TUESDAY, MARCH 18 2025 | VOL. 44 | ISSUE 22
NEWS
SSMU fights injunction against PAGIP in appeals court PG. 3
More information on page 2.
FEATURE
The grassroots of change grow in the playground of conversation
PGS. 8-9
A love letter to crappy Chinese food OFF THE BOARD PG. 5
Amelia H. Clark Staff Writer
The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) attended the Court of Appeal on March 11 to debate the plaintiff, currently referred to as X, in an ongoing lawsuit pertaining to an injunction against the Policy Against Genocide in Palestine (PAGIP). X v. SSMU calls for the student union to pay for alleged irreparable damages amounting to $125,000 CAD experienced by the anonymous plaintiff, a former McGill student. The plaintiff side argued that the damages and injunction they have fought for are the result of SSMU planning to ratify PAGIP, which contains rhetoric they claim is antisemitic.
PAGIP was originally passed in the 2023 SSMU Fall Referendum, with 78.7 per cent of non-abstaining voters in favour. If ratified, it would mandate SSMU take an official stance in solidarity with Palestine and demand McGill divest from companies with ties to Israel. Shortly after SSMU announced the referendum results, X filed a demand for a provisional and interlocutory injunction on Nov. 21, 2023. They argued that PAGIP should not be enacted, as in doing so SSMU would violate its commitment to represent and facilitate dialogue among all its membership.
On May 22, 2024, Quebec Superior Court Justice Shaun E. Finn granted X’s demand for an interlocutory injunction on the PAGIP and approved their request to file their suit anonymously. In the March 11 hearing, SSMU’s defence sought to appeal Justice Finn’s decisions.
Over the last year, SSMU’s legal team has fought for the injunction to be lifted, arguing that its Board of Directors retains the right to ratify motions passed by the student body. In the March 11 appeal hearing, SSMU argued that as X is no longer a McGill student, they cannot file for “ongoing damages” against the student union.
The student union’s defense attorney, Sibel Ataogul, first presented SSMU’s general defense against X’s claim to compensation for alleged irreparable harm. She argued that X’s argument against PAGIP stemmed from ideology rather than genuine concerns for students’ safety, which Ataogul stated does not qualify as a credible basis for the claim.
Ataogul then invited the prosecutor, Michael Bergman, to justify his client’s claims that PAGIP’s ratification would be discriminatory and personally harmful to the plaintiff.
Bergman stated that wording used in PAGIP was antisemitic and that ratifying the policy would put Jewish students on campus at a higher risk of harm. He then informed the court of an expert witness in antisemitic rhetoric he wished to call upon on a later date to explain how ratifying the motion would create further division on campus.
“[SSMU is] free to adapt whatever resolutions they like,” Bergman said. “But a policy that on its face stands to be reasonably antisemitic will put Jew[ish] students in disdain.”
The court’s judge, Justice Christine Baudouin, refuted this claim, questioning Bergman as to why a specialist is necessary to argue that PA-
GIP’s rhetoric is antisemitic if it was immediately clear to his client that this was the case.
In response, Bergman stated that the broader context PAGIP was introduced into during the 2023 referendum must be taken into account in the case. He referenced alleged threats made against X when some students discovered they controlled an Instagram account dedicated to the ‘No’ campaign, a movement that campaigned against PAGIP during the referendum period, as evidence of antisemitism on campus during Fall 2023.
X v. SSMU was the first of four lawsuits filed against the society with regards to Palestinian activism on campus since 2022. Three years later, it’s the only one that has not been officially closed. (Armen Erzingatzian / The Tribune)
Justice Baudouin pointed out that none of the messages X received showed direct intentions of violence and X was never harmed, leading the judge to question X’s anonymity in the case. The judge further expressed doubt about the university’s neutrality in this case, questioning if X’s legal team communicated with McGill on this issue.
“McGill has politics, the injunction is considered political,” Baudouin said. “McGill doesn’t have a position on this injunction? I find that surprising [....] McGill is the white elephant here.”
Ataogul seconded this point, stating that the prosecution’s claim that supporters of PAGIP
would threaten violence was a baseless mischaracterization of SSMU members, meant to validate X’s anonymity. She ended her argument by stating that McGill was using X’s anonymity to obscure administrative objections to PAGIP’s ratification.
“Everyone knows who [X] is, and nothing happened,” Ataogul said. “McGill is hiding behind this student so they don’t have to reveal who’s opposing student democracy.”
The court is currently deliberating on the issue of X’s anonymity. Should the judge rule in favour of SSMU, X will be mandated to either come forward or drop their charges. A trial on the merits of PAGIP will be decided at a future hearing.
“I have no idea what’s gonna happen next”: SSMU VP University Affairs’ future uncertain following new agreement with McGill Executives no longer allowed to have disciplinary record with the university
Shani Laskin Managing Editor
The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) and the administration signed a new Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) on Feb. 28, outlining the terms of their relationship. However, a newly added clause barring students with any disciplinary record at McGill from serving as executives at SSMU has put current VicePresident (VP) University Affairs Abe Berglas at risk of removal from their position.
Under clause 14.4 of the new MoA, executives and directors at SSMU cannot have a disciplinary record at the University, cannot have been suspended from McGill, and cannot have been found responsible for an infraction of the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures. There is no recent precedent of an MoA between McGill and SSMU containing a clause pertaining to the disciplinary record of a student society executive.
In a March 14 disciplinary hearing with the Committee on Student Discipline, Berglas was found to have violated the Code based on an action they spearheaded at the start of the school year. Berglas told The Tribune that in August, they and four other students entered School of Religious Studies professor Douglas Farrow’s classroom and passed out pamphlets with select quotes from the professor’s published work which the demonstrators believed to be transphobic and homophobic. At the bottom of the pamphlet, Berglas wrote a note that students seeking support could reach out
to their VP University Affairs email. This demonstration, which Berglas claimed took no more than two minutes, resulted in a charge of violating articles five and 10.c. of the Code.
“One of the arguments I made in the [disciplinary] hearing was that this sort of awareness campaign of handing out flyers is part of my role, it’s part of the Trans Advocacy Plan,” Berglas said in an interview with The Tribune.
Article five states that it is a violation of the Code to intentionally interfere with university activities and 10.c. writes that students cannot “create a condition that unnecessarily endangers or threatens or undermines the health, safety, wellbeing, or dignity of another person, [or] threatens to cause humiliation.” At the disciplinary hearing, the committee ruled that while Berglas had not violated 10.c., they had breached the Code under article five.
“The MoA makes the consequences of a finding of guilt much more severe—essentially puts my job at risk,” Berglas said.
“The question is now whether McGill will try to enforce [the ruling],” they continued. “It’s possible that because the agreement was signed in the middle of my disciplinary process, I’ll be sort of grandfathered in, but there’s certainly nothing in the MoA that suggests that. So I have no idea what’s going to happen next.”
SSMU President Dymetri Taylor wrote to The Tribune that he doubts McGill will enforce clause 14.4 in this instance given their term will end on May 31.
“Executive terms for this year are close to being concluded. Creating more work for the re-
maining Executives would only earn the ire of the current team,” Taylor wrote.
According to Berglas, McGill inserted clause 14.4 into the new MoA 14 days before the old document was set to expire. This gave SSMU little time to contest the clause, as if the parties did not rapidly reach an agreement, SSMU would lose access to the University Centre and other rights afforded by the MoA. Berglas claims that SSMU tried to extend negotiations but that McGill refused.
Responding to these allegations, the McGill Media Relations Office (MRO) wrote that the MoA reflects the interests of both signatories. McGill did not respond to questions on the timeline of 14.4’s insertion into the agreement.
“These provisions are rooted in McGill’s view— presumably shared by the SSMU as a signatory to the MoA—that students who hold significant fiduciary responsibilities [...] should be credible, trustworthy leaders whose reputation and record are unblemished by a recent and/or serious offence under the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary
Procedures,” the MRO wrote.
Berglas contested the idea that the Code serves as an appropriate indicator of what defines a model student, and maintained that the clause could have a “chilling effect” on executives’ activism in the future by limiting avenues for dissent.
“Activists are so frequently told [...] ‘if only you were less disruptive, you would be more effective,’” Berglas said. “And if I am doing the most minimal action I can think of [...] and they’re deciding that even that two-minute silent handing out of flyers gets the level of obstruction, there’s really nothing any student can do to voice their discontent in a situation like this.”
Director Fawaz Halloum concerned that clause 14.4 may be discriminatory in nature
Leanne Cherry Science & Technology Editor
The Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Board of Directors (BoD) met on March 11. The discussion was dominated by clause 14.4 of the recently signed Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between the McGill administration and SSMU.
The meeting began with a presentation from Bounce, a platform that centralizes clubs, services, and events for student unions. SSMU President Dymetri Taylor expressed interest in the platform but noted that further internal discussion was necessary before any decisions could be made.
The meeting then moved to discussing
clause 14.4 of the MoA, which prevents any student with a disciplinary record, a history of suspension, or who is found responsible for violating the Code of Student Conduct and Disciplinary Procedures from being a SSMU Officer or Director.
During the meeting’s question period, Taylor explained that while the student union opposed the wording in clause 14.4, they ultimately accepted the terms of the agreement under pressure from time constraints.
“We were on a strict deadline: If the MoA was not signed by [Feb. 28], then the MoA would be null and void, meaning that all clubs and services of the SSMU would no longer be able to use the McGill name,” Taylor said.
Director Fawaz Halloum asked if a legal review of clause 14.4 would be possible. Taylor asserted that on the week of signing the agreement, SSMU consulted their legal team, who concluded that there were no issues with the clause. Taylor noted, however, that SSMU is looking to amend this clause in the upcoming summer. For this to occur, the Board would need to put forward a motion to approve reopening the MoA.
The meeting then turned to motions approved
at the Legislative Council meeting on Feb. 18. Among others, this included the ratification of the motion regarding the Policy on Black Student Enhancement and Inclusion, moved by Vice-President (VP) External Hugo-Victor Solomon.
In the discussion period that followed, VP University Affairs Abe Berglas spoke on McGill bringing disciplinary action against them for distributing pamphlets before the lecture of Professor Douglas Farrow, detailing his published works they deemed transphobic and homophobic.
“I am going to guess that the university is very interested in symbolically showing that this is an offence, because they are trying to lower the bar of what they consider a disruption in classes as they are sick of protestors and they want to be seen as cutting down on their protest culture,” Berglas said.
Under clause 14.4 of the MoA, if Berglas is found guilty, McGill may remove them from their position as a SSMU Officer. Executive terms end on May 31. Halloum commented on the threat he believes this clause poses to SSMU’s sovereignty and urged the Board to take a stronger stance against the clause.
“When McGill dictated these criteria, it rendered activists, especially targeted activists, inadmissible to places of power in their union where they can actually change things,” Halloum said. “It’s alarming to let a dominating power dictate who can run in your politics based on their own
criteria, and their own criteria is not objective.”
Solomon and Taylor responded by saying that these issues had already been discussed in previous confidential sessions.
Halloum then put forward an auxiliary motion to seek and declassify a written legal opinion on clause 14.4 of the MoA, concerned that SSMU is at risk of a civil lawsuit due to discrimination against a particular group of students. However, after a rerun of the vote, with only Halloum and Director Hamza Abu Alkhair voting in favour, five voting against, and the rest abstaining, the motion failed to be added to the meeting agenda. Taylor noted that the Board can turn to their internal council for legal advice who is already familiar with the details of the MoA, and will not cost the student body an additional fee.
