Volume 43, Issue 8

Gas Leak in Grey Nuns Kitchen

What Was All the Commotion About?

Residents in Concordia’s Grey Nuns building were surprised to see fire trucks out on Guy St. on Nov. 30 at 9 p.m.. No alarm was sounded, yet security guards and firefighters arrived at the scene to respond to the reported gas leak.

Concordia Spokesperson Van nina Maestracci stated that the gas leak occurred when “an oven gas entry was accidentally moved.” The kitchen staff worker who witnessed this allegedly minor leak called Concordia security immediately as soon as he noticed the accident. The area of the incident was ventilated right after the valve was closed.

“As soon as it happened, it was taken care of right away,” de

scribed a kitchen staff member. “We asked the director to come by, he checked it, we got security and everything was taken care of professionally and we all went back to work within 20 minutes.” He also said that staff members acted as soon as they “heard a hissing” sound and noticed “a little bit of smell.”

According to Stéphanie Lor rain, spokesperson from the Montreal fire department, about 30 firefighters were called as a pre caution to make sure the incident was resolved and no further issues were present. The department re ported to security that no evacua tion or alarm was necessary.

However, this didn’t stop distress among students in the building as fire trucks remained parked outside for those 20 min utes. Some students even smelled a slight presence of gas in the air as they walked out onto the hallways to see the commotion, only to be reassured from security that there was no major issue to worry about.

The Concordia Alert System for Emergencies emailed the residents a follow-up to inform them that there was “no risk for occupants” and the leak was fixed, after an initial email saying they would evacuate people. No stu dents or staff were harmed during the event.

Zachary Fortier

T he road to election day was not easy for Ikjot Singh. Thrown into the chaotic, lastminute scramble to the finish line that was the Concordia Student Union’s Fall 2022 by-elections, Singh managed to get through his first run as chief electoral officer.

“I was brought in pretty late— the elections were already suppos ed to have started by the time I was voted in,” Singh said. “Everyone on the [executive] team has really helped me get this election mov ing, and I think we’re doing pretty good.” He will get a moment to rest during winter break before the general election season kicks off in less than three months.

The CSU held its by-elec tions from Nov. 29 to Dec.1, and nearly six per cent of the elec torate cast ballots. This marks a stark drop from the Fall 2021 by-elections, which saw a stu dent turnout rate of 21 per cent.

Students had a hybrid voting option, casting their ballots at an in-person location on both cam puses or online via a platform called SimplyVoting. In total, 1725 students voted in the election.

The bulk of the questions stu dents voted on were amendments to the CSU’s by-laws. Following

lots of internal restructuring since the beginning of the academic year, 14 sections and subsections of the by-laws were amended during the election. Each amendment passed with overwhelming support.

Besides policy changes, stu dents voted to increase the fi nances of every fee-levy group on the ballot. The CSU’s oper ating budget went up by $0.25 and the union’s mental health services got an initial round of funding approved. The Sustaina bility Action Fund’s fee-levy was increased by $0.25, and Le Frigo Vert’s fee-levy increased by $0.13.

According to Donald, a col lective member of Le Frigo Vert, this increase will be immensely beneficial. “It’s a big sense of relief and we’re really appreciative of the students’ support,” he said.

This is the first fee-levy increase Le Frigo Vert has in 15 years, he said.

On the CSU’s council, Lily Cha rette, Liam Doran, Adam Bouguila, Riley Cooke, Alexandre Degard in-Sagnier, and Zeinah El-Bitar were appointed to fill arts and science seats. Annabel Zecchel, Kerry Kin yuy, Mohamad Abdallah, and Mert Kaan Kaseler were appointed to rep resent engineering students.

With files from Sophie Dufresne.

Callista Mille

Solidarity With The Ville-Marie Survival Camp

Le Frigo Vert Prepares Packages For Unhoused Montrealers

A s Montreal’s frigid winter weather is on the horizon, Le Frigo Vert and Rising From Our Roots, are hoping to lend a helping hand.

As part of its anti-colonial week 2022, Le Frigo Vert, a stu dent-owned community space, hosted a Community Solidarity Fundraising Day on Dec. 2. The event’s purpose was to educate, build community and take action against ongoing colonialism.

Attendees could volunteer, share a hot meal, learn about issues facing Indigenous peoples and help package donations for unhoused people in Montreal.

Packages for the Ville-Marie survival camp

The donations collected went to the “survival camp” set up by unhoused people under the Ville-Marie bridge. According to Atreyu Lewis, the founder of Rising from our Roots, the camp is primarily made up of Indigen ous people and is facing eviction threats by the Montreal police.

But, as Donald, an organizer with Le Frigo Vert, pointed out, “[unhoused people] are told to leave—told that [the police] want to close it down and for them to go somewhere else. But, there is nowhere else.”

According to Hunter CubittCooke, another organizer with Le Frigo Vert, there are about 50 people living under the VilleMarie Bridge, and the group aimed to put together 50 pack ages. They exceeded this number and were able to collect enough donations to put together almost 100 packages. Extra packages will be sent to Resilience Montreal, a non-profit day shelter.

The packages included every day essentials such as toothbrush es, toothpaste, menstrual prod ucts, wet wipes and hand warmers. Le Frigo Vert also collected other items to help survival camp mem

bers stay warm, including winter jackets, blankets and tents.

“I would like for people to see these people as community mem bers, as our neighbours, not just sta tistics,” Lewis said. “The care pack ages are one way of letting them know that we’re actively thinking about them.”

Warmth is needed for unhoused folks in Montreal

When it comes to Montreal’s extremely cold winters, “people die each year,” Cubbitt-Cooke told The Link. Le Frigo Vert organizers explained that “the city does not do much to help unhoused people have somewhere warm to stay.” This past winter, multiple unhoused people were reported dead from extremely cold temperatures, which occurred due to lack of adequate housing.

“They just tell you to go to a shelter, but all the shelters are filled,” Lewis said. “It’s very diffi cult, so [unhoused folks] create en campment sites in different areas.”

Cubbitt-Cooke added that un housed people are welcome to come into Le Frigo Vert to warm up, use the bathroom, and get hot water.

The impacts of ongoing coloni alism

When asked about what circum stances led to shelters filling up and the formation of survival camps, Cubbitt-Cooke said multiple factors were to blame. “It’s everything hit ting together: the housing crisis, no mental health services—it’s a trauma soup we’re all living in.”

HOJO 101: Navigating Montreal Housing as a Student

A Guide to an Essential Housing Resource on Campus

Gabrielle Laperriere Leblanc

Tucked in a corner of the Hall building’s mezzanine on the Sir George Williams campus is a small, bightly-coloured office. Inside the space are several desks, where stu dents can be seen entering and sit ting down with staff, asking ques tions, breathing life into the room. What is this office about?

The space belongs to the Housing and Job Resource Cen tre, known as HOJO.

Finding housing while having a full course load can be stressful, and students might feel like they are left to fend for themselves. Fortunately, HOJO is the first step for anyone in need.

But what exactly is HOJO, and what services does it provide? The centre offers students personalized legal information to help them with any difficulties regarding their housing or employment situ ation, as well as general education on living and renting in Montreal.

“There is a lot of misinforma tion online, and it can be hard to

navigate resources, especially if it’s your first time renting—espe cially for [those] out of province or international student,” says Alex Clifford, HOJO’s assistant manager. “You might be freaking out and rent the first apartment that you visit.”

