform teaching and research at McGill in all kinds of beneficial ways.” Though he now lives in Châteauguay on Montreal’s South Shore, Noumoff – the union advocate from the attempt in the 1970s – has kept abreast of recent developments at McGill through an email list he called the McGill Wildcats. I asked him if he thought the events of last year and the pension issue would be enough to spur faculty here toward unionization, and his answer was a short, and definitive “Nope.” He echoed Nystrom, saying that if the pension issue didn’t provoke a union drive, “god knows what will.” Noumoff, however, has placed the blame for the current state of affairs at McGill at the feet of an interesting set of culprits: himself and his colleagues. “It’s natural for an administrator to aggregate as much power as they can. That’s just the way a large bureaucratic institution will function, and the question is, is somebody going to push back? And we didn’t push back.”

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22 The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

Un jour à la commission Mettre à jour la corruption

Illustration Romain Hainaut | Le Délit Pierre Chauvin Le Délit

u 9e étage de la tour du 500 avenue René-Lévesque, a lieu un ballet incessant de journalistes, avocats et employés. L’étage abrite la commission Charbonneau, qui doit siéger jusqu’en octobre 2013. Son mandat, voté par le gouvernement libéral de Jean Charest en novembre 2011, prévoit «d’examiner l’existence de stratagèmes [et] de dresser un portrait de ceux-ci qui impliqueraient de possibles activités de collusion et de corruption dans l’octroi et la gestion de contrats publics dans l’industrie de la construction». Étant donné la nature de la commission d’enquête, la sécurité est renforcée. Fouille automatique des sacs, détecteurs de métal, agents de sécurité postés stratégiquement... rien n’est laissé au hasard. Dans la salle d’audience, les avocats prennent place. Certains travaillent pour la Couronne, d’autre pour la commission, la ville de Montréal ou encore des associations de construction. «J’ai un pot-de-vin pour toi», lance en plaisantant un avocat à son collègue, en attendant le début des audiences. «La commission est pré-

sidée par l’Honorable France Charbonneau. Levez-vous.» La présidente, France Charbonneau, surplombe l’assistance. À sa droite, le commissaire Renaud Lachance. En face se trouve le témoin. Légèrement en retrait et à sa gauche, la personne en charge de l’interrogatoire: un des procureurs. Cinq caméras retransmettent en temps réel toutes les audiences. En tout, pas moins de cent personnes travaillent pour la commission, qui est dotée d’un budget de 14 millions de dollars. Après une brève présentation des procureurs, le témoin du jour, Michel Leclerc, propriétaire de l’entreprise Terramex, est assermenté. «Vous déclarez solennellement dire la vérité, toute la vérité, rien que la vérité? -Oui», répond Leclerc. Pendant plusieurs heures la procureure en chef, Maître Sonia LeBel, interroge Michel Leclerc sur les contrats que sa firme a exécuté. Les contrats sont examinés minutieusement. Le contrat était-il truqué? Y avait-il de la sous-traitance? Qui a organisé le trucage? Qui a été désigné d’avance pour remporter l’appel d’offre? Contrats après contrats le même constat apparaît: les «soumissions de complaisance» étaient de norme. Une soumission de complaisance a lieu lorsque toutes

les compagnies qui participent à un appel d’offre se mettent d’accord pour choisir qui aura la soumission la plus basse et donc qui pourra remporter le contrat. Leurs soumissions ne sont pas basées sur le prix réel; elles font en sorte que toutes les soumissions soient plus chères que celle désignée pour gagner. «La libre concurrence est juste un concept utopique si je comprends bien», conclut la procureure. La minutie des procureurs et commissaires de la commission n’a pas comme unique but d’éclairer le public sur la corruption dans le secteur de la construction. «Suite à toutes les audiences publiques, il y aura un rapport qui sera soumis avec toutes les recommandations», explique Richard Bourdon, le directeur des communications de la commission. «Les commissaires n’ont pas juste à entendre des témoins, ils doivent après trouver des pistes de solution et soumettre un rapport au gouvernement». La commission n’est cependant pas un tribunal – la mission d’enquêter pour porter des accusations criminelles revient à l’Unité Permanente AntiCorruption (UPAC). «Il y a une très bonne collaboration entre les organismes», assure Bourdon. «Dans le mandat, une des règles c’est de ne pas nuire aux

enquêtes et aux procédures criminelles en cours.» La commission est là avant tout pour faire lumière sur la corruption. «Les arrestations qui ont lieu n’ont rien à voir avec la commission Charbonneau. Elles sont faites par l’UPAC qui travaille indépendamment de la commission», confirme Marcel Danis, professeur de sciences politiques à l’université Concordia, qui enseigne sur le sujet de la corruption. Chaque témoin est ainsi pré-interrogé avant de témoigner. «Pour chaque question, [les procureurs] connaissent la réponse», explique Danis. «Le témoignage vient lorsque le témoin a déjà témoigné en privé avec le procureur [de la couronne] et la police. Ils doivent faire passer leurs témoins dans un certain ordre en fonction des réponses qu’ils donnent.» Malgré l’ampleur de la corruption et de la collusion, le système n’est pas à l’abri d’erreurs. «-Est-ce qu’il y a quelque chose de particulier par rapport à cet appel d’offre?», demande LeBel au sujet d’un contrat d’une dizaine de millions de dollars. Leclerc regarde attentivement le nom des soumissionnaires. «-Oui effectivement il y a quelque chose d’assez cocasse. L’entrepreneur, Frank Catania, ce n’est pas lui qui était désigné pour avoir le contrat», reconnaît Leclerc.

Les entreprises, au moment de se mettre d’accord, s’étaient trompées dans le montant des soumissions. Parfois l’ampleur de la corruption atteint des sommets vertigineux. Pour un contrat estimé à 2.6 millions de dollars, incluant une marge de profit raisonnable, la facture a été de 3.3 millions pour la ville. «Je vois qu’il est rentré avec une bonne marge», commente Leclerc. «-Les bras croisés pour brasser du papier on fait 700 000 dollars, c’est une belle marge de profit?», ironise la procureure. «-Il y a les politiques à payer», répond Leclerc, en référence aux 3% que les entrepreneurs payaient en pot-de-vin au parti de Gérald Tremblay selon le témoignage de Lino Zambito. Malgré la mise en place des recommandations du rapport Duchesneau, ancien patron de l’UPAC, Danis reste sceptique quant à la fin de la corruption à Montréal. «Le problème reste le même. Tant que le gouvernement obligera les villes à donner les contrats aux soumissions les plus basses, il y aura des problèmes», explique Danis. Cette règle avait été mise en place pour empêcher que les contrats soient attribués aux amis d’hommes politiques. «Il vont devoir trouver quelque chose d’autre», conclut Danis. x

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The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

Le Canada un refuge? Autrefois. La dégénérescence du système de santé canadien

Illustration LIndsay P. Cameron | Le Délit Alexandre Gauvreau Le Délit

e 30 avril 2012, le gouvernement conservateur de Stephen Harper annonçait l’instauration du Programme Fédéral de Santé Intérimaire (PFSI); une réforme de l’assurance santé fournie d’office aux réfugiés au Canada. Cette modification, qui se traduit officieusement par des coupures dans le système de soins aux réfugiés, a été instaurée le 30 juin dernier. Le ministère fédéral de la santé, responsable entre autres de l’administration des soins aux communautés autochtones et aux réfugiés, compte ainsi épargner près de 20 millions de dollars annuellement, soit 0,5% du portefeuille de 3,8 milliards du ministère de la santé. Jason Kenney, le ministre canadien de l’immigration, avançait alors l’importance, étant donné la situation actuelle, d’une diète économique. Il mettait en avant la nécessité de réduire le «tourisme médical» au Canada, où les soins de santé sont reconnus comme étant accessibles partout dans le monde. Il affirmait aussi l’intention de destituer les réfugiés d’une couverture d’assurance exhaustive à laquelle les citoyens canadiens eux-mêmes

n’ont pas accès, en rappelant que ce n’était que «justice» pour les «payeurs de taxes». Concrètement, le PFSI prévoit la création de plusieurs «catégories» de réfugiés, qui recevraient, selon leur dite catégorie, une couverture différente. Pour les réfugiés pris en charge par le gouvernement et les réfugiés victimes de la traite, la protection demeure inchangée. En d’autres mots, ils continuent de bénéficier d’un accès gratuit à l’ensemble des services médicaux, diagnostiques et hospitaliers ainsi que la possibilité d’avoir recours, toujours gratuitement, à des séances de psychothérapie, de soins dentaires et de la vue, en plus d’avoir leur médication et leurs appareils médicaux couverts. Couverture exhaustive qui n’est pas offerte si vous êtes un simple citoyen canadien. Dès décembre, il est attendu que le gouvernement fédéral crée une liste des pays d’origine désignée (POD). Cette liste, déterminée exclusivement par le ministre Kenney, ferait l’éventail des pays considérés sécuritaires par le gouvernement canadien, desquels il serait impossible de demander l’asile. La liste n’ayant pas encore été divulguée, on ne peut que spéculer quant aux pays qu’elle dénombrera, mais il ne serait pas surprenant qu’elle contienne tous les pays d’Europe, une grande

majorité des pays d’Amérique et probablement le Japon, l’Australie, et la Nouvelle-Zélande. Les réfugiés ne provenant pas des POD ainsi que ceux qui sont associés au secteur privé et qui feraient leur demande d’asile pour la première fois auraient alors une assurance différente. De la couverture exhaustive, il faut soustraire l’assurance médication, les chirurgies facultatives, la réadaptation et les soins de longue durée. Dans le cas où un réfugié représenterait un danger pour la santé publique, comme la tuberculose, ou présentant un état psychotique dangereux, les médicaments seraient couverts. Autrement, les patients, incluant ceux atteints de maladies chroniques comme le diabète et l’hypertension, devront dorénavant débourser pour se procurer leurs médicaments. La troisième catégorie de couverture créée par le PFSI est appliquée aux réfugiés provenant des POD ainsi que ceux qui ont vu leur demande d’asile déboutée (environ 60% des demandeurs), mais qui attendent le vol de retour pour leur pays d’origine. Elle ne comprend aucune couverture de soins, sauf en cas de danger pour la santé publique. Par exemple, une femme enceinte demandeuse d’asile qui aurait vu sa demande

déboutée ne serait pas couverte par l’assurance dans le cas où elle devrait accoucher au Canada avant d’être déportée dans son pays. À l’annonce de l’implantation de ces nouvelles mesures, le gouvernement québécois a promis que les services essentiels de santé, comme les médicaments de prescription couverts par l’assurance médicament du Québec, seraient dorénavant offerts aux réfugiés par la Régie de l’assurance maladie du Québec (RAMQ), ce qui n’est pas encore le cas dans les autres provinces. Au Québec, on peut donc traduire le PFSI comme étant un transfert de la charge des réfugiés «indésirables» à la province. Toutefois, ces mesures, dont l’urgente nécessité reste douteuse étant donné l’économie minime réalisée au niveau des coupures, se traduisent en vérité par une confusion généralisée au sein des nouveaux réfugiés et des professionnels de la santé, puisque le gouvernement n’agit pas de façon transparente quant à l’exégèse de sa nouvelle loi. En plus de cet imbroglio, le fardeau administratif s’alourdit pour les patients et les médecins. Le temps perdu à gérer les soins administrativement remet en question l’efficacité réelle de ces nouvelles mesures. Alors que la majorité des réfugiés continuent

de voir leur couverture d’assurance garantie par le ministre fédéral de la santé, nul ne sait quels services et quelles interventions, si pratiquées, seront aux frais des médecins ou des hôpitaux. Il est aussi à prévoir que certains réfugiés pour qui les services sont maintenus s’abstiennent de se rendre en hôpitaux, de peur de se voir claquer la porte au nez. Il ne faut pas non plus oublier que le PFSI affecte des individus ayant eu assez de déboires personnels. La maigre somme de 20 millions de dollars par année qu’économise le ministère de la santé du Canada avec ce nouveau système ne semble donc pas justifier autant de conséquences. Qui sait, après tout, l’impact qu’aura ce plan de santé sur les véritables réfugiés; sur le système de santé; ou sur l’image du Canada à l’international. La trombe médiatique a renvoyé la fausse image que les soins de santé étaient désormais refusés catégoriquement aux réfugiés. Il faut conclure que le gouvernement aurait dû être davantage responsable de l’éducation du personnel de la santé et de la population quant aux nouvelles catégories de réfugiés qu’il a créées, à leur insu. De mauvaise foi, d’insouciance ou de manque de jugement, on ne sait pas de quoi accuser Ottawa pour ces coupures. x

HEALTH&ED | SANTÉ

The McGill Daily & Le Délit Monday, November 26

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le lundi 26 novembre • 2012

Sex and virginity Emery Saur When I was younger, one of my moms said to me, “Virginity is just another way for a man to stick his penis in you and tell you it somehow changes who you are.” I came across a similarly heartwarming sentiment a couple weeks ago on some Tumblr, and it resonated. In order to discuss the concept of virginity, we need to

discuss the concept of sex, and what counts as ‘sex,’ which is more diverse when factoring in the experiences of queer people, trans* people, or those who have been sexually abused. We need to discuss how certain things about sex are ‘culturally proper,’ like certain ages or numbers of partners. We need to discuss how language dictates how

we discuss virginity, with women giving and men taking, about how only women’s sexuality is commodified, and about how not having had sex makes you a weirdo and having too much makes you weird, too. So I asked; I asked students at McGill who identify as virgins to tell me what this concept represents to them.

