Confronting anti-Black racism in Canada’s healthcare system
McGill’s “gatekeeper courses” are against the spirit of education
Amelia H. Clark Staff Writer
Content warning: Mentions of murder and violence.
The Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal (NWSM) and Concordia’s Centre for Gender Advocacy (CGA) hosted the No More Lost Sisters march for the National Day
Jamie Xie Staff Writer
When I was little and my parents were checking out at the grocery aisle, I would wander over to the greeting cards and wait. It was only upon discovering the floral-fronted sympathy cards that I began to realize death was all around us. With a history as banal as its subject matter, death is the unknowable reality of our everyday lives. It is
of Awareness/Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirit People (MMIWG2S+) on Feb. 14. Protestors walked in -10° C weather to raise awareness about the disproportionately high rates of violence committed against Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people, and the low conviction rates for their murderers.
The march began at Cabot Square at 6 p.m. and ended at Place du Canada at around 8 p.m.. According to speaker Kevin
one of the few universal experiences we all share and yet our relationship to it is anything but simple. In navigating loss, we often ask: What is there to be said when words fail?
Hosted in the Osler Library of the History of Medicine until Apr. 1 and curated by the Maude Abbott Medical Museum of the Pathology Society, When There Are No Words explores the shifting sociocultural attitude towards grief through a collection of uniquely Québécois sympathy cards.
Deer, the goal of this event was to inform onlookers of the historic and ongoing violence MMIWG2S+ people face in Canada, where Indigenous women are 16 times more likely to go missing than white women.
Before the march, activist Ellen Gabriel addressed the crowd, discussing the central role protests and demonstrations play in creating systemic change within Canada’s policing system.
his Valentine’s Day, the Centre for Gender Advocacy and The Native Women’’s Shelter of Montreal’’s Iskewu Project cohosted their annual memorial march and vigil in honour of Montreal’s Day of Action for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People (MMIWG2S+).
With the Canadian government offering little more than mere lip service to the MMIWG2S+ crisis, marching Montrealers demanded tangible action, remembrance, and broader awareness. The ongoing national inquiry into MMIWG2S+ has resulted in countless studies highlighting that colonial and patriarchal policies were sources of intergenerational trauma, which in turn cause Indigenous women to be overrepresented among those missing and murdered.
(Hannah Nobile / The Tribune)
Protestors march for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People
No More Lost Sisters event affirms community solidarity with MMIW G2S+ people
Amelia H. Clark Staff Writer
Continued from page one.
“To all the people who have lost loved ones because of racism, because of sexism, we are here to show our support to anyone that has experienced this type of violence,” Gabriel said. “If we don’t stand up and rise up against imperial fascists, we will lose our rights.”
Gabriel has been a prominent advocate for over 30 years, acting as the Haudenosaunee’s spokesperson during the 1990 Kanesatake Resistance: A 78-day standoff between Mohawk communities and the town of Oka, who sought to build a golf course on Indigenous burial grounds.
At this march, Gabriel asked that the media and the Canadian government stop blaming murder victims for their deaths, criticizing the press for labelling missing women as “partiers.”
“Let’s bring to light this issue of violence that we all are responsible to fight against,“ Gabriel said. “I hope that one day, men will see that violence against women is not a woman’s issue, it’s a man’s issue.”
McGill’s Indigenous Student Alliance (ISA) also emphasized the responsibility
of the media in pursuing justice in a written statement to The Tribune
“Our women aren’t only the targets of this violence at higher rates than the national average, but are sought out by organized crime and institutionalized networks,” the ISA wrote. “The media’s reluctance in connecting these organized networks (sextrafficking) to the violence of Indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people capacitates the way in which this violence is not only perceived by the settler state and its
citizens, but also the way [justice evades] the deeply ingrained injustices that allow and promote this violence.”
The ISA encouraged non-Indigenous McGill students to show their solidarity with MMIWG2S+ by supporting the Red Dress Alert initiative, which the federal government agreed to develop in May 2024. The Red Dress Alert is akin to an AMBER Alert system, pointing the public to the last known location and appearance of MMIWG2S+.
Mike Turner was also present at the march. His daughter, 24-year-old Chelsea Poorman, went missing in 2020. Despite her mother reporting Poorman as missing to authorities the next day, Turner reported that the police did not start investigating her disappearance until 10 days later. Police discovered parts of her body in 2022, but today, neither her killer nor the entirety of her remains have been found. Turner told The Tribune that the press has a duty to report on cases like Poorman’s, which go under-investigated and neglected by police due to the victim’s race.
“The media’s role has been insignificant when it can be extremely significant,” Turner said. “Why can’t they run ads for missing people? [...] There’s no reason why this isn’t front-page every single day. If that were the case, a lot more could change.”
When the march concluded at Place du Canada, Gabriel thanked the crowd for their participation on Valentine’s Day, and spoke about the integral role public protests play in raising awareness for MMIWG2S+ who are neglected by the Canadian government.
“On Love Day, although this cause is heartbreaking, I have to say I’ve never seen so many people pour love back into the hearts of women,” Gabriel said.
Quebec rental tribunal recommends record rent rate increase
Students navigate housing market amid rapidly-rising prices
Ella Paulin Managing Editor
On Jan. 21, Quebec’s Tribunal administratif du logement (TAL) announced that its recommended rent increase rate for 2025 was 5.9 per cent for units that do not include paid heating, and between 4.1 and 5.5 per cent for units that include heating in the rent. While this recommended increase rate is not binding, it is a signal for both landlords and tenants of what is considered a reasonable rent hike.
This year’s recommendation is the highest since 1988. It also represents a significant jump from 2024’s rate of 4 per cent and 2023’s rate of 2.3 per cent, although when tenants contest rent increases, the TAL often approves increases in excess of their recommendations. In 2024, the average rent adjustment granted by the TAL was 5.8 per cent. Daphne SainteOnge, an organizer for the tenant union Syndicat des locataires autonomes de Montréal (SLAM), commented on the difficulties these hikes can pose for tenants.
“The majority of tenants are not receiving raises, (cost of living or otherwise), that match these increases, so every year rent is eating away a bigger chunk of our earnings and landlords are taking more from our pockets as tenants,” Sainte-Onge wrote in an email to The Tribune
Sainte-Onge also noted that students
are particularly vulnerable to exploitation by landlords through high rent increases, due to their high turnover rates and lack of collective organization. She emphasized the importance of speaking with one’s neighbours about rent prices and contesting unreasonable hikes.
“Landlords often ask for unjustifiably high increases because they do not expect tenants to push back, but you have the right to refuse and to stay in your apartment,” Sainte-Onge wrote. “Negotiating collectively multiplies the power tenants have to fight back.”
Elliott Kalt, U2 Science, and his roommates were paying $3,000 CAD a month for a three-bedroom apartment in the Plateau, where one of the bedrooms did not have a window. When Kalt and his roommates decided not to renew their lease, the landlord listed the apartment for $3,300 CAD, a 10 per cent increase in just one year.
“I think that my old apartment was already a bit expensive for what it was, but increasing the rent by $300 almost feels criminal,” Kalt wrote in a statement to The Tribune
While upper-year students navigate the housing market in broader Montreal, first-year students living in McGill residences are also considered tenants, signing leases with McGill for the duration of the academic year. While the Quiet Residences at the Downtown Campus and Laird Hall at Macdonald Campus offer
prices per room from $585 to $985 CAD for some students, prices in residences range from $1,055 CAD to $1,780 CAD, with a regular single room in Royal Victoria College costing $1,610 CAD per month, and a double room in La Citadelle costing $1,545 CAD per month.
Montreal’s apartment vacancy rate was 1.6 per cent in 2023. ( Ruby Reimer
These rents do not take into account the mandatory meal plan in most residence halls, which is currently $5,800 CAD for the year. In the Plateau, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is $1,512 CAD; however, that price includes a bathroom and kitchen.
As a landlord to thousands of students, McGill also makes decisions about rent increases year to year. The McGill Media Relations Office (MRO) commented on the factors the university takes into account when setting residence fees.
“The Quebec Rental Tribunal’s rent increase rate provides a guideline for understanding the housing market, but it is not the main factor we consider when revising our fees,” the MRO wrote in an email to The Tribune . “More importantly,
we take into account the overall cost of living in residence, the condition of each building, and if any recent upgrades and renovations have been done.”
The rent for McGill residences in the 2025-2026 academic year has not yet been finalized, but the MRO stated it would be announced in the next several weeks.
With rent increases across Montreal, students are struggling to find suitable apartments for reasonable prices.
“I’ve definitely seen pricing get worse over time, but the more annoying part of looking for a place is just finding a place that has windows in all rooms— something you would think is a normal standard,” Kalt wrote. “Overall, it feels like the quality of places has gone down while prices have increased.”
/ The Tribune )
Indigenous women represent less than five per cent of Canada’s population, yet make up 16 per cent of all woman homicide victims and 11 per cent of all woman missing person reports. ( Armen Erzingatzian / The Tribune )
Adrien Wing leads panel discussion on critical race theory and intersectionality
Talk explores how critical race theory helps deconstruct systemic oppression in law and policy
Defne Feyzioglu Staff Writer
On Feb. 12, Professor Adrien Wing, Director of the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights, explored the role of critical race theory (CRT) in challenging institutionalized oppression at a panel hosted by McGill’s Faculty of Law. Organized to commemorate Black History Month, the panel highlighted the historical patterns of racial exclusion that persist in modern governance and spoke to the need for systemic change.
The panel began with Wing’s presentation on CRT and intersectionality. CRT refers to an academic approach that examines race as a social construct and functions under the assumption that racism is not solely the product of individual bias. It analyzes how racial inequality has been deeply embedded in many parts of Western society, particularly in its legal systems and social institutions.
During the panel, Wing discussed how CRT can shed light on how racism is ingrained in legal and economic systems. She pointed to the GI Bill in the United States—a policy that provided WWII veterans with funds for housing and education while systematically excluding Black veterans.
“We weren’t told the truth,” Wing said. “Black veterans were not given that money. Critical race [theory] helps to deconstruct that, and say the system is racist, has been racist since the beginning, as well as sexist, homophobic and other ‘-isms.’”
After Wing’s presentation, the three panellists, jurist Tamara Thermitus, McGill Faculty of Law Professor Sarah Riley Case, and McGill Adams-Burke Fellow Lena Dzifa Phillips, continued the discussion.
Building on Wing’s examination of systematic racism in legal structures, Phillips turned the conversation to the gap between constitutional ideas and their real-world application, questioning whether legal frameworks designed to promote equality are effectively implemented.
“We know that today constitutional statehood is still elusive,” she said, “But how would you describe the present-day operationalization of the very progressive norms and ideals that are included in those constitutional projects?”
In response, Wing emphasized the fluid nature of legal texts, noting that their meanings change over time and in different geographical contexts.
The discussion continued with a question from Case, in which she referred to the work of Columbia University Professor David Scott. Case highlighted that initiatives such as anti-colonial or civil rights movements have not always led to the expected structural changes. She asked how past efforts toward justice should be reexamined in the present moment.
“David Scott, a Jamaican scholar, Black studies and Caribbean studies, who calls our present moment of post-revolutionary conjuncture in the context of decolonization […] asks, ‘How can we reevaluate now, at this
post-revolutionary conjuncture, what’s necessary for transformation?’ So, I wanted to know, what do you think?” Case asked.
Wing responded by rejecting the idea of a “post-revolutionary” time, which implies a successful revolution that resulted in lasting change. She questioned whether there had ever been a shift that effectively addressed structural racism.
Wing also challenged the idea that diversity and inclusion programs are enough to address racial inequality. Although these initiatives may help individuals, she argued that they fail to dismantle the structures that uphold systemic oppression.
“These programs are band-aids on cancer,” Wing said, “They will help a few people, but they will not help deal with great structural injustices. That’s not what they’re about. They weren’t meant to do that.”
Rather than focusing solely on personal
change, Wing emphasized the importance of confronting the deeper economic and systematic realities that prevent meaningful change.
Throughout the conversation, Wing and the panellists underscored that addressing systemic oppression requires more than theoretical discussions or surface-level policy changes. They noted that, while legal and institutional frameworks shift over time, the structures that sustain inequality remain, raising questions about the effectiveness of current approaches to transformation.