Sound bite:
“It’s a hassle and a half [for McGill] to even do that, it’s redundant to do that, and the year is almost over. [McGill] can suck it up and deal with it. That’s the best way to put it.” — Taylor on Berglas’ potential removal from their position.
Moment of the meeting:
Upon first putting forward the auxiliary motion on clause 14.4, no director seconded Halloum’s vote in favour of the motion. VP Internal Zeena Zahida asked the Speaker to run the vote again.
McGill: SSMU referendum fails to meet quorum for the second week in a row
The end date for the elections for the Winter referendum of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) has been extended for a second time after failing to meet quorum. By March 7, the initial end date, the elections reached a voter count of 8.8 per cent—slightly over half of the required 15 per cent. After extending the deadline by a week, the per cent of voters stood at 13.2 per cent.
As a result, the deadline has been extended again until March 21. Following the first failure to meet quorum, SSMU President Dymetri Taylor explained that the timing of the elections alongside the March break hindered student participation. However, even after the additional week, the percentage remains 1.8 per cent away from meeting quorum.
The referendum covered the election of SSMU executives, three changes to the SSMU constitution, and the renewal of services including the Menstrual Health Project Fee, which facilitates menstrual product distribution across campus.
Local: Montreal transit increases police presence in metro stations
The Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) recently instituted a series of new measures to be effective until April 30 in a stated attempt to reduce crime and increase cleanliness in Montreal transit centres. STM will be working alongside the City of Montreal and the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal to block off certain entrances to metro stations and place more police officers to patrol the metro.
In addition to increased police presence and certain entrances being blocked off by partitions, STM will issue a “move-along” order in its facilities to be in place until April 30 which will prohibit loitering in Montreal stations. Before the order, officers were only allowed to remove loiterers who were committing another offence, such as smoking or drinking.
While STM Director of Security Jocelyn Latulippe asserted that coercive measures of removal will only be used as a last resort— encouraging officers to check for mental or physical conditions first and offer resources— many Montreal citizens worry about the hostility toward unhoused people.
To counteract the consequence of displacing unhoused people staying in metro stations, the City of Montreal will extend the operating times of the warming stations at Lucien-Saulnier and Saint-Laurent throughout April until the movealong order is lifted.
National: Prime Minister Mark Carney eliminates divisive carbon tax
Effective April 1, the fuel charge will be removed, and Canadians will receive their final rebate on April 15. On his first day in office, Mark Carney killed the carbon tax that Conservatives have fought against for months. Despite supporting the tax in the past, Carney noted that its divisive nature led him to eliminate it.
Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced the tax in 2019. In the years that followed, Conservative politicians such as Pierre Poilievre gained traction by arguing against it, with campaigns motioning to “axe the tax.” Poilievre now claims Carney is simply trying to hide the tax without taking steps to actually remove it since doing so would require a recall of Parliament.
“This will make a difference to hard-pressed Canadians, but it is part of a much bigger set of measures that this government is taking to ensure that we fight against climate change, that our companies are competitive, and the country moves forward,” Carney announced in a cabinet meeting on March 14.
British Columbia has already taken steps to scrap its provincial carbon tax immediately following Carney’s action, working to introduce a new law before April 1 ensuring that citizens in BC will not have to pay the increase of $15 CAD a tonne.
International: UN Chief António Guterres speaks out against antiIslam bigotry on the International Day to Combat Islamophobia
On March 15, International Day to Combat Islamophobia, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres spoke out on social media, urging governments to encourage religious freedom and arguing for the responsibility of online platforms to control hate speech.
“This is part of a wider scourge of intolerance, extremist ideologies, and attacks against religious groups and vulnerable populations,” Guterres wrote in a post on X. “Online platforms must curb hate speech and harassment. And we must all speak out against bigotry, xenophobia, and discrimination.”
Following increased hate crimes against the Arab and Muslim communities during and following Israel’s siege on Gaza, Guterres emphasized that global action is required to combat the issue, marking its importance especially on the International Day to Combat Islamophobia.
TUESDAY,
Editor-in-Chief Jasjot Grewal editor@thetribune.ca
Creative Director Drea Garcia Avila dgarciaavila@thetribune.ca
Managing Editors Yusur Al-Sharqi yal-sharqi@thetribune.ca
Shani Laskin slaskin@thetribune.ca
Ella Paulin epaulin@thetribune.ca
News Editors Eliza Lee
Kaitlyn Schramm Mairin Burke news@thetribune.ca
Opinion Editors Ellen Lurie Lulu Calame Monique Kasonga opinion@thetribune.ca
Science & Technology Editors
Coco Zhang Leanne Cherry scitech@thetribune.ca
Student Life Editors Auxane Bussac Malika Logossou studentlife@thetribune.ca
Features Editor Amalia Mairet features@thetribune.ca
Arts & Entertainment Editors Kellie Elrick Charlotte Hayes arts@thetribune.ca
Sports Editors Anoushka Oke Clara Smyrski sports@thetribune.ca
Design Editors Mia Helfrich Zoe Lee design@thetribune.ca
Photo Editor Hannah Nobile photo@thetribune.ca
Multimedia Editor Sahel Delafoulhouse multimedia@thetribune.ca
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Social Media Editor Aliya Singh socialmedia@thetribune.ca
Business Manager Celine Li business@thetribune.ca
With the announcement of a new committee on secularism, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government is poised to tighten restrictions on religious expression, especially through the expansion of Bill 21—a 2019 law barring public employees from wearing religious symbols— and a potential ban on public prayer. The CAQ committee will assess how public institutions have implemented secularism since the bill’s enactment, and whether this implementation aligns with the province’s vision of secularism.
Quebec’s secularist policies have their roots in the Quiet Revolution, when the government reduced the role of the Catholic Church in public institutions both due to the church’s corruption and inefficiency during the Grande Noirceur and as a strategy to modernize Quebec’s economy and education system. Today, however, secularist legislation increasingly targets and disproportionately harms religious minorities while being justified under the guise of neutrality.
Muslim women who wear the hijab are particularly injured by these policies, as exemplified by the banning of religious symbols and dress in public institutions.
Religious groups whose attire is integral to their faith—including Sikh turbans and kirpans, Jewish kippahs, or hijabs—bear the oppressive weight of Bill 21’s regulations. Given that wearing a headscarf is, for many Muslims, a compulsory act of faith, the ban dangerously undermines the freedoms of religious practice. By contrast, Christian symbols, such as the famous Mount Royal cross, remain neatly exempted from the ban, as the bill contains a clause permitting religious symbols in public spaces if they represent a component of Quebec’s cultural heritage. As a result, the province’s Christian history is given preference and is permitted to persist publicly, a further testament to so-called “neutrality” as a facade for religious discrimination and xenophobia.
With the CAQ’s latest committee, restrictions are set to tighten even further, including potentially expanding prayer restrictions beyond public institutions to all public spaces. Quebec Premier François Legault has cited instances of Muslim Montrealers praying during proPalestinian protests as justification for the ban, a rationale that, by portraying individuals who choose to practice their faith during protests as more disruptive, threatening, or extremist than their fellow protestors, isolates and racializes religious minorities.
Zoe Lee Design Editor
CONTRIBUTORS
Ilove crappy Chinese food. Don’t get me wrong, I love all types of Chinese food and would happily eat only rice for the rest of my days.
But I love greasy, crappy mall Chinese food served in a plastic container with three divided sections: One for Cantostyle chow mein noodles, one for sesame chicken, and one for steamed broccoli. You may recoil and demand, “Zoe, aren’t you Chinese? How can you even stand this stuff? Why wouldn’t you want to profess your love for proper, authentic, wokcooked Chinese food?”
First of all, nothing tastes better after you’ve spent a day in Toronto’s
Restrictions on public displays of religion will also only deepen the ostracization of religious minorities from public sector jobs, as they will be forced to either yield their religious expression or turn towards the private sector. As a result, the public sector will become increasingly homogenized and experience a stark drop in religious—and, by consequence, ethnic and racial— diversity. Such a blow to public sector diversity would not only disadvantage job-seekers but also undermine the quality of public services. Diverse employee backgrounds are imperative to ensuring public institutions comprehensively serve groups of all demographics.
Such barriers to entering the public sector pose a particular risk to Quebec’s non-Christian immigrant populations, exacerbating cycles of mistreatment rooted in Canada’s already racially-exclusive history of immigration policies. Education policies further exemplify this discrimination, as Quebec offers in-province tuition rates for students immigrating from France and Belgium, nations with which the province has built relations of reciprocal tuition benefits. However, Quebec has not formed equivalent relations with French-speaking African nations, effectively excluding students from these countries from
accessing reduced tuition. Together, these patterns of mistreatment for religious minorities reflect how the CAQ government has privileged its white, Christian population at the cost of minority groups, all while framing their actions as neutral.
Quebec must end its use of secularism as a justification for discriminatory treatment of religious minorities and welcome diversity back into the public sector. Being exempt from Bill 21 and the proposed prayer ban, McGill has the opportunity to serve as a model for other institutions in Quebec by providing support for religious minorities within its faculty and student body. Particularly given the university’s international and religiously diverse demography, McGill must affirm its commitment to freedoms of religious expression on campus by reminding students that they are welcome. McGill has a responsibility to create spaces for religious minorities to safely and comfortably practice their religions, as well as to properly advertise and distribute existing resources through events and programming. In collaboration with student groups representing religious minorities on campus, McGill must offer support and allegiance to its future graduates, many of whom would be painfully disadvantaged by the work of this secularism committee.
crowded, overstimulating Eaton Centre. Second, who is to say what makes some Chinese food authentic and some not?
I recall my mom and I driving down Highway 401 as I proclaimed that chop suey, a Chinese stir fry dish and a signifier of a certain category of Americanized Chinese cuisine—was a grossly inauthentic version of Chinese food and that “proper” Chinese food was better in every way. My mom disagreed; though modified for the North American palate, chop suey should be considered a valid version of Chinese food. She pointed out that it used to be one of the few ways newcomers to North America could earn a living, explaining its popularity compared to other jobs like working at laundromats or other menial labour. Somewhere between the first waves of Chinese immigrants and the current domination of Chinese cuisine across North America, chop suey was created as a survival mechanism in a new and hostile environment.
To clarify, my mom doesn’t think that all chop suey is legitimate and told me that if Chinese people don’t cook it, it’s just glorified lo-fan (white person/American/foreigner) stir fry.
Being a second-generation Asian immigrant inspires reflection about my own authenticity. I love
dim sum, but my limited Cantonese vocabulary means that all the pride I have in being able to order ha cheung (shrimp rice noodle rolls) in Chinese vanishes as soon as the cart lady begins conversing with me in a language I barely understand. If chop suey is automatically disregarded as culturally inauthentic, what chance do I have?
While criticized as an objective category, authenticity is commonly defined as something believed or accepted as real or true to itself. I argue that after years of enduring racism and xenophobia, what is more true to Chinese-American culture than a narrative of survival? No, they didn’t serve sweet and sour chicken before its creation in America, and no, you probably can’t order pig’s tongue at Panda Express. American-Chinese cuisine looks and tastes the way it does now because it was born through the innovation and early willingness of Chinese entrepreneurs to cater to a broader external market. This made Chinese restaurants distinctive among other ethnic minorities, perhaps explaining why the cast of Friends didn’t sit in their New York City apartment eating shawarma out of takeout boxes. Just as traditions are contingent and mutable, authenticity should be regarded in the same light.