Illustration Bracha Stettin | The McGill Daily

“I’ve remained a virgin for you.” —Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Love in the Time of Cholera “I see sex as…something beautiful, as something that two people within the confines of marriage who, hopefully, love each other, share.” “I suppose it’s a continuation of love more than anything else. I do believe inherently that sex should be related to love.”

“I don’t appreciate the commercialization of [sex]. It devalues it and turns it into something cheap. It’s an instinct, as much as you’re tired or hungry, you’re appealing to the drives of people. If someone is hungry and you offer them food, it sells, obviously, because it is a basic drive.”

“I remember thinking I hated the idea of it, because it reduces our higher intellect and it becomes a drive that controls you; it’s something so base and I had no power over it.” “We have the capacity to elevate it with the emotional connection, but when it’s treated like this and casual and commercial-

ized, it’s upsetting.” “Sex can have multiple functions, and reducing it to one function isn’t doing it justice. I value it more than that. Then again I can easily say that because I’ve never been in the environment about whether I would choose or not choose. It’s never been a question, ever.”

“You never get over it. But you get to where it doesn’t bother you so much.” —Jeffrey Eugenides, The Virgin Suicides “Just hearing ‘you’re on our list [of virgins],’ – well first I was like ‘okay, I’m not number one, I’m not the only person’ and as reassuring as that was it’s like I’m in a minority; it’s like I’m in a cage at the zoo and ‘this is the virgin.’ That was kind of when it hit me that my ideal moment of having a girl I had an emotional connection with and then getting to that physical union probably wasn’t going to happen.” “To me it’s not a deliberate thing, I never said I’m going to wait until I’m 20, 21, or mar-

ried; as a kid I said I’m going to be in a relationship, but I never quantified it in a way that others have. It’s just that it hasn’t happened.” “A good friend of mine lost her virginity recently, and it’s not like our conversations changed, it’s not like I was all of a sudden on a lower echelon, or now this innocent kid, and that’s also when it hit me that it’s not as big of a deal as it seems.” “It was a demonstration of how close you were, and now it’s not. The people in my past who have gone the farthest physically are not

those who have gone the farthest emotionally, and because of that I’ve separated [the two onto] two different planes.” “I get that fear, like, what if I don’t like it? My biggest fear is just really being shit at it. Well it was; now I understand your first time you’re not an expert. No one’s expecting you to be an expert. “I’m just afraid that I’m not going to like it. I’m petrified.” “I’ve definitely felt that there’s still some sort of stigma around still being a virgin, I’ve felt

that I’m a child still; you’re not a real man unless you’ve had sex. You know, some people [say things like] ‘I thought you were such a nerd and then I found out you got laid?’ But I’ve learned from my good friends it doesn’t change you, it’s not like you’re going to be a completely different person once it happens. I’ve stopped trying to glorify it. I’ve stopped actively seeking it out as some sort of rite of passage.” “But it’s not just about sex itself. When I’m with a girl it’s because I want to be with them as a human being, not as a vagina.”

“People with lost personalities will suffer a great deal more than those with lost virginities.” —Melina Marchettta, Saving Francesca “I feel like in our society there’s a lot of pressure for young women to just have sex, the idea that there’s an amount of time where you have to give it up or he’s going to leave; you have to be willing to give it up for a guy to be interested in you.” “When we talked about the homeless woman that you met, in a lot of spectrums that completely applies to all types of women, especially the younger ones, when you’re trying to discover who you are and there are all these pressures, and when you’re not sure, it’s so easy to go with the flow.” “I feel like the comfortable woman isn’t everyone – if we look at this environment, I think we’re really lucky as women to be educated about other types of pressure that are

given to women: societal, patriarchal, and others; we’re taught and learn about these things [and] able to be more educated about our decisions and approach it more healthily than someone who doesn’t have access and who has never had access to this sort of empowerment. I feel like in these situations sex is a very detrimental weapon that is used against these women.” “I mean, the different thing about my sister and me is that after immigration we were put into good schools in good neighbourhoods, where the structures of relations were based on psychological violence and addressing the differences between men and women.” “I always saw a lack of empowerment or power assigned to women and elders, which is

detrimental to the development of an identity where you know yourself and don’t fall prey to the pressures that are assigned to you. Even as educated as I am there is still a lot of pressure on me about the way I should be acting.” “During the war I saw women being raped, people being close to me being raped, so sex can be a tool of violence, physically as I saw or more subtly.” “For me sex is not … sex very much alters a person. It’s not just something you do.” “There are way too [many] patriarchal politics, sexist politics, that go with this idea of giving it up; of having an age where there are expectations about what the sexual life of a woman should be, about not having a lot of sexual partners because society wants us to,

or doesn’t want us to.” “I can’t bring someone else in when I’m not even completely centred or sure about who I am as a person. I know it would change me and I would have expectations from another person, and I don’t know if those expectations would be related to the relationship or me trying to find myself within that person.” “A lot of people use relationships to avoid any type of self-reflection on their own identity issues or problems or whatever, and until I know exactly who I am I won’t involve myself on any level with someone. I want to be able to be sure about what that means to me, for reasons other than me wanting to have that relationship. I don’t want it to be a proxy for something else.”

HEALTH&ED | SANTÉ

The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

The Alberta tar sands and First Nations health What’s going on in northern Alberta? Diana Kwon Health&Education Writer

anadians, in general, are well aware of the unjustly negative health outcomes of Aboriginal people – we know that there is something wrong. However, many of us are oblivious to the current specific issues impacting Aboriginal people. The tar sands in Alberta and their negative impact on the health and lifestyle of the Native communities in the area are one such issue. Recently, questions have been raised about the expansion of the Jackpine oilsands, a mining site located in northern Alberta. The project is led by Shell Canada, one of the nation’s largest oil production companies. The proposed plan is to increase oil production by 100,000 barrels per day, boosting total production to 300,000 barrels per day. The oilsands (or tar sands) are major deposits of petroleum. The tar is a mixture of water, sand, clay, and petroleum. As worldwide demand for oil has been rapidly increasing, the extraction of fossil fuel from tar sand reserves has become of great interest to consumers, even though the extraction process is incredibly inefficient. The Jackpine oilsands are a part of these reserves, and are some of the biggest reservoirs of crude oil in Canada. The Jackpine expansion has raised serious concerns among the neighbouring Aboriginal communities. The First Nations in this area are questioning whether the expansion will have a negative impact on the surrounding wildlife habitats and the health of their members. Shell’s previous expansion has already caused substantial damage to the nearby wildlife and has had significant health effects on First Nations people living in the proximate areas.

Illustration Akanksa Chaubal

Many environmental experts posit that contaminants from these mines flow into the river, directly affecting the Native communities who live downstream. Numerous news sources have noted Environment Canada’s recent findings that the tar sands are poisoning the fish in the bodies of water downstream from the tar sands, including Lake Athabasca, Athabasca Delta, and the Athabasca River. Because fish is an essential component of the diet for the First Nations around the river, the high prevalence of diseased fish poses a serious problem. A study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by a group at the University of Alberta in 2010 revealed the prevalence of carcinogens in areas around and downstream from the tar sands. The pollutants found in the snow and waterways

included mercury, lead, and thallium – all of which have the potential to raise serious health concerns. Further reports with regards to environmental and health concerns have found higher instances of cancers in the communities surrounding the Athabasca River. One of the main groups in this area is the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation (ACFN), who have been very active in voicing their concerns in recent month. In a statement earlier this year, Chief Allan Adam, a representative of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation said, “We live a very traditional life; we live off the land and the water. We have been told again and again that contaminants are naturally occurring, yet in the last 40 years we have seen the health of our community decline due to cancers and illness that we didn’t see before.”

Though these health and environmental concerns pose a great problem, there is the deeper, more systemic issue: First Nations individuals are not being given the proper opportunity to voice their concerns. As Shell began its expansion, First Nations groups in the surrounding areas began to protest. At the most recent hearing regarding the expansion in October, the ACFN was denied the ability to challenge Shell’s plans. Despite claims that the ACFN application had not been properly submitted, the review panel had failed to completely disclose all information for the application requirements. Shell argues that because the oil industry creates employment opportunities for individuals, the interests of First Nations people have been taken into account. However, for the ACFN, the potential to cause sickness in their citizens trumps the need for jobs.

Although the tar sands are not located explicitly on First Nations territory, the mining expansion has caused major negative changes in the lives of those individuals living in the surrounding areas. Given the environmental and health-related damage previous expansions have caused, it is right to be wary of the immense project that is about to be underway. Adding to the growing deposits of carcinogens may likely result in disaster for the First Nations communities around the oil sands in the future. The fate of these people was decided without sufficient opportunities for them to have their voices heard. All across Canada, Aboriginal individuals face a myriad of issues, and many of these are a result of insensitivity towards their lands and ways of life. The tar sands are no exception.

Are students depressed? Antidepressant prescriptions are on the rise among students Rachael Kim Health&Education Writer

ast semester, I went through a rough patch that left me emotionally rattled. I was excommunicated by my friends after a rough fallout, and as a result, was left isolated. To my parents, who were coping with my grandmother’s hospitalization, my situation would have seemed trivial; it was anything but. I know how it feels to not have anyone understand your situation; to be abandoned. I know what it feels like to be a university student suffering from depression,

just like many others before me, and others to come. A CBC report published earlier this month revealed that the consumption of antidepressants among university students has soared, and they are now consumed more frequently than birth control. University of Ottawa students, for example, spent about $119,049 on antidepressants last year. This exceeds the total amount spent on skin products, antibiotics, and attention deficit disorder drugs. It is difficult to pinpoint what led to such escalation in antidepressant prescriptions, which, according to a study done by University of Toronto,

have risen consistently by at least 1 per cent every year. Over the past few years, an increased social awareness of mental health has reduced some of the stigma of depression and, as a result, has given more students the opportunity to seek clinical consultations without being judged by their peers. Among a myriad of reasons why many students suffer from depression and turn to antidepressants, the stress imposed by financial burden seemed to be the most common. According to Ann-Marie Roy, vice president communications at the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa, costly tuition

fees force some students to work part-time while juggling their academics. The stress of trying to balance work and academics can take a psychological toll on students. Those who can’t handle it – and are often struggling with depression as a result – look to antidepressants as a concrete solution for their problem. However, depression does not exclusively target those who are less financially privileged. Murray Sang, director of the Student Academic Success Services at the University of Ottawa, believes that most parents who smother their children, and ‘pamper’ them, leave them at a loss

when they are posed the problem of facing life on their own. Sang says, “The transition to university is challenging and students are not prepared with resiliency.” The result, oftentimes, is depression. It is important not to consume antidepressants haphazardly based on the assumption that depression is simply a chemical imbalance of neurotransmitters, which can be solved by drug intake. As the benefits and dangers of antidepressants remain inconclusive, students should be informed of potential consequences, such as nausea, insomnia, and digestive problems.

SCI+TECH

The McGill Daily & Le Délit Monday, November 26

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le lundi 26 novembre • 2012

Out of sight, out of existence How lack of public awareness hurts Canadian science Stephanne Taylor Science+Technology Writer

he Globe and Mail doesn’t have a science section. Neither does the National Post. Add to this the fact that there are no dedicated Canadian science magazines for the general public, and it starts to become obvious why Canadians rarely hear about groundbreaking science research done across the country. Of course, Canada is a relatively small country by population, and this means our contributions to science are often pieces of larger projects spearheaded by American or European groups. While those pieces are often critical to the project’s success, freelance journalist Colin Schultz wryly noted in an interview with The Daily that “it’s hard to get jazzed up about a piece of a puzzle.” More people were excited about the International Space Station or the shuttle program than the Canadarm, even though the robotic arm was a major contribution to both projects and a remarkable feat of engineering. However, the stories that do make the news are often popular, showing that Canadians do have an appetite for Canadian science. The lack of dedicated media makes public awareness difficult; there are few forums where Canadians can talk about science and research at length or consistently. Partially, this is because the Canadian media as a whole is small, so Canadian science media is a small wedge of a small pie. Science is usually shuffled in with general news, and because of the limited space and spotty coverage given to science, there’s hardly any room for anything beyond bare-bones reporting of events: no long-term perspective, no critical analysis, no opinion pieces. “There [are] almost no examples of Canadian science stories playing out across several media outlets,” lamented Marie-Claire Shanahan, a professor of science education at the University of Alberta. As part of her teaching, she looks for widely covered stories to use as case studies for her students to dissect, and “[has] to go with almost completely American stories.” Much of the science media that Canadians consume and have access to is either American or British: both nations have a robust, highly visible science media sector. While most Canadians wouldn’t look primarily to American journalism for political news and analysis, science doesn’t have the same inherent national boundaries that politics does. While the laws of physics don’t change depending

Illustration Oles Chepesiuk | The McGill Daily

on which side of the Atlantic you’re on, there are scientific endeavours that are important to Canadians but have little importance to other nations. It’s unlikely that a British researcher would investigate the state of the Canadian cod fishery, or that the British press would cover it, but that research is critical to a substantial number of Canadians’ livelihoods. The lack of homegrown reporting and communication to a wide Canadian audience becomes a big problem when, in the wake of massive budget cuts at Environment Canada (EC) and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), groups like the ozone research group and ocean contaminants groups are dissolved. Alarmingly, Schultz and Shanahan both remarked that they had heard about one or another of the groups cut at EC and DFO not from a Canadian source, but from the Guardian, a British newspaper. There are two possible explanations for this phenomenon: we either don’t have the resources to report on our own federal public service, or we don’t collectively prioritize reporting on our own federal public service. Both of those are a big problem. The public’s understanding of what’s going on in the federal public service, which is a bellwether for the federal government’s direction and policy, should not be left to the whims of a foreign media outlet that will focus on it through an international lens.