Wing urged the audience to commit themselves to efforts to oppose these systems of oppression and emphasized the need for sustained engagement in the fight for justice.
“In your lifetime—and the lifetime of my grandchildren—we will not end racism, sexism, homophobia, any other ‘-ism.’ We will not end it,” Wing said. “But each of you will be judged by the quality of your [resistance].”
McGill Senate discusses smashed windows and budget cuts at Feb. 12 meeting Some senators call for better channels of communication between students and admin
Kellie Elrick Arts & Entertainment Editor
Smashed windows of campus buildings, academic freedom, and upcoming budget cuts were among the discussion items at the McGill Senate’s Feb. 12 meeting.
The meeting began with memorial tributes to Patrick Dias in the Faculty of Education, Patrick Farrell in the Department of Chemistry, and Abraham Fuks in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences. McGill President and Vice-Chancellor Deep Saini, the Senate Chair, then moved to the Report of the Senate Steering Committee.
Saini then addressed the Senate regarding the protestors who smashed windows of the Leacock, McCall-MacBain Arts, Dawson Hall, and James Administration Buildings on the night of Feb. 5. Saini noted that “an anarchist group [...] with no known connection to McGill” has taken responsibility, stating they were protesting McGill’s refusal to divest from companies with ties to the state of Israel. The base repairs are expected to cost McGill hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“Even higher, though, is the price to our collective morale,” Saini said. “Our campus cannot continue to bear the brunt of outrage caused by a war half a world away.”
Saini then read two written statements from instructors whose classes were writ-
ing exams in Leacock when the protestors smashed the building’s windows before concluding that the university cannot make decisions “rooted in response to threats.” From there, he opened the floor to comments.
Arts Senator Anzhu Wei noted students’ frustration with a lack of communicable channels with McGill, particularly surrounding the university’s investments in companies connected to Israel. Wei highlighted that 78.7 per cent of voting students in the Fall 2023 referendum voted in favour of the Policy Against Genocide in Palestine, which called on McGill to divest from such companies. An injunction subsequently suspended the policy.
“I’m not saying that McGill should make any decisions in response to violence or intimidation,” Wei said. “I think where a lot of the frustration comes from is that disconnect between what students want and what students want to say and what they perceive McGill to be taking in as input.”
The Senate moved on to address McGill’s expected budget cuts as the result of a projected $15 million CAD deficit for the current fiscal year. Engineering Senator Nathaniel Quitoriano asked what role the Senate would have in determining how the cuts will be allocated given the Senate’s jurisdiction over academic matters at McGill. Saini responded that budget cuts are administrative in nature, but situations of
academic concern would be brought to the Senate, such as the hypothetical amalgamation of departments.
“Or, in an extreme scenario, there’s a suggestion to eliminate a faculty to save money,” Saini said.
The Senate then addressed questions from members. The first—submitted by Wei and Arts Senator Vivian Wright, concerning artificial intelligence and pedagogy—was deferred to Provost and Executive Vice-President (Academic) Christopher Manfredi, who was not present but provided a written response. Manfredi also answered the second question—submitted by Quitoriano and Member-atLarge Christa Scholtz—about the Report on the Policy on Indigenous Membership.
Student Senator Abe Berglas raised concerns regarding this report’s accessibility.
“It’s quite difficult, if you start from the main page of the Office of In -
digenous Initiatives [website], to find the report. I wouldn’t have been able to find it if I didn’t work backwards from the full hyperlink,” said Berglas.
Saini noted the feedback before turning Senators’ attention to the annual reports on the Action Plan to Address Anti-Black Racism, Student Life and Learning, the Committee on Student Services, the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Strategic Plan, and the EDI Committee.
The meeting ended with a confidential session regarding an honourary degree.
Moment of the Meeting
The two written statements from instructors—who were teaching and invigilating when the protestors smashed windows in Leacock—reported a climate of uncertainty, with one noting that some students screamed out that there was a shooting, while another described locking the doors and calling security.
Soundbite
“If you think that the university should have a role in thinking through these issues, such as the ones raised by BDS, I suggest that we just have an academic conference where we talk about these things [....] I think it would be wrong to not do things just because the [protestors who smashed the windows] want something.”
— Arts Senator Catherine Lu in response to Saini’s request for comments in regard to academic freedom.
Adrien Wing is also the Associate Dean for International and Comparative Law. ( Leena Morowa / Centre for Human Rights and Legal Pluralism)
The Tribune Explains: McGill’s ongoing construction projects
McGill says construction is not subject to operational budget c uts
Asher Kui Staff Writer
In August 2024, McGill Vice-President (Administration and Finance) Fabrice Labeau and Provost and Executive VicePresident (Academic) Christopher Manfredi announced the provincial government’s changes in its funding mechanism for university construction and renovation projects. As a result of these changes, new projects and all calls for tender for construction have been halted at McGill.
At McGill’s second budget town hall of the academic year on Feb. 7, President and Vice-Chancellor Deep Saini highlighted additional financial pressures the university is facing.
In light of the university’s projected financial deficit, The Tribune breaks down the funding processes behind current and future construction projects at McGill, and examines the timelines of these various projects.
What are some of the outstanding construction projects at McGill?
The McGill Downtown Campus’ Upper Main Road, otherwise known as the Y intersection, has been under construction for eight months. The project was outlined in McGill’s 2019 Master Plan, with construction beginning in
June 2024. The Master Plan set out short-, medium-, and long-term plans to improve the built environments of McGill’s Downtown and Macdonald campuses.
In a statement to The Tribune, the McGill Media Relations Office (MRO) wrote that although some construction projects may seem stalled, it can be due to the phasing of work and environmental factors.
“The Y intersection redesign is a project that involves ground infrastructure,” the MRO wrote. “Though some work can happen during frost periods, other phases must wait for warmer periods.”
The New Vic Project, which was first introduced in 2015, has been under construction since
2022. The project takes place in part on the grounds of the former Royal Victoria Hospital, whose Allen Memorial Institute was a site of the CIA’s MK-ULTRA mind control and chemical interrogation experiments. Since its inception, the Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers) have contested the project, arguing the site may hold unmarked graves. Despite the Mothers’ calls to halt construction and undertake a comprehensive investigation of the site, McGill maintains that the New Vic will be completed and inaugurated in 2028.
Other ongoing construction and renovation projects include the Strathcona Music Building, the Raymond Building on the Macdonald Campus, the New Residence Hall, and the McConnell Arena. Currently, there are over 60 ongoing or planned construction projects at the downtown campus.
Pending or new construction projects, like the Fiat Lux library project, have been suspended until further assessment.
How will cuts to McGill’s financial budget affect current and future construction projects?
The McGill Media Relations Office (MRO) wrote to the The Tribune, clarifying that construction projects are not affected by McGill’s financial budget.
“Capital projects like construction are not part of the operational budget. They have their own envelope,” the MRO wrote. “Government rules require that these remain totally separate.”
What factors may affect the timeline of McGill’s construction projects?
McGill construction projects require governmental approval as they are heavily funded by the provincial government of Quebec. With Labeau and Manfredi’s announcement on the government’s yearly cap on provincial funding, the university has to suspend new construction projects. In turn, this may delay the completion date of various construction projects.
In addition, any construction or renovation project in the Golden Square Mile must be approved by the Ministre du Patrimoine Pascale St-Onge due to the neighbourhood’s historical significance.
The Golden Square Mile, bordered by Avenue des Pins on the north, covers most of McGill’s Downtown Campus. Most construction projects on campus therefore require this second layer of approval, adding time to their completion.
For more information on McGill’s current construction projects, visit the McGill Interactive Accessible Network Map. For future construction projects, visit McGill’s Campus Planning and Development Team’s Master Plan.
referendum question selection
Councillors fear that Teaching Assistant positions will be slas hed amidst budget cuts PGSS councillors debate McGill’s proposed labour cuts and
Charlotte Hayes Arts & Entertainment Editor
The Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) of McGill University held its second council meeting of 2025 on Feb. 12. After approving the agenda, PGSS councillors moved on to discuss budget cuts, hiring freezes, and questions for the upcoming referendum.
The first discussion item was the potential impact of staff cuts in the Faculty of Arts on Teaching Assistant (TA) positions. This follows Provost and Executive Vice-President (Academic) Christopher Manfredi’s announcement that the university will cut 250-500 positions in response to a $15 million CAD budget deficit for the upcoming fiscal year.
A third-year PhD candidate in History, explained that an internal survey in the Graduate Department of History and Classical Studies found that proposed cuts to the teaching support budget would adversely impact graduate students’ education, scholarly research, and quality of life. They requested that the PGSS circulate the survey results to all PostGraduate Student Associations (PGSAs) in the Faculty of Arts and formally condemn the university’s proposed labour cuts.
All new business items involved adding questions to the upcoming PGSS referendum taking place April 7-14. One of the motions sought to add a referendum question
2025
on PGSS lobbying the government to make labour rights applicable to graduate research. In other words, it sought to add a question to the referendum to get the PGSS to ask the Government of Quebec to classify graduate research as a job, not just part of academic coursework.
This motion sparked a 27-minute debate among attendees. Opponents raised concerns that such a change could affect the tax status of grants and awards and put students’ education at risk if they failed to meet job requirements.
“Making the argument to consider grad students—Master’s and PhD students—completely as employees will completely [...] disregard the fact that [they] are still students,” PGSS External Affairs Officer Naga Thovinakere said.
Supporters argued that the broader PGSS membership should decide these debates through a referendum vote and with campaigning from ‘Vote Yes’ or ‘Vote No’ committees rather than just the 60 voting members present.
“The debates that we’re having right now and the nitty-gritty can be further dealt with [in the future],” Sheheryar Ahmed, External Affairs and PGSS representative from Graduate Islamic Studies, said. “Right now, we should focus on whether or not this should be a question that the general student body should have an opinion on.”
With 14 votes in favour and 18 against, the motion did not pass.
(“The
initiatives and projects. In fact, the FS for BACS is only
The council voted in favour of adding a question to the referendum on approving a new provider for online primary and mental health care for members. This referendum question stands to switch PGSS’s telemedical services from current provider Dialogue, for which members pay $45 CAD per year, to Digital Doctor, a service hosted by Maple, for $25 CAD per year, maintaining the current opt-out option.
In addition to Digital Doctor primary care, councillors also passed a motion to add a question to the referendum regarding mental health care under the service. This would be an additional $30 CAD per year fee that members could add to their Digital Doctor primary care subscription, allowing access to online mental health care; this motion also passed with an overwhelming majority.
and cannot yet fund initiatives and projects.
Moment of the Meeting
In its final motion of the night, the council voted to include a referendum question proposing a significant reduction to the PGSS Special Projects fee. If approved, the fee would drop from $4.60 CAD to $1.50 CAD, citing severe underuse. According to the motion, the fund has primarily served as a contingency for potential legal fees and website maintenance rather than supporting new projects in recent years.
Soundbite
“It’s useful [and] important to have access to some kind of virtual healthcare platform. [It is] just too bad that this requires us giving money to privatized healthcare, and it’s unfortunate that the state of our public healthcare system means that [private virtual healthcare] is something we want to do, which I and my members are opposed to [....] But I’m not opposed because we’re not going to fix the public healthcare system at PGSS [council].”
— School of Urban Planning PGSA representative Brenagh Rapoport, discussing the switch to Digital Doctor.
According to McGill, safeguarding the university’s heritage and legacy is still a priority as construction transforms the campus. ( Ruby Reimer / The Tribune )
The next PGSS council meeting will be held on March 12. (Drea Garcia Avila / The Tribune)
Editor-in-Chief
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Lip service won’t save lives amid the Indigenous domestic violence crisis
The Tribune Editorial Board
Continued from page 1.
However, the government, universities, and other institutions have taken minimal action to address its roots, and in some cases—such as McGill’s ongoing legal battles with the Kanien’keha:ka Kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers) over McGill’s New Vic Project— actively aggressed Indigenous communities.
The federal government’s initiatives to tackle the MMIWG2S+ crisis include a crisis line for those affected or in need of assistance, closely mirroring Quebec’s recent $900,000 CAD investment into a phone support line for Indigenous domestic violence survivors, an issue distinct from MMIWG2S+ yet deeply rooted in similar systemic challenges.