Fuelled by American labour unions and anti-Chinese sentiments, the late 19th and early 20th centuries saw a national movement to counter the growing popularity of Chinese restaurants. Many Chinese businesses were perceived to be menaces to society, as they competed with American enterprises and were alleged to threaten the safety and morality of white women. Boycotts were staged against Chinese restaurants, but Americans loved chop suey so much that the non-violent boycotts were largely unsuccessful.
In our conversations, my mom emphasizes that Chinese people are hard workers, thinking of her own parents (my gong-gong and po-po) who came to Canada with so little and sacrificed so much for their children. My grandfather ran his restaurant, Lee Choi Chop Suey Restaurant, for 25 years in Chicago’s Forest Park. It’s a cliché but the typical immigration story for a reason. The survival of Chinese immigrants is a story about evolution and adaptation to a new environment that wanted nothing to do with them. Today, Chinese restaurants are a cultural fixture as American as pie. So yes, I’ll keep eating my $12.99 Shanghai 360 combo two—mostly because it’s the best food-to-price value in the food court.
First Nation children have received a settlement of reckoning, not closure
Monique Kasonga Opinion Editor
The federal government’s recent $23 billion CAD settlement with the Assembly of First Nations (AFN) and plaintiffs in the Moushoom and Trout class actions for First Nations children harmed by Canada’s discriminatory child welfare system marks an important step in acknowledging the deep injustices and violence against Indigenous communities. The settlement is the product of years of legal battles, brought forth through the relentless advocacy of Indigenous leaders and organizations, that led to the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal (CHRT)’s 2016 ruling acknowledging Canada had willfully discriminated against First Nations children for decades. The settlement is, without question, historic—the largest of its kind in Canadian history—and a direct response to decades of the government’s neglect and systemic racism. But while financial compensation may provide a measure of restitution, it does not—and cannot—erase the ongoing impacts of Canada’s inequitable welfare policies. To call this settlement a full and final expression of justice would be to misunderstand the very nature of what justice means.
Indigenous children in Canada account for slightly over seven per cent of the country’s total child population, yet they make up more than 50 per cent of the children in the child welfare system. First Nations children in particular are over 17 times more likely to end up in the youth care system. Indigenous communities today continue to fight for their right to care for their own children.
For decades, Canada’s child welfare system has perpetuated the colonial project of family separation, a legacy of residential schools and the Sixties Scoop—the forced removal of Indigenous children into non-Indigenous care, causing cultural loss and trauma. The Canadian government’s chronic underfunding of on-reserve child welfare and education services and its failure to uphold Jordan’s Principle—meant to ensure First Nations children receive essential care without jurisdictional disputes—only exacerbate these harms.
As part of its 2016 ruling, the CHRT also demanded that Canada reach an agreement with First Nations to reform the child welfare system. In 2024, the federal government put forward a new $47.8 billion CAD reform proposal that was rejected by AFN leaders. These leaders claimed that the proposed 10-year reforms were inadequate to address ongoing structural issues. Further, some leaders felt the proposal favoured certain regions such as Ontario, particularly since it did not include children and families in the Northwest Territories (NWT)—an oversight that many took as a direct affront to legal equity. The exclusion was due to the fact that federal funding for child and family services in the NWT is provided through transfer payment agreements with the territorial government, not through the First Nations Child and Family Services Program. Chiefs from across the country voted to pass a subsequent resolution to ensure that NWT communities would be included in the reform proposal.
In Canada, 53.8 per cent of children in foster care are Indigenous, which is 14 times higher than the rate for non-Indigenous children. (Drea Garcia Avila / The Tribune)
of dividing communities. Instead of working toward a national solution, the federal government announced last month that it is pursuing a separate deal with the Chiefs of Ontario and Nishnawbe Aski Nation to reform Ontario’s on-reserve child welfare system, stepping away from negotiations that include all provinces and territories. This move deepens the divide within First Nations communities and undermines the goal of achieving equitable child welfare for all.
That being said, money alone does not bring back stolen childhoods, repair fractured families, or undo the intergenerational damage caused by Canada’s policies. The recent government settlement is a necessary recognition of harm, but one that must be followed by concrete, comprehensive plans to actively prevent such harm from happening again. COMMENTARY
Canada’s response to demands for inclusivity in reconciliation efforts reveals a priority for appearing committed to reform, even at the cost
Lachlan DeAtley Contributor
Tcommunities during the Harper era. Regardless of which party wins the next majority, justice for Indigenous peoples, beyond simple monetary methods, must be a top priority. For students who can vote in the expected upcoming election, this is an opportunity to use your voice. For those who cannot vote, apathy and reticence are not the answer. Supporting Indigenous communities is crucial, on our own campus and beyond.
The Canadian public must stay engaged. Too often, the national focus on Indigenous issues fades once high-profile headlines disappear. With an upcoming election, there is growing urgency to secure a fair deal for First Nations welfare reform, especially as some Indigenous leaders have recalled the lack of funding and support for their
o many, American tariffs represent an undeniable threat to the Canadian economy. However, Canadian CEOs and lobbyists have come to see the new trade policy as an opportunity. Under the guise of promoting growth in an economy falling ever further behind its wealthy peers, companies are advocating for tax breaks and deeper military funding. Doing so would harm social welfare policies in a feeble attempt to assuage the Trump administration’s complaints. While there is perhaps some merit behind their claims surrounding economic development, it is clear that these companies have only one end in mind: Ensuring their own growth.
The first change that Canadian CEOs are advocating for—tax breaks on large companies— stems from the argument that the Canadian economy needs a new infusion of growth and innovation. The Business Council of Canada, an advocacy group consisting of CEOs from the nation’s largest companies, compares Canada to nations like South Korea, Finland, or Singapore. Though they once struggled under weak economies, these countries now enjoy flourishing innovation and general quality of life. The sentiment echoes through the group’s advocacy: Canada could achieve the same. Canada, as a medium-sized economy, relies primarily on material exports, including petroleum and manufactured goods, with the United States receiving over 70 per cent of these exports. The Business Council of Canada further notes that in the realm of technology exports, Canada lags well behind other developed nations, including
the U.S., U.K., France, and Germany. Thus, these CEOs see the tariffs as an opportunity for Canada to stand up straight and stop leaning on its southern neighbour. Through investment into technology and innovation, primarily in the green energy industries in which Canada could muster a comparative advantage, the nation’s steady economic stagnation could turn into newfound growth.
This proposal comes back to an argument for tax cuts on large companies and government investment into relevant sectors. As the CEOs see things, tax cuts are necessary for their corporate growth. However, the subsequently decreased federal budget, alongside investments into a developing sector, would require funding cuts to social welfare programs. When the price of prevalent American imports is bound to increase, and the Canadian dollar to depreciate, further burdening the Canadian citizen with the costs of vital services creates an exacting strain. While economic growth may see some of these difficulties reversed, that is only if the proposed Canadian green energy economy successfully competes on the international market, and this corporate success flows down to the broader population. In regards to corporations that claim to have national interests at heart, both are far from guaranteed. Government investment into a green energy sector could indeed be fruitful in shaping a new Canadian economy. However, defunding social welfare is far from the best means to do so.
Canadian CEOs are also proposing a second agenda to their government: Increasing military spending. Their interest here is not to any greater goal of Canadian prosperity; instead, they
seemingly aim to once again ingratiate Canadians with the American government. Increasing the military budget beyond the NATO quota of 2 per cent of the GDP would please the Trump administration and European peers. Indeed, Trump has shown himself to be a transactional man, pleased by shows of deference. However, to assume that kneeling to his whim will somehow put Canada back in good favour with his government is simply naïve. The U.S. president has shown with previous tariff deals that any concessions made will only delay, and not prevent, inevitable American protectionism. Further, with Canada safely cocooned between two oceans and an established military ally to the south, the need
for high military spending is fairly low. Increasing this budget would simply be wasteful. Neither rerouting money from social welfare nor tax cuts on large companies will help Canadian CEOs achieve their ends. Proposals for the government to invest in the green energy sector could indeed stimulate economic growth and make up for lost exports, but enacting such a plan off of defunded welfare would be misguided. Simultaneously increasing the military budget would only make funding scarcer for no particular end. If Canadian CEOs want to see economic change, they are going to have to find a means to do so that doesn’t place the burden on the Canadian citizen.
Jenna Payette Contributor
At a university where academic rigour sets a high bar, McGill’s varsity athletes continue to raise it even higher—smashing school records and bringing home hardware to cap off a season to remember.
Between early morning practices and late-night study sessions, McGill’s track and field, badminton, and swimming teams have exceeded boundaries and delivered exceptional performances. This season, they shattered school records, earned personal bests, and brought home medals in all three colours at their respective championships. Much of this success can be attributed to the steady leadership guiding these teams, coaches and captains alike.
The McGill track and field team delivered standout performances at the 2025 U SPORTS National Championships, hosted by the University of Windsor, capping off a season defined by relentless perseverance. The Redbirds and Martlets showcased their depth of talent, with the men’s team finishing second and the women’s team third at the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ) Championships earlier this season—laying the foundation for a strong showing at Nationals.
At Nationals, the Martlets earned impressive top-10 finishes. Third-year sprinter/relay runner Donna Ntambue led the charge, capturing bronze in the women’s 60m and emerging as the team’s top point scorer. Second-year jumper Rebecca Warcholak impressed in the triple jump, placing seventh with an 11.88m leap, narrowly missing her personal best.
deniable thrill of seeing dedication turn into achievement. With a powerful blend of veteran leadership and rising stars like Gates and Warcholak, the team’s future has never looked brighter.
McGill Men’s and Women’s Badminton
Despite a tough weekend at the RSEQ Championships, strong individual performances showed why McGill Badminton remains a force to be reckoned with.
Although several players battled injuries and illnesses throughout the tournament, the teams pushed through adversity and delivered impressive results. On the men’s side, third-year captain Nicolas Ger -
Hooman Bagheri’s motivating and collaborative approach to fostering a supportive environment where players can thrive.
“Having an open-minded coach who listens to everything we have to say is invaluable,” Germain wrote.
Whether helping players refine specific skills or encouraging them to take on leadership roles, Hooman’s guidance has clearly been pivotal in shaping the team’s success.
Altogether, the RSEQ Championships were a true reflection of the team’s grit, chemistry, and desire to constantly improve, leaving them proud of how far they have come together.
“Some [athletes] need in-depth conversations to work through their challenges, while others prefer to seek help after they’ve processed their emotions [...] embracing that there isn’t a one-size-fitsall approach to leadership has truly shaped how I support and guide those around me,” she wrote to The Tribune.
Lo’s compassionate leadership style led the Martlets, especially during the highly anticipated relay swim. Lo, fifthyear Elizabeth Ling, third-year Iris Tinmouth, and second-year Maya McGhan powered through the 4x200m freestyle relay, setting the pool ablaze as they shattered the team record by an incredible five seconds and claimed a well-deserved silver medal. Lo explained how some team members felt burdened by a perceived “curse”—believing a fourth-place finish was inevitable, behind the consistent top three teams (University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, University of Calgary) who are bolstered by a handful of Olympians.
The Redbirds showed versatility, with all three of their relay teams— 4x200m, 4x400m, and 4x800m—having qualified for Nationals. The 4x400m and 4x800m squads’ valiant efforts resulted in seventh-place finishes for both. Third-year sprinter/relay runner Luca Nicoletti shone across both relays and the 300m sprint, while first-year distance runner Ben Gates and third-year middle-distance/relay runner Sean Adams showcased remarkable endurance, competing in multiple relays.