Clifford says they have noticed an influx of students seeking out their services, especially consid ering Montreal’s ongoing housing crisis and the pandemic’s impact on the cost of living.

“You know, there’s a myth that goes around,” Donald said. “Afflu ent people think people choose to be homeless or choose to live in a tent. Circumstances make that happen. People don’t choose to live without hot water and heat. It’s the price of rent and price of food that keeps going up. And social servi ces can’t keep up with demand.”

Lewis added, “A huge popu lation of unhoused persons are Indigenous, and a lot of them are sixties scoop survivors—they don’t have that generational sup port.” The sixties scoop refers to the removal of Indigenous chil dren from their families into white foster homes by the govern ment in the 1960s.

The disproportionate rate of houselessness amongst Indigen ous people is because of ongoing colonialism, Lewis said. They ex plained that “a lot of Indigenous peoples in cities don’t feel a sense of community.”

“That's why the tent cities offer community. They look out for each other. They’ve got strength in num bers.” Cubbitt-Cooke added.

For Le Frigo Vert and Rising from Our Roots, solidarity con quers charity because the fight for decent housing needs to be an ongoing effort centred on de colonization.

HOJO is a great tool for inter national students, mentioned Clifford. For those having recent ly moved to a new city, knowing one’s rights when acquiring hous ing and employment are two skills everybody should have on lock, they added.

Getting the process started with HOJO is also very quick and easy. The office is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday to Thurs day and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday. Employees take walk-ins, general information inquiries and can be reached easily via email. Clifford said employees are more than happy to help students pre pare documents for any housing or job-related issues they may have.

Abby Cole

PHOTO IVAN DE JACQUELIN

PHOTO MARTA MALVINA MOSTARDINI

“We work in partnership with the CSU’s advocacy centre and the legal information clinic,” said Clifford. “When you’re living in a stressful or unstable home situation that can, of course, impact your academic performance as well. […] It’s great to be working closely with them to make sure each student is well-taken care of,” they added.

For Avril Paillot, a 19 year-old Concordia international student, HOJO helped her when she and her roommates were struggling to find affordable housing in Montreal.

“One of my roommates sent me a link to one of the resources that were available on the HOJO web site—it was a form that I filled out and it turned out to be very help ful,” Paillot said. “It’s through them that we found the cooperative our apartment is a part of; it’s nice, cheap and well-located.”

Harley Martin, student life co ordinator of the CSU, wanted to

remind students that the union pays for HOJO. Every semester, a part of student fees goes to the union and towards services that are catered to help them with various aspects of their lives. Additionally, HOJO is not just for students: their services are open to any Montrealer in need.

The CSU provides five different services for students: the Recovery and Wellness Community Centre, the Advocacy Centre, the Legal Information Clinic, the CSU Day care and Nursery and HOJO.

“Students may want to know what their tuition money goes to wards when it goes up a little bit,” said Martin.

HOJO will be hosting work shops in December and January to relay key information and an swer any questions about housing and employment rights.

Fighting Period Poverty on Campus

Students Demand Increased Menstrual Equity From Concordia

Maria Cholakova

An idea for a menstrual equity project came from a time of immense inconvenience.

Danielle Lavigne unexpected ly got her period while she was in class. Rushing to the bathroom, she realized she had no menstrual products on her or coins to buy a tampon from the dispenser.

Reluctantly, she had to resort to using toilet paper as a makeshift pad. Frustrated with her experience, she decided to be a voice of change.

A third-year English and psychology student at Concordia University, Lavigne said she be lieves free products are a neces sity, and that implementing this policy is a matter of principle and equity. “I want to fight period poverty at Concordia,” she said, “but also make sure that people have period products easily ac cessible when needed.”

In order to spread the word, Lavigne created the Instagram account Free Periods Concordia, where she speaks on the issue. She also created a petition urging Concordia to make a change.

In March 2022, the University of Toronto launched a project to provide free sanitary pads and tampons for students and staff. The university pledged to install menstrual hygiene product dis pensers in 75 women’s, men’s and gender-inclusive washrooms in seven of the campus buildings.

According to a recent study, nearly a quarter of Canadian women under 25 years old face financial hardship when buying period prod ucts. Instead of support, people who menstruate across Canada face sys temic challenges in accessing neces sary hygiene products.

Period poverty is defined as “the struggle many low-income women and girls face while trying to afford menstrual products” by the United Nations Population Fund.

While some Canadian insti tutions are quickly moving in the right direction, the Concordia Student Union says that others, like Concordia, are moving at a snail’s pace. Hoping to improve access to menstrual products on both campuses, students and stu dent unions have been urging the university to do their part.

Lavigne is not alone in fighting for menstrual equity on campus. Both the CSU and the Arts and Science Federation of Associations have been trying to destigmatize the topic of menstruation. One of their primary methods has been to give out free period products.

Since 2018, ASFA has ensured to have period products avail able for free in their offices with a no-ask rule, meaning anyone can take as many supplies without worrying they will be questioned.

According to Payton Mitchell, ASFA’s communications coordin

ator, the association demands the university be more access ible. “Toilet paper is free and it’s a sanitary product. The university should be meeting the needs of students for free pads and tam pons, which are also sanitary products,” she explained.

The CSU has also been very active in Concordia’s menstru al equity space. After the union’s sustainability committee voted in favour of launching the distribu tion of free Diva Cups during the 2020-2021 term, over 500 were given out to students that year. Thanks to this initial success, the project continues receiving an nual funding from the union to keep operations running.

Diva Cups and reusable pads can be picked up at the Zen Dens

GRAPHIC NADINE ABDELLATIF

(GM 300.22 downtown and CC 403 at Loyola) and CSU offices (H-711 downtown and CC-426 at Loyola) on both campuses as part of Concordia’s initiative to reduce menstrual inequities, according to Concordia Spokesperson Van nina Maestracci.

Even though the university has dabbled in period equity, access ibility is still a major issue. Ac cording to Asli Isaaq and Sabrina Morena, the CSU’s academic and advocacy coordinator and Loyola coordinator respectively, there is still a lot of work to be done.

Together, the two executives are in charge of the union’s project in partnership with the university. The CSU also supplies free dis posable tampons and pads at their offices on both campuses.

“As it stands right now, I don't think there are any one-time use products offered anywhere at Con cordia, whether that's CSU or an other department,” said Morena. The coordinators have been in talks with Concordia Wellness Coordinator Jillian Ritchie and Concordia Health Promotion Spe cialist Gabriella Szabo about pot entially buying period panties to distribute for free.

When it comes to the future of period equity at Concordia, Morena and Isaaq are not too hope ful. “We have been trying to get in contact with facilities management to see what the long-term plan is and if we could even implement free dispensers,” Morena said. “So far, it's just been a game of catch. We've had meetings scheduled and then later postponed.”

As of recently, Ritchie is set to work in collaboration with Lavigne to help expand her pro ject. According to the wellness coordinator, the CSU and Sus tainability Action Fund have been advocating for free period prod uct dispensers across both cam puses since 2021. The collabora tion between Ritchie and Lavigne will further help tighten the gap of period inequality on campus.

Lavigne urged students to sign her petition to increase the chan ces of Concordia adopting such a policy. “Students should not have to worry about accessing men strual products,” she said.

When asked by The Link if Concordia had plans for free menstrual product dispensers in bathrooms, Maestracci did not engage with the question.