The funding will be directed by the Espace Femmes Premières Nations Québec (EFPNQ) and Femmes Autochtones du Québec to offer over-the-phone hotline services in French, English, and several Indigenous languages, through which survivors can seek help in instances of intimate
partner violence. Given that Indigenous women are about 3.5 times more likely to experience intimate partner violence than non-Indigenous women, this investment represents a crucial step.
However, 363 First Nation communities across Canada still lack standard cellular services, limiting the efficacy of this program and underscoring the need to address the deep roots of the Indigenous intimate partner violence crisis. Canada’s history of settler colonialism, the persistence of colonial dynamics in legal frameworks, and the residential school system, which only ended in 1996, form webs of intergenerational trauma and sow general distrust in Canadian systems among Indigenous peoples. With these previous and ongoing violences in mind, skepticism of a phone line and associated resources funded and distributed by the government is natural.
Given the chronic underfunding of resources for survivors of intimate partner violence, such as Quebec’s appalling shortage of shelter space that led to 3,300 women getting turned away last year, a phone line initiative may
Anoushka Okc Sports Editor
CONTRIBUTORS
The first time I expressed my desire to attend McGill, my enthusiasm was met with a warning: “You might get in, but it’s difficult to stay in.” They meant that although the university does not have the traditionally singledigit acceptance rates of American Ivy Leagues, the difficulty and low averages of many McGill courses make passing classes almost as difficult as getting into the university itself.
Courses taken early in one’s degree, like BIOL 200 (B- average in Fall 2022 and Fall 2023), MATH 140 (B- average in Fall 2023 and
well be part of the solution. However, immediate crisis response, although crucial, must be accompanied by preventative systemic change that tackles domestic violence before it occurs, effectively breaking intergenerational cycles. Additionally, it is imperative that solutions, including this hotline, are culturally- and communityinformed, possessing sensitivity to the diversity of individuals under the Indigenous umbrella and offering resources both onand off-reserve.
Given the Canadian Government’s 46.6 per cent rate of inaction on its proposed initiatives to tackle the MMIWG2S+ crisis in 2023, the government must transform its current approaches to supporting Indigenous survivors of domestic violence. High grocery prices in Indigenous communities (potentially worsened by U.S. tariffs), inadequate healthcare systems, and flaws in foster care systems merely scratch the surface of environmental conditions that stand in the way of what would otherwise be a terminable cycle of violence.
McGill, as both an educational and research
institution, has the responsibility to foster a generation of academics and future leaders who will fight for meaningful policy changes to end the crises and violence Indigenous communities face. The university can use its own endowment to fund research on Indigenous domestic abuse and create scholarship on antiIndigenous systemic racism— for example, by expanding the current Indigenous Studies Program to include a major. Additionally, McGill must serve as a model through its own reporting systems, which have been chronically undervalued and underfunded despite their cruciality. In the face of budget cuts, McGill must demonstrate continued commitment to supporting survivors of intimate partner violence, and to educate on Indigenous history and culture. Creating spaces on campus for discourse will mobilize the next generation to become involved in programming like the MMIWG2S+ march and vigil last week, fostering an engaged student body that will participate in community movements and initiatives to support Indigenous peoples.
McGill’s “gatekeeper courses” are against the spirit of education
C+ average in Winter 2024), and ECON 209 (B- average in Fall 2023 and Winter 2024, and C average in Summer 2024) have been notorious for their incredible difficulty, leaving a sense that the course is designed to “weed people out” of the program or school. This seems extremely counterintuitive, especially in a student’s first or second year when they are just starting to navigate university life and venture into new areas of study.
University degrees are structured so that students must learn the foundations of their desired program before moving on to upperlevel courses that will make use of those same concepts throughout the rest of their degree. The purpose of early-degree prerequisites should be to solidify students’ knowledge in preliminary concepts before they either specialize or proceed to upperlevel courses, not to discourage those who don’t immediately excel.
Yet, even for those who don’t get “weeded out”, the high-intensity nature of these foundational courses might weaken a student’s academic foundation. When a student spends a prerequisite course cramming and struggling to keep up rather
than thoroughly absorbing the information—especially if they are taking several of these types of courses at once—they will enter future classes without a strong enough grasp on the foundational material to succeed.
As such, these courses essentially “gatekeep” certain degree programs by demotivating students with intense and excessive requirements, leading them to transition to another program they might be less passionate about, or even to a different school entirely. Foundational courses at McGill seem to serve as a test instead of an opportunity to learn, be inspired, and build important skills that will be useful in upper-year courses. Such a system design fails to reward a desire to learn, meaning students end up neglecting courses that inspire them in favour of courses they know they will pass.
The feeling of working hard and still struggling academically has adverse mental health implications, especially for those with learning disabilities or for students who are struggling to adjust to university life. The first year of university requires coming to terms with newfound independence, residence
life, unfamiliar social situations, and, for some, even a new country and culture. Unnecessary academic pressure makes this transition even more difficult.
It is true that McGill is a worldclass educational institution and therefore needs to hold itself to certain academic standards, but the purpose of a university is to teach and uplift, not to hastily thin the crowd of firstyears probing a newfound interest in economics or biology. If courses prioritized supporting students to retain information and less on trying to “weed people out,” then a more accurate sample of people who would not thrive in a program or at the school would self-select. This is a much better alternative than discouraging students with a passion for their desired program by subjecting them to intense preliminary courses and low-grade averages. Instructors can and should encourage learning and retention without compromising academic rigour, and course material should be appropriate for the level of the course. McGill as an institution should be uplifting the students it accepts, rather than using difficult early-year classes to prey on their downfall.
Celine Li, Daniel Miksha, Ella Gomes, Jasjot Grewal Katie Lau TPS BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Alex Hawes Silva, Amelia Clark, Asher Kui, Annabella Lawlor, Bianca Sugunasiri, Bianca Tri, Daniel Miksha, Daniel Pyo, Ethan Kahn, Jamie Xie, Luken Castañeda Garces, Mahin Siddiki, Mairin Burke, Olivia Ardito, Reuben Noam, Samathar Senso, Sarah McDonald, Tamiyana Roemer, Zain Ahmed.
Aiqing Qiu, Anna Seger, Ariella Morgan, Eliot Loose, Lilly Guilbeault, Nour Khouri, Ruby Reimer, Ryan Dvorak.
Estee Seidler, Helene Saleska, Isla Vaillant, Jeanne Le Roux, Jenna Payette, Michelle Yankovsky, Val Muñoz Armen Erzingatzian, Simona Culotta
What’s up, doc? Discrimination against foreign doctors runs rampant amid Canada’s doctor shortage
Helene Saleska Contributor
Canada faces a dangerous shortage of medical doctors, leaving approximately five million Canadians without access to primary care providers in 2022. Simultaneously, internationally-trained physicians (ITPs) struggle to meet unnecessarily burdensome requirements to practice medicine in Canada.
Foreign-trained doctors must undergo eight cumbersome steps to obtain a Canadian medical license—as opposed to three for Canadian-trained doctors. These include the National Assessment Collaboration Objective Structured Clinical Examination, which is expensive, offered a few times a year, and only open to a small number of applicants. This is not required for doctors from the UK, Ireland, and Australia who can apply through the College of Family Physicians of Canada. ITPs must recomplete residency training, as most provinces do not recognize foreign clinical experience, despite many ITPS having been doctors for many years. This is particularly difficult considering only 10 per cent of residency spots in Canada are open for ITPs.
Although many provinces have introduced another quicker ITP-licensure pathway called the Practice Ready Assessment, this poses new challenges. All ITPs must fulfil a “Return of Service” requirement which mandates that physicians work in underserved areas
for a set amount of time after completing their residency—usually, rural towns and communities where access to healthcare is especially low—for many years to be eligible for a license. These obstacles act effectively as indenture agreements, while Canadians and Americans are not subject to the same restriction of movement and job freedom. They do not ensure doctors are actually qualified, disregard doctors’ potential need for additional training, and apply indiscriminately to ITPs, regardless of expertise, of which 78.1 per cent are from non-Western countries. This exposes how the inequitable licensing process lacks justification and disproportionately affects doctors of colour.
In 2020, a group of internationally trained physicians filed a human rights lawsuit— against the British Columbia Ministry of Health, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of B.C. and the University of British Columbia—for imposing barriers on foreigntrained doctors. They outlined how these discriminatory practices propagate a blatant double standard for ITPs, even when ITPs have the same level of qualification and often even more clinical experience. They argued that the province is blocking most immigrant physicians from pursuing their livelihood and lifelong profession.
Racialized doctors’ expertise is severely devalued, and systems that uphold standards of professionalism and expertise really often protect standards of whiteness in “prestigious” institutions. It indicates a deep lack of motivation in
Canadian governments to change mechanisms of white privilege and systemic racism, even when it is detrimental to the health and wellbeing of all Canadians.
Effective steps towards addressing Canada’s doctor shortage and the discrimination faced by ITPs would include increasing residency and professional positions for all doctors, with more spots open for ITPs, and lowering costs for examinations and re-training. Canada should also prioritize equality for all foreign workers by establishing more agreements—such as existing modified pathways for doctors from Ireland, the UK, and Australia—for already licensed doctors to skip re-examination and re-training, especially with doctors from Asian countries, where 62 per cent of ITPs immigrate from. Instead of forcing only foreign doctors to work in underserved areas with Return-of-Service contracts, Canada must provide incentives to all doctors to address community needs.
Only 41 per cent of internationally trained physicians practice medicine in Canada. (Zoe Lee / The Tribune)
Although Health Ministers and politicians promise action in the form of expanding open residency positions, making the licensing process quicker, and allowing ITPs to run
independent practices, these measures barely scratch the surface. They do not address the scale of the problem or the systemic inequality, racism, and xenophobia still embedded within the structure of the medical licensing process. Ironically, Canada remains committed to enforcing the myth that these qualified doctors must be vetted and barred from practice to such a high degree to protect Canadians’ “safety,” while millions of Canadians suffer from a lack of medical care. In order to obtain the necessary structural changes, there is a need for meaningful consideration of this deeply entrenched racist conflation between expertise and whiteness, as well as comprehensive disruption of the bureaucratic and political systems that uphold it.
TEDxMcGill makes waves by celebrating ripples Independent TEDx event features
Ella Paulin Managing Editor
TEDxMcGill brought together seven speakers and two performances by McGill students at their annual conference on Feb 9. TEDx events are similar to TED Talks, except that they are independently organized all over the world by community groups who have obtained a free license from TED to use their name and format. In turn, all of the speeches are uploaded to a centralized TEDxTalks library.
“I really love [TEDx’s] international community,” Katherine Squitieri, U3 Arts and Chair of TEDxMcGill said in an interview with The Tribune . “It’s a super strong network of people. You’re constantly in contact with other TEDx leaders, attendees, and members. I think it’s really inspiring to be able to see that so many people are working towards the same goal throughout the world.”
This year’s event featured lectures on a variety of topics, from equality in healthcare, to community-based AI literacy, to reflections on working with cancer patients in an oncology ward. The morning session ended with a performance by McGill’s Soulstice acappella group, and the afternoon kicked off with a dance number from United Groove.
climate science, comedy, and healthcare
“I hope that people will be inspired to learn more and explore more opportunities to connect with topics that maybe they don’t hear about as much,” Squitieri told The Tribune . “I think that’s the beauty of TEDx: The variety in talks and being able to get snapshots of things that people are so passionate about.”
The organizers for this year’s TEDxMcGill event asked presenters to incorporate the idea of “ripples” into their talks as a guiding conceptual thread, although it was
left to individual speakers to interpret the theme as they wanted.
“Ripples are a reminder that even small actions matter, often in the largest ways,”
Mikalah Martindale, U1 Arts and VP Communications of TEDxMcGill, said in her opening remarks.
“Our speakers today have carefully curated both ideas and stories to share with all of you of ripple effects in their lives, from comedy to human connection.”
Charlotte Spruzen, a PhD candidate at McGill whose presentation focused on a geological response to climate change denialism, began her talk with a very literal reference to the conference theme. As it turns out, physical ripples appear in various materials and along different time scales in the geological record.