Ironically, the recent silencing of Canadian scientists has shone a spotlight on these chronic deficiencies in Canadian science media. The government’s “let no information out, however innocuous” strategy is looking increasingly retrograde – as well as being totally at odds with scientific practice, which thrives on the flow of information and open communication. Journalists started noticing that federal scientists were not able to speak to the press in 2010, and since then have highlighted the need for flow of information, access to federal scientists, and a concerted public discourse, in pieces published in high profile journals such as Nature. Two years later, these pieces are still being written, but the government’s communication strategy has not shifted. But the government’s lockdown on information is not necessarily in their own interest. “You’re going to get yourself in a situation where you’re not going to be able to have the … explanation ‘look, we’re doing what our scientists are telling us.’ There are going to be things that arise that you really want to say that because … you’re going to want to depoliticize your response,” said Stephen Strauss, president of the Canadian Science Writers’ Association (CSWA). Arguably, situations like this have already arisen, like the XL Beef recall, and the government is unwavering in its strategy. But because the Canadian science media often struggles for visi-

bility in the public eye, it’s easier for the government to silence its scientists with relative impunity. A scattered science media leads to scattered discussion, making it harder for the average citizen to follow the discussion over long stretches of time or even to keep up with pieces written criticizing the government’s treatment of science. However, as more and more instances of questionable science policy come to (faint) light, the government may be forced to change. On the other hand, as Canadian traditional media struggles to consistently cover science news, there’s been an explosion of scientists of all stripes doing a lot of the necessary big picture, broad context, critical analysis on the internet. The lack of space restrictions and accessibility of the internet (it’s much easier to start a blog than try to break in to traditional media) mean that two of the major barriers to complex discussion of science in the media are gone. Blogs struggle to have the same reach as newspapers and traditional media, though, and many of the most successful science blogs are under the online umbrella of mainstream outlets like Scientific American and Discover. Unfortunately and perhaps unsurprisingly, there is currently no Canadian science blog network like this. All these factors create a complex situation where it is difficult to have a public discourse about

the role of science in Canadian culture and the role of Canadian culture in our science initiatives. Due to a host of environmental and scientific issues from climate change to proposed pipelines to water treatment, now, especially, we need space to have those discussions and analysis. We need, somehow, to recover a national narrative of Canadian science to be able to navigate those issues. Even with the growth of the internet, the power to shape public discourse is still held by the mainstream press; Strauss and Shanahan emphasized that traditional media is still where most people get their news. The science community and science writers need to continue to press traditional media (through advocacy groups like the CSWA) to cover and develop science stories. Kathryn O’Hara, professor of journalism and former president of the CSWA, thinks that things are starting to change, at least with regards to the clampdown on federal scientists. “I think we’re beginning to build a bit of a groundswell in people understanding that something is amiss. People say ‘Oh, something’s going on here.’” It’s realizations like this that need to happen en masse, to allow the public a voice in an increasingly political discourse about science, and to, perhaps, place pressure on the government to fund the research Canadians, and not just the Conservative government, deem important.

SCI+TECH

The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

Just fun and games Exploring the different sides of gamification Tom Acker The McGill Daily

The Daily Publications Society is looking for students to serve on the Board of Directors. Help make organizational decisions for the DPS, publisher of The McGill Daily and Le Délit. Please send a 100-word statement of intent to chair@dailypublications.org for consideration.

magine that after going on a long run, instead of taking a hot shower, you log onto your computer, enter your time into a website, and are greeted with a friendly congratulations informing you that you’ve received 1,000 points for your effort. You’ve leveled up and it looks like you’ve been able to come out a little bit ahead of your friend’s score. In class, you complete an online practice section in Khan Academy, and instead of having your teacher give you feedback on your assignment, you get an instantaneous pop-up informing you that you’ve just received the “Good Habits Badge.” Welcome to the world of gamification. Gamification is the turning of tasks that normally are routine, rote, or generally uninteresting, and applying game mechanics to them in order to make them more fun or appealing. Often this will take the form of ‘badges’ or ‘achievements’ that users can receive for completing specifics tasks. More advanced systems track points, offer progress bars, and foster competition to keep players involved. While the basic tenets of gamification have been around in various forms for years, the wider proliferation of smartphones has led gamification to start seeping into all aspects of our lives. Originally used for achievements in mainstream video games like Halo 3, gamification has expanded to involvement in programming, fitness, education, and has applications in science and market research. Companies like Fitocracy use it to give user badges for exercising, competing with friends, and burning a certain number of calories. Codecademy uses badges as an incentive to help users learn web languages like HTML, CSS, and Javascript. Gamification takes tasks that seem undesirable or chore-like and makes them engaging. By allowing users to visualize their progress and be rewarded for their effort, gamification allows for a more concrete sense of achievement. It plays into users’ desire for both constant feedback and competition. Users become engaged because they want to win. Going for a run is suddenly important because you want to beat your friends; making sure you code for a while today means that you can finally get that badge. Users also have the option to share their wins on Facebook and Twitter, providing even more avenues and incentives to showcase their accomplishments to the world. However, not all gamification

Illustration Amina Batyreva | The McGill Daily

initiatives are as well-intentioned as they seem. The augmented reality game recently launched by Google, Ingress – which encourages users to fight an invisible secret organization that seeks to “mind hack” the citizens of the world by collecting energy and going to “portals” in real locations across the globe – has been analyzed by many to be a data collection exercise for Google Maps. By utilizing players’ GPS location data on their phones and encouraging them to explore and photograph hiking paths and other areas not easily accessible to Google’s own team and satellite cameras, Google enhances its own map services, especially its pedestrian directions. While users consent to a terms of service agreement allowing Google to use their phones, GPS coordinates, and data, it isn’t explicitly stated that data collection is the real purpose of the game. Even more sinister is gamification’s recent foray into actual war zones. In 2002, the U.S. Army released America’s Army, a recruitment tool which simulated actual U.S. Army training situations and encouraged users to get the real army experience. Now in its eleventh year, America’s Army is seen as a “low cost recruitment tool” that aims to get military service to be a serious future option for young gamers. More recently, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) released its own gamification initiative as part of its larger “Pillar of Defense” online propaganda

campaign. Players are asked to join part of the IDF’s “virtual army” by sharing, via social media, statesponsored news releases and images that present a decidedly one-sided version of the current military initiatives in Gaza. The more that users share and tweet, the more points they get, allowing them to move up the virtual ranks. At 1,000,000 points, it’s possible to get the “Lieutenant General” badge and be presented with the message, “All rise for the chief of staff! You are commander of the Israeli Defense Force, Sir. Salute.” While gamification has the potential to implement a motivating force that helps people educate and better themselves, it also has the potential to trivialize complex issues and reduce them to little more than points to be won. With games like Ingress, consumers are made complicit in giving away personal information – without their knowledge – to help better a corporation at little benefit to themselves. Moreover, gamified war does not take into account the tremendous real-life impact that war has on the people involved. Since 2002, well over 100,000 people have died due to the war in Iraq. Before the recent ceasefire in Gaza, Israeli airstrikes of the past few weeks have led to over 100 Palestinian deaths. War is not something to be taken lightly, and turning it into a game simply serves to add another layer of separation between our actions and their consequences.

SPORTS

The McGill Daily & Le Délit Monday, November 26

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le lundi 26 novembre • 2012

Illustration Amina Batyreva | The McGill Daily

Inside and outside the octagon The curious dynamic between fans and athletes at UFC 154 Corey Webster Sports Writer

SP! GSP! GSP!” Those words are pounded into my mind, burrowing deep into my bones and causing a shiver to run across my skin. Although I am at least 200 metres from the actual cage, the energy seems to leap the distance in a millisecond. There is an infectious and almost tangible excitement in the air. I can’t help but smile and shake my head. I am at UFC 154: Condit vs. St-Pierre. Even though tonight is my first live Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) event, it is not my first experience with mixed martial arts (MMA). I have trained seriously for about four years and have even tried my hand in the octagon. I came searching for a better understanding of how mixed martial arts is perceived in the eye of the fan versus the eye of the fighter. Although fans and fighters both share a love for mixed martial arts, their perspectives and reasons differ drastically. The UFC is the largest production business in mixed martial arts, and home to the best mixed martial artists. MMA is a rapidly growing sport in which two athletes meet in an enclosed octagonal cage, fighting for several five-minute rounds until one is declared winner. A win can come from one of the following: a) submission, b) knockout, or c) decision, in which the fight “goes the distance” and judges choose a winner. Fighters can use a wide

arsenal of martial arts, from classic ‘Greco-Roman’ wrestling, to boxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. As my coach always says, “MMA is the ultimate competition. There is no hiding or fakeness about fighting; it’s two people putting everything on the line.” MMA events have often been described as a new-age gladiator show, the major difference being that the audience doesn’t decide who wins or loses – and no one dies. Instead of merely putting their thumbs up or down, fans cheer for their favorites and make it well known whom they want to lose. In the last decade, the sport has grown exponentially due to expanded TV coverage and better marketing. As well as a massive boom in the amount of people watching MMA, many more people have started training – or at least trying it out. This surge in popularity is no doubt due to the machismo and excitement of the show. It is infectious, affecting even the calmest of people and leaving them thinking, “I could do that.” But to reiterate what my coach says, there is no faking the training. Most people find that out very quickly during their first sparring session. Not coincidentally, that’s why only one out of ten people who try mixed martial arts continue past the first month. Instead, a lot of people come to UFC events to live vicariously through the fighters, surrounded by thousands of similar-minded people. Often, the stadiums can’t handle the egos in the area, and fights break out. In fact, I witness two brutal fights in

the crowd at this single event. Being at an event like this is new for me, for I don’t normally interact with people on this side of the competition. I scan the stands for a fan who is easily accessible, pick out one of the many tight-shirted bald men, and make my way over to him. “Hey man, quick question,” I shout excitedly over the din. “What’s your favorite part about tonight and the UFC?” He catches me by surprise and leans heavily on my shoulder, spinning me around at the same time so that we are both facing the cage. “Bro. That,” he says in a heavy Quebec accent, as his eyes feebly attempt to focus on the scantily clad figure of Arianny Celeste. Celeste is the UFC’s most famous ring girl – her lone job being to look good and carry a piece of cardboard between rounds. It seems that the fans would lose interest in this spectacle after a while, yet three hours and plenty of beers later, many of the fans whoop loudly as if seeing it for the first time. While my inebriated friend perfectly matches my perception of the average fan, I admit that I could easily have chosen someone a little less drunk, with perhaps a fairer reason for attending such as “seeing two mentally and physically strong people test their wills and bodies.” It is an attractive idea, and in principle it is the reason why any sport garners attention. However, there is a difference when that sport involves violent contact and lots of blood. It is not just a competition for the sake of being declared the champion,

but of not being physically dismantled by the opponent. I would venture to guess that for the majority of athletes, the allure of martial arts comes from a much different place than what the fan thinks of. Personally, I feel that the relationships made during training combined with the continuous bettering of myself are what interest me. In the interest of comparing the fan vs. fighter perspective, I casually asked a couple of my training partners what mixed martial arts means to them. Unsurprisingly, the responses echoed my own reasons for loving it. “Testing the strength of my body and mind,” and “being part of a brotherhood” were just a couple of the answers. Enduring some of the most physically demanding challenges alongside someone is an amazing way to create a lasting bond. This is the reason that during this fight – and virtually all fights – the two fighters hug wholeheartedly afterwards. No matter how much trash-talk was thrown around leading up to the fight, the hug signifies a mutual acknowledgement of the feat that the two just accomplished together. Here is where another sharp contrast between fighter and fan mentality arises, for no matter how educated in MMA the fan is, they will never fully understand the feeling of camaraderie without having gone through it themselves. While the hugs at the end of a fight warm the heart and leave the fans satisfied that “all is well,” this sentiment is not shared by all. In reality, one will still leave the cage

as a loser, and one as a winner. Tonight, Georges St-Pierre (GSP), a Quebec native, walks out the winner by decision, to the adoration of the home crowd, while Carlos Condit loses his interim title. It is a hard task to recover from a loss at any competition, but it is even harder when you are nursing a broken arm or split forehead. Oftentimes, as adrenaline rushes through a fighter’s veins, and excitement takes hold, injuries are overlooked and easily aggravated. The fans don’t get to see this facet of the mixed martial arts. They see a winner, and no matter how much “heart” the loser showed, the winner is the one celebrated. As a loser begins an arduous journey of rebuilding their mindset, a carefree fan goes to the bar to celebrate. All in all, the night was both exciting and eye-opening. The spectacle of UFC is an issue that I – and many others – continuously have a hard time dealing with. It is an impressive production, with millions of dollars’ worth of equipment stitched together to produce a seamless show. Yet the result of this show is twenty thousand fans saturated in alcohol, looking for blood. Although there is a minority of people who train and appreciate MMA for the technique and skill behind it, the truth is that there are more people that are there to see someone get “knocked the hell out, bro!” I tend to be pessimistic in thinking that will ever change; yet I will continue to do my part in being the minority.

