The McGill Daily Vol. 112, Issue 6

Table of ConTenTs

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The Fight for Suffrage Isn’t Over

Between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021, around 226,000 immigrants arrived in Canada for the first time. They joined the hundreds of thousands of permanent residents who had arrived in the country before them. After spending one year in Canada, newcomers become indistinguishable from Canadian citizens in regards to income tax. Despite paying taxes at the same rate as Canadian citizens, permanent residents are denied the right to cast a vote in Canada. Their inability to vote in the municipal elections of any province means they have no say in how their money is used or in how their rights and livelihoods may be better supported by local governments.

Per Section 3 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, “[e]very citizen of Canada has the right to vote in an election of members of the House of Commons or of a legislative assembly and to be qualified for membership therein.” Whether it be a federal, provincial, or municipal elections, having Canadian citizenship is a necessary requirement to cast a vote in Canada. This requirement, however, prevents hundreds of thousands of non-citizens, some who have been residing in Canada for years, from participating in democracy. Unlike on the federal level, provincial governments can still, however, extend voting rights to permanent residents in municipalities if there was ever a will to do so.

Obtaining Canadian citizenship can be time-consuming and costly. To become a Canadian citizen, permanent residents need to have lived in Canada for three of the past five years, they need to have filed their taxes, pass a test on the history and politics of Canada (and the province they reside in), and “prove [their] language skills.” The cost of the process creates additional barriers, especially for low-income residents to apply for and acquire Canadian citizenship. Currently, citizenship fees are $630 CAD for people over the age of 18. Although the Liberal Party pledged to waive citizenship fees in 2019, those plans were delayed by the pandemic. In 2021, after his third consecutive election, Justin Trudeau asked the immigration minister Sean Fraser, in his mandate letter to “[m]ake the citizenship application process free for permanent residents who have fulfilled the requirements needed to obtain it.” When Fraser was asked in an interview to give a date on which the citizenship fees would be waived, he said that “[w]e don’t have a date for you, and I feel it’s best to be open.” High citizenship fees have been preventing residents from participating in the democratic process for years, and the pandemic-induced increase in immigration backlog has not improved matters.

In 2018, around 400,000 Toronto residents were not allowed to vote in the city’s municipal elections. Despite living in Toronto since 2011, permanent resident Chris

Bateman cannot vote in municipal elections as of 2018. He told CBC Toronto: “I pay taxes and I access city services and the decisions city council make have an effect on me on a very real, day-to-day basis, [...] And I don’t really have a say on how that’s done.” Four years later, as the city prepares for another set of municipal elections, nothing has changed. Thousands of people who pay property taxes will get no say on how their money is being allocated, which Toronto Metropolitan University politics professor Myer Siemiatycki describes as “ludicrous.”

Before the 2021 municipal elections in Montreal, a report by the city’s committee on social development and diversity stated that voting rights for permanent residents could help “foster political participation and ensure better representation of the various groups that form society.” The council expressed the desire to grant permanent residents who had lived in the city for more than a year the right to vote, but no change was enacted.

Despite different Canadian municipalities wanting to grant permanent residents the right to vote, none have yet managed to convince provincial or federal governments to alter the voting laws.

In New Brunswick, permanent residents might be able to vote in municipal elections starting in 2026. Keith Chiasson, a member of the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, introduced a bill that would grant permanent residents the right to vote in municipal elections, without opposition. The provincial government is now trying to overcome the challenge of compiling a permanent resident voters’ list. Canada has lagged behind globally in granting voting rights to non-citizens. Currently, there are 45 democracies around the world that allow non-citizens to vote in some capacity. In some countries, they are even allowed to vote in national elections, but most of the time they’re limited to voting at the local level. In Sweden, Netherlands, and Belgium, permanent residents are allowed to vote in municipal elections after having spent a certain number of years in the country.

Supporting organisations like the Canadian Civil Liberties Association that call for extending voting rights to permanent residents can be a great first step toward election reform. Permanent residents are not the only group of people to be denied the right to vote in Canada. Refugees and Federal Skilled Workers are also denied the right to vote. Noncitizens form the only adult group to still fight for suffrage in the country. Organisations like Justice for Migrant Workers and Solidarity Across Borders are calling for status for all residents and workers. Finally, getting involved in local politics and pressuring municipalities to extend voting rights to non-citizens is crucial to the fight for electoral reform.