“Ripples are fundamentally transient structures; ripples you see on the beach today will not be the same as the ripples you see the beach tomorrow, and that makes it, in my opinion, mind-blowing that the same structures of ripples can be preserved in rock for billions of years.”
Spruzen went on to describe how climate change deniers misconstrue evidence from the geological record—such as the fact that there have been large spikes in global temperature in the past—and she carefully demonstrated how those claims draw invalid conclusions from valid data.
Coming from a different angle, Michael Zegarelli, Vice-President of Project Management at Colliers Project Leaders, spoke about the wide-reaching ripple effects that can result from seemingly small changes to city design, such as improving parks, infrastructure, and gathering places. Charlie Scholey, U3 Engineering, took yet another perspective, talking about the positive impacts that comedy can have on people.
“If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that everyone has the ability to be funny. Everyone has a sense of humour,” Scholey said in his discussion. “They just need the tools to use it, and then they have to want to use those tools.”
“Modern ripples are everywhere [....] You can also find them in rivers, desert sands and lakes,” Spruzen said in her talk.
Exploring a passion for music outside of the School of Music Students share ways to play, sing, and record while pursuing a degree
Jeanne Le Roux Contributor
McGill brings together a wide variety of students, each with unique passions and creative interests. While some choose to pursue their art through a Music degree, others take a more technical course of study and explore their creativity in their off-hours. While it can be hard to find time for yourself between all the essays and exams, these students shared how they found a way to explore their passion for music on campus.
Brandon McLeod, U3 Engineering and a member of the rock and blues band One Dime Ride, opened up about his experience as bass guitarist, which started truly growing at McGill.
“McGill provides opportunities through venues like the Blues Pub and Gerts, which are very open to hosting live bands [....] The Plumbers’ Band Room, where the Blues Pub takes place, allows students to use their equipment for free as long as it’s being used inside the room,” McLeod explained in a written statement to The Tribune
On a similar note, DJ and mixer Nina Baby, U2 Arts, expressed that although her passion for mixing began when she was younger, she only started performing at McGill.
“My first gig ever was last year at Blues and I’ve mixed there multiple times since then,” she said. “It was really at McGill that I started, it really helped me and gave me so much visibility.”
She explained how she later played at Bar des Arts (BdA), Open Air Pub (OAP), and Gerts, making a bigger name for herself in the music scene.
Apart from performance opportunities, McGill also has a large selection of classes in the Music Program for students seeking to deepen their knowledge. For students like Arian Meh, U2 Arts and member of the band Blufin, McGill’s classes allow him to have a consistent time, place, and opportunity to explore music.
“University is so big and it’s easier to find like-minded people to share interests with [....] You can do a minor in Music or take electives in Music. McGill has plenty of systems in place to support a passion in music,” Meh said.
Baby similarly elaborated on how she applied for a minor in Musical Application of Technology, which focuses on music production.
“I hope to get in to be able to spend more time doing [music] and also spend time in studios and really learn how to do the production,” she said.
However, it is not always easy to take on a Music minor if you are already pursuing an unrelated major program. Balancing daily responsibilities, living independently, having a social life, and doing schoolwork can easily get overwhelming. Some therefore find ways to reduce their academic workload.
“I decided to take four classes instead
of five this year, so I have more time to do it all,” Baby expressed. “It’s still a challenge. I’m trying to learn how to manage.”
Hence, she advises other students pursuing music alongside another major at McGill to manage their time effectively.
“My advice for someone trying to accumulate experience at McGill would be planning ahead and well to gain time and prioritize what is important,” noted Baby.
McGill offers an exceptional environ-
ment for artistically driven students looking to cultivate their creative passions while partaking in the academic world. Whether you are a band member, a photographer, or an aspiring journalist, the school’s various venues, classes, and student-run initiatives are great opportunities to grow and learn.
“I play as many concerts and shows as I can; I write and record as much as I can,” Meh said. “School comes first, but it only lasts four years while a passion will stick all life.”
TEDxMcGill has been organized annually by McGill students since 2009. ( Tom Nguyen / TEDxMcGill )
The McGill Schulich School of Music is home to over 800 students with a shared passion for music. ( Ryan Dvorak / The Tribune )
The 2023 wildfire season in Canada shattered records in both scale and intensity. Starting in Alberta during late spring, wildfires rapidly spread across Quebec, Nova Scotia, the Northwest Territories, and British Columbia over the summer, becoming one of the most devastating fire seasons in Canada’s history.
“The area burned was approximately 15 million hectares, which was by far the highest since accurate fire mapping and record-keeping began in 1972. In fact, the area burned in 2023 was over twice that of the previous record in 1989,” Piyush Jain, a research scientist at the Canadian Forest Service in Natural Resources Canada, said in an interview with The Tribune
In total, about 6700 reported wildfire ignitions occurred in 2023, with 59 per cent of them believed to be caused by lightning strikes.
“If lightning strikes occur near a fire, then it is likely to be assigned as a lightning-caused fire. If there’s no lightning, then the fire is presumed to be human-caused,” Jain explained. “Human-caused fires do not mean that they were intentionally lit. Most of them occur accidentally or through industrial agricultural activity on the landscape.”
Lightning-caused wildfires accounted for 93 per cent of the total area burned, with just four days—May 13, May 27, June 1, and July 5—responsible for 30 per cent of the total annual area burned. Although human-caused fires only made up 7 per cent of the area burned, they caused a disproportionately large number of evacuations and destruction of structures because they generally started close to populated areas.
Canada’s escalating wildfire crisis is driven by a combination of climate change,
ing Canadian forests more prone to frequent fires.
According to Jain, climate change contributes to longer and more intense fire seasons by creating hotter and drier conditions, which increase the flammability of forests. Additionally, climate change has contributed to the spread of invasive species such as the pine beetle, which has destroyed vast areas of trees. The dead trees burn more easily since they’re drier, turning forests into readily ignitable fuel for wildfires.
Understanding record-breaking
What were the causes of our worst wildfire
Written by K. Coco Technology Editor and
built on the outskirts of these cities, where it tends to be more affordable.”
“Climate change significantly increased the likelihood of large-scale burn areas across most of Canada, and the likelihood was over twice as high in the east, such as Quebec, and southwest, such as British Columbia,” Jain noted.
Taken together, these changes in weather patterns and ecosystem dynamics suggest that wildfires will become a year-round threat, with municipalities facing increasingly severe fires, including those outside of traditional fire seasons.
The Role of Forest Management and Urban Expansion
Alongside changing climate conditions, forest management practices have also contributed to wildfire risks. When they occur at normal levels, wildfires are actually beneficial for forest ecosystems. When trees like pines and spruces burn, they release seeds, return nutrients to the soil, and restart the cycle of forest growth. This natural process helps thin out the buildup of dry forest fuels, such as twigs, leaves, brush, trees, and deadwood.
However, Canadian and American forest management has adopted fire exclusion— the practice of actively excluding any fire from a specific area—which has disrupted this cycle of smaller burns. As a result, when fires do occur, they burn with greater inten-
Moreover, urban sprawl into the wildland-urban interface—areas on the outskirts of communities where urban development meets forested regions—has further increased wildfire risk. Placing homes and infrastructure directly next to natural vegetation creates more potential ignition points from human activity. This close proximity to wildlands increases the likelihood of wildfires impacting homes and communities, resulting in greater damage to property and lives when a fire does occur.
“There are numerous factors that are driving the migration of people into the wildland-urban interface, but a lot of it has to do with housing affordability,” said Clare Milliken, a McGill alumnus with a Masters of Urban Planning, in an interview with The Tribune. “Instead of building cities up in the middle, new housing is often
In addition to affordability, the appeal of living among nature and wildlife has driven people to these high-risk areas.
“People are drawn to living among wildlife and trails, particularly in Western Canada,” Milliken said. “The lifestyle is attractive to people.”
Despite the heightened wildfire risk in the wildland-urban interface, approximately 13 per cent of the Canadian population lived in the wildland-urban interface as of 2021. Efforts to limit this expansion often face resistance, driven by factors such as Canada’s ongoing housing crisis and the urgent demand for rapid housing development.
Environmental and Health Impacts
Unlike low-intensity fires that may promote nutrient recycling in ecosystems, intense fires destroy soil quality and reduce its ability to retain water. This damage leads to long-term ecological problems and continues a vicious cycle where forested areas are even more susceptible to future fires. Moreover, wildfires can dramatically alter ecosystems, resulting in habitat loss for species such as the boreal woodland caribou.
In terms of water security, wildfires alter natural water flow and damage aquatic habitats, leading to water contamination from excess nutrients, sediments, and heavy metals. This can pose challenges for water treatment facilities processing drinking water for safe human use. The increased load of contaminants can also overwhelm treatment plants, raising the risk of treatment failures.
Furthermore, common post-fire events such as flash floods and debris flows can significantly affect water quality and infrastructure. In the long term, increased wildfire activity and extreme weather events may threaten the capacity of watersheds to consistently supply clean water to communities and ecosystems.
On a global scale, the burning of biomass—a renewable energy source that comes from organic materials like plants and animals—during wildfires significantly contributes to atmospheric carbon dioxide
Understanding Canada’s wildfires in 2023
causes and consequences wildfire season to date?
Coco Zhang, Science & and Designed by Zoe Lee
levels, further exacerbating climate change.
“The amount of biomass burned was five times more than previously, and aboveground biomass that was burned is directly related to carbon emissions,” said Flavie Pelletier, a PhD student in McGill’s Department of Natural Resource Sciences, in an interview with The Tribune
Notably, the wildfires of 2023 alone produced the highest carbon emissions on record for Canada, accounting for 23 per cent of the world’s total carbon emissions.
“Forests are basically reservoirs of carbon. Trees absorb carbon from the atmosphere as they grow, but they can also emit carbon, meaning the carbon that was stored in the tree is being released back into the atmosphere,” explained Brendan Byrne, a senior data scientist at Qube Technologies, in an interview with The Tribune. “Our study found that the amount of carbon emissions from the 2023 Canadian wildfire season was 647 teragrams, which was much higher than previous years.”
These emissions are comparable to the total annual emissions of India—the third-largest contributor to global carbon emissions—and play a significant role in global warming, which in turn intensifies the risk of future wildfires, creating a positive feedback loop.
The health impacts of wildfires are equally concerning. Smoke from the fires, which can travel vast distances, led to hazardous air quality across Canada and beyond. In 2023, smoke from fires in Northern Quebec blanketed New York City, temporarily giving the city the worst air quality in the world.
“The summer of 2023 was very smoky. People across Canada experienced above-average levels of smoke, and this is particularly true in the Northwest Territories, British Columbia, Alberta, and Quebec, because of their proximity to the fires,” Jain said.
Vulnerable populations, including the elderly and people with pre-existing conditions such as asthma, face heightened risks. Additionally, poor air quality forces people to stay indoors, limiting outdoor activities.
Beyond physical health, the emotional toll on individuals—especially those in Indigenous communities—has been pro-
found.
“The impact of wildfires on mental health is often overlooked. These fires have frequently caused mass evacuations. The highest amount of evacuations happens in Indigenous communities, which are usually remote. The psychosocial impact of having to be evacuated from your community almost yearly is a huge deal,” Milliken explained. “Because of the [extreme nature] of the events, emergency staff working in high-pressure situations also face a ton of burnout.”
Economic Impact
The national expenditure on wildland fire protection has surpassed $1 billion CAD annually for six of the past 10 years, with costs increasing by approximately $150 million CAD per decade since 1970. These costs cover direct response and recovery efforts, including property damage, evacuations, and suppression efforts, as well as indirect costs such as business closures and unemployment.
Individual wildfires can cause extensive damage, with some fires destroying hundreds or even thousands of buildings, leading to multi-billion-dollar costs in both direct and indirect damages. The 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire alone cost the Canadian government an estimated $9 billion CAD, making it the nation’s most expensive natural disaster and largest evacuation on record.
The Path Forward
Canada’s 2023 wildfire season starkly illustrates the challenges posed by climate change and urban sprawl, underscoring the urgent need for action to reduce the risk and impact of future wildfires.
“Climate models predict that fire weath er in Canada will become more extreme,” Jain said. “However, this is highly variable. It does not mean every year will be worse than the last, but it does suggest a general upward trend in the frequency and intensi ty of fires on the landscape.”