PHOTO IVAN DE JACQUELIN

Kay Family Demands Answers

Two Months After His Death, Ronny Kay’s Family Still Suffering From Police Aggression

Content warning: This article discusses police brutality.

Ronny Kay’s family has been left in the dark by authorities over further developments in the investigation into his death. The trauma his mother and sisters have endured at the hands of the SPVM has only worsened since.

Two months have gone by since Kay’s death, and his family’s demands for transparency, ac countability and justice from the police have gone unanswered.

On Sept. 17, Ronny Kay, a 38-year-old Chinese man, was shot by an SPVM officer in front of his Nun’s Island condo.

Debola Kay, Ronny’s older sis ter, grieved the loss of her brother whose promising life was cut tra gically short. “He was so young and had so many projects. He was start ing to have a beautiful phase in his life, yet [the police] ended [it], so we are asking for justice,” she said.

Moments before Ronny’s death, he was working from home. He was also supposed to run errands with Debola later.

According to his family, police responded to a 911 call made by Kay’s ex-girlfriend af ter the two had an argument over picking up furniture. Later, Kay’s work supervisor called the police and reported he displayed signs of emotional distress.

Debola said her brother called her in a panic once po

lice were dispatched. Ronny de veloped a fear of the police 11 years prior to his death, when he was apprehended by an officer during a family argument.

When Debola arrived at his home, she saw police officers and vehicles parked in front of his condo. She approached the offi cers, identified herself as Ronny’s sister and advised them not to harm Ronny while he was in psychological distress. SPVM offi cers told her Ronny was rushed to the hospital. An hour later, Ronny Kay was pronounced dead.

According to the Bureau des Enquêtes Indépendants, the po lice responded to a call where a witness spotted Kay allegedly holding a weapon, possibly an imitation gun. At 12:30 p.m., an SPVM officer claimed Kay was pointing the weapon towards him. The officer then shot Kay.

Debola recounted the emo tional turmoil she and her family experienced from her brother’s sudden death: “Every night, we have a hard time sleeping. There is not a single day where I don’t think of my brother [...]. That day of the tragedy keeps com ing back to me because I was the last person in the family to have contacted him,” she said.

In an interview with The Link, Red Coalition Spokesperson and former police officer Alain Babi neau said the police need to act on sympathy rather than violence.

“Police officers are not trained to respond to those kinds of calls [...] Police officers are trained to intervene in situations where someone’s in danger or someone is threatening the life of someone. So, I think there's a lack of train ing there for sure, ” he said.

“Normally, police are called in an assistance capacity, and sometimes just by family mem bers that don't know who to turn to,” Babineau said. “Unfortu nately, far too often, it ends up in the death of the individual or the use of lethal force by the police.”

Two weeks after Ronny’s death, his mother was arrested by

police after an emotional break down at her local pharmacy. She wanted a refill of her medication before the renewal date, only to be denied by pharmacists.

After dealing with the loss of her only son and being refused medication, Kay’s mother raised her voice and slammed the counter, which prompted secur ity staff to call the police.

Ronny’s younger sister, Mi chelle Kay, took a stroll around her neighbourhood when she saw police cars surround the phar macy. She watched an SPVM officer push her mother against a glass wall, handcuff her and es

cort her to the police station.

Michelle filmed the incident and tried to approach the officer, who allegedly threatened to tase her if she got closer to him. Kay’s mother was accused of breaching Article 129 of the Quebec Crim inal Code by “obstructing the duty of a peace officer.”

Babineau said officers do not have a legal obligation and cap acity to place charges. “There's nothing in the Criminal Code or penal code [where it] says police officers must arrest and charge at their discretion. This discretion is on the part of the public pros ecutor,” he said.“Police officers

Alexa Toguri-Laurin

PHOTO ALEXA TOGURI-LAURIN

PHOTO ALEXA TOGURI-LAURIN

don't lay charges, they just bring the file to the public prosecutor, who in turn, decides whether or not they're going to lay charges,” Babineau said.

“Laying criminal charges on someone that's already afflicted by post-traumatic disorders caused by the death of a loved one,” Babineau added. “That, un fortunately, doesn't speak very highly of the emotional intelli gence of some of those officers.”

Two months after Ronny’s death, members of his family have been urging the BEI and the SPVM to answer why the officers shot him. Ronny’s family demands a public inquiry for his death and a coroner’s report, which has been contested by the BEI.

Debola was told by BEI of ficials that a report will be pro duced within six to nine months. In recent reports, the bureau said it is conducting an investigation on the details of Ronny’s shoot ing and will publish it when fur ther developments are made.

For Ronny’s family, he has been another victim of police brutality. Since his death, his family has not received any form of apology nor updates into the investigation.

On Nov. 20, the Chinese Pro gressives of Quebec and the Justice for Ronny Kay Ad-Hoc Committee hosted a vigil and march in Mont real’s Chinatown, aimed to have a public coroner’s inquest, access to psychosocial services and an offi cial apology from the SPVM.

At Sun Yat-Sen park, Kay’s sisters made speeches demand ing justice for their late brother. Community organizations also attended the march and made speeches, showing solidarity.

Mandarin and Cantonese trans lators were alongside Kay’s sisters and key speakers from groups like the Montreal Chinese Community United Center, Chinatown Roundt

able, Service à la Famille Chinoise du Grand Montréal and National Association of Japanese Canadians Quebec Chapter.

During Michelle’s speech, she read an open letter directed to government officials, including Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, director of the BEI Pierre Goulet, SPVM former interim Director Sylvain Roy and chief coroner Pa scale Descary.

“What did [the authorities] tell us? [They told us to] ‘wait.’ [...] How can we live normally after Ronny was killed?” she told the crowd.

More key speakers were introduced to express their con dolences to Kay’s family and their frustration surrounding the death of their beloved family friend and community member.

Chinatown held a special place in Kay’s heart, giving him an opportunity to embrace and learn about his cultural heritage, as well as connect with his com munity through volunteering at the Montreal Chinese Commun ity United Center’s youth pro gram. Jimmy Chan of the Chan Family Association recounted Kay’s contribution to community groups in the neighbourhood.

“There was a time when we were volunteering people to join the youth program, and Ronny was the first one [who] said: ‘Jimmy, I’ll be there for you.’ [...] He had so much potential to grow, to contribute to our society, into our humanity, but [now] he’s gone,” Chan said.

Ronny’s mother broke her two month-long silence on the death of her son. Overcome with emo tion, she was consoled by PCQ President May Chiu and Michelle while she spoke through a mega phone, expressing her grief.

“Losing a child is not easy,” she told the crowd. “How could he imagine [being] gunned

down just in that short mo ment? He was not even given the chance to come back home and talk to his mom [...] How can we, ordinary people, go to the police for help? We have many ways to handle certain circumstances instead of using weapons.”

“To the gunman who killed my son, I want to ask you this: do you know what human rights are?” she continued. “I’m won dering how we could live in a democratic society, but then we cannot find human rights.”

Social justice groups such as Coalition contre la répression et les abus policiers, the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, Con seil québécois LGBT and Coali tion étudiante pour un virage en vironnemental et social also made statements at the march.

“We find comfort in know ing that everyone here wasn’t us reaching out, it was people reach ing out to us. [...] To see people who showed up, to see who signed [the open letter], to see their faces, it means a lot to us,” Michelle said.