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Thousands Gather in Support of Iranian Womens’ Rights

Vishwa Srinivasan News Contributor

content warning: police violence

On October 1 cries of “Femme, Vie, Liberté” echoed through the streets of downtown Montreal. Thousands of Montrealers of all ages, genders, and ethnicities gathered in solidarity with the women of Iran taking a stand against their country’s fundamentalist regime.

The protest in Montreal is just one of hundreds across the world organized in response to the killing of 22-year old Mahsa (Jina) Amini by Iran’s “morality police.” Amini was initially arrested by the morality police for her failure to comply with Iran’s mandatory hijab laws. While in the police van, according to the testimonies of her co-detainees, Amini was brutally assaulted by officers.

The official explanation for Amini’s death was that she died of multiple organ failure as a result of pre-existing conditions, but that explanation has been contested by Amini’s family. According to those closest to Amini, she had no medical history that would cause her to drop dead suddenly. Leaked

hospital records also showed evidence of skull fractures, a brain hemorrhage, and a brain edema, further contradicting the official government explanation. In a since deleted post on social media, the hospital that Amini was admitted to confirmed that she was brain-dead upon arrival.

Before the march began, the organizers played the song “Baraye” by Shervin Hajipour on loudspeakers. The song, the title of which translates directly to “because of,” is made up of dozens of tweets from Iranian women that state why they are protesting. After garnering over 40 million views in just 48 hours, the song was taken down from Iran’s internet and Hajipour was jailed.

While the song was playing, several women cut their hair in an emotional display of solidarity and protest. The reason for this form of protest finds its roots in ancient Iranian history, where women have shaved their heads in protest for thousands of years. The practice is even mentioned in Shahnameh, an ancient Persian epic and cultural touchstone of Iran.

The Daily spoke with several Iranian citizens who joined the Montreal protest who reiterated

that Amini’s killing was not an isolated incident. “It’s been going on for years, this is just a continuation of previous demonstrations. Every time something like this happens, there are protests, and there are crackdowns,” one protestor told the Dailyon the condition of anonymity.

Another protestor said that she was interviewed by the Daily in 1994 during another protest for Iranian women’s rights. At the time, they were demonstrating to commemorate the death of Homa Darabi, a 54-year-old Iranian pediatrician and activist who, in a form of protest, had removed her hijab and set herself on fire in a crowded Tehran public square. Dr. Darabi died of her injuries the next day. “I think it is really important that we keep saying her name, and for your readers to know why we keep doing this,” she said. “This is not the first time that we’ve come out here, but we hope that it will be the last.”

Iran’s mandatory hijab laws officially came into effect in 1983, four years after the Islamic Revolution which put the fundamentalist cleric Ruhollah Khomenei in power. Penalties for violating the hijab laws were only introduced to Iran’s criminal code

in the ’90s. One of the protestors, who was a child at the time of the revolution, told the Daily “little by little, they added laws and took away our freedoms.”

protestors, afraid to go to the hospital for fear of being arrested, have resorted to finding doctors online to learn to treat their own wounds. Government officials pin the blame on a host of different political enemies, including Kurdish groups.

The government has also severely restricted access to the internet in the country in an effort to halt attempts to organize. Riot police also raided Sharif University, one of the country’s largest educational institutions, after widespread student protests. Thus far, the Iranian government’s efforts to crack down on dissent seem to have backfired, only increasing awareness and resolve among Iranians and the global community at large.

Several protestors in attendance held signs reading “Woman, Life, Freedom,” a slogan that has become a battle cry for Iranian women. Others held long banners that read “No to Islamic Republic,” while some held posters of Mahsa and other victims of Iranian government violence.

After four weeks of protests in the streets of Iran, at least 185 protestors have been killed, including 19 minors. Some

While protesters were hopeful, there remained a sense that these incidents will continue to happen unless there is a regime change. “The Islamic Republic of Iran is not Iran. We have a long history as a free country and we will overcome this regime,” said one protestor. When asked if he had hope for the future, he said, “We will see […] maybe this is a turning point, maybe it isn’t, but we know that this[ regime] cannot last forever.”

Protestors are continuing to organize in solidarity in Montreal, with the Coalition for Iranian Human Rights McGill (CIHRM) organizing a candlelight vigil on October 7. You can continue to follow organizations like CIHRM for future action.