For fourth-year men’s team captain Devin Chapple, the season epitomized growth that extended beyond the track.
“It’s rewarding to look back at all the [personal bests] and incredible team moments that shaped my progression to captaincy,” Chapple wrote to The Tribune “When you put in that work and see it pay off with a big performance, there’s no other feeling like it [.…] I see it as a privilege to train, and over time you realize how much fun you’re having.”
McGill’s track and field success at Nationals went beyond medals; it was a testament to shared ambition and the un -
main fought his way to a well-earned third place in men’s singles, showing tremendous perseverance and focus, especially in a tightly contested semifinal match.
The women’s team also had standout performances, led by fourth-year Eliana Zhang who captured gold in both women’s singles and women’s doubles, partnering with second-year Sammi Pan. By overcoming tough opponents such as L’Université du Québec à Montréal and Université Laval, they proved that McGill’s doubles play is defined not just by skill, but by exceptional teamwork and strategy.
Beyond the results on paper, what stood out most was the incredible team spirit. Germain emphasized in a statement to The Tribune how the cheering and support from teammates on the bench made a real difference during challenging matches. For Germain, who calls the team his “second family,” what defines McGill Badminton is its creation of lifelong friendships and a deep sense of belonging within the greater badminton community.
Germain also credited Head Coach
The McGill swim team delivered a historic performance at the 2025 U SPORTS National Championships, hosted by the University of Toronto, to solidify their place among Canada’s elite programs. Guided by Head Coach Peter Carpenter, the 2025 U SPORTS Women’s Coach of the Year, the Martlets and Redbirds demonstrated remarkable mental strength, resilience, and an unshakable team spirit.
The Martlets raised the bar at McGill, securing a historic second-place finish at Nationals—the highest in school history. Their achievement was fueled by their consistent effort, as they placed swimmers in nearly every final. Despite winning only five medals—two silvers and three bronzes—their ability to score points across the board was extraordinary.
The Martlets’ composure was built on the leadership of fourth-year captain Naomie Lo. Lo’s transformational approach to leadership uplifts her teammates, leaving a lasting impact on the team’s culture.
This Nationals also marked the final appearance for Lo and Ling, inspiring an emotional and relentless fight to leave everything in the pool. The entire Martlet team continued to shine, with Lo’s prowess earning her silver in the 200m butterfly, while second-year Emilie de Chazal (200m butterfly), Ling (100m freestyle), and Tinmouth (800m freestyle) each claimed bronze.
The Redbirds also made waves, finishing fourth overall—a result that exceeded expectations and highlighted the program’s bright future. Firstyear phenom Loïc Courville-Fortin led the charge, breaking team and U SPORTS records in the 200m individual medley (IM) and 200m backstroke. His silver medal in the 200m IM, where he edged out Olympian Clement Secchi (BA ‘22)’s previous McGill record, was a highlight of the meet. Courville-Fortin added another podium finish with bronze in the 200m backstroke, while second-year Mats Baradat secured silver in the 400m freestyle. The Redbirds also set a new team record in the 4x100m IM relay, further underscoring their growing strength.
More than medals, it is the team’s culture that truly makes them stand out. Coach Carpenter described the team as “relentless,” an unstoppable group that rises to every challenge and never retreats. Captains Lo and sixth-year Bruno DehemLemelin echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the familial bond that unites the team.
As the season concludes, all three teams look to the future with immense promise. With a blend of seasoned leaders and emerging talent, these programs are poised to continue their ascent, driven by a shared commitment to excellence. Their success at both the RSEQ Championships and U SPORTS Nationals is not just a reflection of their athletic ability, but also a celebration of the communities they have built—families that compete together, triumph together, and inspire together.
On a hot evening in August, I found myself pacing my small kitchen with my roommate and her brother, yelling and brooding and gesticulating like the politicians at Bretton Woods deciding the new postwar world order. In a moment of spontaneous curiosity, my roommate had picked a lemon out of the fruit bowl and asked the gallery of two: “If a lemon had a soul, where would it be?”
Our answers came more quickly and vehemently than one might anticipate, considering the subject.
Her brother sided immediately with the seed, which he said held the divine power of the lemon’s immortality (eye rolls in the stands). My roommate countered that, for God’s sake, the soul isn’t reproductive—it dies with the person (sorry—the lemon) and is pervasive, like the juice. I interjected on behalf of zest—that mystical ingredient of which a teaspoon makes a blueberry scone into a magical scone. That magic, I argued, is what makes a soul a soul—lemon or otherwise. My roommate’s brother, hung up on the juice argument, claimed that the juice was the blood rather than the soul, triggering our indignation over his brash equation of a lemon with human bodily fluids.
“The soul can’t be isolated and picked out like we’re goddamn heart surgeons,” my roommate said.
And so on…
Thus, by interrogating—with whimsy and a little absurdity—a lemon, we had brought to the surface the most fundamental of human questions, and with it, the beautiful enthusiasm with which we defended our own conceptions, and deeply held convictions, of its answer.
Part 1—The problem: Conversation, conformity, and the Other Conversation is a uniquely human medium through which we relate to one another. It is a petri dish wherein social norms are constructed, and where these norms can either be upheld, challenged, or reconstructed.
Erving Goffman, a prominent 20th-century social interactionist, claimed that when an individual “is in the immediate presence of others, his activity will have a ‘promissory’ character.” This promise is a silent agreement between both parties in an interaction, each of whom is “expected to suppress his immediate heartfelt feelings” as a means of maintaining what Goffman describes as the “smooth working of society.” In other words, according to Goffman, our conversations must be palatable, avoiding the discomfort and conflict that would threaten society’s continuity.
Where has this “smooth working of society” gotten us? With strangers, we take pride in our ability to entertain empty conversations. Over lunch with an acquaintance, we ask after aunts and work and pets, furrowing our brows and following up thoughtfully about mortgages and dog fleas: “Lyme’s Disease is no joke, you know, my aunt got it once.” Sometimes, it takes years before we ask and answer questions freely with even our best friends. In fact, as we become ever more interconnected thanks to the conquest of digitalization, the loneliness epidemic is reaching unprecedented heights.
“Maybe the reason we make conversation the
way we make it is because of the fear of the Other,” said Paul Yachnin, Tomlinson Professor of Shakespeare Studies at McGill, in a conversation about conversation with The Tribune. “So much of the conversation we regularly do is to save us from actually seeing the other person.”
This fear is evidenced in our shameless avoidance of divorce, income, trauma, aging, or the ab -
other, learning from one another, and connecting as the complicated and idiosyncratic individuals that we are. Kristine Nørgaard-Nielsen, in a wonderful article titled “The Paradox of American Friendliness,” describes Americans as peaches in their interactions—with soft, friendly outsides hiding an uncrackable pit.
surdity of modern western society in a conventional dinner setting. It is further evidenced by our acute discomfort when Goffman’s promissory agreement to preserve repression and politeness is breached—whether by childhood innocence or mental illness.
“In Shakespeare’s time, […] people were thought to be mad, but they were also thought to have something to say that other people wouldn’t grasp,” Yachnin said. “[Now,] as soon as someone is diagnosed with psychosis, we stop listening to the words coming out of their mouth.”
Such compliance runs rampant even in our closest circles, where our habitual rhythms—while informed by a deeper understanding of personhood and history—still do not give space to lemons with souls, or for questions like what would you write your manifesto about? But doesn’t the zest of humanity lie in the wonderful hidden seeds of our unwritten manifestos?
How can we counter this avoidance? When conversational conformity runs so deep, what can we do to reinvigorate and expand our relationship to conversation with courage, authenticity, and play?
Part 2—On play: Throw the ball, or at least catch it
Embracing playful conversation opens the door to a kind of unconditional authenticity that taps into our shared human experience.
“[Playful conversation] is just playing around, hitting the ball, back and forth, laughing—just delighting in each other, rather than this dry information exchange,” said Mikayla Lynch, U3 Science, in an interview with The Tribune.
While engaging in this play is hard when you’re trained to habitually avoid it, you can begin to take bricks out of the wall of rote conversation through spontaneous, hypothetical interrogation.
Though mental illness cannot be reduced to social nonconformity, the intensity with which we ignore or reduce the thoughts that it brings to the conversational surface exposes the depth of our fear of coming face to face with the arbitrarity, sadness, and vulnerability of real human life.
While palatable complicity is easier than confrontation under North American norms of nicety, it vilifies the delight of learning truly about one an-
The beauty of these questions is their universality: They work just as well on strangers as your closest friends. The lemon question, for example, could be posed as fruitfully to a stranger as to your own parents, who both, by virtue of being human, will offer an intriguing answer. In fact, the stranger might raise a more compelling point than your own mother.
While it might feel necessary to save our playfulness for only our innermost circles, it isn’t. Reflecting on the beauty of playful interaction in close friendship, Lynch poked at its potential to exist with strangers as well.
“When you get closer with a friend, you don’t
need to have those conversations that are so worldly,” Lynch said. “You’re completely present, because you’re comfortable with this person, and they’re also comfortable with you [….] You get into a sort of flow with them, where you can just be and enjoy with each other. That, I think, is something that would be so interesting and beautiful to access with someone that you don’t know.”
To approach conversation in this way is to indulge in the uniquely human capacity to imagine. It is only in a hypothetical world that our hopes and convictions can roam free of the pressure of direct experience and personal attachment. To ask where the human soul is located may still make for intriguing conversation, but one which is too immediately literal to liberate the mind from entrenched opinions and defensiveness. The question of a lemon’s soul is different: The fundamentally hypothetical nature of the question allows for free-roaming, prodding discussion of souls, then applicable, of course, to our own, non-lemon lives. Thus, the benefits of playing with hypotheticals are twofold. They can be entertained universally, with strangers or with one’s closest friend, by tapping into an authenticity whose value does not rely on one’s knowledge of the other person but is rather fed by the delight of shared human experience.
viction in their eyes. For round two, I felt that vegetables would be less intimately political—and I was right.
My grandmother said she would befriend Cabbage because Cabbage ages well and is versatile and unpretentious. The next morning over breakfast she was eager to tell me that if she could observe any moment in history, it would be the assas-
makeup and movement of society. In fact, in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, “conversation” was explicitly equated with its capacity for change.
“Conversation is also conversion—a transformation of the person,” Yachnin said, referring to the now outdated definition.
This is a wonderful and terrifying thought. This amazing power of an earnest and judgement-free approach to digesting our human experience is at the center of the discipline of oral storytelling. Barbara Lorenzkowski, the lead co-director of the Center for Oral History and Digital Storytelling (COHDS) in Montreal, explained the importance of mutual openness and respect in the practice of authentic oral storytelling.
“What we’re doing is learning with rather than learning about,” Lorenzkowski said in an interview with The Tribune. “And that’s an interesting stance, I think, to bring to interactions.”
Part 3—Unabashedness: Don’t be a peach
Conversational trepidation dilutes the human experience. It is through unabashedness that the rich centre of conversation can be enjoyed.
We must practice cutting to the pit of the peach, playfully, earnestly, and with respectful boldness. Instead of asking a colleague about her vacation, ask her what vegetable she would befriend if all vegetables were personified. Tell her why Carrot would be your confidant while Asparagus wreaks havoc on your self-esteem. Throw her the ball and see if she catches it.