SPORTS

The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

Illustration Amina Batyreva | The McGill Daily

McGill Golf’s under-the-radar season A season in review, and why you don’t see much about McGill’s golf team Rebecca Babcock Sports Writer

t may be surprising to find out that McGill has a Redmen and Martlets golf team. We rarely hear advertisements about their upcoming tournaments, nor do we get updates on how they did. The McGill golf team has good results, particularly the Redmen, and thus it is surprising that they get very little attention. The Martlet golf team finished third in their first tournament of the season, and stayed steady throughout the year to finish third out of the four teams at Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) Championships – even when one of their athletes, Meghan Chen, was unable to play due to the flu. Emily Phoenix stepped up at the Championships to have the lowest score of her teammates, ending up 12th overall for the sea-

son. Throughout the year, Dayvi Khanna consistently lowered her scores and ended up seventh, while Jenn Newton finished 15th. The team is young – three out of their four team members are still competing their first year. Their season was consistent, and it can be expected that they will become a viable threat to any team as they gain more experience. The Redmen golf team accomplished a lot in their season; a team twice the size of the Martlets, with only two freshmen, they finished eighth out of 12 teams in their tournament in Rimouski, and kept improving through the season. They finished sixth in their second tournament and placed third at the RSEQ Championships. It is unfortunate that their season wasn’t longer. With the trend their season was following, it was very possible they could have been the top team in the conference with the winning of one or two more competitions.

Ryan Boyd had a great start to the season, finishing eighth in the first competition, and ending up in 15th place overall, after finishing five strokes behind teammate Benoit Miquel in the Championships. Miquel continued his great performance from the second tournament, at the RSEQ Championships, to finish with the team’s lowest score – and placed 13th overall for the season. Tom Calvet had a solid year, finishing in 17th place overall. Brian Neill finished twenty eighth, and freshman Michael Reaume finished 30th. Why, then, don’t we hear much about the accomplishments of the McGill golf team? This time it’s not about gender – women’s teams at McGill typically receive much less attention from students, for a number of reasons – because both golf teams are equally ignored. This is more an issue of accessibility to the competitions, quantity of the com-

petitions, and length of season. The men’s golf team competed in three tournaments and the women’s golf team only competed in two. The men’s first tournament happened in August before school starts, another happened in September, and the last one barely went past the first week of October. At this time students were figuring out courses, settling into the rhythm of a new year, or had just arrived to Montreal. All these reasons do not favour the McGill golf teams; students are definitely not focused on supporting during that time. Adding to the issue, these tournaments happen nowhere near McGill. One is in Trois-Rivières and one is in Rimouski. The only tournament that is relatively close is in St. Hubert, but is still a trek. Only students dedicated enough would plan trips to watch these competitions. The only possible solutions are having your own car or hitching

a ride with the team – and while the team might appreciate it, it may be awkward to travel with them. Another problem with golf – similarly to swimming, synchronized swimming, and track and field events – is that the athletes, who are being watched by specific fans, are in action for a minute or two at most; the competition lasts the whole day. A fan would want to support their friends for the half hour that they’re in the spotlight, but it’s not realistic to spend nine more hours around the course when it’s the other athletes’ turns. Despite these issues, there exists a definite lack of acknowledgement for the success of the McGill golf team. Campus ought to congratulate the McGill golf teams for their solid year and expect great things next season. Their rapid improvement makes them a team to watch in upcoming years.

ARTS & CULTURE The Advertising and Business Office would like to thank all its readers and advertisers for their continued support throughout the year.

The McGill Daily & Le Délit Monday, November 26

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le lundi 26 novembre • 2012

Courts-métrages, courts montages

The McGill Daily returns January 10th Le Délit returns January 15th

ARTifact et le TNC présentent un concours de cours métrages

We wish you all a happy Holiday Season and a prosperous New Year!

Photo Lauriane Giroux | Le Délit Lauriane Giroux Le Délit

ardi soir avait lieu la soirée FILMifact au Tuesday Night Café, une compagnie de théâtre étudiant qui présente plusieurs pièces de différents auteurs connus et moins connus. Les productions des participants du concours de réalisation de courts métrages en 72 heures y étaient présentées. Les productions devaient durer moins de dix minutes et inclure les éléments suivants: un ou plusieurs chapeaux originaux, le nom «TNC» ou «Tuesday Night Café» mentionné ou écrit, un personnage mangeant des croustilles ainsi qu’un personnage prononçant la réplique suivante «The hands of truth, the hands of honesty, the hands of authenticity». FILMifact faisait partie de la série des ARTifacts, des soirées ayant lieux quelques fois dans l’année et mettant en vedette le talent artistique de plusieurs élèves. Ces événements sont présentés au Tuesday Night Café. Au menu mardi dernier: des performances scéniques ainsi que des courtsmétrages réalisés par des étudiants dans différents contextes.. Après avoir été chaleureusement accueillis par l’équipe d’organisateurs, avec du café et des cupcakes, la soirée commence par la lecture d’un texte de l’étudiante Jennifer Huans. Elle y décrit

un supermarché où tout est noir. Pour mieux vivre l’expérience, elle recommande à tous de fermer les yeux. Son texte est évocateur, et met en mots le caractère improbable de la scène. Esmond Sage, un autre étudiant, est ensuite monté sur scène afin de nous présenter une courte pièce de théâtre. Incertain au début, il joue un ancien prisonnier accusé du meurtre de son frère, qui tente d’expliquer ce qui s’est réellement passé dans une reconstitution des plus farfelues. Sage a même demandé à certains membres du public de participer. Son interprétation était juste et le texte teinté d’humour. Le concours de courts-métrages a suivi sans tarder. Les participants devaient donc écrire, réaliser et monter un court-métrage dans un délai de 72 heures et présenter le tout mardi soir. Finalement, deux productions se sont rendues jusqu’à l’étape du visionnement. Locked réalisé par Justin et Max, mettait en scène un personnage retenu à divers objets par un cadenas de vélo. On y voyait notamment des scènes où il était attaché à une porte de réfrigérateur, à une clôture ou encore à une patte de chaise, créant des situations cocasses. Le vidéo utilisait un humour simple et léger mais très efficace, provocant des rires dans la salle. Malgré la simplicité de certains plans de caméra, le montage efficace rattrapait ces quelques éléments! Le second court-métrage,

qui n’avait pas de titre, était présenté par Sasha, Jehane, Lina et Bracha. On y voyait une jeune fille dans plusieurs scènes différentes. L’utilisation de plusieurs effets sonores était très intéressante quoique parfois maladroite par rapport au volume. Le vidéo intégrait des scènes d’animation en image par image très bien réalisées. Les couleurs étaient très présentes dans le clip, notamment dans une scène où de la peinture jaune était versée sur la demoiselle tenant un parapluie transparent. La soirée continue par la présentation de deux courts-métrages hors compétition réalisés dans le cadre du cours d’Anthropologie 408. Ce cours explore les moyens de communication qui ne nécessitent pas la parole ou l’écriture, tels que le cinéma. Le premier vidéo était une réalisation d’Emily Murphy intitulé «Silent Portrait». Elle y présentait sa mère dans un silence absolu, sans parole ni musique, exclusivement avec des images. Un concept très intéressant et sans doute amusant à explorer. Une deuxième production de ce cours était également présentée; un film de Jessie Kilburn sur un centre de danse communautaire. Les plans visuels étaient absolument magnifiques et représentaient à merveille l’interaction entre les jeunes, aucun mot n’étant nécessaire. x Le 19 janvier débutera un coucours gratuit d’écriture de pièce de théâtre organisé par le TNC.

ARTS & CULTURE

The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

On that funk tip CKUT’s Friday night special, WEFUNK Ceren Eroglu Culture Writer

ince 1996, the mixes of WEFUNK have filled the air on CKUT 90.3 FM. Starting originally as the 4 to 7 a.m. show on Friday morning, the show now holds the prestigious party timeslot of early Saturday morning, from 12 to 2 a.m. Comprised of two hosts, Professor Groove and DJ Static (also known as Nick and Mike, respectively), the show is currently in its 16th year. With listeners across North America and the world, it is arguably CKUT’s most popular program. As half of WEFUNK, Professor Groove’s specialty unsurprisingly comes from his “skills mixing funk.” After arriving in Montreal from Connecticut in 1994, Professor Groove has fit in well with the city’s cultural landscape, and has helped shape the Montreal funk/ hip hop music scene. He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from McGill, and now works at the Montreal Children’s Hospital. DJ Static, Groove’s partner, moved back to Vancouver three years ago. Also a McGill graduate and the second half of WEFUNK, DJ Static brought to WEFUNK his knowledge and love of hip hop. “We learned from each other,” Nick said. “We helped each others’ knowledge and love of music grow.” Fearing that WEFUNK would deteriorate and lose its direction after DJ Static’s move to Vancouver, Professor Groove was happy to see the project develop further, despite his partner’s absence. DJ Static calls in sometimes, and since his departure, WEFUNK

has received more on-air guests, because Nick soon realized he did not like sitting by himself. Nick and Mike were paired together randomly when they both joined CKUT in 1996. Growing up listening to music and playing instruments, Nick joined the radio station (and subsequently started his own show) because he wanted to share the music he loved. “I wanted others to discover it,” he said. “I wanted people to know about it,” ‘it’ being funk. Starting with seventies funk, with artists such as James Brown, Kool & The Gang, and Sly & The Family Stone, Nick was hooked on funk (not the more electronic eighties funk, though – let’s not mix them up). Currently, Nick spends nearly all of his time listening to music. Whether it’s in the background while he’s at work or when he’s relaxing, Nick marks the songs that grab his attention, to later create his set for WEFUNK on Friday night. Mike brought into Nick’s love of funk some old school hip hop, such as Gang Starr, Eric B. & Rakim, and Nas. Nick says that WEFUNK was driven exlusively by the music. “Some radio shows are like talk shows, and are based on the hosts. Ours was and is based on the music.” Though Nick acknowledges the change in the importance of radio in our lives, he believes that rather than disappearing altogether, it has merely changed by becoming digitalized, with live streams and podcasts online. Regardless of how much radio changes, or how small its share of our media consumption,

Photo Courtesy of WEFUNK

Professor Groove believes that radio will always be different from other sources of entertainment, because it allows us to discover new songs and expand our music library. In 1998, after 167 shows, Professor Groove and DJ Static started recording them. This helped monumentally, Nick says, when the time to put them up online came. In 1999, they started webcasting their shows, which is why WEFUNK is as well known as it is in Europe and elsewhere. Considering that Nick views radio as an important part of our lives, particularly in enabling musical discovery, it comes as no surprise that he was pleased when

the motion passed to increase CKUT’s opt-outable fee by $1. As a long time McGill student himself, he understands how the bureaucracy within the university works, a structure that I have so far been unable to decipher. Wearing a blue shirt and sporting an impressive beard, Nick was waiting for me at a cafe on St. Laurent. “I’m drinking tea,” he said when I arrived, “I have to cut back on my caffeine intake.” For someone who’s been on the radio for almost 17 years and whose alias is known on both sides of the Atlantic, Nick was down-to-earth, humble, shy even. He must have been surprised when I asked him

if people recognized him on the street, because, as he so aptly pointed out, “They don’t know what I look like.” But one night, walking down a tunnel in the Zurich metro while on one of their tours around Europe, Nick and Mike were recognized by their voices by a random passer-by. If that doesn’t encourage involvement in radio, I don’t know what will. Download the WEFUNK app or go online to wefunkradio.com to listen to 24/7 streaming of their old shows. If you experienced the eargasms I did, come to their live show on December 15, at Le Bleury (2109 de Bleury), featuring DJ Akalepse.