“It’s been going on for years, this is just a continuation of previous demonstrations.” - Anonymous Protestor

Vishwa Srinivasan | News Contributor

Montrealers express their solidarity following the killing of Mahsa Amini

“I think it is really important that we keep saying her name [...] this is not the first time that we’ve come out here, but we hope it will be the last.” - Anonymous Protestor

Sex Work Autonomous Committee Holds Decriminilization Rally

Anna Zavelsky Coordinating Editor

On October 7, the Sex Work Autonomous Committee (SWAC) held a rally to demand the immediate decriminalization of sex work, per their press release. Sex workers and those standing in solidarity with them gathered in front of the Montreal Courthouse to advocate for the repeal of the Protection of Communities and Exploited Persons Act (PCEPA) – a law that claims to protect “those who sell their own sexual services” through criminalizing “purchasers of sexual services,” and “third parties” across Canada. According to SWAC, however, this law only makes sex work more dangerous.

The Daily spoke to Adore Goldman, a sex-worker involved in SWAC, a Montreal-based advocacy group created by and for sex workers, that demands full decriminaliztion and better working conditions within the industry. Although PCEPA supposedly grants sex workers immunity (as written in subsection 286.5(2)), Goldman explains that the law’s broad definition of “third parties” –everybody who benefits from the income of a sex worker, per Goldman – leaves room for criminalization. “As soon as we are working with colleagues, we can be considered as third parties. So if we share a working space, we can be charged. It can criminalize our roommate, our boyfriend or partner. It criminalizes people we can hire as a [sic] driver, or anybody who works for our safety, ” Goldman says. Goldman also explains that

criminalizing clients presents a safety concern, as clients become less willing to disclose information about their identity: “We have a mechanism within the community to inform each other when a client is dangerous, but if the client is not willing to provide information about their identity, we cannot do this.” For example, Stella, a Montreal organization for sex workers, provides a form where workers may report information about aggressive clients – and

keeps a record of these clients for improved safety. Client anonymity preventing the spread of pertinent safety information reduces the negotiation power that sex workers have in regards to condom-use and other limits, per Goldman.

The rally was organized following the Canadian Alliance for Sex Work Law Reform’s (CASWLR) first public hearing at the Ontario Supreme Court on October 3. Composed of groups from across Canada, the sex worker’s rights organizations are challenging the constitutionality of PCEPA under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

According to the CASWLR, as written on their website, “decriminalization is one part of our larger struggle for the recognition and actualization of sex workers’ rights,” especially as “Indigenous women and youth, people who are im/migrants (particularly racialized women) and trans folk (especially trans women)” are more greatly targets of stigmatization, police harassment, and criminilization.

Activists claim that sex workers are being put at greater risk for harm and exploitation under PCEPA – rather than being protected. In their press release, activists at SWAC explain how they can be better protected: “The decriminalization of our work would allow us to have access to labor rights, as is the case in other industries. [...] This status of worker [...] would allow sex workers to benefit from adequate protections in case of accident and parental leave, but especially to hold employers responsible for the safety of workers in the workplace, and allow sex workers to organize among themselves. We could denounce situations of harassment and abuse through the legal mechanisms in place.”

Labor rights and protection from policing has been the focus of sex work advocacy across Canada. In September 2021, staff at Maggie’s Toronto Sex Worker Action Project – an advocacy group run by sex workers –joined the Canadian Union of Public Employees. Unionizing

will allow Maggie’s to better address racism, transphobia, and low wages. Maggie writes that unionization “is especially crucial for queer and trans, Black, Indigenous, and sex workers of colour at our organization who have not had the same privileges, access to employment, fair working conditions or labour rights.” In Vancouver, following the continued police harassment of sex workers and refusal to accept training, the Living in Community sex worker organization removed the Vancouver Police Department from their steering committee.

Goldman says SWAC will be planning more actions until there is a more immediate government response. Sex worker and SWAC Activist Mélina May says “While sex workers and their allies have reminded the government of the urgent need to act over the past few years, the government continues to ignore its responsibilities to protect our safety and fundamental rights.”

Activists speak to how sex workers can be better protected

“We have a mechanism within the community to inform each other when a client is dangerous, but if the client is not willing to provide information about their identity, we cannot do this.”