I recently posed this question to my grandparents over dinner. During my previous visit, I had asked them what name they’d choose in another life, which ended in my being told that “Lulu” is a stripper name and that I’ll have better career prospects with the “Louisa” on my birth certificate. Good one, I chuckled, then sobered to see the con-
sination of Julius Caesar. It was the first time in my life I had thought about stab wounds before noon, and I couldn’t have been happier—my grandmother had caught the ball and was throwing it back. I instinctively said Simon and Garfunkel’s Central Park concert, then felt childish. My grandfather said the Immaculate Conception—he wanted to find out if the Christians were telling the truth.
Personified vegetables are the grassroots of a necessary watershed in our approach to conversation. They become an invitation to unfold, allowing a previously neglected seed of one’s consciousness to bloom—or at least sprout. Unearthing personified carrots, conscious lemons, and unwritten manifestos is a way of saying, as Lynch remarked, “Let me show you that I’m comfortable breaking this script.”
Part 4—Society: Conversation as an avenue for conversion Conversation holds incredible power over the
A society that entertains authenticity, unabashedness, and humanity in its conversation has an infinitely greater capacity for change than one whose conversation is only palatable. Being restricted to palatability propagates passivity, polarization, and violence, while insulating us from the wonderful challenges and joys of our coexistence. Fearful of the Other—constructed and fed by trepidation and any number of isms—we stew in separation and disconnection, wondering why polarization and loneliness continue to plague our public and personal lives.
Alessandro Portelli, an Italian historian, understood well the power of conversation in driving macro-scale change. He addressed in particular the importance of engaging with one another across lines of perspective and identity. Though sometimes difficult to contend with, Portelli believed that encountering difference was at the heart of productive interactions. He describes these encounters of difference as “talking across the line.”
Lorenzkowski referenced Portelli’s approach when spotlighting the crucial role of conversations across differences.
“It’s also so important to have conversations across the line because these are the most difficult conversations,” Lorenzkowski said.
While disconnection and palatability in dialogue serve to intensify social fragmentation, there is a hopeful side to the same coin.
“I see storytelling as this kind of force for inter-generation,” Lorenzkowski went on, “but also storytelling as something that can connect different groups.”
Allyship, global citizenship, empathy, and altruism are ideals whose realization can begin with simple but transgressive acts of connection—like asking another person to locate the soul of a lemon. That lemon is the playground where we learn how to relate to one another on our most organic level and embody a new conception of relation and solidarity with which we move forward.
And to answer my own question: If I could write a manifesto, it would be about conversation—about reinvigorating it. I’m throwing the ball to you—catch it, tell me something that matters to you, and then throw it to the next person.
Reuben Noam Staff Writer
Fanatics has formed a commercial partnership with Ticketmaster to launch the Fanatics Ticket Marketplace, offered exclusively on the Fanatics App, which already stocks products such as sports apparel, e-sportsbooks, and fantasy sports games. While the deal promises convenience, concerns over pricing and corporate dominance remain. The parties have neglected to publish the financial details of the arrangement, but spokespeople from both companies have established that the deal involved no equity, meaning neither company nor any of their respective personnel has gained ownership stake in the other.
By integrating Fanatics’ merchandise sales with Ticketmaster’s ticketing platform, the agreement aims to streamline purchases for sports consumers. Additionally, Ticketmaster may choose to integrate Fanatics’ merchandise into its platform, which the companies claim would create a unified experience for fans seeking both tickets and gear in a single transaction or through one account.
With a consumer base exceeding 100 million sports fans, Fanatics brings a vast audience to the partnership. Ticketmaster, which dominates live event ticketing, provides access to a global market of sports attendees. The collaboration is positioned as a step toward digital-first engagement, where fans can seamlessly transition between purchasing tickets and memorabilia.
Concerns arise from the large chunk
of the marketplace that this deal is certain to corner, as both companies have faced criticism regarding their business practices. Ticketmaster has been scrutinized for its service fees and perceived market monopoly, with incidents such as the Eras Tour ticketing fiasco drawing both public and regulatory attention. Fanatics has its own challenges, including customer complaints over product quality and delayed deliveries.
While the partnership may simplify transactions, consolidating ticketing and merchandise within two dominant companies may reduce competition and lead to higher prices rather than providing savings or enhanced service quality.
As far as the future, the integration of ticketing and merchandise sales could lead to several developments, and the success of these initiatives will depend on execution. While a streamlined process could enhance convenience, questions remain about whether pricing structures will change or if additional fees will emerge under the new system.
The partnership objectively strengthens the market position of both companies, particularly against emerging competitors. Ticketing platforms such as SeatGeek and StubHub have sought to differentiate themselves through lower fees and customerfriendly policies—selling tickets through their platforms instead of through Ticketmaster is the significantly less caution-taped alternative. Meanwhile, brands such as Nike and Adidas compete with Fanatics for dominance in sports merchandise.
By integrating ticketing and retail,
Fanatics and Ticketmaster create additional barriers for smaller companies attempting to enter the sports commerce space. This raises regulatory concerns about further industry consolidation and its potential effects on pricing and consumer choice.
The market success of the companies involved is well exemplified by Fanatics founder Michael Rubin, who has built a reputation not only as a sports business mogul but also as a key figure in celebrity circles. His widely publicized White Party, held annually in the Hamptons on July 4, attracts a guest list that includes highprofile athletes, entertainers, and business leaders. These gatherings have drawn criticism for their exclusivity and opulence. For some, Rubin’s lavish social lifestyle raises questions about Fanatics’ focus on consumer affordability and accessibility in sports commerce. The low confidence in its leadership makes it challenging to give the company the benefit of the doubt.
Public response to the announcement has been divided. Some fans may see the partnership as a positive step toward simplifying the purchasing process, while others express skepticism. There is reason to doubt the simple rationale that integrating ticketing and merchandise is mutually beneficial—often, customers buying tickets to a show will not choose to shell out for a shirt or poster at the same time. Thus, the real
Alex Hawes Silva Staff Writer
Canadian alpine skier Jack Crawford continues to make his mark on the international stage, securing a silver medal in the super-G World Cup in Kvitfjell, Norway. His podium finish on March 9 places Crawford into the top 10 of the super-G standings as he prepares for the highly anticipated World Cup Finals in Sun Valley, Idaho.
Crawford was born in Toronto and has been skiing since he was six years old. He has steadily built an impressive career in alpine skiing, establishing himself as one of Canada’s top speed-event athletes. He first gained international attention through strong performances at the junior level, competing at the International Ski Federation (FIS) World Junior Championships.
Crawford’s defining moment came at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, where he won bronze in the alpine combined event, marking Canada’s first-ever Olympic medal for that event. This achievement solidified his reputation as a rising star in the sport. Since then, he has continued to thrive on the World Cup circuit, earning multiple top-10 finishes and podium placements in both downhill and super-G. His silver medal in Kvitfjell is the latest milestone in his career, demonstrating his
ability to compete with the world’s best, with his hopes now set on progressing to the World Cup Finals and future Olympic Games.
The World Cup super-G event was a highly competitive race, drawing some of the world’s top alpine skiers to one of the most challenging courses on the circuit.
The Kvitfjell course, known for its demanding turns and steep, high-speed sections, tested the technical skill and endurance of every competitor. Crawford delivered an outstanding performance, finishing in second place and securing silver.
Crawford’s strong result, an incredible time of 1:09.36, was a testament to his precision and his ability to navigate the icy conditions with confidence. As the season nears its end, Crawford’s success in Kvitfjell adds momentum to his career, proving he is a serious contender among the skiing elite.
Crawford expressed his excitement after securing second place, telling Alpine Canada that competitors had to give it their all and put everything on the line for the race, as the demanding course would determine who qualified for the World Cup finals. Crawford also discussed his smooth performance and how he was able to transition speeds between sections, saying that his versatility helped him gain an edge over his opponents. He also pointed out that the
Canadian team has historically performed well in Kvitfjell, crediting their success to the snow conditions, which resemble those in Canada; he was no stranger to the very low temperatures, icy areas, extreme winds, and deep snow pits. Being able to practice and prepare in a similar setting to where he was competing propelled both his and his teammates’ performance.
From growing up skiing in Georgian Peaks, Ontario, and eventually moving to Whistler to complete his youth skiing career, Crawford has only elevated his abilities over the years. His skill set bolsters the Canadian team, who historically have only had three top-five finishes and one bronze medal in the event in 2014.
His new silver medal status symbolizes Crawford’s ability to handle
question of whether this benefits consumers or simply reinforces corporate dominance remains. The ultimate impact will depend on whether fans see tangible improvements in service and pricing.
While the Fanatics-Ticketmaster deal aims to enhance convenience and engagement, its long-term effects on pricing, competition, and consumer satisfaction remain uncertain. As the partnership unfolds, sports fans and industry analysts alike will be watching closely to determine whether it represents progress or further consolidation of corporate power in the marketplace.
high-speed, technical courses, and is an exemplary testimony to his talent. Crawford’s steady rise, from his historic Olympic bronze in alpine combined to his continued success on the World Cup circuit, reflects his dedication and raw talent. As he looks ahead to the season finale, his recent achievements position him as a strong contender on the international stage, further elevating Canada’s reputation in the world of alpine skiing.
Using fluid dynamics to understand how wind transports wildfire
Shani Laskin Managing Editor
In late June 2023, the Montreal sky turned orange-grey, the skyline overtaken by a thick haze. The city’s annual air quality report for that year showed that pollution reached its highest point in eight years and on June 25 and 26 of 2023, Montreal had the worst air quality in the world. The culprit? Wildfires.
The 2023 Canadian wildfire season was the worst on record, scorching over 15 million hectares of land. While wildfires are a natural phenomenon, droves of research have connected continued climate change and global warming to longer and more destructive wildfire seasons. These fires may not be ablaze in or even near Montreal, but the summer of 2023 acutely showed how the infernos, carried in by wind, make their mark on cities.
But once wildfire smoke floats into a city, how does it disperse? How can researchers accurately model these patterns? Quinn Dyer-Hawes, third-year PhD candidate at McGill’s Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, set out to answer these questions in a recently published paper in the journal Building and Environment
By mid-July 2023, the Canadian wildfire season had already seen 29 mega-fires, each engulfing over 100,000 hectares of land. (Ryan Dvorak / The Tribune)
higher wind speeds and [...] lower urban density, and these areas have better ventilation, and so they’re more easily able to carry the wildfire smoke out of them,” Dyer-Hawes said. “Conversely, there are areas where you have low wind speeds and very dense buildings, and these are areas where you can actually have buildup of wildfire smoke.”
This buildup of PM2.5 can have adverse effects on city dwellers, especially when the heightened particulate matter concentrations are compounded by other pollutants like car exhaust. According to Dyer-Hawes’ paper, being in poorly ventilated areas when PM2.5 concentrations are high could have hazardous health effects, although more research needs to be done to fully understand the impact.
His study used computational fluid dynamics—a way of modelling the movement of gases or liquids that can continuously flow (scientists group both liquids and gases as ‘fluids’). Such fluids, including air, can then be modelled using the Navier-Stokes equations. As Dyer-Hawes explained, however,
Wildfire smoke is made up of gases like carbon monoxide and methane, but also contains clouds of particulate matter. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5)—classified as having a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres— makes up roughly 90 per cent of the total particle mass in wildfire smoke. Exposure to PM2.5 is one of the main health risks associated with wildfire smoke, with the Government of Canada reporting that there is no known safe level of exposure to it. Because of its abundance and relatively stable behaviour in the atmosphere, PM2.5 became the primary pollutant of interest for Dyer-Hawes.
these equations are extremely complicated and require a lot of computational energy.