Although we cannot prevent wildfires entirely, the key lies in better prepared ness, enhanced response strategies, and long-term prevention efforts. One posi tive step forward is the Canadian government’s increased funding for initiatives directly related to wildfire management. Recent investments in fire detection technology, early warning systems, and firefighting equipment aim to im prove re sponse times
and reduce long-term damage.
“Knowing what happens in almost real-time allows you to intervene sooner. If we know an area has burned, we can likely cut and salvage trees in areas of low burn severity [more promptly]. This is crucial for wildlife conservation purposes,” Pelletier said.
These investments in firefighting infrastructure are critical for both protecting communities and conserving the natural environment.
However, the current home insurance system in high-risk areas is becoming increasingly unsustainable. As wildfires grow more frequent and severe, insurance premiums for homeowners in fire-prone regions are expected to rise sharply, making coverage unaffordable for many. Therefore, governments and insurers must explore innovative solutions, such as creating dedicated wildfire insurance funds or offering incentives for fire-resistant building practices, to ensure residents in high-risk areas are adequately protected without facing prohibitive costs.
In addition to addressing immediate wildfire risks, Canada must rethink land-use policies, particularly in the wildland-urban interface. Sustainable urban planning can help limit the expansion of human settlements into fire-prone areas, reducing the exposure of homes and infrastructure to wildfires. Meanwhile, forest management strategies should focus on restoring the natural fire cycle, including prescribed burns—intentionally lit, small, controlled fires—to mitigate wildfire risks and reduce the intensity of future wildfires.
While the path forward is challenging, it is clear that proactive measures, such as increased funding for wildfire infrastructure,
Dollars and sense: The cheapest places to grab lunch near campus
How to satisfy your between-class cravings on a budget
Bianca Tri Staff Writer
While many students choose to meal-prep for the week, weekends often topple the best-laid plans of mice and men. We’ve all had the experience of arriving on campus Monday morning with an empty lunch box and a growling stomach. What are the best options to satiate your midday cravings on a budget? The Tribune took a walk around the neighbourhood to find meal deals within a 10-minute radius.
Free option: Midnight Kitchen
The Midnight Kitchen is a non-profit worker- and volunteer-run collective that serves free lunches in the University Centre, typically at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Their food is vegan and always includes a dessert, often made with produce grown in their community garden. You have to bring your own container and utensils if you want to pick up a meal, and remember to get there early as the services are limited.
$0-$5 CAD options: The Yellow Door, Japote, and McGill metro finds
The Yellow Door (3625 Aylmer Ave) is a non-profit whose mission is to reduce social isolation of vulnerable groups in downtown Montreal. They run the Rabbit Hole Lunch, offering vegan meals for under $5 CAD every Friday at 12:00 p.m.. Their mains typically cost $3 CAD, and $1 CAD for dessert. You are encouraged to bring your own containers, but can also use their plates and utensils (which you have to wash afterwards). The service is cash-only, and you can dine in their basement.
Japote is a family-owned fast food restaurant located on the concourse level of 1000 Rue Sherbrooke O. You can grab a homestyle curry there for the small price of $6 CAD. Remember to bring lunch money, because it’s cash only, and to prepare for a wait.
Along the same line, Lee N Kim (located inside of the McGill metro station) and Marché Eden (3575 Parc Ave) both sell onigiri at around $4 CAD a piece. These balls of rice wrapped in seaweed are filling snacks, sure to keep you going through a long day. Also located inside the McGill metro is Pizza Soleil, where you can get a beef patty and a drink for under $5 CAD.
Vinh’s Café (Genome Building and Strathcona Music Building) offers Vietnamese food, with their classic bánh mì for about $8 CAD.
McGill Pizza (625 Rue Milton) is permanently part of the McGill gastronomic canon. Don’t let their expensive main plates fool you—their two-slice combo of pizza goes for $8.75 CAD, perfect for a light lunch. Or, you can get one slice with a side of fries, for $8.50 CAD.
Opiano (1115 Rue Sherbrooke O) is located where the famous Super Sandwich used to be. This Korean spot offers kimbap from $6.50-$8 CAD, depending on whether you choose a tuna, beef, or regular roll. They also sell eight fried dumplings for $9 CAD. If you’re more in the $10-$15 CAD range, their curry plates are a good bang for your buck, typically including two pieces of fried meat, rice, salad, and a miso soup.
If you’re looking for a quick bite with-
out leaving campus, G Store in McConnell is your spot for lunch on the go. They sell wraps for $6 CAD, though these can sell out during the day if you don’t buy one early. The wraps are from Ô Four, a Lebanese restaurant and bakery located on Avenue du Parc.
A satiating meal for $10-$15 CAD: Nouilles Zhonghua
Nouilles Zhonghua (908 Rue Sherbrooke O) is an excellent spot for a filling bowl of noodles. A small bowl of their beef special is
$14.99 CAD, though you can grab their small combos such as their cold noodles with a Chinese hamburger for around $12 CAD (or, you can just get a Chinese hamburger for about $7 CAD).
Next time you’re feeling snackish, just remember that there are many options around! Lunch on campus does not have to cost you $20 CAD—it doesn’t even have to cost you $5. Just remember to bring cash wherever you go, and support these local spots to ensure students have accessible eats in the future.
Super Sandwich, which sold sub sandwiches for as little as $2.75 CAD, was rumoured to be moving to the SSMU cafeteria after closing in 2023, but this has yet to come to fruition. ( Zoe Lee / The Tribune )
Reclaiming space: Celebrating Indigenous artistry at McGill
Indigenous artists take the stage in McGill’s SSMU ballroom for a night of art, teaching and community building
Isla Vaillant Contributor
Art has always offered new ways of seeing, providing glimpses into diverse worldviews and creating futures that we can strive to inhabit. On the evening of Feb. 7, the University Centre Ballroom saw a group of artists, students, and educators interrogating these multiform possibilities, recognizing the potential for art to be a reclamation of space, a form of liberation, a medicine, and an education. Indigenization and Art, an event hosted by the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) celebrated Indigenous artists and identities, casting the spotlight on Zoe Gesaset-Gloqowej Lee (Chinese-Mi’kmaq), Jenni Makahnouk (Anishinaabe), and Chelazon Leroux (Dene First Nation) to share their teachings and art with the McGill community.
The room was gently abustle with students, milling amongst a host of local Indigenous art vendors. Monalisa Simon (Inuk), owner of Oddly Monalisa Creations, designs cute, concealable selfdefence tools for women, responding to the crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit People across Canada and the U.S.. While the crisis demands systemic change rather than placing responsibility on individuals to protect themselves, Simon responds with practical creativity, imbuing self-defence with elements of individuality and empowerment. A table nearby summoned a large crowd with their bucket of soapstone, encouraging guests to try carving.
People sat on the floor, hands busy as they chatted amicably with representatives from Atelier Tlachiuak, a grassroots collective of Indigenous artists, the majority of whom are Inuit, in Tiohtià:ke. The collective provided space for unhoused artists and promoted “art’s power to heal, unite, and drive social change.”
The night would not be complete without its speakers, interviewed by Raymond Jordan Johnson-Brown (Arts, U3)—a social media personality, and Gender, Sexuality, Feminist and Social Justice Studies (GSFS) student at McGill. Institutions “work for Indigenous communities but not often with them,” Johnson-Brown remarked. He saw this gathering as an opportunity for further dialogue and collaboration between Indigenous and settler folks, facilitated by art.
On McGill’s campus, where many of the night’s contributors do not see themselves or their communities reflected, art can operate as a potent method to reclaim space through visibility, serving as an assertion of presence, permanence, and continuity. For Lee, designer, muralist, and McGill undergraduate student, her artwork—in this case, a mural intended for the SSMU lobby—is a recognition of Indigenous presence within the McGill community. Lee’s practice investigates legacy and self-recognition, blending influences from the people she loves and the aesthetics which inspire her such as Pinterest art and risograph printing. The mural will depict “traditional medicines from across the country” such as sweetgrass, cedar, and Saskatoon berries.
The second speaker was Jenni Makahnouk, an Anishinaabekwe beader and McGill’s first Anishinaabekwe valedictorian. Makahnouk critiqued the institution’s emphasis on French and English languages, stating she feels represented by neither. She seeks to uplift Ojibwe and other Algonquin languages, using beading as a methodology to explore the ties between language and craft. For Makahnouk, beading is both an artistic and educational practice—one that resists colonial linguistic structures while fostering cultural healing. She reminds the audience that “Indigenous art is still art,” deserving recognition as “luxury goods” rather than pigeonholed as simple handicrafts.
The grand finale of the evening was carried out by the dazzling Chelazon Leroux: Drag artist, comedian, and educator. Leroux views drag as a means of storytelling, humour, and healing—integral practices for many Indigenous communities. Raised in Treaty 8 Territory, Fond Du Lac First Nation, they describe drag as a “superhero” persona that helped them navigate intergenerational trauma and explore their TwoSpirit identity, which they describe as being “the blessing of carrying both the feminine and masculine spirits.” When explaining that many Indigenous worldviews are defined by one’s role in supporting their community, Leroux said that being Two-Spirit is a responsibility to bridge the genders, providing a third way to serve the community. Leroux
closed the night with a vivacious performance, their shimmering hair flashing as they danced to Doechii. The evening highlighted art’s power to reclaim space, challenge institutionalized erasure, and foster connection—affirming Indigenous presence and creativity as integral to the McGill community.
Zoe Gesaset-Gloqowej Lee is a Design Editor at The Tribune. Though quoted, she was not involved in the editing or publication of this article.
The proceeds of the evening go to the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal. (Shayne Madelaine Turner / @shotby.shayne on Instagram)
Mia Helfrich Design Editor
Joyce Wieland stares with dots of navy for eyes, a dash of white for a nose, and no mouth. She is pale and faceless, yet her portrait seems to pose defiantly. She is challenging us.
Heart On—which opened at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA) on Feb. 8—commemorates Joyce Wieland, a Canadian filmmaker and artist. Her work is deeply political and feminist, spanning a wide array of mediums. Oil paintings, cardboard collages, plastics, photography, films, and quilts line the large stone halls of the MMFA’s Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion.
“Visitors will discover the beauty of her sensational paintings, the layered wit of her textile pieces, and the eloquence of her experimental films,” writes Anne Grace, Curator of Modern Art at the MMFA, in the exhibition press release.
Every piece in the exhibit draws a narrative as Wieland blends elements of animation, comics, and storyboarding. The foundations of her distinctive visual storytelling begin in the first room, with collage. The first few rooms showcase her early works of the late 50s and early 60s, including the faceless self-portrait, Myself (1958). Within this first room, the cardboard collages are experimental and full of wonder. It feels as if she was simply using the materials she had on hand, imbuing the work with a nostalgic and homemade quality. Her paintings in the first room are defined by bold-coloured backgrounds,
wide strokes, and a spread of smaller illustrations and symbols.
Even in her paintings, she incorporates collage: Each illustration could work as a standalone symbol, yet she combines it with others within the same painting. In March on Washington (1963), linked rings, a blackand-white heart, a Confederate flag, and a shirt emblazoned with “FREEDOM NOW,” among other symbols, recount both the tension and unity during the civil rights movement in the United States. Viewers can move their eyes through each symbol on the canvas and see a narrative unfold about the fight for racial solidarity.
She pushes further into storyboarding with the painting Untitled (Sinking Liner) (1963), which breaks the canvas into four sections like a comic and shows each frame of a sinking ship. She calls these “filmic paintings” as they mirror the films projected alongside the tangible displays. The films seem to tie together each element of storytelling as if each painting and collage culminated into the visuals of her films. The museum also incorporates her photography, many of them displayed on monochromatic film rolls, as if the visitor is given a peek behind the scenes, into her camera itself.
“With her seductive wit and piercing intelligence, Joyce Wieland asked us all to do better, to care more,” writes Georgiana Uhlyarik, Fredrik S. Eaton Curator of Canadian Art at the Art Gallery of Ontario, in the exhibition press release.