-Adore Goldman, activist with SWAC

Eve Cable| Staff Illustrator

Anishinaabe Study Group Forms at McGill

31, which calls for a robust Indigenous Studies program, as “completed,” despite the lack of a major program. Paul stressed the need for more Indigenous professors to teach these classes, as a lot of Indigenous Studies classes at McGill are currently taught by non-Indigenous professors.

“We’re a ‘world-class’ university, we’re at the top of the rankings all the time, and yet, we can’t learn about the peoples who were here first, the original peoples of the land,” said Makahnouk.

Kate Sheridan| Staff Illustrator

“Indigenous knowledge is world-class, having a program that teaches Indigenous languages is world-class,” said Ince. “If you’re not teaching these languages […] you’re not training people to do work in archives, to understand oral histories, or to engage with knowledge at that level.” He said that the more people use and engage with these languages, the stronger they will become. While emphasizing that it’s important for settlers not to

Emma Bainbridge News Editor

content warning: mention of colonial violence

Last spring, Nathan Ince and Jenni Makahnouk met in a seminar class and discovered that they both shared an interest in learning the Anishinaabe language. Makahnouk is Anishinaabe, and Ince, a Professor in the history department at McGill, was interested in learning it for his research. As a result, they’re now running an Anishinaabe Language Study Group this semester for any McGill students interested in the language. The Daily spoke to Ince, Makahnouk, and Nika Paul, another student involved, to learn more about this

project and why they believe it’s needed at McGill.

“We both kind of came together and said ‘hey, why don’t we learn this together,’” Makahnouk explains. “I want to try to learn it to keep my language alive, and also learn more about my culture.”

Paul also pointed out that programs like this are valuable because “not all of us have the opportunity [to learn Anishinaabe] in our communities and our families because of colonization.” For most of Canada’s history, the federal and provincial governments have advanced colonial policies designed to suppress Indigenous language use, notably through the Indian Act, residential schools, and the “Sixties Scoop.”

When asked how the study group works, Makahnouk said

that “there’s a certain formal class component to it and there’s not necessarily homework, but it’s kind of like go at your own pace.” They welcome everybody interested in the language, with most attendees being beginners. However, the organizers hope that with enough interest, it can grow into something bigger.

In 2017, a task force appointed by Provost Christopher Manfredi laid out 52 Calls to Action related to Indigenous Studies and Indigenous education. So far, only five of these calls have been marked as “completed.” One call still in progress is number 34, which concerns “Language Revitalization and Documentation” and calls on McGill to create a plan to support language revitalization in Indigenous communities. However, McGill still doesn’t offer any Indigenous language courses, something that the group hopes their initiative can change. Ince said that the end goal is to turn their study group into a course.

“We would ideally […] have a fluent Anishinaabe instructor who would be able to run their course just as they run any other language course here,” explained Makahnouk.

As McGill is situated on both unceded Anishinaabe and

Haudenosaunee lands, she would be happy to see courses in either language.

“These are the original languages of the land […] I think people are starting to come to realize that and I think there’s a lot of interest out there for people who want to learn [the language],” Makahnouk said. “We’re excited about the interest and there’s tons of people that have come in for their own reasons.”

Ince estimated that there are around 20 people who are “circulating in and out”, with 13 people showing up to one session, indicating that there’s an interest in learning Anishinaabe within the McGill community.

McGill only offers an Indigenous Studies minor, which was established in 2014 as a result of student activism.

In their 52 Calls to Action, McGill has designated number

take ownership of Indigenous languages, he believes that “there’s a responsibility to contribute to reversing the linguistic genocide that’s taking place in Canada.”

Although there’s concern that there will be resistance from the administration, the group is hopeful that the significant interest in the project coupled with the 52 calls to action will convince the University to invest in this initiative and eventually turn it into a course.

“I think there’s always going to be a little bit of a pushback. It is an institution. Yes, you have to fight hard to get what you want,” said Paul. “But I feel like there are more and more people that are fighting for it.”

The group meets from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. every Wednesday in Ferrier 105.

The goal is to turn it into a course

“These are the original languages of the land […] I think people are starting to come to realize that and I think there’s a lot of interest out there for people who want to learn [the language],” - Jenni Makahnouk

“If you’re not teaching these languages … you’re not training people to do work in archives, to understand oral histories, or to engage with knowledge at that level.”