“We use computers to be able to simplify those equations and then solve them because you are looking at very large scale areas. And if you were to do that all by hand, it’d take forever,” Dyer-Hawes explained in an interview with The Tribune
These equations allowed him to track the movement of wildfire smoke by simulating wind, which, presumably, carries the pollution throughout the city. Dyer-Hawes found that the concentration of PM2.5 predicted by the model varied considerably across the city.
“There are areas in the city which have
“With climate change, we’re going to see more frequent wildfires, and so you can expect more cases where cities are being affected by wildfire smoke. So I think it’s something very important to pay attention to,” Dyer-Hawes said. “[Summer 2023] was definitely a bit of a wake-up call.”
This study, however, was primarily meant to test and validate a model that DyerHawes will use in his future research. Looking to the future, he is working on modelling greenhouse gas dispersal through wind. According to Dyer-Hawes, Montreal does not have a robust inventory of localized greenhouse gas emissions. With his upcoming research, he hopes to get a better understanding of where they are coming from and if there are any significant sources that have been overlooked.
I recently met with my counsellor and found out that I would need to take two more years of classes in order to finish my Math degree (I’m already in my third year…). I’m not sure where to go from here—I’m torn between dropping out, taking a year off to hike the Appalachian trail (but I’d need to live with my parents for a while), or putting my head down and finishing the two years.
-Sincerely, COURSE CORRECTING
Dear COURSE,
First of all, that’s a bummer, and it always takes some time to adjust when your five-year plan (inevitably) doesn’t go as you hoped. Take some time to lick your wounds, but don’t give up! You’re already three years in (as a Math major, you’ll know that’s still more than 50 per cent of the way there, even with the extra year). We suggest looking into summer classes, to see if you might be able to take a couple of credits off your plate in the coming years. As for the Appalachian trail, that sounds like fun! Ask your counselor whether you could take only a semester off, rather than a full year, if that helps decrease the amount of time you’d have to live at home. You also might want to consider whether a semester in the woods might leave you feeling refreshed, resolved, and ready to get back in the classroom, or if
all the integrals and derivatives will dribble out of your ears with the birdsong, leaving you unsure of yourself when you get back to the concrete jungle.
Help! I asked my Computer Science professor for an extension on an assignment, and then when the time came to turn it in, I only got a 44 per cent! I want to keep going to office hours, though… How can I look my prof in the eye and keep working with them through the end of the semester?
-Sincerely, FAILED THE ASSIGNMENT
Dear FAILED, Oof—but hey, we’ve all been there. The important thing is to use this as a learning experience. In our experience, profs appreciate directness and honesty when you’ve messed up, rather than a string of excuses (no matter how eloquent your fabricated email may be…). If you want to save your relationship with the prof, own up to your mistake, ask what you could have done better, and show you’re interested in improving. While it may sting in the moment, showing you can learn from your mistakes will impress a professor a lot more than a heartless B minus. Also don’t forget to swing by FrostBite if your assignment was worth more than 30 per cent of your grade!
I’m a Biology student who’s never re-
ally had to do presentations in class before. All of a sudden, I have a ton of in-class presentations coming up at the end of the semester! I’m feeling overwhelmed trying to finish them all, and I’m worried about freezing in class. Any advice to help get them all done?
-Sincerely, STAGE FRIGHTENED
Dear FRIGHTENED, Presentations are scary! We feel you—that’s why we write for the newspaper. But you’ve got this: Take your time with each presentation, and practice, practice, practice. The key to remembering your lines is twofold: Care about what you’re saying (if possible…) and know your material well. If you can practice by presenting to your roommates, friends, or a sympathetic stuffed animal, that will go a long way in your performance. As
science students ourselves, we encourage you to aim for an interesting and engaging presentation, even though dry presentations with walls of texts on endless powerpoint slides are often the norm in science. For inspiration, try imitating professors who you find to be good speakers, or watch some SciShow videos to get an idea of what effective science communication looks like.
How high energy costs affect Canadians and what we can do about it
Antoine Larocque Contributor
With 20 per cent of Canadian households facing energy poverty— when individuals lack reliable and affordable access to energy services—it is surprising how little political and research attention this social issue receives.
Motivated by this research gap, Mylène Riva, an associate professor in McGill’s Department of Geography, and her collaborators set out to identify hotspots of energy poverty in Canada and the socioeconomic factors driving them.
“Energy poverty is a situation that happens when people cannot access enough energy services at home to meet their needs, maintain healthy indoor temperature, and live in dignity,” Riva explained in an interview with The Tribune
In their study, Riva and her collaborators first determined Canada’s geographic distribution of energy poverty at the municipal level using data from the 2016 Canadian Census. The study uses two common thresholds to define households as energy-poor: The narrower one was spending more than 5.4 per cent of their total income on domestic energy services—a figure that is twice the national median—while the more conservative benchmark was 10 per cent—a common figure used in other countries.
The authors found that clusters of energy
poverty—localized areas with characteristically high energy poverty—are not evenly distributed across the country.
“When we look at the spatial clustering, we see that [energy poverty] is especially problematic in Atlantic provinces, Ontario, and the northern parts of provinces,” Riva reported.
Nearly two million Canadians live in municipalities classified by the study as energypoor. However, this figure is likely an underestimate, particularly in urban areas where many renters have utilities included in their rent, making energy costs more challenging to track.
Next, the researchers identified socioeconomic, demographic, and housing factors underlying energy poverty. They found that older populations, higher unemployment rates, lower incomes, and old or unaffordable housing were all associated with increased energy poverty. Rural municipalities were also more vulnerable.
Although the study did not explicitly analyze energy prices, the researchers suspect regional differences in the cost of energy may contribute to disparities. Atlantic Canada and Ontario, where energy prices are high, appear to correlate with elevated levels of energy poverty.
These findings highlight geographical inequalities in energy access and have strong policy implications.
“Energy poverty and climate change are
What makes a runnable city? How city infrastructure impacts recreational running habits in Montreal and Washington, D.C.
Sarah McDonald Staff Writer
Curating a culture of active living is central to achieving the United Nations’ Sustainability and Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 3, healthy living, and SDG 13, climate action. Active living is a lifestyle that promotes physical activity as an integral part of daily life—whether it be cycling to work or choosing to walk instead of drive—which has been shown to improve health and boost creativity.
However, creating societies built around active living goes beyond convincing everyone to take up a recreational sport. The infrastructure itself significantly influences the exercise choices people make.
This relationship was recently explored by Grant McKenzie, associate professor in McGill’s Department of Geography, whose paper in the Journal of Transport Geography analyzed the effects of infrastructure on running habits, in particular focusing on the gender divide in recreational running.
“We looked at some spatial and temporal patterns, and we also looked at some regressions to basically tell us what factors in the built environment, as well as socioeconomic and demographic, contribute to where men and women would choose to run,” McKenzie said in an interview with
happening in the context of the severe housing shortage and housing affordability crisis in Canada,” Riva said. “So, there should be more effort to build affordable housing, but also housing that is energy-efficient. There also are a lot of investments in improving the energy efficiency of houses.”
Beyond housing, policies such as increasing the minimum income and capping electricity prices could substantially benefit people facing financial hardship.
“My hope is that this research and others that look at energy poverty across Canada bring this issue a little further up on the policy agenda,” Riva said. “In a country like Canada, it is unacceptable that 20 per cent of households are potentially facing energy poverty.”
Moving forward, Riva advocates for future research on the impacts of energy poverty in the summer. So far, she has investigated this topic in Nova Scotia and Quebec from a health perspective.
“Through research that we have done
Using data from Strava, an exercisetracking app, McKenzie analyzed the habits of recreational runners in Washington D.C. and Montreal. His research supported previous findings—there is a clear gender divide in where and when people choose to run—but also provided new insight into the role infrastructure plays in these decisions.
While it was not surprising that women are more likely to run during the day than at night, the difference was more profound than expected, with only 8.8 per cent of running activities conducted by women in Montreal during the night— compared to 13.1 per cent of running activities by men.
“We looked into a couple cases in Montreal to find certain areas where there was a dominance of women running during the day, and then that completely disappeared, and [that same area] was more dominated by men in the evening and night,” McKenzie said.
While the presence of women runners decreased in some areas after nightfall, other areas saw an increase in women runners at night compared to during the day. Infrastructure played a key role in these patterns.
The study found that at night, women preferred routes near bike lanes, parks, and public landmarks, illustrating how city design influences perceptions of safety.
in Bridgewater, for example, we see that people living with activity limitations or chronic health problems are more likely to experience energy poverty,” Riva said. “They also might be more disproportionately impacted by the health effects of living in cold dwellings [in the winter] or hot dwellings in the summer.”
In the face of climate change, Canada plans to transition toward more sustainable energy. To make a just transition, Riva emphasized that we must consider the differential impacts that policy decisions can make on various groups: The energy sector should focus on social equity and address the needs of vulnerable people, who often deal with socioeconomic challenges beyond energy poverty, during the transition to cleaner energy.
“There’s a lot of evidence and research on things like street lights: Having street lights and having homes with their outdoor lights on has a big impact on where people choose to walk and the perception of safety in a neighbourhood,” McKenzie explained.
Interestingly, while McKenzie’s team initially hypothesized that crime levels would dictate where women ran, they found only a weak correlation. Instead, the perception of safety was a stronger determining factor.
“There’s some background from the social psychology literature on this: That crime actually isn’t a representation for perception of safety, and so perception of safety and crime are actually very different beasts,” McKenzie said.
These findings highlight the complex factors necessary to address to make active living accessible to all.
“A lot of [our findings] have big implications for how we organize our public space. We’re helping to answer what it means for public policy to encourage development, safe spaces, and the development of neighbourhoods for active living, and a lot of this work is aiming to help that discussion,” McKenzie explained.
Ultimately, this work amplifies the voices of those who rely on active transportation. In North America, cities are largely built around private vehicles, often overlooking the needs of pedestrians and cyclists. Addressing these gaps is key to the creation of truly accessible and vibrant urban spaces.
Daniel Blumberg wins Best Score for The Brutalist Bianca Sugunasiri, Staff Writer
Astark clanging of percussive metal counts two eighth notes and one whole note. The plucked guts of the piano’s strings shudder in the stark wind, amongst a wave of tremendous brass. Softly grazed piano keys twinkle beneath the monumentality of Daniel Blumberg’s industrial soundscape for The Brutalist
The score, at first sentimental and triumphant, lures us into Brady Corbet’s vision of post-war American hope, revealing from its
depths the landscape’s decay as it corrodes immigrant architect László Tóth’s fictitious ‘American Dream.’
Blumberg’s Oscar win for Best Score is one of the most well-deserved of the night. He renders every strike of marble, every treacherous spark, every severe structure of the film into towering melody.
It’s also a win for London’s independent music scene. In his speech, Blumberg thanked the folks at Cafe OTO, a pioneering Dalston venue for avant-garde and improvisational music. A member of the OTO scene for over a decade, Blumberg brings its creative authenticity to the Oscars stage. By acknowledging his fellow musicians, he reminds us of the film score’s essence: A space for collaboration and melodic convergence.