“For my mom, she knows that even though Ronny isn’t here phys ically, he has impacted so many people,” Michelle added. “It will help heal the wounds in her heart.”

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Montreal's Queer community assembled at parc de l'espoir in the Gay Village on Dec. 1.

Commemorating World AIDS day, a vigil was held to remember victims of the AIDS crisis.

PHOTO IVAN DE JACQUELIN

COURTESY MICHELLE KAY

COURTESY MICHELLE KAY

COURTESY MICHELLE KAY

COURTESY MICHELLE KAY

A Knitting Passion Turned Into a Business

A Look Into Knits & Knots

Olivia Integlia

COURTESY JULIA DE COTTIS

When Concordia University student, Julia De Cottis, 22 years old, followed the advice of friends and family to channel her knitting talents into a business, she never thought she would succeed. She was surprised by the outcome.

In May 2022, De Cottis launched the Knits & Knots Insta gram account where she sells her handmade goods. Her products range from knitted tops, bikinis and beach tote bags, to household décor, blankets, hats and mittens.

While her business was only launched a few months ago, she has had a love for knitting since child hood. Despite having Alzheimer’s disease, her great-aunt taught her how to knit, she explained. “It is something that she remembered through muscle memory,” De Cot tis said. She added that the two shared a close bond, even going as far as saying that she was like a grandmother to her.

After her great-aunt’s passing, De Cottis sought out her passion for knitting as a coping mechan ism. “I got back into it to remem ber her,” she explained.

She began by challenging her self and looking for different items to make. She drew much inspira tion from Youtube videos and Pin terest photos that she came across.

Bella Galasso Wants to Break Records on Her Own

She then went a step further by selling her handmade goods.

Despite launching a knitting business in the warm summer months, De Cottis’ company took off. The bikini tops and beach bags were quite popular, she said.

Amanda Pannunzio is a regu lar customer of Knits & Knots. Over the last few months, she has purchased various bikini tops, a knit tank top, a few pairs of mittens and a winter hat. She also mentioned how she already placed pre-orders for knitted bi kini tops for summer 2023, which De Cottis is already working on.

She had nothing but good things to say. “Not only do the pieces feel durable and very com fortable but they’re super cute and original […]. They make great gifts too,” she said.

Additionally, Pannunzio complimented De Cottis for her adaptability when making pieces. “I can ask the owner to create pieces to my liking from colours to fit,” she said, always pleased with the final result.

Other customers have raved about De Cottis’ talent in the com ments section of the Instagram page and complimented her work for being creative and well-made.

In spite of the business' success, she said that she is her harshest crit ic. “There have been a lot of frustra tions. I am a bit of a perfectionist,” she said. With handmade products, it is difficult to get two exact pieces, like making mittens identical to each other, she explained.

After seven months, her busi ness finally became profitable. “At the beginning, I really wasn’t [breaking even] and I was dis couraged, but it takes time,” she said. The prices of her products vary. “The yarn isn’t expensive, but it’s the time,” she said. The cost of her products takes into account the quality of yarn, the design used or the time it takes to make, she explained. Mittens cost approximately $25.

However, customers like Pan nunzio, believe that the price is worth the final product. “It def initely takes patience and a great amount of talent to do that and I’m happy to support,” she stated.

As the business slowly grows, De Cottis adapts to the seasons. During Halloween, she sold knit ted pumpkins as décor, and now, winter gear is the most popular, she said. Eventually, she hopes to set up pop-up markets for the holidays, allowing her customers to purchase her products in person.

Concordia Musician Launches Solo Career After Performing for Eight Years

Briahna McTigue

Bella Galasso does not hate parties.

Contrary to what the irresist ibly catchy lyrics in her debut pop single “Ruin A Party” may sug gest, Galasso loves to kick back with her friends as much as any other 23-year-old. In this song, listeners are invited to explore Galasso’s inner world, filled with intricate harmonies and the ring of clinking party cups. The lyrics detail her aversion to parties, while piercing through layers of instruments that are equally busy and exciting… Ironically making this a perfect party track.

While the lyrics tell a compel ling story, Galasso said they aren’t entirely true. “I think a huge part of songwriting is about exaggera tion and making things up,” Galas so said, “even your most upsetting

moments aren't that poetic, and you have to kind of make it that way—which is an artform in itself and it’s hard to do. ‘Ruin a Party’ was just an exaggeration of a feel ing I’ve felt a few times in my life.”

Although this single marks the launch of Galasso’s solo-ca reer, it is not her first time re leasing music. She had her first Spotify debut back in 2016, when her band The Record Break ers released their first EP. After forming in 2014 as a cover band, The Record Breakers went on to release 29 original songs—in cluding two EPs and their album Bigger Plans. The band toured, played local shows, and even opened for Bon Jovi at the Bell Centre in 2018.

“We all had a role. It was really fun, and we actually did a really sol

id job,” Galasso said. “There was a chemistry there.” It was this chem istry that propelled them through the next few years, up until their last EP release, Bonfire in 2021.

Today, with her single sur passing 1,000 streams on Spotify, Galasso has announced that she is currently working on an EP. Still in the early stages of pre-produc tion, the EP will err more on the stripped-down folk side of the musical spectrum. It will, how ever, adopt the same confession al tone as her recent single. In fact, Galasso said that it’s some of the most personal music she’s worked on so far. “Even now I’m like oh shit I don’t want my mom to hear these songs sometimes,” she admitted. The EP will cover the universal and deeply person al fears of growing older, wanting

more from our time here, and the unpredictability of feelings.

These pop and folk projects are a big change for Galasso, who, up until 2021, had only released coun try music with her band The Record Breakers. Despite the success she found with them, the band struggled to attract a younger audience.

“We started out with retro. We really pigeon holed ourselves and it was hard to break out of,” she said. Galasso explained that this is something that she’s trying to remedy as a solo artist.

Although she fondly remem bers her time with The Record Breakers, she looks forward to this new season of her music career.

“You get older. I was 15 when it started,” Galasso said. “It was a big part of my life. Everybody knew me from [the band]. That

was my identity. I was Bella from The Record Breakers, but I was getting tired of that. I didn’t want to be just Bella from The Record Breakers anymore.”

Galasso’s appreciation for her time spent with the band is mir rored by other members. “I have great memories collaborating with her on the style and arrangement of the song ‘Our Yesterday,’ said Meisner, the band’s bassist. “It was so much fun to go through that creative process with her.” Meisner said that he looks forward to see ing what the future has in store for his friend and former bandmate.

“I’m really excited to see her experiment with different music styles than what she’s done in the past,” Meisner said. “I think she has a new musical direction in mind that I’m very excited to hear.”

Continued from p.8

Galasso plans to work on her EP alongside her co-worker, producer and longtime friend, Matt Nozetz. The two began working together in 2019, when Nozetz produced The Record Breaker’s song “In My Car.” Since then, he has been the engineer and producer that Galasso turns to for all of her music, includ ing “Ruin a Party.” “I am not letting him go,” Galasso said.

Nozetz said he has a strong understanding of who Galasso is as an artist because of their hist ory. He has had a front row seat in witnessing how she evolved over time, and the influences that have led her to the sound and image she is creating today. He has spe cifically noticed major changes in her songwriting over the last two years, with her lyrics becoming more vulnerable. This, he said, is especially evident in “Ruin a Party.”