Wieland cements her political focus with the collection of her quilts, embroidery,
and plastic artwork. She explores Canadian identity with O Canada (1970), a series of embroidered women’s lips mouthing the newly official national anthem. The embroidery brilliantly acts as an animation of singing the anthem as each embroidered lip acts as a frame that visitors can see the song being sung when their eyes move across the fabric. Many of her pieces are also made of plastic, which often feature a collage of brightly coloured plastic ‘pillows’ that recreate movie frames, flags, and a mirror.
As visitors walk through the exhibition, the range of experimental mediums may seem scattered, lacking a centralized identity. Yet, Wieland’s multiple mediums, coupled with the curators’ choice to feature them all, challenge the idea that artists must stick to one form to craft their artistic identity. The camera roll alongside the finished films defy what it means to present a complete project as the plot of artistic development is what is celebrated. Her radical
switches from painting to film to plastic mirror the revolutionary political changes of the 60s and 70s. Wieland may have started faceless, but her features are fleshed out with each storyboard, activist painting, film, and photo. Heart On was curated by Anne Grace and Georgiana Uhlyarick. Tickets are available online until May 4.
When there are no words Gentle words for heavy hearts
Jamie Xie Staff Writer
Continued from page one.
The exhibit examines evolving perspectives across four primary chronological periods—Confederation to World War 1, World War I to the Quiet Revolution, the Quiet Revolution to the end of the millennium and contemporary times—tracing Quebec’s transition from a predominantly French Catholic society to an increasingly secular, multicultural one through our popular understanding of loss.
Originating out of necessity, in a time when letters were the primary means of remote communication, sympathy cards were initially responses to funeral invitations and simple tokens to not yet provide support but rather acknowledge grief in a time where there are no words. Often featuring black motifs and restrained text, the cards offered support without having to mention the effectively unmentionable topics of death directly, exercising sensitive restraint and respect through euphemism. Through depictions of angels and written phrases such as “pray for us and the souls of purgatory,” the cards from this era reflect the Catholic overtones that domi-
nated society, filtering into every aspect of life—even death.
From World War I through the Quiet Revolution, an “enlightened” perspective on death emerged. Sympathy cards from this period embraced minimalist pastel palettes and imagery intertwining religion and nature—gardens, gates—reframing death as a journey rather than a final departure. Handwritten cards added a personal touch but mostly echoed printed text, reinforcing tradition over individuality.
The Quiet Revolution marked one of Quebec’s most profound cultural shifts, particularly in its ever-growing detachment from Catholicism. As Quebec secularized, skepticism of the Church grew. With rising resentment, home wakes declined, and sympathy cards shifted from funeral invitations to secular expressions of empathy. By the end of the millennium, sympathy cards had begun to trade out religious aspects for themes of nature and individualist spirituality.
With an understanding shaped by recent scientific advancements, death is increasingly interpreted through the contemporary lens as a medical phenomenon. Sympathy cards can come from healthcare and ICU workers, reaching out to patients and their families. With personalized handwritten messages and cursive fonts mimicking the intimacy of handwriting, these cards reflect the highly individualized nature of loss. The collection’s inclusion of many more English cards than in earlier periods also reflects the changing demo-
graphics of Quebec.
In this time, we begin to reevaluate our understanding of loss, particularly the nonlinear, decentralized grief which affects not just family members but everyone who was close to the deceased. When a husband dies he leaves his wife a widow, but what is there to be said about the silently bereaved—such as the mourning of miscarriages, stillbirths, pets, ex-partners, or the passing of friends and coworkers? When society fails to acknowledge grief, is it made any less real?
“There is a poem by Kenneth Patchen,” said Rick Fraser, Director of the Maude Abbott Medical Museum in an interview with The Tribune. “‘There are so many little dyings that it doesn’t matter which of them is death.’ I think he was expressing that we lose things all the time. There are little deaths and there are big deaths and we must pay attention to each of them because they are all a part of our lives.”
An exhibit that captures the quiet weight of grief, When There Are No Words gives voice to what words often fail to express. Quebec’s sympathy cards are not relics of the past—they are privileged living artifacts that evolve alongside us. They portray Québécois sympathy in its most intimate form. As the exhibit reminds us all—sometimes it really is the thought that counts.
When There Are No Words is on view at the Osler Library until Mar. 30.
Preserving music on principle: How Habibi Funk sets the gold standard
Reissue labels must commit to contextualization
Estee Seidler Contributor
As a radio host on CKUT 90.3 FM, a non-profit, campus and community radio station based at McGill, I constantly scour the internet for obscure tracks to fill the airwaves. In November, I had the pleasure of co-hosting CKUT’s World Skip the Beat alongside my friends Monique and Isla, where we curated and exchanged our favourite world music tracks—Monique bringing in the vibrant Sudanese Jazz of Sharhabil Ahmed and I the melancholic Lebanese folk of Roger Fakhr. The common denominator? Habibi Funk, a Berlin-based label dedicated to remastering and redistributing 1970s and 80s music from the Middle East and North Africa. Blending influences of Afro-American funk, Congolese Soukos, and Iranian folk, Habibi Funk releases feel like flipping through your parent’s old vinyl collection—nostalgic, timeless, and effortlessly danceable.
Reissue labels like Habibi Funk are not a new phenomenon but have gained significant attention in the music industry over the past decade. Unlike traditional labels, which focus on new releases, reissue labels specialize in acquiring, licensing and distributing pre-existing recordings. While labels such as Numero Group and Light in the Attic Records reissue local American artists, others such as Analog Africa and Time Capsule venture beyond do-
mestic borders, bringing retro international sounds to contemporary audiences. When guided by fair compensation, transparency, and ethical licensing agreements, reissue labels—such as Habibi Funk—can be powerful promoters for the distribution and diversification of ‘lost’ sounds. However, if reissue labels are to profit from past artistry, they must also commit to thorough contextualization. Habibi Funk sets the standard for ethical reissuing, forging a path for an expanding market in the music industry.
Reissue labels serve as both cultural archivists and commercial enterprises, capturing and capitalizing on past moments in music history. Habibi Funk 002, for instance, captures the explosive Moroccan punk of Al Zman Saib, and Habibi Funk 024 the Libyan Reggae of Ibrahim Hesnawai. However, the rise of reissues raises a series of ethical concerns. The work of reissue labels comes with a duty to preserve the music’s integrity and provide proper historical context, offering insights into musical influences, social impact and artist’s legacies. These concerns are particularly poignant when representing artists from developing countries, where the line between preservation and exploitation can be thin.
In a recent interview, Jannis Sturtz, DJ and founder of Habibi Funk, openly acknowledges colonial dynamics and his positionality as a German label executive profiting from Middle Eastern and North African music.
Acutely aware not to reproduce patterns of colonial economic and cultural exchange, Sturtz works directly with artists and their families and ensures complete transparency throughout the reissue process. Habibi Funk also splits profits 50/50 with artists—a remarkably high rate for the industry—and holds only temporary licenses, allowing artists to retain master ownership. In its promotional materials, the label rejects terms like “discovery” as it perpetuates a mindset of cultural superiority and implies that the music was completely unknown prior to their encounter.
Kay Suzuki of Time Capsule expresses concern with labels featuring incredible music while keeping artists shrouded in mystery and devoid of historical detail. With this in mind, Habibi Funk includes a booklet of rare photos, liner notes, and interview transcripts with every LP, offering insight into the artist’s life and the historical climate of the music’s production. Though booklets come only with vinyl purchases, extensive research is available on the label’s free Bandcamp.
As the reissue market expands, ethical concerns persist. Reissue labels must find a way to balance between commercial success and responsible reissuing, specifically in a non-Western context. Habibi Funk may well be setting a new standard for reissue labels—but its existence raises some important considerations. With the dissemination
of music through streaming services and DJs across the globe, how can reissue labels guarantee proper contextualization and compensation for artists? And if informational booklets are limited to vinyl purchases, just how accessible and effective are they? The reissue industry cannot afford to treat preservation as a mere aesthetic—it must be a principle. While Habibi Funk is leading the charge, it’s up to the entire industry to follow suit.
Etsy searches for custom sympathy cards from Mar 1 to Apr. 17 of 2020 more than doubled from the year before. (Anna Seger / The Tribune)
Alongside running his other label, Jakarta Records (home of Mura Masa and Kaytranada), Jannis Sturtz still finds time to dig for records for his reissue label, Habibi Funk. (Ariella Morgan / The Tribune)
Propelled by their defence, Eagles soar to victory in Super Bowl LIX
Philadelphia spoils Kansas City’s chance at historic “three-peat”
Ethan Kahn Staff Writer
It is said that you either die a hero, or live long enough to see yourself become a villain. This is the situation the Kansas City Chiefs found themselves in leading up to Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans. Once a group led by a young, relatively unknown quarterback named Patrick Mahomes going up against the decades-long dynasty of the New England Patriots, the Chiefs now find themselves on the other end of the spectrum. That young quarterback is now a two-time league MVP, leading a team that has won three out of the past five championships. The Chiefs were the National Football League (NFL)’s version of Star Wars’ Galactic Empire—a powerful regime on a quest to conquer the league yet again. This year, Kansas City was trying to do something unprecedented: Win three Super Bowls in a row.
In an era where the players’ lives off the field can take the forefront (especially star tight end Travis Kelce’s relationship with musical superstar Taylor Swift), the Chiefs’ regular season trudged along without much fanfare. While they won an American Football Conference (AFC)best 15 games across the regular season, questions arose about their offence, as they never managed to score 30 or more points in a game. This problem was exacerbated against the Eagles’ number-one-
ranked defence, who had given opposing offensive lineups problems throughout the year.
Philadelphia had generated 1.9 turnovers per game in the 2024 regular season—a league-best— and its defence had only given up 278 yards per game in the 2024 regular season—33 yards fewer than the second-place Tennessee Titans. To put this in perspective, the gap between first and second in this statistic was as large as the gap between second and 23rd ranked teams. The Eagles also had a little extra motivation as Kansas City had bested them in Super Bowl LVII two years prior. The unstoppable force of the Chiefs and their dynastic power would meet the immovable object of Philadelphia’s staunch defence on Feb. 9 in New Orleans.
Fans expecting a back-and-forth battle much like the first Super Bowl meeting between the two squads were quickly corrected. From the outset of the game, the Kansas City offence seemed completely outmatched by the Eagles’ defence. Mahomes was sacked six times throughout the game, the highest total of his career. Amazingly, Philadelphia did not blitz a single time in the game. They were able to generate pressure on the quarterback through simple three- or four-man pass rush schemes. Mahomes also threw two picks, including a first-half pick-six to rookie cornerback Cooper DeJean (on his birthday no less), which made the score 17-0 and swung the momentum of the
game decisively in the Eagles’ favour. Mahomes finished the first half with a career-low 33 yards and a paltry 43 per cent completion rate.
When Eagles quarterback and eventual Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts threw a 46-yard laser to DeVonta Smith for a touchdown to make it 34-0, the game was all but over. Two consolation touchdown catches from Chiefs rookie wideout Xavier Worthy, who finished with 157 yards, did nothing to sway the end result. The Eagles were so confident that they gave Head Coach Nick Sirianni a celebratory “Gatorade bath” with three minutes left in the fourth quarter.
The Chiefs’ offensive problems, which had popped up throughout the regular season, emerged at the worst time possible. Their inability to move the ball down the field and generate points, coupled with their relative ineffectiveness on the defensive side, spelled di -
saster and the end of their hunt for a historic three-peat.
The Eagles now face some big decisions to make in the offseason, as multiple key defensive players will be hitting the free agency market looking for the big payday they deserve, including defensive end Josh Sweat and linebacker Zack Baun. As the green and white confetti fell in New Orleans, however, this was the last thing on anyone’s mind. For now, the Eagles and their fans can revel in the fact that they are Super Bowl champions.
Team USA dominates Finland 6-1 at the 4 Nations Face-Off
A deep dive into the highly anticipated matchup
Alex Hawes Silva Staff Writer
On Thursday, Feb. 13, Team USA defeated Finland in a 6-1 victory in the 4 Nations Face-Off at Montreal’s Bell Centre. The tournament—featuring top National Hockey League players from the U.S., Canada, Finland, and Sweden—is a showcase of elite international hockey. It also serves
as a preview for next year’s Winter Olympics in Northern Italy, giving fans an exciting sneak peek of what’s to come.