Isobel Bray, Contributor
Costume designers play an essential role in shaping a film’s visual identity, ensuring that every character—from leads to extras—fits seamlessly into the world of the story. This year, an actor from each nominated film took the stage to pay homage to the visionaries who dressed their on-screen personas, against a backdrop of colourfully sketched costumes from each film. From Glinda’s extravagant
gowns in Wicked to the priestly garb in Conclave , each actor brought life to the diversity of skills exercised by their respective costume designers. This year’s presentation was a wonderful way to highlight these artists’ work, bringing well-deserved recognition to an often overlooked aspect of filmmaking.
This moment became even more special when Paul Tazewell, the costume designer for Wicked , made history as the first Black man to win an Academy Award for Best Costume Design. With a career spanning over 30 years in Broadway and film, Tazewell called the win “everything.” His attention to detail and love for the Ozian universe shone through in his designs, bringing a fresh but faithful touch to the beloved world of Wicked
Adrien Brody and Halle Berry’s “payback” kiss—the new age handshake?
Annabella Lawlor, Staff Writer
Anotably scandalous moment of the 2025 Oscars was the “payback” kiss between Halle Berry and Adrien Brody (although I’m not sure that getting kissed by the Halle Berry can be considered payback). Brody, who won Best Actor this year for his role in The Brutalist , first won this Academy Award for Best Actor in 2003 for his role in The Pianist which made him the youngest actor to ever win in that category.
Undoubtedly, his inappropriate behaviour on stage overshadowed that achievement when he infamously pulled an unsuspecting Halle Berry into a forceful kiss as she presented him with the 2003 Best Actor award. Berry later noted in an interview that the kiss wasn’t staged, describing her thoughts in the moment as, “What the f— is happening.” 22 years later, Berry approached Brody on the pre-ceremony red carpet, jokingly apologizing to his girlfriend, Georgiana Chapman, before kissing him. Although there appears to be no bad blood between the actors, I just have to wonder…whatever happened to an old-fashioned handshake?
Latvia wins its first Oscar Charlotte Hayes, Arts & Entertainment Editor
Hollywood’s Biggest Night saw Flow , a breathtaking wordless animated independent film created on the free animation software blender, took home the prize for Best Animated Feature, beating out a number of heavyweight contenders from Disney and DreamWorks. On top of its triumph as an independent film, Flow marks the first time a Latvian film has won an Oscar, and to say Latvia was excited is an understatement. A statue of the film’s protagonist, a small black cat, was erected in the capital city of Riga, and the directors received a hero’s welcome with a celebration thrown in their honour upon their return to the country.
Yusur Al-Sharqi Managing Editor
There is no such thing as “too dramatic” in fashion designer Angie
Larocque’s world. Speaking to The Tribune from her car, she exudes both the glamour and grit that define her work. This year, from March 3 to 11, she represented Quebec on one of the biggest stages in fashion: Paris Fashion Week.
For Larocque, the moment was monumental.
“I am the only Québecoise designer at Paris Fashion Week this year, though there was one a couple of years ago. It’s rare,” she said. “I am feeling very privileged, very lucky, very proud.”
Born in Gaspésie, Larocque draws inspiration from the rugged coastline and vast waters of her hometown. She speaks passionately about the untapped talent in the province, believing that Montreal’s rich artistic culture will, over time, carve out a larger space on the global stage.
“There is a smaller market [in Quebec], and there are many designers and artists who have a lot of talent that is not appreciated here, so they leave,” she explained. “The cost of producing in Montreal is higher, but I feel it’s important to give work to our community.”
Larocque’s 2025 collection is a love letter to cinematic drama, particularly The Godfather . The old-school mafia aesthetic—luxurious, sensual, and intense—feels like a natural fit for her.
“I love the darkness, the passion, the fire,” she said. “Last year’s collection was all about drama [...] this one is about love and loss.”
Her designs are steeped in a sense of fatal romance that is unmistakably Larocque’s. Black, red, and white dominate the collection, with each colour and fabric chosen deliberately.
“Black lace is for the darkness, the drama,” she says. “Red is passion, fire. White is love.”
Larocque’s dresses celebrate the woman’s form with corsetry, sensual silhouettes, open backs, and lace detailing. Beyond beauty, she wants her clients to feel powerful.
“When women wear my dresses, they feel sexy and confident, empowered,” she said. “That’s what matters.”
Though haute couture is often seen as exclusive, Larocque embraces its focus on craftsmanship. In fact, it’s what drives her passion: Working one-on-one with clients to compose a personal piece of art that captures the client’s “aura.” Her bridal gowns, in particular, are intimate projects.
“It’s special,” she said. “Choosing the fabric, the details—living that moment with them.”
Larocque has always known she was meant for fashion; she laughs as she recalls sketching designs into the margins of her notebook instead of paying attention in math class. At first, she pursued hairdressing and makeup, working on film sets and in theatre. But the pandemic forced her to
reevaluate.
“I had a child, and I was buying local clothes for my son,” she said. “And I thought, ‘Why am I not doing this myself?’”
She began with the children’s clothing brand Biggismall , and within one year, she transitioned to high fashion. However, success in fashion is no easy feat; for Larocque, it’s all about intention.
“I work three jobs, I’m a mom, I sleep four hours a night,” she highlighted. “I never stop [...] You have to manifest it. Write down your goals. Take baby steps. Nothing is impossible.”
Though Paris has been a dream, Larocque is focused on what’s ahead. She’s planning her own event—separate from Montreal Fashion Week or Montreal’s Mode, Arts, Divertissement (M.A.D.) Festival— to make sure her work reaches a local audience and stands apart from mainstream fashion. Larocque’s independent approach isn’t just about showcasing her work; it’s about shaping a distinct identity that aligns with the bold, confident women she designs for.
It’s unsurprising that her dream celebrity client is someone who exudes this vision: Angelina Jolie. “Or Eva Green. Monica Bellucci,” Larocque said. Her creations are made for the femme fatale—women who are striking, confident, and undeniably daring. Daring : Much like her dresses, and much like Larocque herself. The world of fashion may not yet fully recognize Quebec’s talent, but with designers like Angie Larocque, that’s bound to change.
Jamie Xie Staff Writer
Hiding in plain sight, you might have passed it by once or twice. It’s whistling past the graveyard, tucked away beneath the fairyland starlight of StLaurent: Cinéma L’Amour has become a defining symbol of Montréal’s modern adult entertainment industry—and one of the last Cinemas Libertins of its kind.
In all its vintage grandeur, the cinema delivers on its promises as a discreet cruising location. Playing primarily 2000s hard-
core pornography, the theatre embraces a nostalgic, no-frills approach to adult entertainment, providing a playspace for its community as long as consent will allow. The velvet seats are generously proportioned. Open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., admission for visitors (who must be 18+) is $16.50 CAD—with free-entry promotions for couples all day on Mondays and Tuesdays and evenings on Thursday. The cinema also offers free-entry promotions for trans women on Wednesdays. Whether you come for the films, the atmosphere, or even just for a good time, L’Amour is good company to have on a red night out.
Keeping up with modern trends in pornography, L’Amour has transitioned from film reels to digital projector, holding all the copyrights to screen its films like any other cinema. (Ryan Dvorak / The Tribune)
A frequent patron who wished to remain anonymous spoke to The Tribune about L’Amour’s significance to trans women in particular.
“The alternative is to meet these random strangers at their apartments or nearby parks; it’s scary. This space makes me much more comfortable,” they said.
Built in 1914, the building was originally a Jewish Vaudeville theatre called Le Globe; the theatre played Yiddish films during the
20s and 30s, undergoing its first renaming to The Hollywood in 1932. In 1969 it was turned into a location for the American adult theatre chain Pussycat. By 1981 Cinema L’Amour was officially established as it exists today, now a small three-generation family-run business.
At one point in time, there were actually two such cinemas: One in Montreal, and another just across the bridge bordering Ontario. As a result of differing provincial adult content laws, each film had two editions—one explicit, one heavily edited. With Ontario imposing stricter restrictions, many Ontarians would travel to Montreal just to see the unedited screenings.
A regular who wished to remain anonymous of 10 years noted the familiarity of the crowd.
“It’s not uncommon to see some old and new people every week. I met a colleague here once,” he admitted with a laugh. “It’s one of those things where you just give a nod and move on.”
Unlike Entre Nous 2, another popular swinger venue that was forced to close down due to lack of business during COVID-19, Cinema L’Amour has only grown in popularity since the pandemic.
The resurgence of interest in adult venues reflects a broader shift—one that has been years in the making. Long before the pandemic, the opening of L’Orage, a Montreal swinger lifestyle club, marked a pivotal moment in Montréal’s history, redefining Québécois liberal attitudes towards sexuality. As the first club in North America to accept swingers into a private play area, the
club became the centre of legal controversy after a 1998 police raid led to 41 members being charged with public indecency. This marked the beginning of a landmark court battle that would redraw the limits of public decency.
Though initially convicted at lower courts, Jean-Paul Labaye, owner of L’Orage, was given a favourable ruling after appealing to the Supreme Court in 2005, reshaping Canada’s obscenity laws and establishing a framework that defines indecency not by moral standards but by context, consent, and potential harm.
A fact often overlooked about Montreal is that it ranks third in terms of global adult film production, just behind Los Angeles and Amsterdam. In fact, it is the birthplace and headquarters of MindGeek, renamed Aylo— the parent company behind Pornhub, Brazzers, XVideos and many other pornography subsidiaries.
One insider who wished to remain anonymous spoke on the importance of these types of spaces to the local community.
“There aren’t that many third spaces today, they’re dying out,” X said. “A lot of people here treat it like their home because for many people it kind of is their home.”
Montreal’s unique cultural profile has long placed it at the forefront of sex liberalism in North America. With its progressive and defiant spirit, the city is actively pushing the envelope when it comes to reimagining what a city’s role might be in acknowledging sex work and legitimizing adult entertainment as an integral component of personal freedom.
The Arts & Entertainment team is bitter, and departs from their usual ritual in order to share their disapproval!
The Arts & Entertainment section has decided to complain. We present an attack on architecture, travel entertainment, and terrible takes on television.
The CN Tower
Kellie Elrick, Arts & Entertainment Editor
I do not like the CN Tower! Visiting Toronto over reading week, I stood in King’s College Circle, admiring the oaks and arches and widow’s walks and— eurgh ! There it was. It’s grey and bland and phallic (the positioning of the Rogers Centre does not help). I have no desire to go up the CN Tower, and I don’t want to rotate while I eat. Towers, in general, do not do much for me. The only tower I have climbed is the Tour Montparnasse, which is objectively not a very good tower (although perhaps one of the benefits of these aesthetically abominable towers is that once you’re inside, you don’t have to look at them). It feels wrong to bash a Canadian monument right now—and I do take great comfort in the fact that it’s taller than any tower in the United States—but the fact remains. Fucking ugly tower.
The (lack of) TVs on planes
Charlotte Hayes, Arts & Entertainment Editor
Look, I know everyone on the plane has a phone. And I know every one of those phones can download hours of Netflix,
perfectly tailored to their taste and flight time, but I’m still mad about it. Where did the little seatback TVs go? What am I supposed to do when my phone inevitably dies after I spend three hours calling my mom because I got to the airport way too early? My readings? Don’t be ridiculous. The sacred art of the plane movie is disappearing before our very eyes. Future generations will never know the unique joy of flicking on that tiny screen and settling in for a mid-budget action-romcom—the kind you almost saw in theatres but never quite made time for. Sure, with a streaming service, I can curate my movie selection to match my taste exactly (and avoid awkwardly fast-forwarding through some risqué content with a child seated behind me), but it’s just not the same. The joy is entirely lost if I know what movies are available even a second before I’m in my seat. It’s a real tragedy.