“It’s definitely a much more per sonal song. There’s a lot of the ‘I’ per spective,” Nozetz said. “It really feels like the lyrics are giving you a win dow into her head and her feelings.”

While her lyrics have always been intentional, Galasso admit ted that in the past, her songs were rarely ever about her. “From when I started writing songs at eleven or twelve, to when I was twenty— when the pandemic started—I did not write songs about my real life,”

Galasso said. “I know that’s the thing songwriters do… put their life into it, their emotions and their feelings. But I did not do that. I was scared of doing that. I didn’t believe I had anything to say.”

Instead, Galasso mainly drew inspiration from books and TV shows that she liked at the time.

As a self-proclaimed fangirl, her wellspring of ideas hardly ran dry.

“I was a fangirl at heart. I still am, but I was insane back then,” she said. In fact, the first single she ever wrote and released with The Record Breakers, “Falling Back,” was inspired by John Green’s “The Fault in Our Stars.”

In some ways, her love for lit erature has also influenced her new approach to songwriting. As a third year English literature student at Concordia University, Galasso has been introduced to a decent amount of poetry through out her degree. Thus, in true cre ative fashion, during the pan demic—when the world felt bleak and there was nowhere to go— she turned to poetry for comfort. “When 2020 came around, and everything was garbage, I started reading more poetry, which was a big change for me,” Galasso said. “I realized I can make songs more personal, but also more poetic and interesting too.”

Above all else though, Galasso attributes this shift in her writ

ing to the privacy and loneliness of the pandemic. In many ways, the isolation and solitude were a catalyst for her songwriting, and she was finally able to use her own feelings and life experience as inspiration. “It really helped me figure out how to do it. I realized that people might not ever hear this because of COVID, so I’ll just write whatever. I find that since then, my songwriting has been so much better and finally person al,” Galasso said, “I felt like I was finally a ‘real’ artist.”

Galasso hopes that the EP’s stripped-back style will help con vey this. “We’re definitely taking a more personal approach, so to speak,” said Nozetz, “putting Bel la’s voice more in the spotlight as a singer-songwriter. We’re looking at a more intimate style of songs that will paint the image of who Bella is.”

While the lyrics of Galasso’s new songs are now influenced by her life, Nozetz said that her songs never lacked intention.

“She gave me this phrase that I use with other vocalists called ‘singing with intention’ and she brings that to every single session that I’ve recorded with her,” No zetz said. “Every line she writes has intention. And she put that idea in my head. That every line needs meaning.”

To My Future Lover or Killer

Sabyah Seyam

Whatever it is I want it to hurt.

Not in the way hooks catch and drag across skin but in the way a cold star travels through the heart and leaves a peck of electricity in its wake.

When you walk by I’ll know who you are because angels are always terrifying are always cleaning grime from under their nails/names.

Don’t ask me what peace is doing in the wilderness or about the Arabic alphabet or why the inside of a pomegranate looks so much like a pair of lungs and a pelvic girdle.

You have the tools. You are supposed to be building judgement here.

I just wear my pearls and undo the world’s bloodsticky shoelaces.

I hope you will give me what I want. I am all expectations, teeth bared and poisoneyed. Make it mean something. Don’t make me beg. Been there done that it always ends with the broken gut strings of a harp.

And if you fuck me over consider the meat already slaughtered. You don’t love me enough to birth me into a prophet.

Something will outlive this body. Whether it is anger or tenderness I don’t know but I trust you will tell me soon.

A One on One with Martin Saint

Montreal Rocker Talks New LP and Music as Spiritual Pursuit

Jaime Kerr

Martin Saint is not an idle man. Fresh off the release of Where Spirits Play—the latest EP from Montreal post-punks The Ember Glows—the vocalist and multi-instrumentalist is finalizing a solo album set to launch in Janu ary. Titled Radio Murmurs, the LP will break life down into vignettes and dwell on the passage of time.

Included on the track list is Saint’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s deep cut “The Law.” Shrouded in smoke, Saint’s baritone vocals melt over a persistent groove punctuated by eerie bells and ephemeral synths. One can im agine this version accompanying them while creeping up the stairs of a haunted castle by torchlight.

Saint, a born-and-raised Mont realer, is undertaking several pro jects at once. A self-described “lounge crooner,” the musician continues to lend his voice to The Ember Glows in addition to collab orating on tracks with singer/song writer Ursa Minor. Saint also just wrapped up the first public display of his landscape illustrations at Le Boudoir Montréal and is hoping to publish a “dream pet project”—an illustrated volume of his lyrics.

The Link sat down with Saint to discuss poetry, David Bowie and music as a spiritual pursuit.

Answers have been edited for clarity.

What is your writing process like?

I try to write every single day. I’m old fashioned and still write long hand, so I have tons of note books everywhere in my place. If I’m getting coffee with somebody and I arrive early, I’ll take those five minutes to write. Even later tonight, this is what I’m going to do. I like to spend all-nighters writing till the wee-hours.

How do you approach songwrit ing as a solo artist versus when you’re part of a group?

Being in a band, there’s always compromises that need to be made. We’re four individuals; we all have different views. There’s al ways a bit of negotiation involved which is fun—it’s why you’re in a band. But there [are] things I wanna do just for myself that I don’t feel like imposing on them. That’s the nature of being solo. If I write something for myself, I have a bit more freedom because I only have myself to please.

Was there a particular vision you were aiming for with Radio Murmurs?

It's important to have a cer tain unity of sound, of mood and of whatever signature I possess.

I want to write songs that have a good mixture of atmosphere and hooks. Something that Bowie might have done during his Ber lin period, where half the album is traditional catchy pop songs, while the others are more out there, more instrumental.

How does your approach to writing poetry differ from your songwriting?

They're two different art forms. You can have a really good poem, but it's not necessarily musical. You can have some very inter esting words in prose or poetry that are evocative and beautiful, but don’t translate or roll off the tongue—they don't sound good, basically, when sung. In both cases, I'm always striving to say more with less [words]. I try not to tell you, but to show you. Can I give you an image that you're go ing to read and say “yes, I remem ber this happened to me” or “I can imagine this happened” because it's very visceral, very clear.

What is your approach to cover ing songs, especially in regards to “The Law” ?

It has to be a song I wish I had written, that I have utmost admira

tion for. And I need to feel that I can bring something personal or that I can rearrange it in my own way and still make it interesting. You know, appropriate it for three, four min utes. When I first started doing solo gigs, half my sets would be covers, and I didn't pick easy ones. I picked covers that nobody else did but that fit with the sound of my original stuff. So, the biggest compliment that I would ever get was when people didn't know which was a cover and which was mine.

How has your approach to song writing evolved over time?

The idea is not to cram the space and just ram fancy words down people's throats, it's just to trigger an emotion. I'm less and less afraid of being vulner able now. When I started writing songs, I was trying to cloak myself a little by writing like that. And now, [...] the songs are more raw. That really came down to studying songcraft. I was looking at songs I wanted to emulate, that I wish I’d written, and then I was looking at what I was doing and realized “This is boring. This doesn't mean anything.” That's when I gradual ly realized that I wanted to take a path with less resistance.

How does the past influence your lyrics?

In a lot of what I write, I'm very aware of the passing of time. On the new album, there's a song called “No hard Feelings,” and it's about how time goes by and how sometimes you're doing some thing for the last time, but you don't know that it’s the last time yet. You find out later that this cycle in your life, this particu lar life, is over, and you’re in an other one now. It's like when you run into an old friend, but you've evolved differently. And you real ize you like the person, you have nothing against them, but you're somewhere else now. And you can try to recreate that magic, but it's not there anymore.