Humanizing the city at ABC: MTL Multimedia exhibit succeeds with open-source submissions Chris Webster The McGill Daily

he Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) is a little bit bigger than I expected. I suppose it’s because I haven’t had the chance to explore too many buildings off-campus in this city, and the claustrophobic conditions of downtown living condition one to expect tight spaces. The reason for this inaugural visit lay just beyond the tall front doors, and took up a large chunk of this stately Victorian building: an exhibit entitled ABC: MTL – A Self-Portrait of Montréal, an open-source project that promises to “map contemporary Montréal in a diversity of ways and media,” according to its website. ABC: MTL is the third in a series

of exhibitions which focus on different eras in the city’s history, with the current installation acting as a contemporary window to life in Montreal. Over ninety contributions have already found their way into the gallery from an ongoing call for submissions, taking different forms such as pictures, movies, graphs, and more. Content varies significantly from space to space. Pushing aside a thick curtain after perusing a room full of carefully arranged photographs, I found myself alone in a screening room, where one could watch a short film shot outside an abandoned Montreal racetrack where U2 held a performance last summer. There is clearly no shortage of material for this exhibit, as the city and citizens of Montreal are depicted in ways that are both mentally stimulating and physically fascinating. One multimedia submis-

sion consists of a long rectangular graph mapped out with an array of shapes, colours, and scribbled notes; it is only when you put on an adjacent pair of headphones and watch the scrolling screen below them that you realize you are looking at an incredibly intricate presentation of the “sound of the city,” mapped out before your eyes. A sense of underground expression pervades ABC: MTL – literally, as several submissions explore the prevalence of alleys and worlds under street level (led by the SYN collective), and figuratively, with several prominent pieces reflecting times of protest or civil unrest. This is not an exhibition aimed toward trumpeting the popular commercial successes of Montreal as a city, but rather its multifaceted nature as an ever-changing urban centre, where the power of human expression is understood as

an absolutely necessary force. One series contains a set of four TVs, each playing one of four different short films involving genocide survivors who have settled in Montreal. Another is comprised of four large simple pictures, each of a police officer’s face looking out from behind the clear face shield of a riot mask. With the student protests of the last year fresh in my mind, such pieces reminded me of the humanity that can be found on both sides of the legal divide, as well as the existence of strife far greater than our own. That said, the exhibit includes some submissions and subsequent write-ups that would take no less than a Cultural Studies major to appreciate, or even understand. One particular picture of a street beside a tunnel, displaying nothing but a couple of cars, pedestrians, and an overhead train, comes with a description

that is replete with buzzwords such as “conceptualize,” “volatile,” and the dramatic title, “The Tunnel of Death.” While many of the exhibit’s submissions are thought-provoking, and some breathtaking in their scope, evidence still suggests that no art show is without pretension; there will always be artists who seek to infuse meaning where there is none to be found. Regardless, I would recommend a visit, especially if your knowledge of the city is sparser than it should be (like mine). ABC: MTL – A Self-Portrait of Montréal has the same characteristics as the city it’s examining – thoughtful, provoking, and full of hidden gems. ABC: MTL runs at the Canadian Centre for Architecture until March 31, 2013. For opening hours and admission information, visit www. cca.qc.ca/en/visit.

ARTS & CULTURE

32 The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

Photo Earth Crusher

Une petite touche de culture urbaine Le Délit a rencontré Earth Crusher, graffeur montréalais Thomas Simonneau Le Délit

Le Délit: Tout d’abord, quel est ton blaze [pseudonyme, NDLR]? A-t-il une signification particulière? Earth Crusher: En fait j’ai commencé à graffer sous le pseuonyme de «Dre» sans raison particulière. J’ai ensuite adopté le nom d’«Earth Crusher» dans un but bien précis: celui de nommer un personnage polymorphe que l’on retrouve dans de nombreux travaux que j’ai réalisés et qui représenterait grosso modo le capitalisme. Il est souvent revêtu d’un costume formel, symbole fort d’une norme que l’on retrouve dans toutes les entreprises. Quant à son masque, je trouve que ça lui donne un air un peu ridicule. LD: Mais pourquoi lui donner cet air ridicule? EC: Pour prendre un peu de recul, du moins suffisamment pour pouvoir se moquer de cette société où la cupidité et l’avarice règnent. En fait c’est presque comme une thérapie, ce personnage, comme une contre-attaque face à toutes ces publicités qui ne font que nous laver le cerveau. Il m’est d’ailleurs arrivé de remplacer certains pan-

neaux publicitaires dans le métro montréalais par mes travaux et notamment ce personnage pour tout avouer. Je me suis aussi inspiré du film American Psycho pour construire ce personnage.

me motivent et me poussent à persister dans l’univers du graffiti. Le graffe est fondé sur l’entre-aide, l’échange de conseils et le partage de techniques qui permettent à tous de progresser.

LD: Quand as-tu realisé ton premier graffiti? EC: C’était chez mes parents il y a quelques années. Un soir j’ai décidé de partir seul à l’aventure près d’un pont que j’avais repéré non loin de la maison. J’étais déjà passionné de peinture et je voulais mêler ça à quelque chose de ludique et nouveau. Le graffiti s’y prêtait parfaitement. Arrivé près du pont, j’ai décidé de dessiner une tête de robot qui, inconsciemment, fut sûrement à l’origine d’«Earth Crusher».

LD: Pourquoi choisir le graffiti comme mode d’expression? EC: Le graffiti regroupe vraiment des sensations qui lui sont propres. Déjà, c’est probablement une des formes d’art les plus libres qui existent; ce qui en fait un bon moyen pour s’exprimer en soi. Les gens passent dans la rue et n’importe qui peut apprécier une œuvre gratuitement et librement. Il y a aussi tout ce qui va avec le graffiti, comme l’adrénaline quand tu peins illégalement, les couleurs, les odeurs, etc… qui en ont fait mon support artistique de prédilection. En plus, personne ne te paie pour faire ce que tu fais. C’est dangereux et pourtant tu le fais. Tous ces facteurs en font son individualité et son caractère extrêmement addictif! Pour résumer, je pense que l’essence même du graffiti, c’est-à-dire la plus grande liberté lorsqu’il s’agit de peindre associé à cette sensation de rush, en a fait mon mode d’expression favori.

LD: Y-a-t-il eu une rencontre déterminante dans ta carrière qui t’a inspiré? EC: Lorsque j’étais au cégep, un de mes professeurs s’intéressait beaucoup au mouvement graffiti et m’a fait découvrir Barry McGee. Je n’ai malheureusement jamais eu la chance de le rencontrer mais ses œuvres m’ont beaucoup apporté. Mis à part ce grand nom, les nombreux artistes qui vivent à Montréal et avec qui je peins

LD: As-tu déjà eu des soucis avec les autorités? Que penses-tu des lois actuelles à Montréal concernant le graffiti? EC: Oui. Comme tout graffeur je pense… La première fois c’était à l’école Jeanne-Mance en plein aprèsmidi. En fait, mes amis et moi pensions que c’était toléré car l’un des murs est complètement couvert de graffitis. En gros, c’était clair que les gens qui venaient ici prenaient leur temps et faisaient quelque chose de bien. Les passants dans la rue passaient et nous demandaient si on avait le droit de graffer ici et on leur disait que oui, il n’y avait pas de problème. Plus tard, une voiture de police s’est arrêtée et nous a interpellés. Très calmement on lui a dit qu’on pensait que c’était légal de peindre ici. Quelques jours plus tard, je devais faire appel à un avocat… Quant aux lois concernant le graffiti, je suis persuadé qu’elles sont nécessaires. En fait, chaque graffeur à une éthique concernant ce qui peut être peint ou pas. Personnellement je ne vais jamais peindre sur une propriété privée, une voiture ou un commerce. Je vise plutôt les ponts, les vieux murs délabrés. Les endroits qui ne vont pas causer du tort à d’honnêtes citoyens. Cela dit, certains pensent qu’on peut peindre n’importe quoi n’importe où

et c’est malheureusement souvent les plus mauvais graffeurs. LD: Penses-tu que Montréal est une ville qui a beaucoup à offrir dans ce domaine? EC: Je pense que c’est une ville géniale. Le monde du graffiti ici est bien représenté et très dynamique. Un autre avantage est que les belles fresques ont tendances à rester et ne sont pas nettoyées [repeintes, NDLR]. J’ai notamment en tête un super graff qui représentait une machine à sous et qui était là depuis 2001, presque une légende ici! Malheureusement, les autorités viennent de le recouvrir. C’est vrai que parfois je ne comprends pas pourquoi la ville s’amuse à toyer des fresques, certes illégales, mais vraiment biens. On ferait mieux d’utiliser cet argent et ce temps pour aider les particuliers qui ont réellement besoin d’aide concernant l’enlèvement de graffitis. Sinon, j’ai aussi peint à Toronto, Halifax et Vancouver; mais je dirais que Montréal est vraiment le hub du graffiti au Canada. Les bombes Montana [marque populaire de bombes de peinture, NDLR] importées passent toutes par Montréal avant d’atterrir dans les mains de graffeurs à travers le pays. x

ARTS & CULTURE

The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

Photo Hillary Storm

Magic and street art The WZRDS among us Hillary Storm Culture Writer

ontreal is a city ornamented by creative and bizarre street art. Elaborate murals and graffiti can be found all over the place, oftentimes painted by artists acting slightly outside of the law. When presented with the pitch to interview one such obscure collective of painters, known as the WZRDS GNG, my imagination ran wild. A number of possible ideas swarmed my head as I conjured up images from groups of Hogwarts students with paintbrushes in their hands to a posse of black magic punk rockers. What I found after finally meeting with some of the crew’s members, however, was a mélange of talent and eccentricity that I could not have possibly predicted. WZRDS GNG is a group of street artists, or “writers” as they call themselves, who mainly focus their artistic abilities on painting public murals and tagging. However, an important distinction between the WZRDS and other street crews is their participation in all forms of artistic expression. As crewmember Snail explained, “Our art permeates everything we do. WZRDS not only paint, but dance, rap, graffiti, and produce music. There is a creative lens when looking at everything.” At the opening party at Greenlight Gallery (3878 St. Laurent), some members played DJ

sets while others breakdanced, demonstrating the kaleidoscopic diversity of the crew’s expressions. The group formed after graffiti writers from Vancouver and Ottawa met and developed their shared vision and passion for street art. Due to their common appreciation for a rebellious style, Snail insists they were drawn together by a mysterious magic. “All of us being who we were [...], it was just a matter of time before we got together. I had dreams about him before I ever met him,” Snail said, in reference to his fellow group member Frigr the Wigger. Eventually, more artists connected and began collaborations that soon would decorate the streets of Montreal. Self-described outcasts, these “ADD art kids you knew from school” have a common ambition for their art. With subjects ranging from bloody images of Mickey Mouse to doll heads painted with the symbols of anarchy and Nazism, the WZRDS’ art is not meant to soothe or placate. The crew rather grandiosely sees their artistic role as a position of leadership and prophetic importance. As one member said, “We are here to show the way, [to] show what’s possible. People don’t know what they can get away with. It helps to have artists who will push the boundaries of what’s possible, what is tolerated, what can physically or mentally be done.” An important theme I picked up on from my time with the crew was

the power in their images to yield revelation, and to dissect society’s manipulations and lies. With a strongly antiestablishment ethos, the crew focuses on manipulating subject matter often diluted by corporations, religion, government, and media. The WZRDS push to uncover “truth from deception,” to challenge their audience, and provoke a sense of discomfort with the current social order. In this vein, the WZRDS emphasize their self-declared ability to subliminally expose various conspiracies permeating society. The crew is also anti-consumerist, as they strive to use their artistry to subvert commercial influences. “Art can be like magic,” one told me, “a charm used to battle stuff around us, such as advertising.” The stylistic differences among the writers are evident, although collaboratively, their pieces form a continuous oeuvre. The group appreciates the strengths of each member, but explains that most of their work is done as a crew, working together harmoniously to yield the final product. So what’s next for this selfdescribed group of oddballs? While the crew is about to wrap up a month-long exhibition at Greenlight Gallery, they hope to have more opportunities to share their talent, especially in art-deprived areas. Although their political philosophy of art and uncanny style may intimidate some, the group is seeking to reach out to other artists around

Canada and abroad. In some ways, reaching out has been the greatest challenge for the WZRDS GNG. They have struggled with a persistent lack of dialogue among street crews and freelance artists. The material has become old and uninteresting. The WZRDS don’t claim superiority to other street art, but want to encourage a greater collaboration of ideas, passion, and style in the community. “We want to bring people into our world so we can share worlds. No more closed off circles, we are not elitist – not ‘underground.’ This crew is mission-based; we realize we are part of a movement that is bigger than us.” Just as each current WZRD has a shared vision of the impact their art might make, they believe this vision ought to be shared with other artistic movements. By diversifying, they will impact more people, the WZRDS say, and have already begun brainstorming possible ways to expand. There seemed to be a hint of dissonance among group members when discussing this future plan of integration. While some members projected an enthusiastic desire to make WZRDS GNG a more public collective, others remarked on the allure they have cultivated by being so elusive. When I mentioned how difficult it was to research the artists online, a member replied, “But

that’s what’s so cool: there is nothing about us.” Another incongruity was mentioned by a female member of the crew, who complained of how difficult it has been for women writers to make a name for themselves in such a “macho sub culture.” Star Child Stela expressed her shared desire with other female artists to form their own subset of graffiti focused on de-marginalizing queer and female street art painters. Specifically, she mentioned their future plans of developing a sector of WZRDS GNG artists who will focus their work on the femme queer community, which seems especially apt for a city with a large queer community. Although most members have gathered in Montreal due to the liberal atmosphere of the city, there are “WZRDS across Canada,” as one artist put it. The group shares a global vision for their artwork, and hopes to spread the ethos of WZRDS GNG as far and wide as possible. The creative intensity of these individuals, and of the collective as a whole, continues to brighten the streets of Montreal, while they attempt to grow into a movement that transcends geography. Their confrontational, maniacally engaging style speaks to the well of inspiration this young collective has to draw on. As Frigr the Wigger tagged it, “Coast to coast, it’s the hocus pocus!”