In the first period, Finland set the pace early against the U.S., with defenseman Henri Jokiharju putting the first point on the board. This lead was cut short when left winger Brady Tkachuk struck next, tying the game for the Americans with a quick goal. Finland struggled to match the U.S.’s intensity, spending much of the remaining period defending their own zone. Goaltender Juuse Saros was under heavy pressure, making several key saves to keep Finland in the game.
Finland controlled much of the second period, fending off Team USA’s shot attempts for the first nine minutes. Finland’s strong defence limited the U.S.’s offensive chances as the Americans looked to gain more puck possession. Despite Finland’s defensive skills, the U.S. began making more advances late in the period. Left winger Matt Boldy deflected a shot right past Saros, giving Team USA a 2-1 lead heading into the final period.
In the third period,
Team USA closed down all competition with Finland in a quick turnover. Leading 2-1 at the start of the third period, the U.S. took advantage of a power play just 15 seconds in, as right wingman Matthew Tkachuk’s shot deflected off a defender’s stick and past the Finnish goalie. A mere 11 seconds later, left winger Jake Guentzel extended the lead to 4-1, finishing with a strong shot from the left circle.
At this point in the game, there was a noticeable shift in the crowd’s energy. There was an outpour of booing and nagging from fans, solely directed at Team USA thus far in the game. A surprising number of fans were cheering for Finland, despite being so far from home. However, spectators’ loyalties switched as the Americans began to stack up goals. “USA” chants slowly rippled through the crowd as people inevitably jumped on the winning team bandwagon.
At 3:00 into the third period, Brady Tkachuk scored his second goal of the game, just before his brother, Matthew Tkachuk, sealed the 6-1 victory with another power-play goal at 11:13. An unexpected four-goal outburst secured the win for Team USA, keeping them as a top contender in the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The game had its share of scrappy moments and physicality, with players exchanging a few heated confrontations throughout the match. Both teams were aggressive, particularly in the second period, when tempers broke after some hard
hits and close calls. A few minor scuffles broke out as players fought for possession in front of the net, but both teams kept their focus, and the game remained under control, with Team USA ultimately securing a significant victory.
Team USA’s 6-1 victory over Finland was a statement win in the 4 Nations Face-Off, solidifying the team’s elite hockey reputation. After a competitive first two periods, the U.S. pulled ahead in the third, proving their ability to dominate against such strong international competition. This victory put them in a strong spot moving forward, and inevitably helped them prepare for their matchup against Canada on Feb. 15, which they won 3-1. Meanwhile, Finland went on to restore their reputation after playing against Sweden on Feb. 15, winning 4-3 in overtime.
Moment of the Game:
Matthew Tkachuk took a shot from the point and scored by deflecting the puck off a defenceman’s stick and 11 seconds later, Jake Guentzel scored with a snapshot, all within the first 26 seconds of the third period.
Stats Corner:
Team USA took 32 total shots on net, while Finland took 21.
The 4 Nations Face-Off tournament will replace the All-Star game this season. (Alex Hawes Silva / The Tribune)
Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts threw for two touchdowns and broke his own Super Bowl rushing record for quarterbacks in the victory. (Ryan Dvorak / The Tribune)
The faces of McGill’s athletic legacy
Get to know
three of the
newly-showcased athletes in McGill’s Athletic Complex
Kaitlyn Schramm News Editor
For the majority of university athletes, recognition comes in the form of trophies, accolades, and team victories. A special way McGill honours its varsity athletes is by wrapping doors in the Athletic Complex with their images, featuring team members from a range of sports from artistic swimming to rugby. The doors were recently rewrapped to feature current student-athletes.
Martlets Soccer midfielder Elisabeth Pronovost, U3 Science, reflected on the experience, sharing that it feels surreal to see her photograph every time she goes to the gym and even joking that she sometimes hides her face when using her door so McGill students don’t make the connection.
“I feel really at home at McGill, and knowing that I represent the team on that door just makes me feel like it’s both ways,” she shared. “It’s not just me enjoying McGill, but also I’m really a part of it.”
Beyond showcasing the athletes themselves, the photographs represent team memories and unique journeys that have brought these athletes to McGill. For artistic swimmer Sonia Dunn, U1 Science, that journey began at five years old.
That moment sparked her dedication to the sport, a passion that has now earned her a place memorialized in the athletic centre. For artistic swimming, the rewrapping of the doors celebrates more than Dunn’s athleticism; it provides recognition of an underappreciated sport.
“McGill is one of the only universities in Canada where artistic swimming is a varsity sport, while at a lot of other schools, it’s just a club,” Dunn explained. “So, to have the additional honour of being recognized in the sports complex is really special. Obviously, it’s kind of a niche sport, so any recognition we can get is definitely a positive.”
That sense of pride extends past the walls of the athletics complex. Whether it’s the roar of the home crowd at McGill’s annual November artistic swimming meet or the soccer team’s trip to Paraguay to promote women in sports, the connections formed through competition are unforgettable.
Nicolas Vicente Louis, U3 Management, recalled a particular bonding moment with the rugby team.
“One of my elementary school friends, her older sister did artistic swimming, and she invited me to her year-end show as a playdate because she found the sport really boring,” Dunn recalled. “She even brought toys so we could go play somewhere else. But I didn’t want to leave—I was just captivated from the beginning.”
To all the sports I’ve loved before
“We had a trip to Quebec planned two winters ago, and 30 of us guys split between five or six cars, we just went away for the weekend,” Vicente Louis recalled. “[We] had a blast. We rented a chalet and just had a good time and a half.”
For those whose faces now grace the athletic complex doors, the honour is both a personal milestone and an inspiration for future athletes. Vicente Louis spoke about growing up playing rugby with his younger brother, who is currently playing rugby in high school in London.
“There’s only one guy out of the 45 who gets a door. It’s very special […] and even in a few years, when we come back for alumni games, if my picture’s still up there, it’ll be a cool souvenir,” Vicente Louis reflected. “An added benefit is that it’ll help incentivize my little brother to come and join the team.”
More than just a photograph, the doors tell the stories of McGill’s athletes—stories of perseverance, community, and the deep passion that makes them more than just competitors. They are a lasting tribute to the spirit of
McGill sports.
“I truly feel like the team is a family, and the coaching staff is also part of that family. Representing McGill, to me, means so much and it’s like a part of who I am—a part of my identity now,” Pronovost expressed.
Tribune writers and editors’ love letters to their most beloved sports
Jenna Payette Contributor
Dear Ice Hockey,
“Anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift.”
This quote from Steve Prefontaine hung in my brother’s room growing up and became the silent force that subtly shaped me. As the baby of my family, I was pushed to challenge my limits and continuously raise my standards. The ice was the one place where I truly felt confident enough to do so.
You revealed a fire within me that can’t be extinguished. Years of being middle of
the pack taught me to speak up and make my voice heard. Years of being trusted as a leader taught me that vulnerability is not a weakness. And the constant chirps I heard as the only girl? They built my resilience.
Through you, hockey, I’ve found my connection to everything. You’ve taught me that failure is simply feedback, discomfort is a sign of progress, and joy is the reward for perseverance.
I hope my younger self knew how much her life would change the moment she picked up that stick.
Eternally yours, Jenna
Zain Ahmed Staff Writer
Dear Rugby,
They say love changes you, shapes you into something greater than yourself. You’ve done exactly that. From the moment I met you when I was 10, you saw past my (then) gangly height and unsuspecting build, and recognized potential I couldn’t see. You took me in, made my parents’ blood pressure soar week in and week out, and for a decade, you have remained constant.
Heartbreak came in my first year at McGill when I fell short of a shot at Varsity. But, like any great love, you emphasized that worthwhile things don’t come easy. The adversity made me fight for you and earn my place a year later as a re-
branded player.
You have given me brothers in arms, loyal soldiers who stand beside me in those passionate and intense 80-minute battles— friendships for life. You taught me that respect is earned through sweat, accountability, and determination; through fighting to win every contact, lineout, or scrum, no matter what.
Through injury and triumph, you are my North Star. You have shaped me not just as an athlete, but as a human being. You have taught me that family isn’t just about blood— it’s about the people who stand with you in the scrum of life. Rugby, I will forever be indebted to you. The hooligan’s game played by gentlemen.
With love,
Zain
Auxane Bussac Student Life Editor
Dear Swimming,
As a child, I dreamt of being the next Laure Manaudou. My dad grew up in water; you were his go-to sport. His mom and sister both swim competitively to this day, so you are a family affair.
I was thrown in a pool at a young age during a “baby swimmers” class where parents hold their children as they get familiar with water. I kept on taking swimming lessons regularly until I was old enough to start competing on a team; I was proud of being a strong enough swimmer to impress my dad.
But it all went downhill. After my first competition at 13, I was supposed to move to the higher-level group, but during practice my new coach yelled at me for doing the crawl with my palms open, allowing the
water to slip through my fingers and slowing me down. He made a great point, but I was traumatized and quit.
Spoiler alert: I won’t be the next Manaudou, but I miss you and sharing this passion with my dad. You were my first love and heartbreak but you taught me that giving up on something I love for fear of not being good enough is not an option anymore. Thank you.
Love, Auxane
Mairin Burke News Editor
Dear Basketball, My parents determined I was an anxious kid early on. Their solution? Put me in every available sport to distract me, from hockey to track to trampolining. But it was you alone that truly quieted my brain. Shooting a free throw or executing a pick and roll took a unique level of focus that crowded out all other thoughts. I was hooked.
But I grew to resent you in high school. Your three-hour evening practices full of wind sprints, and weekend tournaments spent in rural Ontario where there was nothing to do but roam around a local mall, took their toll. I’m ashamed to say I ended up ghosting you—the pandemic preventing practice-asusual was just a convenient excuse.
In retrospect, you brought me peace worth foregoing any Saturday sleep-in for. I am forever grateful that you pushed me beyond my limits and introduced me to some of my dearest people. So take this as my apology. Maybe we can still be friends? XOX, Mairin
It took less than one week for McGill to rewrap dozens of doors with photos of current student athletes. (Drea Garcia Avila / The Tribune)
As Eric Simons said, “In the case of sports, there is compelling evidence that this is basically a real relationship in your brain. In a very real sense, the sports team becomes a part of you.” (Simona Culotta / The Tribune)
Confronting anti-Black racism in Canada’s healthcare system A qualitative analysis of anti-Black racism in Montreal healthcare
Sarah McDonald Staff Writer
With a national identity built upon the idea of being a cultural “melting pot,” racism often gets swept under the rug in Canada. Despite curating this idealized image of inclusivity, racism is ingrained in the nation’s history and institutions, including the Canadian medical system.
Khandideh Williams, a PhD Candidate in McGill’s Department of Family Medicine, shed light on inequities in healthcare through her recent publication in BMC Public Health, which explores how Black individuals perceive and experience anti-Black racism in Canadian healthcare.
“I started my work in 2020, which as we know, a lot was happening in 2020, including the murder of George Floyd. His murder brought about widespread conversations about anti-Black racism both at McGill and within my department,” Williams said in an interview with The Tribune . “It was through engaging in those discussions and learning more about anti-Black racism myself on my own time that I realized that that’s something I would like to focus on.”
Williams interviewed 32 Black volunteers in Montreal who represented 20 different ethnicities and whose ages ranged from young adults to seniors. The diversity of the participants was reflected in their experiences of racism, supporting William’s hypothesis.
“The Black community, especially [in] Montreal, is extremely diverse. Whether we’re talking about place of birth, mother tongue, or ethnicity, we’re an extremely diverse group with diverse worldviews, ideas, and ways in which we approach different situations,” Williams said. “So for my project, I approached it with this logic that if the Black community itself is diverse, then it follows that experiences of racism are diverse.”
Williams’ research focused on two central questions: Did participants perceive racism during their healthcare interactions, and how did their unique identities and social positions influence their experiences
and perceptions of racism?
For participants, the perceived racism was most often subtle and covert, manifesting itself through microaggressions and harmful stereotypes.
“One common stereotype was that of the strong Black woman: ‘Black women don’t feel pain, so they don’t need anesthesia. They don’t need pain medication because they’re strong; their skin is stronger.’ Or that ‘Black men are drug dealers; they’re delinquents. So, we’re also not going to give them drugs because they’re going to abuse it,’” Williams said.