Do you see music as a spiritual pursuit?

Oh, yeah, I'm not ashamed to say it. It turns out that the great majority of the music that I al ways go back to has some spiritual feeling to it. Whether it's Leonard Cohen or Bowie—or even Elvis or old gospel stuff. It isn’t preachy or religious in that sense, there’s more of an element of searching for your soul.

Much of Martin Saint’s work— including his cover of “The Law”— can be streamed on bandcamp.

COURTESY BRYAN GAGNON

Stingers’ Weekend Wrap-Up:

Dec. 2 to 4

Hockey Highs and Lows to End Competition for 2022

Conor Tomalty

Let’s talk Stingers…

Women’s Hockey: Currently first in the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec Division

This team has made great strides from the season debut back in late October. The ever-echoed narrative of the immense pressure weighed on the shoulders of defending national championship program still bounces throughout the Ed Meagher arena. Despite this high bar, the Julie Chu-run program has soared high enough to touch it.

With ten wins and three losses, the women’s team has held the top position firmly, both in the RSEQ and in the U Sports power rankings. This past weekend displayed why. A hard-fought match against the third-seeded Bishop’s University Gaiters ended in heartbreak. The Stingers trailed 4-2 heading into the terminal frame. After defensemen Rachael McIntyre narrowed the gap 4-3, a shot from in-tight rattled off the far post of a wide-open Bish op’s net. Mere fractions of an inch from a tied game was a tough loss swallowed by Concordia.

The defeat lingered in the minds of the players, stewed and was utilized for additional mo tivation when facing the equally dynamic Université de Montréal Carabins on Dec. 4. The Stingers found themselves in a familiar situation late in the game. Down a goal, an extra attacker took the ice with the Concordia goalie pulled. In the third period, for ward Jessymaude Drapeau fired a shot from the hash marks with 38 seconds remaining to force over

time. After two prolongation per iods solved nothing, a shootout ensued. Both goalies stood tall during the shootout until Stinger forward Rosalie Begin-Cyr took to centre ice. With the puck on her stick and an opportunity to end the game, she did just that, out-waiting Carabins goaltender Maude Desroches and potting the game-deciding goal blocker side.

Now with the circuit’s first half concluded, the women’s team is set to prepare for the resumption of play in the new year. All eyes will once again be glued to the pro gram, with those darned expecta tions hovering over their heads. But the team has progressed immense ly, knowing the only way to reach these heights is through growth.

Men’s Hockey: Currently fourth in the Ontario University Ath letics East Division

Through the course of the opening half of the 2022-23 sea son, the men’s team’s success was initially hot and cold, with a re cord of two wins and two losses after four games. What arose after wards was a cohort who finished their warm-up and caught fire. A five-game win streak that stretched from Oct. 28 to Nov. 11 raised the Stingers up the OUA East table. This is thanks in part to a MarcAndre Element-steered team, driven by a collective of familiar teammates and the emergence of bonafide starting goaltender, firstyear Jonathan Lemieux. Despite residing in the fourth position, the ranking disparities separate the first seed from the fourth by a minute four points.

Unlike their counterparts on the women’s team, the men had no real hindrances over the week end. The team was capable of bombarding opposing goaltend ers with a flurry of shot attempts, resulting in two sound victories. In the game against the Carle ton University Ravens on Dec. 4, Concordia manhandled their adversaries, who dealt simul taneously with a depleted lineup caused by injuries. Ravens goal tender Cole McLaren wore all five goals scored against him. A credit to the netminder given this was accompanied by 41 saves on 46 shots from the Stingers, resulting in a final tally of 5-1.

The two terminal matches pre sented a morale-boosting finale to the 2022 year. In the match against the University of Ottawa Gee-Gees on Dec. 5, the Stingers’ goal differential in the prior game seemed like a narrow victory in comparison. A result of 8-2 in Concordia’s favour was amassed from a six-goal third period.

With the close race to the play off positions still lingering, the in terest in the team’s progression will take precedence in the fanbase’s minds, come the new year. Yet, the worrisome feelings have the po tential to be disregarded because the Stingers run a roster that is filled with speedy offensive talent and physically dominant players up and down the depth chart. If Lemieux’s goaltending excellence holds, and the team continues to heat up, a deep post-season run is in the foreseeable future.

SCOREBOARD

MEN’S HOCKEY

WOMEN’S HOCKEY

A Well-Bonded Women’s Team

How Chemistry Catalyzes the Women’s Hockey Success

Conor Tomalty

Once the confetti was swept and the hangovers were cured, the defending National Championship Stingers’ women’s hockey team had an extensive workload in preparation for and during the 2022-23 campaign.

The labouring tasks included the replacement of core veteran players who were key contribu tors in the 2021-22 season, the integration of freshmen recruits and the acclamation of inexperi enced players into starting role minutes. Still, the biggest obstacle was establishing a new identity for a team full of unfamiliar faces. All of this had to be addressed while managing the grossly aug mented expectations thrust upon the program following its success.

results, the Stingers did not need to look far, relying on the veteran players to establish a routine.

“We were coming in with a lot of experience and a lot of people who won that national cham pionship last year,” said Stingers captain and defenseman Olivia Hale. “We know what it takes to win that gold medal at the end [...]. We’re a young team that’s still learning, but we’re a fighting team. [...] With our strong defence and powerhouse offence, we’re going to be a contender again this year.”

The program has its fair share of traditions still practiced by the 2023 group. Noticeably, the full team bench slide is executed by the players before every period, while behind the scenes discus

way veterans like Leonie Phil bert and Alexandre-Ann Boyer complement the team’s ability to circulate the puck well. The sole problem is that none of these players measure more than fiveand-a-half feet tall.

Knowing this, the Stingers added in some size. Along with the six-foot second-year forward Meagan Bur eau-Gagnon, there’s five-foot-ten forward Courtney Rice and six-footone defenseman Camille Richard.

“For a long time, we had a lot of shorter players just because character-wise, talent-wise they fit into our program,” acknowledged Chu. “It just happens now that we have a few taller players [...]. They bring a different element allowing us to be successful.”

The taller players have im pacted the game using their long reach to disrupt opposing skat ers who carry the puck, while allowing them to protect it when in their possession. Richard, spe cifically, is pencilled in frequently to the starting lineup despite her freshmen status.

At the end of the first half of this season, the Stingers eased the bulk of these concerns. The team accomplished this feat by being just that, a team.

Women’s hockey head coach Julie Chu established from the start with her team that national rankings and standings are dis regardable and that improvement is the main focus. “Our biggest thing is, ‘are we getting better as a team?’” she said. “I do think we’re doing that, and that’s a positive [thing].”

For chemistry to be built and bonds to be tightly solidified within a nascent group, it helps to use a catalyst. To accelerate the

sions on the future of the women’s game are explored, an aspect the staff prides itself on representing.

At its core, the players are an empathetic collective. When it comes to the modern-day charac terization of the group, with new players come new skills. These skillsets sustain a fast-paced of fensive attack, while simultan eously integrating diversity of in dividual strengths.