ARTS & CULTURE

34 The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

Concerto pour dix danseurs José Navas présente sa nouvelle chorégraphie au Théâtre Maisonneuve Fanny Devaux et Mathilde Michaud Le Délit

es danseurs sont humains.  J’ai toujours voulu croire que la danse appartenait à une race post-humaine, une génération d’êtres à la grâce et à l’élégance innées.  Pourtant, l’humanité des danseurs de Diptych est flagrante. En effet, une partie de ce ballet se déroule sans musique, laissant place au bruit des pieds qui glissent sur le plancher à chaque pirouette, qui frappent le sol lors des retombées qui paraissent moins légères qu’on ne l’aurait imaginé, aux respirations qui s’accélèrent, bruyantes, saccadées. Et même lorsque les mélodies de Bach commencent et cachent la musique humaine, le spectateur voit l’humanité. Il voit la sueur qui tache les habits, le tissu qui dessint et contournt les corps crûment, il voit la nudité même.  Il faut se rendre à l’évidence, même si c’est décevant: les danseurs sont faits de chair et d’os. Participant à la saison de danse de Montréal «Danse Danse» pour la seconde fois, le chorégraphenvénézuélien José Navas présentait sa nouvelle chorégraphie Diptych au Théatre Maisonneuve de la place des Arts le 14 novembre dernier. Sur scène, 10 danseurs: 5 hommes, 5 femmes. Pourtant, chaque danseur n’est que le reflet de l’autre. Mêmes

Photo Valérie Simmons

costumes indifféremment des sexes, mêmes mouvements. Des petites robes de ballet pour tous, sans distinction. L’uniformité des costumes qui contraste avec ce qu’on est habitué à voir (normalement ce sont les filles qui se conforment à l’habit masculin et non l’inverse), déstabilise de prime abord. On en vient cependant à s’habituer et à apprécier le renversement des normes.

Les mouvements réalisés par ce danseur hybride, unique et pluries, étaient d’une qualité technique peu égalée. Pirouettes sur pirouettes, le spectateur peine à suivre le danseur des yeux tellement les mouvements s’enchainent rapidement. Plus difficile les uns que les autres, ils demandent du danseur une tenue et un maintien hors du commun. Bondissant dans les airs tels des

félins, atterrissant sans un bruit, soulevant leur partenaire dans de fluides mouvements, les créatures de Dipytch coupent le souffle. Malheureusement, le manque de synchronisation frappe même le néophyte. Dans une chorégraphie qui se veut un grand ensemble, l’effet désiré est de fait annulé, brisant l’univers merveilleux du chorégraphe.

La pièce est accompagnée des airs baroques de Bace qui conviennent parfaitement au ballet moderne présenté par les danseurs. Cependant, au fur et à mesure que la pièce évolue, on aimerait troquer le classique pour un air plus rythmé. L’ambiance est lourde, pas toujours aussi frivole que se veulent les costumes et les pas. x

Le retour du crooner Le dernier disque de Damien Robitaille propose des sons latinos et les rythmes enivrants Annick Lavogiez Le Délit

les mots et les sous-entendus. On voyage définitivement en terres robitailliennes, dans une ambiance pop un peu kétaine où toute naïveté est habilement contre-balancée par de joyeux jeux de mots. En plus, on voyage en été, car Damien Robitaille a habilement capturé l’esprit torride de la période estivale. Un dernier coup de cœur sur cet album? Si vous avez comme moi un cœur de guimauve et une tendance au bénévolat, vous ne pourrez que craquer pour «Belle Bénévole», une drôle de balade qui inspire sourire et joie de vivre. Alors notez-le tout de suite dans vos agendas, ce poète illuminé commencera sa tournée en février, avec un passage au Métropolis le 4 avril. Qui sait? «Avec d’la chance / Il y aura d’la romance / Nos cœurs vont s’aligner / Trouver l’amour, c’t un coup de dés». x

Photo Grâcieuseté d’Audiogram

’est dans la chaleur et sous le soleil de Miami que le «prince du ludisme» a enregistré ce nouvel album sensuel aux sonorités latines balancées. Comme son titre l’indique, il n’est pas que sonorités estivales, mais bien, une fois de plus, une délicate suite de textes teintés d’humour et remplis de jeux de mots, qui commencent dès la deuxième chanson au refrain entêtant «Je suis partout / Mais je ne suis pas là». Dur de ne pas craquer sous ces phrases ennivrantes dont l’auteur tire l’inspiration de son rythme de vie effréné: «Dans les dernières années, j’ai croisé plein de gens qui me disaient: “Hey, t’es partout! Je t’ai vu hier à la télé! Je t’ai entendu tantôt à la radio”. Pendant

ce temps-là, moi, je n’étais jamais, jamais, à la maison. J’étais toujours sur la route». À l’image de l’artiste, ses chansons seront bientôt omniprésentes dans nos têtes… et sous nos bassins motivés. Celui dont la quête d’identité mêle humour et amour a sans conteste compris le secret des chansons charmantes et entêtantes: «Ça fait depuis le tout début des temps / Que les humains se mélangent mon ange / Alors ce soir, prends ça cool, n’aie pas peur / Mettons en marche le malaxeur». Méfiez-vous, ça reste en tête, ça colle aux hanches, ça fait hocher la tête avec enthousiasme sous le regard incrédule des voisins dans le métro. Si Damien Robitaille a beaucoup innové dans les rythmes de ce suave et exotique album, il continue à nous parler d’amour en jouant sur

ARTS & CULTURE

The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

World music re-mixed Mundial Montreal drops the beat Brendan Lewis The McGill Daily

he music industry is too often a closed world: the mechanics behind albums and live performances are, by and large, backroom affairs. As our generation becomes more and more drawn to smaller local and indie acts, the uncertain origins of the widespread commercial success that some artists achieve becomes a more important question for consumers. How do members of the industry decide to sign their artists? Who makes these decisions? What is changing about the music scene, and who or what drives such changes? I was lucky enough to acquire access to the Mundial Montreal world music conference and festival for its first anniversary. The conference started in 2011 as a forum for music industry insiders and artists to interact and exchange their work. Guillaume LaJois, a volunteer producing a promotional “rockumentary” for the festival, explained: “[the attendees are] mostly world music artists and industry representatives. They watch the bands, sign them on, and invite them to other festivals.” Alfredo Caxaj, one such delegate, described his role: “I produce the Sunfest world music and jazz festival in London, Ontario. So this is a showcase of Canadian talent so that we can sign them on.” Despite being a relative newcomer, Mundial Montreal is nonetheless a major event, showcasing more than thirty artists over four nights, with more than 150 delegates in attendance. Though most tickets required an industry pass, the festival also featured three free public showcases at venues across the city. Showcases were formatted such that each artist would play four or five songs at one stage, then, as festival-goers would quickly shuffle to an adjacent venue for the second act, the first band would pack up and a third band set up in their place, ensuring a rapid transition from band to band, and allowing attendees to cherry-pick their favourites for with whom to follow up after the show. Perhaps most interesting about the festival is that through its partnerships, sponsors, and participants, the attendee is given a crystal-ball vision of industry goals and trends. Though participants came from all over the world, certain common patterns were nonetheless on display. For example, rather than presenting artists who epitomize a given

Illustration Akanksa Chaubal | The McGill Daily

genre or sub-genre, there was a major tendency for artists whose work pushed the boundaries of genre and style, both between and within songs. Marco Calliari, a Montreal artist born in Italy and a performer at the festival, said, “I’m a big fan of world music, but I love mixing: mariachi with Dixieland, Quebecois rigodon with Brazilian tarantela.” A Louisiana group, the Soul Rebels, created an infectious mix between classic New Orleans brass band sounds and contemporary hip hop beats, but as though to demonstrate their flexibility, they managed a seamless cover of the eighties synthpop hit “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” by Eurythmics. After a set of folkfusion with Arabic instrumentation, another act, The Sultans of String, concluded with an eerie ballad dedicated to Vancouver celebrity Luna the orca whale, with softly screeching violin modified through a distortion pedal to mimic echoing whale songs. Several other acts were characterized by dedication to political and social causes in their music. Quique Escamilla, a musician from the southern state of Chiapas, Mexico, who is now based in Toronto, was especially vocal on this front. Introducing his song “Un Tiro” (‘One Shot,’ in English), he told the crowd: “We

had some bad politics in Mexico this summer with the elections; many people were angry, I was angry, and so this song is about that.” Escamilla was referring to the election of Enrique Peña Nieto of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) to the office of President, and subsequent protests among students and other groups alleging media bias and election rigging in favour of the PRI. After the show, he explained the common thread he sees between the student movement in Quebec and the student protests in Mexico City: “Today we’re born in hard times, and when the young people are involved in a good cause, it makes me want to support them. The youth in Mexico have also joined forces for a good cause, and this was an inspiration for much of my music.” From the outset, Mundial Montreal placed cross-cultural exchange as first among its priorities. The festival’s opening night on Tuesday, November 13, was wholly sponsored by Louisiana Entertainment, a state government initiative. The event was meant to highlight the potential for cultural cross-pollination between historically francophone populations, especially given the festival’s other sponsors, which included the Montreal, Quebec,

and Canadian governments, as well as the Canada Council for the Arts. The night was divided between two outstanding Louisiana acts, Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole and the aforementioned Soul Rebels, plus three Montreal bands, Cécile DooKingué, Canailles, and Marco Calliari. After the show, Kyle Gambino, a saxophonist with Cedric Watson & Bijou Creole explained: “We got friends here, and the French-speaking culture, it’s a lot like coming back home. There’s a lot of Cajun influence in this band.” Eric Evans, mandolin player with Canailles, seemed to reciprocate Gambino’s feelings of affinity and kinship. “We were in Louisiana last spring, and since nobody knew us there, we didn’t know if people would enjoy it. It turned out it was such a party, and the crowd was so welcoming. We were inspired by a lot of music, but Louisiana is a great inspiration to us,” he said. On the whole, world music is but one facet of the diverse music industry, and this year, organizers of Mundial Montreal evidently felt it necessary to contextualize the festival in relation to other contemporary music. In advertising the festival’s town hall style World Music Forum on their website, Mundial Montreal anticipates

future interplay between world music and other contemporary genres: “Twenty five years into the ‘world music’ brand, this session will explore marketing and outreach strategies that we have been learning as we mix diverse communities. Laptop beat production and cultural collisions are defining what is being called ‘World Music 2.0.’” It was thus no coincidence that the last day of the festival saw Canadian DJ and former McGill student Kid Koala perform a “silent disco”-style event, “Kid Koala’s Space Cadet Headphone Experience.” Such earnest embrace of electronica, a genre that most might find incongruous with world music, is evident of the dynamic and evolving situation in the music industry. Producing material is less and less a matter of competition or commercialization, but increasingly an act of collaboration and boundary-pushing. Mundial Montreal proves that while success is still down to talent and skill, of which the festival had plenty, the tried-and-true styles of yesterday are not so important. From the perspective of world music, the most coveted skill is the power to communicate through music: bridging cultures, broadening fan bases, and inciting change.

ARTS & CULTURE

36 The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

De l’illusion littéraire Réflexions sur le domaine de l’édition

Illustration Lindsay P. Cameron | Le Délit Joseph Boju Le Délit

L’humanité n’offre rien de nouveau. Son irrémédiable misère m’a empli d’amertume, dès ma jeunesse. Aussi, maintenant, n’ai-je aucune désillusion.» Voilà ce que ce vieil ours, Flaubert, écrivit un jour à George Sand, et ce propos cynique prend son sens si l’on compare l’entrée de l’écrivain dans le milieu de l’édition au passage de l’enfance à l’âge adulte. Les nouveaux auteurs fraichement arrivés sur le terrain sont pleins d’attentes diverses et variées, mais celles-ci se confrontent rapidement aux réalités du métier. Il existe une sorte de ratio dans l’édition littéraire qui veut que sur dix ouvrages publiés, seulement trois dépassent le seuil de rentabilité; la revue à la baisse des espérances de vente d’un auteur est par conséquent inévitable.