The study also revealed that Black immigrants’ perceptions of anti-Black racism in Canada varied depending on their country of origin. For example, participants who had come from the UK and the U.S. found racism to be more openly discussed and overtly expressed in those countries than it was in Canada. They noted that the socially taboo nature of race discussions in Canada often made it harder to identify racism in their ev-
eryday lives.
Contrastingly, immigrants from African countries may not have had prior experiences with anti-Black racism before coming to Canada.
“In Nigeria, in many African countries, Black people are the dominant group [....] Blackness or race is not necessarily what people use to classify people in such societies,” Williams explained. “So when [a participant from Nigeria] came here, he knew that there was this thing called Blackness, but he didn’t really understand its implications until he and his mother experienced it.”
Williams’ research also highlights the impact of intersectionality on racism. Experiences and perceptions of racism are informed by more factors than just race, including gender and age. Williams is now focusing on a second phase of her project—a quantitative analysis with data from Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia—to determine if these intersectional trends are consistent across Canada.
Ultimately, Williams’ work highlights the urgent need for open conversations about race and racism in Canada. We can’t make our communities and institutions equitable until we acknowledge that they are fundamentally unjust.
“I think our country is still battling with their comfort in even tackling the issue. To tackle an issue means to first acknowledge that it exists,” Williams said. “But I think many people are not yet ready to do that.”
Our universe through the lens of the James Webb Space Physics Society Colloquium discusses how we zoom in on our beautiful universe
Leanne Cherry Science & Technology Editor
For some, seeing images of distant galaxies induces feelings of excitement and curiosity. For others, it sparks fear and a sense of insignificance. And who can blame them? It’s easy to feel small when living in a seemingly infinite universe.
The James Webb Space Telescope
On Feb. 14, at the sixth McGill Physics Society Colloquium of 2025, guest speaker Sarah Rugheimer—an astrobiologist and Associate Professor at York University— delivered a lecture on the James Webb Space Telescope, the most technologically advanced space observatory ever created. Known for its breathtaking images of distant galaxies and cosmic phenomena, Webb has opened new frontiers in our understanding of the universe.
Rugheimer began by explaining the remarkable technology behind Webb, focusing on its primary mirror, which is composed of 18 smaller, gold-plated mirrors that measure a combined 6.5 metres in diameter.
“These 18 different [mirrors] are each getting their own image, and then they have to be brought together to sing as one choir, so to speak, so that they actually are functioning as a single telescope,” Rugheimer said in her lecture.
The mirrors work together to concen -
trate their light onto one smaller secondary mirror which reflects back to the telescope’s processing system, ultimately allowing Webb to capture extremely high-resolution images. To reflect their light onto such a small point, each mirror must be able to adjust its position within eight nanometres of precision, equivalent to one ten-thousandth of a human hair.
Webb & Hubble
Before Webb claimed the title of ‘most advanced telescope ever built,’ the Hubble Space Telescope was the reigning champion. Hubble, a reflecting telescope, captured the first images of deep space, revealing thousands of galaxies, each with hundreds of billions of stars. First launched in 1990 and still functioning today, it has fundamentally changed our understanding of the universe.
While Hubble captures light in the ultraviolet and visible spectrum, Webb’s much larger mirror surface allows it to capture longer, infrared wavelengths of light. Because our universe is expanding, light waves from distant galaxies are subject to the Doppler effect, meaning they have been stretched by the time they reach us. These stretched wavelengths are redshifted into the infrared frequency range, making Webb an ideal candidate for capturing them.
“James Webb [Space Telescope] is needed in order to see those most distant galaxies because that light has really shift-
ed to those infrared wavelengths. So Webb is able to just look back further than Hubble ever could,” Rugheimer explained.
Infrared wavelengths also paint a clearer picture of our universe, since they travel right through clouds of gas and debris, revealing details that Hubble couldn’t capture.
Together, these telescopes give us clues about the early stages of the universe’s formation. The light emitted from these distant galaxies has often been travelling for billions of years by the time it finally reaches the telescopes’ point of view.
“Hubble can see back to about a billion years after the Big Bang, and Webb is able to go back to 0.3 billion years.” Rugheimer said. “Telescopes are time machines in a way, because of the constant speed of light. The further we look away, the earlier the parts of the universe we see.”
From exoplanets to our own solar system
Webb’s scope isn’t limited to galaxies and supernovas: It is also helping scientists explore exoplanets—planets outside of our
solar system. Rugheimer highlighted the TRAPPIST-1 system in particular, containing three Earth-sized exoplanets in the habitable zone, where conditions may be suitable for life.
Closer to home, Webb has also captured the clearest picture of Neptune’s rings in existence and imaged water plumes on one of Saturn’s moons that are larger than planet Earth.
Rugheimer shared a personal moment during Webb’s launch on Christmas Day, 2021, reflecting on the significance of Webb in our journey through the universe.
“We were watching it on our cell phone, my husband and I, and I started to cry as this telescope launched: This is really the telescope of our generation.”
In 2017, 16 per cent of hate crimes in Canada were committed against Black individuals, according to the Government of Canada. ( Zoe Lee / The Tribune )
The James Webb Space Telescope cost over $10 billion USD. ( Drea Garcia Avila / The Tribune )
Black History Month panel investigates representation in genetics research
DNA to RNA initiative explored the opportunities and challenges faced by Black individuals in genetics research
Michelle Yankovsky Contributor
On Feb. 12, McGill’s DNA to RNA (D2R) initiative hosted a webinar in honour of Black History Month. Led by Mariloue Daudier, Senior Advisor, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion for D2R, the session explored the opportunities and challenges faced by Black individuals in genetics research. The webinar featured three guest speakers who shared their insights on the importance of Black representation in RNA research and therapeutics.
Daudier began with an introduction to D2R—a McGill-led research initiative with the goal of developing an inclusive Canadian approach to genomic-based RNA therapeutics. She described a brief history of Black people in Canada, explaining that Black people continue to face equity and inclusion issues today, with particular barriers to representation in research.
However, she noted McGill’s commitment to addressing these issues and highlighted the university’s anti-Black racism action plan.
“Why this is so important to me is because by always putting Black people in the broad category of racialized individuals, we lose track of the actual representation and issues faced by the Black communities [specifically],” Daudier said. “I think [McGill’s action plan is] really a game changer to make life better for Black communities.”
The first speaker, Paul Wankah, an Assistant
Professor in McGill’s Faculty of Dental Medicine and Oral Health Sciences, discussed the importance of Black representation in research, as well as issues of mistrust between Black communities and the medical field.
Wankah presented findings from various studies, examining the different ethnic groups represented within these findings. Notably, he presented a study that looked at racial and ethnic representation across several clinical trials of the COVID-19 vaccine, a prevalent RNA therapeutic. This study revealed that Black participants made up only five to seven per cent of the trial population, as compared to white participants, who made up 83 to 89 per cent.
“Here we have evidence that there is underrepresentation of Black people in genomic research and therapeutics,” Wankah said. “[The authors] argue that the dominance of European and American genomic research is related to advances in genomic technologies within these countries, and them having better funding opportunities, might be why [Caucasians] are much more represented in genomic research.”
Wankah then explained the origin of mistrust between Black communities and the field of medicine, referencing historical abuses in healthcare research that have led to hesitancy among Black people to participate in such studies.
“We need more studies to understand and develop strategies to close this diversity gap,” Wankah concluded.
The second speaker, Momar Ndao, an Asso-
ciate Professor in McGill’s Department of Medicine, addressed the issue of medical mistrust in Black communities abroad, focusing on his lived experience in Senegal.
Ndao discussed gender roles as an important factor in vaccine decision-making, particularly in developing countries. He asserted that in these communities, the father makes the primary decision for their kids’ vaccination status. With limited access to information, they may be hesitant to trust the effectiveness of vaccines.
“We absolutely need to work together to make sure vaccines and technologies can be transferred [to developing countries],” Ndao said, emphasizing the importance of targeting rural areas in developing nations rather than just capital cities.
The final speaker, Loydie Jerome-Majewska, a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, discussed the importance of Black inclusion in pediatrics. She began by discussing the prejudice faced by Black physicians, particularly when patients
select a physician for their care.
She referenced a study that found Black babies had higher survival rates when cared for by Black physicians.
“We need researchers and participants that are Black in order to really understand the diseases that impact children and contribute to their low birth weight,” Jerome-Majewska said.
This powerful finding highlights the need for greater involvement of Black physicians in pediatric care and research. Jerome-Majewska concluded by reiterating the realities behind Black individuals’ mistrust of medical research, both as participants and as researchers themselves.
Breaking down silos: SUSAN’s global initiative to advance sustainability Sustainability Academic Network brings together researchers across disciplines
Val Muñoz Contributor
From governance and policy to social sustainability and economics, solving global environmental issues demands collaboration across all fields.
Juan C. Serpa, Associate Professor of Operations Management at McGill, has constructed a groundbreaking initiative designed to bridge the gap between different academic disciplines, fostering collaboration in the fight for sustainability. His project, the Sustainability Academic Network (SUSAN), has become a central hub for researchers, students, and organizations, connecting over 3,000 institutions and classifying sustainability efforts into 60 distinct themes with the help of generative AI.
“We’ve been working on this for two years and released it six weeks ago, and it suddenly became viral,” Serpa shared in an interview with The Tribune . “We’ve had 8,000 users sign up already.”
The rapid success of SUSAN reflects the growing demand for a centralized space where sustainability-focused individuals can easily connect, share resources, and collaborate across various disciplines.
“Universities have traditionally been organized in silos,” Serpa explained. “We think about engineering, business, medicine, and arts separately. But sustainability isn’t like that. It requires input from all these fields. To tackle challenges like solar
power, we need engineers, policymakers, business leaders, and more—all working together.”
SUSAN is a platform designed to address this need, uniting researchers across disciplines and promoting collaboration on projects ranging from renewable energy solutions to social sustainability initiatives.
Serpa believes that sustainability is a unique challenge in academia.
“If I were going to create the law academic network or the medical academic network, they don’t need this. They talk with each other already. They have their own mechanisms,” Serpa said. “Sustainability crosses the boundaries, and that’s why we need a platform like this.”
For many students and academics, finding sustainability-related events, conferences, and networking opportunities is a time-consuming task, requiring them to visit multiple websites and sift through scattered resources. SUSAN solves this problem by consolidating all these resources in one place. Whether you are looking for conferences, networking opportunities, or simply to connect with others working on similar projects, the platform serves as a comprehensive hub for all things sustainability.
As SUSAN continues to grow, it faces the challenges of sudden success. Serpa anticipated that within the next few months, the platform could reach 100,000 users, which may put stress on its current
financial model. Despite this, he is committed to ensuring that the platform remains independent from corporate influence and stays true to its goal as an academic initiative.
“It’s a good problem to have,” Serpa said. “But as we grow, we need to think about how we can ensure this platform remains focused on its mission: Helping sustainability initiatives thrive.”
sities, communities, and organizations, we can maximize our collective impact.”
Serpa’s vision for SUSAN goes beyond academic connections. He hopes that the platform will serve as a community space for anyone interested in sustainability, from students launching their careers to grassroots organizations hosting local events. He envisions a global network where universities like McGill and institutions worldwide come together, share resources, and work collaboratively to build a sustainable future.
“There are already sustainability events happening all over Montreal, and we want to create a central calendar for all of them,” Serpa said. “By connecting univer -
With its potential to grow into a vital resource for sustainability efforts worldwide, Serpa is optimistic about the platform’s future.
“I don’t want it to be my own platform. I want it to be something that is from the research community,” he said.
As the world grapples with urgent environmental challenges, initiatives like SUSAN showcase the power of collaboration—and how enthusiastic people are about collaborating across disciplines to solve today’s pressing issues. For students, researchers, or simply anyone passionate about sustainability, this platform could be the gateway to making a difference.
On Sept. 30, 2020, McGill announced their release of the Action Plan to Address Anti-Black Racism. ( Ariella Morgan / The Tribune )
A mature tree can absorb over 20 kilograms of carbon dioxide in one year. ( Mia Helfrich / The Tribune )