Fall 2022 Consultive Forum

Assembly sees scant attendance once again

Abigail Popple

Contributor

On Thursday, September 26, SSMU executives and a handful of SSMU members gathered for the Fall 2022 semester’s General Assembly (GA). With just over 20 attendees present on Zoom – including the Parliamentarian and Speaker of Council who do not count towards quorum – the group fell significantly short of the 350 members required to meet quorum, so the meeting was deemed a consultative forum rather than a GA. Although regular GAs are scheduled once per semester, they seldom meet quorum: the Fall 2019 GA had just 44 attendees, and although the Winter 2021 GA initially met quorum, the number of attendees dwindled throughout the meeting, eventually losing quorum. The only items on the agenda were the SSMU executive reports; this made for a brief meeting, a little under an hour and a half long.

According to the Board of Directors Report presented by SSMU President Risann Wright, the Board has ratified five motions since the Winter 2022 assembly: the Motion regarding Accessible Libraries, Amendments to the Internal Regulations of Finance, Adoption of a Media and Transparency Plan, Amendments to Internal Regulations of Student Groups, and the SSMU Operation Budget 2022-2023. The Board also approved spending up to $65,000 on reusable menstrual products to be included in SSMU’s monthly menstrual pick-up. Wright also encouraged SSMU members to apply for a position on the Board as a member-at-large: “It is so important for us to have directors on the Board of Directors who are representative of the student body and who are members at large.”

Following Wright’s presentation was Cat Williams’ report on the VP Internal Affairs portfolio. Because social media falls under their portfolio, Williams spent the summer updating SSMU’s branding by revitalizing its social media accounts, including the External Affairs and University Affairs accounts. Williams also reported that new Internal Affairs employees have been hired, including a new translation manager position intended to help SSMU satisfy the language requirements of Bill 96.

According to Williams, this year’s social events – such as SSMU’s

alternative dry Frosh and the SSMU back to school party – have been successful so far.

Next, Wright took the floor again to present her report as president. She explained that the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) Working Group and Plan are under way: the working group has established its terms of reference (i.e. an outline of the group’s working arrangements), and an initial structure for the plan has been outlined. Wright said that once seats on the EDI Working Group are filled, work on the plan and EDI consultations will begin.

VP External Affairs Val Mansy began their presentation with an introduction of the staff under their portfolio; the position of political campaigns coordinator is currently unfilled, so Mansy encouraged interested members to apply. They continued the presentation with a brief overview of their goals for the year and what they have already accomplished – notably, the External Affairs team is aiming to make sidewalks near McGill more accessible in the winter, and will support the Kanien’kehà:ka Kahnistensera as they advocate for an investigation into potential unmarked graves near the Royal Victoria Hospital. Mansy encouraged students with

feedback or ideas to email them at external@ssmu.ca, noting that it is possible to add new mandates to the portfolio if students feel that it would be appropriate.

During his report, VP Finance Marco Pizarro said that a revised budget for the Society will be ready by the end of October, based on the work he has done with SSMU’s accounting team since being elected. He also noted that this year, the Finance staff are working on a legal protection plan which students will vote on during the Winter 2023 referendum. Additionally, Pizarro said that he is looking into changing banks – SSMU currently banks with RBC, from which students have advocated for divestment.

VP University Affairs Kerry Yang presented after Pizarro; Yang briefly explained the responsibilities within the University Affairs portfolio. As part of his advocacy work, Yang has been researching service animal policies; unlike other universities, McGill lacks a service animal policy, so he has been working on potential policies that could be adopted at McGill. Additionally, the University Affairs team has been working to solve equity complaints within SSMU, review the Involvement Restrictions Policy, and expand

the distribution of menstrual health products.