Les écrivains gagnant leur vie au Québec par la seule force de leur plume sont une dizaine tout au plus. Aussi certains écrivains se voient-ils dans l’obligation de cumuler un autre emploi pour subsister, tandis que d’autres vont aborder l’écriture comme un second métier. On se retrouve alors avec des écrivains-garçons de café et des professeurs-écrivains, tout dépend du parcours professionnel. L’écrivain nouvellement publié hérite de l’étiquette d’auteur; il sort de sa solitude où le tient le processus d’écriture pour se retrouver face au public, sans carapace devant la critique et son propre regard: celui qui fait le plus mal. La particularité du livre est que la réception n’en est jamais garantie. C’est ce que découvre l’auteur lors des trois ou quatre mois d’angoisse qui avoisinent le moment de la publication du premier roman. «Quatre ans pour écrire un livre, quatre lignes pour l’anéantir»: Albert Camus résu-

mait très bien le pouvoir qu’exerce la critique sur la réception. Il existe en effet une forte pression des médias de masse sur la figure de l’auteur. Celle-ci vient de leur attachement à l’image de l’auteur plus qu’à son texte, du sensationnalisme, et d’une volonté de sans cesse dénicher l’événement médiatique: la «saveur de la semaine», autant de facteurs avec lesquels l’auteur et l’éditeur doivent jouer pour obtenir la reconnaissance qu’ils souhaitent. La visibilité de l’auteur, sa capacité à être repérable dans l’offre, ont en effet une relation directe avec les ventes de son livre, et il va sans dire qu’un passage à Tout le monde en parle a des répercussions positives en termes chiffrés. Dans l’heureux cas où le livre serait un succès en librairie, il existe malgré tout un effet pervers à cette réussite que Samuel Archibald (auteur d’Arvida, Prix des libraires 2012) confiait au Délit lors du Salon du Livre de Montréal: «Le paradoxe

du livre qui marche bien, c’est que tu n’écris plus». Le succès est aujourd’hui chronophage et l’obligation de faire de la promotion nuit à la quiétude souvent désirée pour la création. Ainsi, l’éditeur et son auteur se retrouvent parfois à faire plus de service après vente que de production littéraire, ce qui les force à se positionner selon leur volonté de reconnaissance, symbolique ou bien strictement économique. C’est dans la réalisation du nouveau statut d’auteur et des obligations qu’il implique que l’on situe la désillusion. Le milieu de l’édition littéraire est un milieu où l’on accepte ou non les règles du jeu, où l’on fait la course au best-seller ou bien de la littérature de création. La semaine dernière se tenait donc la grand messe du milieu de l’édition: le Salon du Livre. Dans cette arène se retrouvent la plupart des différents «joueurs» du milieu de l’édition: les auteurs,

les éditeurs, leurs distributeurs, sans oublier les médias. L’esprit de camaraderie qui y unit les différents auteurs est compréhensif si l’on sait l’humiliation que procure un stand sans lecteurs avides de dédicaces. Ce qui fascine dans cette foire commerciale, c’est qu’on y voit les ficelles du milieu. Toutes les petites maisons d’éditions sont cachées sous la bannière de leurs distributeurs, qui, eux, mènent le bal en accord avec les maisons d’ordre plus commercial. Entre les grandes affiches où sourient les auteurs de Hachette et les deux étagères colorées du Quartanier, on discerne clairement une dichotomie, la même qui existe entre la littérature commerciale et la littérature «clandestine». La désillusion de l’auteur lorsqu’il entre dans la carrière a quelque chose à voir là-dedans. La place qu’il occupe dans le champ littéraire n’est que le résultat d’un combat entre désirs et réalités. x

Au cœur du désastre Vingt-cinq ans après, que reste-t-il de la centrale Lénine de Tchernobyl? Annick Lavogiez Le Délit

e 26 avril 1986 avait lieu le plus grave accident nucléaire jamais répertorié: la catastrophe de Tchernobyl. Cet accident nucléaire de niveau 7, le plus élevé sur l’échelle internationale des événements nucléaires, a affecté la vie de miliers de gens. Pourtant, aujourd’hui, c’est à peine si l’on en parle, si l’on y pense encore. Difficile, avec toutes les tragédies qui nous entourent, de ressasser en plus un passé dont on se sent loin, me direz-vous. Heureusement donc qu’il existe des artistes de la trempe d’Emmanuel Lepage pour visiter les décombres de notre histoire et partager cette expérience unique.

C’est en 2008 qu’Emmanuel Lepage a décidé, en collaboration avec l’association Les Dessin’acteurs, de plonger au cœur même de la catastrophe de Tchernobyl, visitant la centrale, les villages qui la bordent et cette «zone» qui l’entoure, tout à la fois fascinante, inquiétante, étouffante. Si l’objectif premier semblait peut-être avant le départ de rendre compte de vies brisées, de survivants en manque de vie et d’une terre ravagée par des séquelles indélébiles, l’artiste se rend vite compte que ce parcours ne peut aller sans sa part de questionnements… pour le moins inattendus. Ainsi, tout en se demandant ce qu’il est venu faire dans cet endroit du monde foncièrement marqué par le désespoir, Lepage semble vouloir défier la mort, se confrontant à un désastre dont les con-

séquences sont encore palpables, sous une menace de contagion encore terriblement actuelle. Sa curiosité, les doutes et ce besoin de découvrir un univers dangereux, quasiment abandonné, presque inaccessible, ouvrent l’album avec les préparatifs du départ. Le ton est sombre et, sur la route vers l’est, le décor est grisâtre, fantomatique. Les séquelles de la tragédie sont omniprésentes et les dessins gris et tristes transmettent la désolation et la lourdeur du paysage. Aux abords même du périmètre interdit, Lepage témoigne des corps brûlés, difformes, des survivants malades, d’une terre décharnée, défigurée, désagrégée. Pourtant, rapidement, Lepage découvre, parallèlement à ces scènes macabres, des lieux splendides et une vie qui a repris le dessus, des survivants qui sourient et

des enfants qui s’amusent. Si le tictac menaçant du dosimètre plane au-dessus des personnages comme une épée de Damoclès pendant les premières pages du récit, il finit par disparaître devant une nature qui a repris ses droits. Ainsi, au fil de pages d’une éclatante beauté, une résonnance se fait entre l’aventure et les interrogations d’un artiste sur son art. L’artiste montre l’horreur de l’humain, les erreurs de la technologie, mais aussi la beauté qui en rejaillit indubitablement. Il se questionne alors sur son droit à dessiner une nature magnifique, colorée, somptueuse, mais interdite, malade. Sa culpabilité et ses interrogations rejoignent le lecteur tout comme son dessin bouleverse, renverse, émeut. Au fur et à mesure du récit, les couleurs reprennent vie et l’on com-

Gracieuseté de Futuropolis

prend que, malgré tous les spectres et les débris, le printemps existe encore à Tchernobyl. x

ARTS & CULTURE

The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

From Bedford to St. Laurent Montréal/Brooklyn brings the scenes together Hillary Pasternak The McGill Daily

hough they’re both east coast cities with thriving art and music scenes (and the dense hipster populations that accompany them), Brooklyn and Montreal rarely find themselves associated. But no more, because there’s a contemporary art event, straightforwardly titled Montréal/ Brooklyn, which seeks to highlight the cities’ artistic differences and similarities through a series of hybrid exhibitions. Having offered gallery tours every Saturday for the duration of the event, the tour on November 17 spanned two galleries: Articule on Fairmount West and Centre Clarke on de Gaspé. Marjolaine Bourdoa and JeanPhilippe Luckhurst-Cartier guided the tour (the latter of whom was immensely helpful in interpreting a francophone tour for an anglophone reporter). The diverse works displayed in Articule’s Territorial Re-Marks exhibition are linked in spirit, but not much else. It’s billed as an exploration of control over territory, and each artist takes this in a wildly different direction. In one corner, a double-headed wooden oar leans against the wall, entire-

ly normal except for the colourful fibre construct that swathes its middle, making it look rather like a meat kebab – Montrealbased Jérôme Havre’s examination of colonialism and hierarchy, through the use of luxury to make a functional item non-functional. Emily Roz, a Brooklynbased artist, paints the flora of the American south alongside the fauna of Africa – linking the human psyche to the more brutal end of the animal kingdom. There’s a partially flayed zebra against a backdrop of delicate, pale pink flowers. There are cackling hyenas, roaring gorillas, and dismembered antelope alongside elegant black branches. In Patricia Smith’s Plot Plans for an Ideal City, another Brooklyn artist explores the obsession of human beings by mapping and cataloguing everything they come across, even their own subconscious. She creates gorgeously wrought old-fashioned maps of things that don’t exist: imagined coliseums and cities in some cases, abstract ideas in others. Most are adorned with faux-official stamps to complete the effect. Perhaps most interesting is Where we touched: A drawing of places to meet authors, a “literary landscape drawing” by Michelle

50 years ago today... On November 26, 1962, McGill was all in a tizzy over something called a “Treasure Van” arriving on campus, as well as “Asia Week” – an event which, mercifully, has since been abandoned. In addition, a SSMU meeting was planned for the next day to discuss the possibility of raising student fees – another chapter in a debate that continues to this day. Irwin Cotler, future Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, presided as editor-in-chief.

Want to see more Daily & Délit archives? Check out our new blog, Looking Back, at dpsarchives. tumblr.com.

Lacombe of Montreal. Lacombe represents the act of reading by reproducing the lines she used to highlight key passages in a book on a gallery wall at about eye level, laid end to end. Lacombe is known for her frequent use of her own body as a medium, as well as her interest in visually representing action for the benefit of future viewers – her past work has included a performance piece in which she spat blue ink onto the walls of a gallery. Unfortunately, because it’s presented without a title card, it’s a bit hard for the layperson to tell if they’re looking at a work of art or a crack in the wall, if there isn’t anyone around to explain. The background, as explained by Bourdoa and Luckhurst-Cartier, is admittedly intriguing, but doesn’t make for the most inviting display. The art world’s reputation for snobbery is widespread and well-known, and works like this (however interesting) aren’t doing much to introduce elements of populism to the proceedings. The spirit of collaboration is a bit more evident when the tour moves over to Centre Clarke, which houses two pairs of complementary works. The first of these belongs to Montreal-based Julie Favreau and Patrick Martinez of Brooklyn. Martinez’s work serves

as something of a threshold, tunnels constructed from a latticework of clear drinking straws held together with LYNX, a connective device of the artist’s own devising – remarkable little things that can be clipped together to look like a child’s jacks – befitting Martinez’s background in design. “He thinks about the perception of the visitor and how he can control it,” says LuckhurstCartier, comparing it to a maze in both physical and visual respects. It acts as both a physical boundary and a mental decontamination chamber, dividing Favreau’s video-based piece from the outer world. Both works were based on Mikhail Bulgakov’s 1925 science fiction novella The Fatal Eggs, in which commercial exploitation of a new cell production technique leads to Moscow’s accidental invasion by mutant snakes, ostriches, and frogs. Favreau’s work echoes this more explicitly, the images on her video possessing a scientific, antiseptic quality. Projected on a screen atop a white construction of rigid grids and more organically curving clay tubes, each of the images is one part abstraction, one part actor bearing either a pained or an enigmatic expression: a man with a tangled constellation of pick-up sticks hanging above him

like a mobile; a woman in a lab coat carefully examining rocks that are housed in translucent shelves at the centre of a black void. Steven Brower and Mathieu Beauséjour have a similar arrangement at the back of the gallery. Brower, founder and sole employee of the Brower Propulsion Laboratory (BPL), has created an industrial-looking hatch for a circular porthole (called, appropriately enough, HATCH) that leads to the room housing Beauséjour’s video piece. The work is gloriously titled Don’t worry Darling, There will be more Riots in the Spring, in which a besuited middle aged man with a ball taped into his mouth struggles to convey something extremely urgent and completely incomprehensible. (According to Luckhurst-Cartier, the actor wasn’t given a script, just told to improvise his last words before death). It’s projected in a darkened room, the soundtrack pummeling waves of white noise, intensity and volume oscillating to its own unsettling rhythm. The whole effect strikes a balance between science-fictional dystopia and close-to-home politics – guess which city the title is referencing? In terms of blunt emotional impact, nothing else on the tour can match this duo of works.

The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

EDITORIAL

volume 102 number 23

editorial board 3480 McTavish St., Rm. B-24 Montreal, QC H3A 1X9 phone 514.398.6784 fax 514.398.8318 mcgilldaily.com coordinating editor

Queen Arsem-O’Malley

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coordinating news editor

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Laurent Bastien Corbeil Lola Duffort Annie Shiel commentary&compendium! editors

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health&education editor

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multimedia editor

Kate McGillivray photo editor

Hera Chan illustrations editor

Amina Batyreva design&production editors

Edna Chan Rebecca Katzman

copy editor

Nicole Leonard web editor

Tom Acker le délit

Nicolas Quiazua

Sketchy finances, misplaced priorities Over the past few months, new information has emerged regarding McGill’s loan to the former director of the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), Arthur Porter. Porter resigned last year amidst scandal involving corruption and and accusations of failure to perform his duties. On November 13, McGill filed a lawsuit against Porter in the Superior Court, asking for full repayment of a low-interest loan, plus interest, plus a salary received in error – a sum totalling $317,154. Previous to this, on October 15, McGill politely asked Porter to “kindly reimburse the overpayment” within seven days, lest they be forced to get tough. Porter replied a week later, signalling his intent to repay the loan, but nothing has been heard from him since. His whereabouts are now unknown, and McGill, the ‘underfunded university,’ is in the lurch. This incident demonstrates once again the opacity of McGill’s financial practices. That it has come to forceful reappropriation of the legal system through Access to Information requests and documents from McGill’s lawyers in order to even learn about McGill’s finances is embarrassing. But it is clear why McGill is so unforthcoming with its finances: their money is mismanaged. The scandal around Porter is but one example of financial mismanagement at this University. The way McGill handles its money is indicative of misplaced priorities. Another prominent manifestation of financial irresponsibility involves McGill’s excessive severance packages. In 2009, for example, the University paid $321,471 in severance to Ann Dowsett Johnston, a former McGill Vice President (Development, Alumni and University Relations), who departed after 19 months in her position. (The details of her departure were not known, as per McGill’s confidentiality clause). When Porter resigned in December of last year, the University threw him two ‘farewell parties,’ which cost a total of $15,000 to $20,000. In a Daily article (“McGill Health Centre threw farewell parties worth over $15,000,” January 21, 2012), Ian Popple, communications coordinator at MUHC, was quoted as saying that these types of functions were standard, and that “they help with team building.” Not only does this demonstrate McGill’s reckless use of money in regard to hiring and firing senior administrators, but it also sheds light on the University’s prioritization of administrators to the detriment of workers and students alike. Students should strongly question the administration’s rhetoric that we are an underfunded university. Members of the senior administration receive large salaries with handsome perks, like those running the “world class” universities that Heather Munroe-Blum is wont to describe. Perhaps this is the reason for McGill’s opacity in its financial dealings: it likes to tell us all that we are an underfunded university while, at the same time, it spends money on food, and wine, and cars, and parties, and exorbitant loans. If this became well known, their message of underfunding would be moot. The tendency of this university to withhold financial information is a cheap and deliberate facade; this reality must become apparent if we ever hope to move forward.