TV isn’t real life—and that’s the point Yusur Al-Sharqi, Managing Editor
Nothing on Earth irritates me more than the imbecilic complaint that “ this would never happen in real life .” Okay? And?
Over the break, I heard from several people they disliked certain TV shows because they were “unrealistic”— Grey’s Anatomy, Euphoria, even Gossip Girl. But do you really want to see what the life of a
surgeon or a high school student is like? Do you want to spend six hours standing in an operating room, elbow-deep in bloody intestines, or in a classroom watching a bunch of teenagers scroll through TikTok for an entire school day? That’s your prerogative, I guess… but personally, I love the drama.
The most absurd criticism I heard was that Keeping Up with the Kardashians isn’t realistic. No kidding. The show is a meticulously staged, champagne-soaked fever dream—and that’s what makes it a work of art. You can’t airbrush your face in real life, but Kris Jenner’s flawlessly digitally enhanced face on my screen? Iconic. If you’re looking for reality, then maybe reality TV isn’t for you. The point is that TV isn’t meant to reflect our everyday lives. It’s made to entertain, captivate,
and sometimes be totally absurd. While I’m escaping reality in the plane crashes and hospital shootings and cocaine-laden parties that grace my screen, you realismlovers can go pay bills or wait in traffic for an hour. Enjoy that!
For favourable takes and recommendations, see our previous articles on ‘What we liked this break.’
Four gates, one Chinatown Get to know your neighbourhood!
Jamie Xie Staff Writer
At the very heart of Montreal, nestled alongside the bustling downtown blocks, is Montreal’s very own Quartier Chinois. Occupying roughly one square block, the neighbourhood is portrait-framed by four ornate Paifang gates—the most of any Chinatown in Canada—denoting the cardinal directions.
Robert Frost once said “Good fences make good neighbours,” and the same could be said of those gates. As picturesque as they may be, the four gates embody a fundamental tension of immigration: The desire to carve out a home that reflects your cultural identity, at odds with the ongoing pressure to integrate into Western society. The four sides of the micropolis stand as a physical way to claim the space in response to the ongoing decline of the Chinese population in the area caused by gentrification starting in the 1970s, yet also a reminder of the limitations faced by the Chinese diaspora, marking out what space does and does not belong to them despite being a multigenerational community contributing to the wider city of Montreal.
With a history that goes as far back as the mid-to-late 1800s, Montreal’s Chinatown is one of the oldest Asian communities on the continent. It was first referred to by the term “Chi-
natown” in 1902 by the French newspaper La Presse. The area was initially residential, following a new wave of Chinese immigrants that arrived from British Columbia after completing the transcontinental railroad in 1885. Many moved to Montreal in hopes of escaping the systemic discrimination faced on the West Coast, particularly the Head Tax legislation, which charged Chinese immigrants $50 CAD per person for the privilege of working in Canada, later raised to $500 CAD. The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923 banned the entry of Chinese immigrants for 24 years, impeding family reunions and community development. As a result of this unique cocktail of circumstances and systemic discrimination, Montreal’s Chinatown garnered a reputation as a sort of sketchy bachelor society of Mahjong gambling and criminal network disputes. Reflecting on the underground political turmoils, the newspaper La Patrie would describe Chinatown in 1936 as a place where “a simple spark is enough to trigger a vendetta.”
Chinatown has changed a lot since the 1930s, becoming relatively commercial and tourist-accessible. It now intertwines historical reverence with a thriving participatory culture. As a result of a number of street widening and urban renewal projects introduced in the 1960s, Chinatown shrank by a third: Pagoda Park, three Chinese churches, a residential sector, and several family-run businesses were shut down to
make room for the Palais des congrès, Complex Guy-Favreau and the Ville Marie Expressway. This, in turn, forced many residents to relocate, scattering much of the population to Côte-desNeiges and Saint-Laurent.
Today, Chinatown has much to offer to students visiting the area. Sun-Yat-Sen Park centres Chinatown as a public square for people to socialize and enjoy taichi in the summer. Alongside it is the pedestrian-only strip mall of rue de la Gauchetière, where street festivals are held during the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival and Lunar New Year.
One of Chinatown’s famous features is its large and diverse food scene. Regardless of one’s taste, there is something for everyone. Visit the self-serve Hong Kong-style bakery Pâtisserie Coco or the Dragon’s Beard Candy stall
for a unique sweet tooth treat. For a savoury fix, don’t miss out on soup dumplings from Sammi & Soupe Dumpling. If you’re in the mood for spice, Restaurant Kanbei specializes in Szechuan-style cuisine and is a local favourite for its numbing-spicy peppercorn flavours—try the Spicy Sichuan hot pot for the full effect. For an all-you-can-eat experience, Happy Lamb Hot Pot offers a free buffet for birthdays when you purchase a soup base. Don’t forget to swing by G&D Supermarket for all your Asian grocery needs.
As Montreal’s Chinatown continues to grow and evolve today, it remains a living testimony to the resilience and cultural pride of the community which helped shape it, offering both a rich history and an accessible culinary experience for visitors and students alike.
Simona Culotta
Contributor
Every year, around March 17, St. Patrick’s Day celebrates Irish culture and offers university students a chance to take part in time-honoured traditions both on and off campus. The Tribune asked students how they mark the occasion.
For some, St. Patrick’s Day is a chance to engage with the city’s cultural events. Juniper Fu, U1 Arts, participates in daytime events that are orchestrated by the city, such as the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on rue Sainte-Catherine.
“When I was in Cégep, I learned a lot about the history of Montreal and how there are many Irish descendants and that they contributed to the development of the city,” Fu told The Tribune. “I do think St. Patrick’s Day is quite unique because of the city’s large Irish presence.”
Beyond its historical significance, Fu views the holiday as a celebration of the upcoming spring season, as it marks a bright turning point from what she described as Montreal’s “depressing and bone-chilling” winter.
Nighttime activities, high-energy events, and celebrating through drinking, dancing, and fun are also a big part of St. Patrick’s Day culture. Gonzalo Rodriguez, U4 Arts, described his typical celebration as a night for raves and partying events.
“Because St. Patrick’s Day is a big part of the weekend, a lot of the people or companies who run these events go big,” he explained.
Rodriguez highlighted Montreal’s vibrant nightlife, especially along its main club-
bing streets, where the mayhem never stops. While St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Montreal resemble those in other major cities, he suggested its scene is uniquely exciting.
“Montreal is the best place for celebrations,” Rodriguez claimed.
While many enjoy what Montreal offers for this holiday, other students like Sonia Narvaez, U1 Arts, and Lucy Heras, U1 Engineering, prefer to celebrate in a more calm and contained setting.
“[I like] spending time with friends: I think it would be more fun to go to someone’s house than to go to a club because it can be crazy,” Narvaez stated.
“I feel like in general, though, that’s what we prefer. We don’t hate bars but we just prefer to be with friends,” Heras added. “It’s more comfortable.”
Narvaez and Heras also emphasized that St. Patrick’s Day does not have to revolve around excessive drinking, despite McGill’s ‘work hard, play hard’ culture. They mentioned the Ginger Run, a student-friendly event that offers an alternative to heavy partying.
Another distinctive event that takes place on campus is the annual St Patrick’s Gerts celebration. Aaron Jain, U1 Science, discussed how there are also multiple alternative parties taking place on and around campus, thanks to the school’s location in the city.
“The same darty culture that you find at more suburban or isolated campuses is cool at McGill because you can go from bars and clubs to little courtyard parties that you would see at an apartment complex,” Jain told The Tribune
He also highlighted his preference for
Gerts during the March 14 Four Floors celebration. (Anna Seger / The Tribune)
this unique celebration dynamic instead of the typical scene at most universities, which he described as “one large cult-following street party.” By emphasizing more intimate parties and courtyard gatherings close to campus, he described how, instead of excessiWve drinking in large crowds, celebrating becomes an opportunity to enjoy time with friends and make it more personal.
Overall, the campus and city offer a large variety of ways in which one can celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.
Whether you like to enjoy city parades, nighttime raves, friendly gatherings, or on-campus events—such as 4 Floors which made a return this year—a versatile city like Montreal always has you covered.
Bianca Tri Staff Writer
n 2020, Judy Thelen and Eliot Frost created Beli, an app that allows you to rank restaurants you’ve been to. Activity tracking apps such as Letterboxd and Strava have exploded in recent years, but Beli has something a little different from them all: Leaderboards based on your location. The number of restaurants you’ve visited in your life is quantified and ranked against others in your city or against your friends. What’s more, there are individual leaderboards for universities, so you can finally confirm who has the most refined palette on campus. Currently, on the overall ranking board, McGill ranks 44th amongst all participating schools, with NYU dominating at first place.
The Tribune talked to three highranking Beli users at McGill to understand what they love about food, the app, and, of course, being really good at eating.
Ella Waxman, BA’ 24, is the number one user in the McGill circuit and Montreal, with almost 1000 restaurants logged on her account. Waxman shared how she first got involved with the platform.
“I started using Beli two and a half years ago when my friend introduced me to it,” she explained to The Tribune . “Initially, it was a competition between us two, but I’ve been grateful to grow up on the periphery of the food industry—my dad used to design menus for restaurants, and then I worked in a couple bars and designed a couple cocktails so I’ve always loved everything food-related.”
When looking at other
However, Waxman stated that her logging activities began long before Beli’s inception, where her reviews took a more traditional character.
“Back in the day, I got into Foursquare, and I used to become a mayor of a place on Foursquare, so I definitely started going to places and ranking them before the existence of Beli.”
Foursquare, an online city guide that showed places to eat, drink, shop, or visit based on insights from fellow users or local
experts, shut down its app in 2024. On it, users could follow other people, suggest new places to visit, post reviews, offer insider tips and ‘check in’ to the app when visiting a venue. A “mayor” in Foursquare was a person who checked into a place the most.
Kasen Korstanje, U2 Arts and one of the top 10 users at McGill, wrote to The Tribune about how Beli has helped him think more critically about food.
“Trying new food doesn’t only open you up to a whole world within food, but
I think it connects you with everything around you,” he wrote. “The memories associated with food are super powerful, and trying new foods makes space for more memories to be made and more possibilities to reach back to the past and remember life through food.”
On a similar note, Waxman echoed the importance of using the app to stay in touch with friends.
“Starting at a young age, connecting over food was always a huge deal because of my upbringing. Getting to share that part on an app—now that I’m living away from home, I can see what my friends are up to and connect with them.”
Finally, each interviewee shared their opinions on Beli’s leaderboard system. Waxman confessed that her competitive nature fuels her logging.
“I’ve always been a very competitive person; whether it’s extracurricular, academic, professional—it motivates me. Currently, I’m the number one user in Montreal, I think for over a year now, and around 780th in the world,” she said.
Korstanje, on the other hand, did not feel as intensely and shared he instead uses Beli as a source of inspiration for what restaurant to try next.
“I love looking at everyone on the McGill leaderboard and getting inspo for where to go out and eat next,” he wrote. “For me, trying new restaurants is like a movie buff going to the movie theatre or an artist going to a gallery. It’s a way to get exposed to a form of creativity and expression. The food world is full of thinkers, creatives, and people pushing the boundaries of what food can be.”