Finally, VP Student Life Hassanatou Koulibaly presented her report. Koulibaly explained that this year’s Activities Night –the first one held in-person since the start of the pandemic – was “relatively successful,” despite having been moved indoors although the event was originally planned to be held on the lower field of campus. Koulibaly has also been working on a number of initiatives to make SSMU more accessible to students and clubs: for example, SSMU has partnered with Incredible Features to develop an app that will “facilitate the relationship that SSMU has with its student groups.” Koulibaly has also been helping to revitalize clubs which became inactive during remote learning, and has been updating student groups on their status within SSMU – per Koulibaly, previous communication issues prevented

clubs from being notified of when they achieved interim status or full status. As part of the mental health responsibilities within the Student Life portfolio, Koulibaly has continued work on the Wellness World Portal, “a surveybased platform that will be able to direct you to your specific needs,” she explained. Because students did not submit any items to the agenda, there is little consequence to the failure to meet quorum. Had a resolution been passed without meeting quorum, it would not have been binding and would be added to the agenda of the next GA or the next meeting of Legislative Council, at the discretion of the speaker. The Winter 2023 GA is scheduled for Monday, January 16; before then, students have the opportunity to participate in governance via SSMU’s biweekly Legislative Council meetings, the next one taking place on November 3 at 6:00 p.m.

With just over 20 attendees present on Zoom... the group fell significantly short of the 350 members required to meet quorum.

Rasha Hamade | The McGill Daily

Arkeos at Royal Vic

Documenting contested archaeological investigation

Emma Bainbridge and Saylor Catlin News Editors

This week, archaeological firm Arkéos began investigating the site of the Royal Victoria Hospital (RVH) on behalf of McGill University. McGill plans to turn the former hospital into a new research and teaching facility, known as the “New Vic Project.” The purpose of this investigation is to determine whether the area is archaeologically significant. This work appears to be going ahead despite opposition from the kanien’kehá:ka kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers) who are currently taking McGill to court to stop the New Vic Project, as they

believe the site to contain unmarked Indigenous graves, especially those from the MK-Ultra experiments in the 1960s. On October 10, a settler anarchist group set up an occupation at the site in solidarity with the Mohawk Mothers, but were evicted by police the next day.

In an update shared on October 11, the Mohawk Mothers stated that they are “wholly opposed to the archaeological intervention in its current form, which dismisses all the guidelines and frameworks that have been developed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and by archaeologists engaged in searching for unmarked graves since the first findings in

Tk’emlúps in 2021.” They say that the Société québécoise des infrastructures (SQI) and McGill previously told them that they wouldn’t start any archaeological interventions until “information meetings” had been completed.

The Mohawk Mothers have repeatedly requested the use of remote sensing technologies rather than breaking ground on the site. They emphasized that “we must have an idea of what is underneath the ground before breaking it, so that we will follow our cultural burial practices and the will of survivors.” Requests to be present to monitor intervention at the site were also denied; therefore, the Mohawk Mothers have taken it upon themselves

to monitor the site themselves from the sidewalk.

The Daily recently visited the site and took some photos to document the work that’s been happening so far.

Updates about this campaign are shared on the following platforms:

@takebacktekanontak (IG) @stopthenewvic (Twitter)

McGill’s New Vic: What Is So Urgent About Starting the Archaeological and Construction Work?

Students’ Society of McGill

*This article was originally published on October 14, 2022, on the SSMU website.

Students and community members have shared serious concerns about McGill’s New Vic Project. In response, SSMU has met with various stakeholders, including the university’s administration, to shed some light onto McGill’s decision process. We leave here a summary of our discussions to break the alleged “culture of silence” around the issue.

McGill’s New Vic project is anchored in McGill’s master plan that concerns the physical development of the university at both of its campuses in the coming decades. Indeed, the university intends to transform a part of the former Royal Victoria site into a new Pavilion of Sustainability Systems and Public Policy. This plan, formally endorsed by McGill’s Board of Governors in January 2019, recognizes the Kanien’kehá:ka as the traditional stewards of the waters and lands on which its campuses are located. Further, the plan calls for open dialogue and ongoing consultation with Indigenous communities.

In October 2021, the kanien’kehá:ka kahnistensera, a group of Mohawk Mothers, published an article demanding an immediate halt to “all reconstruction plans for the Royal Victoria Hospital and Allan Memorial Institute sites.” In this article, the kahnistensera, caretakers of the quenondah (two mountains/mount royal), explain that:

1. Since the site is on Kanien’kehá:ka land, which has never been ceded, the kahnistensera are the only ones who can consent to any work being done;

2. The whole site is of archeological interest, as it holds the history of the original precolonial Iroquoian village;

Investigations of the grounds of the Allan Memorial Institute for potential unmarked graves resulting from the MK-Ultra program is necessary.