rec@delitfrancais.com

cover design Abu Ahmed and Amina Batyreva contributors Rebecca Babcock, Black Students’ Network, Akanksa Chaubal, Oles Chepesiuk, Campus Crops, Ceren Eroglu, Marcello Ferrara, Carla Green, Rachael Kim, Diana Kwon, Michael Lee-Murphy, Brendan Lewis, Jessica Lukawiecki, Mona Luxion, Nathalie O’Neill, Hillary Pasternak, Emery Saur, Bracha Stettin, Hillary Storm, Molly Swain, Stephanne Taylor, Ryan Thom, Evan Vassallo, Christopher Webster, Corey Webster, Ken Williams

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Queen Arsem-O’Malley, Joseph Henry, Erin Hudson, Rebecca Katzman, Anthony Lecossois, Matthew Milne, Olivia Messer, Sheehan Moore (chair@dailypublications.org), Farid Muttalib, Shannon Palus, Nicolas Quiazua, Boris Shedov

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ÉDITORIAL

The McGill Daily & Le Délit | 26.11.2012

Volume 102 Numéro 10

Finances douteuses, priorités mal placées Depuis les derniers mois, de nouvelles informations ont été révélées au sujet de l’argent que McGill a prêté et versé à Arthur Porter, ancien directeur du Centre universitaire de Santé McGill (CUSM). Ce dernier a quitté ses fonctions l’année dernière suite à des accusations de corruption et de manquement à ses fonctions. Le 13 novembre, McGill a finalement entamé une poursuite devant la Cour Suprême contre Porter afin que ce dernier rembourse une somme totalisant 317 154 dollars, représentant le prêt plus intérêts qui lui avait été accordé en 2008 par l’université, ainsi que le salaire qui lui avait été versé alors qu’il ne travaillait plus sur le campus depuis décembre 2011. Le 15 octobre, McGill avait «gentiment» demandé à Porter de rembourser ses dûs dans un délai de 7 jours, faute de quoi il serait poursuivi en justice. Suite à cet ultimatum, une semaine s’est écoulée avant que l’administration reçoive un courriel de la part de Porter précisant qu’il rembourserait sa dette sans tarder. Égal à lui-même, Porter n’a pas respecté son engagement et n’a donné aucune nouvelle depuis à McGill, qui a dû réagir. Cet incident démontre une fois de plus l’opacité des pratiques financières de McGill. Afin de prendre connaissance de l’état des finances de McGill, il faut se réapproprier des moyens fournis par le système judiciaire, c’est-à-dire qu’il faut faire des demandes d’accès à l’information et consulter des documents fournis par des avocats de McGill. Cette situation est embarrassante. La raison d’une telle gêne de la part de McGill de communiquer l’état de ses finances semble évidente: l’argent y est mal géré. Le scandale entourant Porter n’est qu’un cas parmi tant d’autres qui illustre une problématique structurelle bien réelle. La manière dont McGill dépense son argent démontre où ses valeurs sont placées. L’irresponsabilité financière de l’université s’exprime aussi par ses primes de départ excessives. En 2009, par exemple, McGill a donné 321 471 dollars en prime de départ à Ann Dowset Jonhston qui occupait le poste de vice-présidente du développement, des diplômés et des relations universitaires. Elle a quitté son poste après 19 mois, les raisons n’ayant pas été dévoilées en vertu de la clause de confidentialité de l’université. En outre, lorsque Arthur Porter a quitté ses fonctions en décembre 2011, deux fêtes de départs ont été organisées. Coût total: entre 15 000 et 20 000 dollars. Selon Ian Popple, coordonnateur des communications du CUSM, ce genre de célébrations est chose commune à McGill, car elles «favorisent un bon esprit d’équipe». (The McGill Daily, 21 Janvier 2012). Cet exemple démontre non seulement l’ingérence financière de McGill quant à l’embauche et le licenciement des cadres supérieurs, mais met également en lumière la priorité de l’université: favoriser l’administration au dépend des autres travailleurs et des étudiants. Les étudiants de McGill doivent sérieusement remettre en question les allégations selon lesquelles notre université est sous-financée. McGill déplore le sous-financement des universités au Québec alors qu’elle investit l’argent qu’elle gère dans des activités onéreuses injustifiées. McGill a besoin d’argent, alors qu’elle dépense ce qu’elle a en nourriture, en vin, en autos, en fêtes et en primes de départs exorbitantes. Si le montant réel des finances de l’université et la gestion douteuse de cet argent étaient clairement mis au grand jour, on aurait du mal à croire que l’université est sous-financée. Ceci explique pourquoi il est si difficile de prendre connaissance de ce qu’il se passe à McGill. Il est temps de révéler la flagrante désillusion qui règne en ses murs. x

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L’usage du masculin dans les pages du Délit vise à alléger le texte et ne se veut nullement discriminatoire.

Les opinions exprimées dans ces pages ne reflètent pas nécessairement celles de l’Université McGill.

x le délit · le lundi 26 novembre 2012 delitfrancais.com

Le Délit (ISSN 1192-4609) est publié la plupart des mardis par la Société des publications du Daily (SPD). Il encourage la reproduction de ses articles originaux à condition d’en mentionner la source (sauf dans le cas d’articles et d’illustrations dont les droits avant été auparavent réservés, incluant les articles de la CUP). L’équipe du Délit n’endosse pas nécessairement les produits dont la publicité paraît dans ce journal.Imprimé sur du papier recyclé format tabloïde par Imprimeries Transcontinental Transmag, Anjou (Québec). Le Délit est membre fondateur de la Canadian University Press (CUP) et du Carrefour international de la presse universitaire francophone (CIPUF).

COMPENDIUM!

The McGill Daily & Le Délit Monday, November 26 • le lundi 26 novembre • 2012

LIES, HALF-TRUTHS, AND BECOME A CROSSWORD FAIRY NEXT SEMESTER (PLEASE)

Campus to go to referendum in January McGill announces commencement of ‘Phase Two’ Euan EK and King Sharzem O’Granny The Twice-a-Weekly

he McGill campus is set to hold an existence – or, as some of the ‘No’ committee phrases it, “fee renewal” – referendum in the new year. Students will be asked via online ballot whether or not they would like to continue directing student fees to the University past the end of the current school year. A ‘no’ vote would cut student funding to the University, resulting in the loss of campus buildings, real estate, and the majority of teaching staff. The referendum plans were announced on Friday by Deputy Provost for Student Censorship and Purchases, Censor McCensorship, and also marks the commencement of ‘Phase Two.’ McCensorship, speaking to The Twice-a-Weekly after the announcement of Phase Two

at a press conference attended predominantly by men in dark trench coats and black bowler hats, said that after his recent “bloodlusty drive to thrust the vengeful fear of a spiteful god into all student groups” had succeeded in thrusting the vengeful fear of a spiteful god into all student groups, he was satisfied that ‘Phase One’ was complete. Phase Two marks the next step in McCensorship’s plans to “streamline University services and empower students through empowerment.” “I was empowering and streamlining before you were born,” McCensorship told The Twice-aWeekly. “And I have never seen a university get so streamlined and empowered in such a short space of time as I have at McGill.” McGill recently streamlined several non-academic workers into submission and empowered three faculty members into silence using McCensorship’s patented “lying and stealing with

hammers and chains” technique. “Given the overwhelming success I have had at McGill, I feel that the time is right to proceed to ‘Phase Two: Frictionless University.’” The Twice-a-Weekly understands that the Frictionless University is a long-held dream of McCensorship’s, for whom the experience of any friction causes indescribable pain. In the past, McCensorship has described the experience of “just being” in a friction-filled University akin to “having your brain sucked out of your eye by an armadillo like your head is an ant’s nest. Also it costs more to pay people and stuff.” “I want to move this University as quickly as possible to being completely frictionless,” said McCensorship. “I see no reason why buildings and gravity should prevent proper streamlining and empowerment from occurring. We need as few surfaces as possible.” Phase Two will commence when students will vote on the

existence of the campus in the January referendum. McGill has held a campus – including buildings, real estate, and lots of other non-liquid assets – since it was founded in 1821. Unsurprisingly, some are sad at the thought that McGill will no longer have a campus, or buildings, or real estate, or other non-liquid assets. “This is quite sad,” said U4 Honeymaking student Buzzington Buzzkill. “Also, what?” Should students vote to stop funding the campus – including buildings, real estate, and lots of other non-liquid assets – McGill will move to McCensorship’s recently announced “conceptual model university.” “The model is quite simple, really,” said McCensorship. “We will provide course registration and other non-academic services online, using Minerva, and then students will be responsible for their own thinking from there.”

Send a Fuck this! or a Fuck yeah! to fuckthis@mcgilldaily.com

uck yeah!!!! Fucking amazing people surround me and my life and everything is so great. And fuck yeah! I have an awesome girlfriend! And fuck yeah I’m almost done at this university and I get my body fucking out and to somewhere else!

uck this entire group of people that think they’re not conservative because they get drunk, have sex, and get stoned. You’re all a bunch of fucking liberals furthering every single form of oppression and honestly the world would be better off without you.

UCK YEAH to Walmart workers striking and walking out and saying FUCK YOU to a company that tried to stop them from organizing and unionizing. FUCK YEAH to workers standing up for their rights, and telling their employer that it’s unacceptable to pay them less than a living wage. FUCK YEAH to those same workers putting their jobs on the line to take a stand against unfair labour practices and abuse, and doing it with dignity and grace. FUCK YEAH THE UNION MAKES US STRONG! FUCK YEAH WALMART

uck this shitty ‘poetry’ that you think ‘is happening.’ Fuck the fucking crystal shits. Fuck the time that is taken up by self-obsessed ‘Obscura’ writers making ‘alt-lit.’ Fuck shit poetry. Fuck asking people to “contribute to [your] vision.” What vision? The vision that says: “OMG lets all just be really annoying and pretend to see magic and crystals always but really we shit the same shit as everyone else?” That vision? Okay. Well. Newsflash: that is better than all the shit alt-lit produced since forever! And, fuck, would some alt-lit people read a real poet/m for once.

uck this alarm clock, I thought we were friends – and now you’re fucking my ears with beeps, and the realization that I am not in fact sleeping in a burrito made of clouds is gradually sinking in, and I will punish you by leaving you dusty for another few months. Fuck yeah 80 bus driver, so polite and courteous, nodding your head and saying “merci” when I scan my card, making me feel like I live in a Downton Abbey style society where decorum matters and civility reigns. And a good day to you, sir! Fuck this budders – Snax’s coffee machine has a line up for a reason, you jag – you can’t just edge into the coffee area from the drinks coolers. And even worse, everyone including myself is too chicken shit to call your cheating ass out. THIS WORLD HAS RULES. Fuck yeah apple – so crisp and sweet, making me look healthy as balls, walking down the street with my so-and-so on display letting all you unhealthy MOTHERFUCKERS know that your cheap-ass pastry foods will not cut it, not today, ‘cause there’s a new boss in town and they’re keeping it tight. Fuck this roommates – sitting in my chair, leaving pubes in the tub, leaving your egg yolk crusted dishes around the kitchen, listening to Taylor Swift. Get botulism and die. Fuck yeah masturbation, making me feel all good and fall asleep so easy afterwards and forget the line ups and pubes of the day. Fuck this Google history, why you keeping tabs on my pornography habits?

“I want students to really hone their registration skills – their form-filling speed, their ability to navigate bureaucracy and masses of red tape, their obedience to nameless and illegitimate authorities with extra-legal coercive powers, and other simple stuff needed to participate like a proper citizen in our society – for the real world of mind-numbing boredom in a post-making useful things economy.” “Students can do as much thinking as they wish, and in fact, we encourage some moderate thought in small amounts at least five times a week,” said McCensorship. “But we don’t really think the University needs to support them in this. People need to learn to depend on themselves for their own learning. Have you ever heard of Wikipedia?” The life of a toad is a circular one. And the life of a Euan is a triangular one. Three sides. Breathe.

uck the mafia. Why can’t they just import drugs like a normal criminal organization? Why do they have to taint everything with the tentacles of corruption? Thank you Hells Angels, thank you les Bo-Gars and les 67s and the Bloods and the Crips. I’d take a fucking shootout downtown any day over the systemic corruption that these sons of Calabrian gangsters have wrought on the city. Fuck the cigar-chomping old-school gangsters sipping their espressos at the Cafe Cosenza and pulling our money out of their high-threadcount wool socks. All respect to the dead I swear, some days it seems this city is turning into that movie Gomorrah. I used to work at a hotel. It closed down. Why? The operator, Elio Pagliarulo, was stealing all of the profits – even tips, the asshole – and using it to pay off his ex-lonesharking-buddy Paolo Catania, a construction tycoon, whom he owed over a million dollars. Real people had money stolen directly from their pay. The hotel closed down, and everyone lost their jobs. Fuck that! The other day, a beloved Camorristi friend of my best buddy’s family was gunned down outside his house. Die by the sword, and all that. Fuck the mafia, corruption, and violence. At the end of the day, why do all our criminals gotta be getting so uppity in our shit shit shit. Like, real talk, amirite?