The offensive attack is exuded by speedy elite playmakers and snipers. For example, forwards Emmy Fecteau and Jessymaude Drapeau have a knack for apply ing pressure when entering into the opposing end. Defensive two-

Richard is well-aware of her size and says it’s a huge asset for “getting to the [opposing] girls at the blue line and when in the cor ner [fighting for the puck].”

All these components have influenced the outcome of the hockey year’s first half. As it cur rently stands, the Stingers are 103-0. They top the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec division and have sustained their number one ranking in U Sports.

With the highs come a cama raderie in celebration, yet this camaraderie is also present dur ing tough losses. Most recently, in the Dec. 2 defeat against the Bishop’s University Gaiters, Con

cordia had a comeback thwarted by a goalpost. A shot that was mere inches from knotting the game at four apiece, clanging off of the right post. With the missed attempt, the Gaiters travelled the length of the ice and netted the puck into the open goal.

“We always say, ‘When a team has good chemistry, that goes beyond winning,’” said Chu fol lowing the loss. “It’s easy during adversity to come apart. [...] I like our chemistry. I think it’s some thing we’re going to rely on and continue to build”.

All in all, the narrative of the 2022-23 campaign has been one navigated by a collective that skates a long road together. De spite the numerous obstacles that lay in their path, the women’s team is completing it together.

“I like our chemistry. I think it’s something we’re going to rely on and continue to build”

— Julie Chu

PHOTO VALENTINE ALIBERT

Dear Fellow Immigrant, Your CV and Degree

Are Not Valid Here

If You’re Coming to Canada, Prepare to Hit the Reset Button on Your Achievements

Dana Hachwa

Iremember sitting in my family kitchen in Dubai, door closed, notebook ready. It was 2020 and I was waiting. That day, I was to receive a call that would end up lasting for two hours.

The call was for a so-called cul tural orientation—a mandatory session meant to prepare me for my immigration to Canada as a Syrian refugee. Typically, this orientation would be run in-person over the course of a few days, but COVID-19 had reduced it to a two-hour crash course via phone call.

“This should be easy,” I re member thinking. A cultural orientation? As if I haven’t al ready been educated on North American culture my entire two decades of life by TV, film and countless hours on Reddit and In stagram. This cultural orientation would be a formality rather than an actual learning experience, I assured myself.

The call eventually came and a man from the International Or ganisation for Migration head quarters in Egypt spoke on the other end. In that call, we covered post-arrival in Canada, housing, how Canadian healthcare works, and culture, amongst other things. I was proud of my youth and my know-how. None of the informa tion really shocked me.

That was until the very end, when we reached the topics of edu cation and employment in Canada. It was time to discuss possible em ployment barriers for immigrants. The IOM representative explained there were three barriers: language, education and experience.

A single sentence from the man stuck out to me, and it is something I repeat to anyone who wants to migrate here from the Middle East: “In Canada, they only care about Canadian work experience and Canadian educa tion.” I found this to be the most revealing and most useful tip, as though I was being let in on some giant secret—how lucky I was.

The man on the call explained that immigrants arriving in Canada often require a severe ego check. He said, a little facetiously, that people arrive expecting to be bestowed with the same job, the same title and the same prestige they enjoyed back home. This is a sore mistake, he told me. And you know what? He was absolutely right.

As a refugee or immigrant, the expectation to continue from

where you left off is viewed as naive, even deadly. How dare you expect that your decade-long career would hold even an ounce of worth in Canada? How dare you expect that your expensive, accredited univer sity degree would hold any water in Canada? Please, sit down and hum ble yourself, habibi.

Let me draw a map of the paths and ultimatums we’re faced with. From what I’ve experienced and observed amongst the Syr ian diaspora, there are four pos sible scenarios available once you land in the country. In the first, ideal scenario, you arrive young

education or restart your career; a giant setback if you’re older and financially responsible for a family.

In the third scenario, time is a luxury and money is scarce. You begrudgingly decide to work min imum-wage or entry-level jobs to support your family. On paper and in your heart, you know you’re overqualified for these jobs.

The fourth scenario, one com mon amongst fathers, is to leave your family in Canada and return to your country of origin, assum ing it’s safe enough, to continue in your preferred occupation. You retain your level of employment

immigrant men—one of them being the father of a close friend of mine—who suffered from such deteriorating physical and mental health that it led to his sudden and untimely death.

Why does it have to be this way? Why are our pasts being erased? Where are the promises of globalisa tion, of the Canadian dream, where the world is our oyster?

The promises of the Canadian dream are an illusion to first-gen eration immigrants. Even their children, and their children’s chil dren will only have a struggling chance to pursue it. Many parents

The call I received back in my kitchen in Dubai did not come af ter an afternoon of waiting. It was the culmination of four years of waiting. I was waiting for a Can adian visa—that untouchable, spectacular, rare-as-a-shootingstar sheet of stamped paper that my people would and have, died for. During that wait, I had to place my life and education on hold, and now, at 26 years old, I am incred ibly lucky that my past isn’t exten sive enough to be erased.

I’m incredibly lucky that I will graduate from Concordia. I’m incredibly lucky that I have yet

enough to complete your second ary or higher education in Can ada, and your Canadian degree secures your foot in the door..

In the second scenario, you arrive with a foreign degree and job experience already in hand. If these don’t originate from Eur ope or elsewhere in North Amer ica, they may as well appear on your CV as incoherent gibberish to Canadian employers. And so, you bravely decide to repeat your

and your salary, which you then send to your family abroad.

The financial and emotional strain that this brings to individ uals and families—particularly immigrant men and fathers who come from cultures that expect men to provide—is immeasur able. These men are robbed of their dignity, their achievements, their self-worth, their families— and sometimes, they’re robbed of their life. I’ve heard stories of

are instead forced to help relieve the labour shortage, where the greatest job vacancy in Quebec is in the accommodation and food services industry.

There is nothing inherent ly wrong with working min imum-wage jobs, or occupations considered blue-collar. The crime here is the lack of job and education equivalence afforded to immigrants and refugees, a chance to salvage what little triumphs they have.

to enter the job market and that my first job post-graduation will probably be in Canada.

The same cannot be said for hundreds of thousands of others who are instructed to please humble themselves—and that is a goddamn disgrace.

GRAPHIC NADINE ABDELLATIF

Where There's Light There's Hope

The Story of the Town I Love so Well

Patrick McKenna

It’s many years ago now (I’m a senior student) but I still re member mum asking me, some time in mid-November 1979, “Will you be home for Christ mas?” Despite every fiber of my body wanting me to say “Yes,” I replied “Sorry mum, this year I can’t make it.” By now I'd recog nized Christmas back home as a "tender trap," as my mum would say. Going back home to Belfast, Northern Ireland for the holidays was my way of dodging the diffi cult question: “What on earth am I still doing here in Montreal?” I had a good job, but I was on my own. French was an uphill bat tle, the winters were colder and the summers hotter than I ever imagined possible: I just felt that life in the world's second coldest country wasn't a good fit for me.

Procrastination extended my original three-year plan to five and increasingly, I worried about being stuck here forever—a word and prospect that terrified me. This year I decided to bite the loneliness bullet, spend Christmas on my owney-oo, see out the winter, and in June, by which time I’d have a respectable two years with my em

ployer, I'd leave Montreal, go home to Belfast and I wouldn't look back.

On Christmas Day, the stores, cafes and cinemas were closed. I had no friends to visit to keep my self occupied, so I decided to go to church at 11 a.m., made a simple lunch and then I walked to the summit of Mont Royal and back.