3. McGill, to our knowledge, has never addressed those demands publicly. In February,

the kahnistensera took McGill to federal court over the matter, suing the university, the Société Québécoise des Infrastructures (SQI), and others.

When talking with McGill representatives, they emphasized the fact that the possibility of unmarked graves from the MKUltra experiments would be confined to the Allan Memorial. More specifically, McGill highlights that they own only 15 per cent of the site at the corner of Pine and University, a part which is far away from the Allan Memorial Institute.

While Arkéos, the archeological firm hired by McGill, agrees that it is less likely that the alleged bodies related to the MK-Ultra program would be found in McGill’s part of the Royal Victoria, they affirm that the area is still of archeological interest. In truth, Arkéos seems to be in agreement with the kahnistensera about the presence of a precolonial Iroquoian village at the site. Only, Arkéos limits the areas of archeological interest to certain parts of the site on the basis of preliminary research they conducted in 2016. The Mothers contest this account, as the quenondah was densely populated by their ancestors. To be clear, the kahnistensera identify the Hersey Pavilion (where construction is set to start first) as an area with “high risk of containing both precolonial and modern graves of [their] relatives.”

In our various meetings with stakeholders of McGill University and the SQI, land acknowledgements were given. However, as articulated in SSMU’s Equity and Indigenous Solidarity Policies, it is imperative to go beyond land acknowledgements, and our priority should be recognizing and working to dismantle historic and ongoing systems of colonial oppression and marginalization. We hope the paragraphs below are able to paint an accurate portrait of the steps McGill has taken to try to address the needs of Indigenous communities. At this time, it seems that those steps are insufficient and that McGill has failed to address its role in the perpetuation of colonialism, prioritizing the efficient delivery of its expansion project over the necessary respect of the traditional laws and customs

of the lands it occupies.

In talking with the various people involved, including Fabrice Labeau, Deputy Provost (Student Life and Learning), it has become evident that to this date, McGill has never met with the Mohawk Mothers outside of court. Despite the fact that the kahnistensera sent a Notice of Seizure to McGill University in 2015, that they requested a meeting with its then-president Suzanne Fortier numerous times, and that the university was sued both in federal and provincial court, an invitation to meet with the Mothers was only extended recently. At this time, the invitation seems inconsiderate of the kahnistensera’s needs, which are to have a meeting in Kahnawake open to everyone where the number of Indigenous people would surpass that of non-Indigenous people. All of this is understandable given the violence of past and ongoing colonial oppression.

In our conversations with Dicki Chhoyang, Director of Stakeholder Relations for the McGill Master Plan, she deplored the fact that this issue reached the court. In explaining their choice to go to court, the Mothers have explained that they are obligated to do so under the Great Law of Peace, kaianerekowa, for their unborn children as protectors of the soil.

Through this process, McGill has talked with various stakeholders. When the allegations were first made, McGill invited Indigenous faculty and staff to discuss the issue. Their main demand, according to the university, was that the allegations be seriously investigated. To our knowledge, that investigation process is still happening in the courts.

Despite the ongoing court case, where an injunction will be considered on October 26, the excavators paid by McGill were busy yesterday morning removing the asphalt in front of the Hersey Pavilion. While this part of the work is well underway, no archeaologists or Indigenous observers are on site.

Two observers are supposed to be present during the whole duration of the archaeological survey. According to the administration, these observers, recommended by the Akwesasne Band Council, have experience in

the field. While wanting to have Indigenous observers on-site is commendable, it is not equivalent to Indigenous-led archaeological research. It is worth noting that the latter is the recommendation of the Canadian Archeological association and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

This is troublesome to us. McGill should not be able to pick and choose how and when it applies the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Moreover, when asking the archaeological firm, Arkéos, whether they were able to meet with the kahnistensera, an Arkéos representative admitted that they had originally set a meeting that was cancelled at the last minute by McGill and SQI. This raises the issue of the independence of the archaeological firm. Indeed, their consultation process seems to have been limited by the university and government society.

Per Quebec Law, since this is unfolding on Mount-Royal, only

they personally have been in conversation with McGill for the past year or so and that they have visited the site and performed a condolence ceremony.

McGill, the SQI, and Arkéos have over the last week held information sessions about the archaeological process to a variety of groups, including to the McGill student associations’ representatives, Indigenous members of faculty and staff, and a few representatives from the Handsome Lake Akwesasne LongHouse and the Mohawk Trail LongHouse.