At about 4 p.m., I made hot tea and wandered over to my west facing window, drawn there I think, by the beauty of the sunset, the pale blue twilight and the sky streaked by crimsons, reds and pinks.

I stood at the window cradling the mug in my hands, until the last crimson sliver disappeared behind Mont Royal. I walked to the kitch en, but instead of reaching for the potato peeler, I picked up a pen, glanced at my watch and then, on the kitchen calendar, I wrote the time of sunset in the little square assigned to Dec. 25.

I didn’t know why I did this but I didn’t think much of it as I set down the pen, picked up the potato peeler and made a start on my pork chop Christmas dinner for one.

On Dec. 26, at the same time, I was at the window once more, with my mug of tea, watching the sun set.

Then, as I had the day before, I noted the time and wrote it on my kitchen calendar, which is what I would do every afternoon all through my holi day vacation and into January.

This new habit of mine was slightly sad—a variant of the pris oner scratching lines on the cell wall. However, as sad as it was, it brought with it a message of hope.

After a few weeks, I noticed how each sunset came a few min utes later than its predecessor. The times scribbled on my calendar

Holiday Crossword ❄

Holiday Crossword

Sophie Dufresne

were a positive reminder that the sun was coming back. Brighter, warmer days were ahead.

Indeed, winter did end, the snow melted, the wild geese and other mi gratory birds returned, the trees in the park across the street blossomed and then, ful of the joys of spring, I asked a neighbour out to lunch.

I was certain they would say no, but they said yes. Our lunch went well because my Francophone neighbour spoke no English and all I could do was listen. Soon enough

we hit it off, my French took off and I stayed in Montreal—which became the town I love so well, the place I call home.

All those years ago, in the heart of darkness that is midwinter in Canada, when I saw the return of the light I thought "where there's light there's hope." Today I still think that way; there’s always hope although it’s usually where and when you least expect to find it.

Down:

1. A day spent by some reflecting the year's successes and by others, the year's failures. Usually ends with a countdown and a ball drop.

2. Traditionally, fireworks, parades and performances lasted for 15 days, with a lantern festival closing the ceremonies. 2023 will be the year of the rabbit.

3. What bears do in the winter and what most university students wish they were doing instead of finals.

Across:

4. An annual Quebec comedy sketch that mocks political, cultural and social mishaps that occurred during the year. The first one aired in 1968.

5. The day with the least daylight and the longest night. It happens in December in the Northern Hemisphere and in June in the Southern Hemisphere.

6. Also known as the Festival of Lights, this five-day holiday is wide ly celebrated in South Asia. It occurs on the 15th day of the month of Kartik in the Hindu calendar, which falls in October or November.

7. Originating in medieval England, this beverage is traditionally made with milk, cream, sugar, egg yolks, and whipped egg whites.

GRAPHIC MYRIAM OUAZZANI

F ady Dagher was selected to be Montreal’s police chief on Nov. 23. Currently acting as Longueuil’s police chief, Dagher was chosen by a committee of local politicians for his so-called community-based approach to policing.

One of Dagher’s tactics while he worked on the South Shore was to create an immersion program: his officers would spend time off-du ty in the communities they would soon be policing. The purpose of such a program was to let officers learn about the community’s social and mental health needs.

In his announcement speech, Dagher admitted to the SPVM’s re peated failures, especially towards communities of colour and other marginalized groups. He remained

A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing

firm in his position that this deep ly-rooted issue could be fixed by hiring a more diverse pool of offi cers or doubling down on an im mersion program like Longueuil’s.

How does Dagher plan to put his alleged community-based model into place? With more money from the city, of course. Not even a week after Dagher’s an nouncement, Montreal unveiled its policing budget for 2023. Cops will get to toy around with $787 million in funding, representing an increase of nearly nine per cent compared to this year’s budget.

The state of policing in Quebec is more than dire. Currently, the provincial government is doing everything it can to appeal a de cision made by a Superior Court

judge outlawing vehicle stops with out cause due to racial profiling.

Defending stops without cause, Quebec Minister of Pub lic Security François Bonnardel challenged the judge’s claims that racial profiling is a problem in Quebec, saying "we consider it unjustified to abolish a tool that is so important to police services."

People of colour are routine ly targeted by the police in Que bec, especially in Montreal. Data collected by the City of Montreal highlights how dangerous the situation is. Black people are four times more likely to be stopped by police than white people. The number jumps to five times more for Indigenous people in the city.

How can community-based policing salvage the remnants of a city whose communities have been ravaged by state-sponsored white supremacist violence? The SPVM has been one of the great est hindrances to social cohesion in Montreal. For Dagher to be lieve an itsy-bitsy bit of training can fix this chasm is ludicrous.

Would community policing have saved the dozens of people who have been gunned down by police officers without account ability? Would an officer with a few extra days of community training not have killed Pierre Coriolan, Nicholas Gibbs, or Ronny Kay?

Dagher even admitted that around 80 per cent of 911 calls made

in Longueuil during his tenure were surrounding social and mental health situations. Why the fuck are we sending cops to deal with people in a mental health crisis?

If our governments care about public safety, they need to defund the police and invest in social work, mental health and the so cial safety nets. How many more innocent people need to be killed before they get adequate support?

There is no such thing as com munity policing as long as this never-ending system of violence continues being funded and up held by politicians and lobbyists. We cannot keep dumping money into a system failed time and time againt—it is rotten to its core.

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Volume 43, Issue 8

Tuesday, December 6, 2022

Concordia University Hall Building, Room H-645 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W. Montreal, Quebec H3G 1M8 editor: 514-848-2424 x. 7407 arts: 514-848-2424 x. 5813 news: 514-848-2424 x. 8682 business: 514-848-7406 advertising: 514-848-7406

ADAM GIBBARD ANURAG MOPALA GUY LANDRY

Corrections for Vol. 43, Issue 6: In “Anti-Black Racism at Concordia: 53 Years of Inaction” p.5, Roosevelt Douglas was identified as President of Dominica instead of Prime Minister. The Link regrets this error.

Corrections for Vol. 43, Issue 7: In “No to International Intervention” p.6, the quote “The first insult to Haitian sovereignty from the Canadian government was the creation of the Core Group” attribution was omitted and should be attributed to activist Marie Scholl-Dimanche.

In “It’s In the Bag: Indigenous Business Scales New Heights” p.9, the name of Marianne Liendo-Dufort was misspelled in the photo credit. In “Downtown Daycare to Close in July” p.3, the dates relative to the location of the CPE were incorrect. The correct occupation dates for the CPE at the premises of

of Sherbrooke St. W. and St. Marc are from 1973 to 2008, and has since been at the Grey Nuns building. In Issue 7, the cover credit should have been “Cover Photomontage: Marilou Brickert and Ivan de Jacquelin”. The Link regrets all the above mentioned errors.

university and student associations (ECA, CASA, ASFA, FASA, CSU). Editorial policy is set by an elected board as provided for in The Link ’s constitution. Any student is welcome to work on The Link and become a voting staff member. Material appearing in The Link may not be reproduced without prior written permission from The Link Letters to the editor are welcome. All letters 400 words or less will be printed, space permitting. The letters deadline is Friday at 4:00 p.m. The Link reserves the right to edit letters for clarity and length and refuse those deemed racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, libellous, or otherwise contrary to The Link ’s statement of principles.

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