When asked about the presentation given to Longhouse elders, Pierre Major, executive director of the New Vic Project, claimed that the event went well but that the police were called to intervene. Both McGill and the kahnistensera acknowledge that there were fewer Indigenous people present than nonIndigenous McGill, SQI, and Arkéos representatives.

McGill claims that they had sent the invitation to the secretaries of the longhouses.

The kahnistensera point out in a communiqué that neither them nor their relations were aware of that meeting, “though [they] are Longhouse people.” This appears to be a pattern of the university: neglecting the importance of complete consultation processes.

When we questioned Chhoyang about consultation processes carried out within the student community, she admitted having reached out to only one Indigenous student group out of six. The larger student body was never consulted.

the approval of the Band Council is necessary to start construction. McGill has explained that the Quebec Ministry of Culture has consulted the Kahnawake Band Council and received necessary permission. The university, in turn, has engaged with the Kahnawake Band Council as well as the Akwesasne Band Council.

McGill also claims to have presented the project to the Kahnawake LongHouses. Two elders from the Mohawk Trail LongHouse have confirmed that

Ultimately, one question remains: What is so urgent about starting the archaeological and construction work? To us, the only reason for McGill University to go ahead when the court date is less than two weeks away is a matter of profit over people. At various times, we asked McGill representatives if they were going ahead with the work because waiting for the hearing on October 26 could delay their schedule by almost a year, resulting in significant costs to the university. No one challenged us in this understanding of the situation.

McGill should not be able to pick and choose how and when it applies the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

In Black and White

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts presents: Diane Arbus: Photographs, 1956-1971

Ariane Fournier Culture Contributor

content warning : suicide, mental illness, exploiltation.

The American avant-garde photographer Diane Arbus, whose unique monochrome photographs radically transformed portraiture, is currently being celebrated at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA). The Diane Arbus: Photographs, 1956-1971 exhibition showcases close to one hundred of the photographer’s most compelling gelatin silver prints and mindfully pays homage to the misfits and outcasts of her time.

Born Diane Nemerov on March 14, 1923, in New York City, Arbus grew up in an affluent Jewish family. A gifted student, she was initially drawn to writing and painting before being introduced to photography by her boyfriend, Allan Arbus. The pair married in 1941 and began a joint career in fashion photography. The business did well—their work was published in magazines such as Glamour and Vogue—but Diane came to disrelish the world of fashion. “I hate fashion photography because the clothes don’t belong to the people who are wearing them,” she once confided to a reporter, “When the clothes do belong to the person wearing them, they take on a person’s flaws and characteristics, and are

wonderful.” Yearning for something more authentic, she turned to street photography and produced some of the most hauntingly original photographs of the 20th century.

Arbus took most of her photographs in and around the streets of New York City and selected her subjects based on their unique appearances. At a time when mainstream visual culture emphasized uniformity and conformity, Arbus chose to highlight individuals who stood out. As David Vestal wrote in Infinity magazine, “she photograph[ed] individuals who in one way or another depart[ed] from conventional behavior or appearance, but she d[id] not emphasize their ‘abnormal’ or ‘freak’ character.” Rather, she showed that they shared

much in common with the people around them.

The exhibition hosted by the MMFA presents Arbus’ career chronologically. It begins with her intimate explorations of New York City’s streets and public places from 1956 to 1962 and culminates with her most famous work: the unwavering portraits shot from 1962 to 1971.

Some of the gallery’s most interesting images were taken at Hubert’s Dime Museum and Flea Circus. Located in a basement underneath an arcade near Times Square, the establishment was a well-known safe space for members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. In Three female impersonators, N.Y.C., three iron-willed performers pose in Hubert’s dressing room*. The trio is in full hair and makeup and stares directly into Arbus’ lens, their gazes uncannily intense. It is a mesmerizing image that stopped several museum-goers in their tracks.

Another fascinating portrait is Identical Twins, Roselle, New Jersey, taken in 1967. The image of sevenyear-olds Cathleen and Colleen in matching outfits was shot at a Christmas party and is said to have inspired Stanley Kubrick’s characters in The Shining (1980).

them impossible to overlook. In one of the most touching shots, a group of residents dressed for Halloween proudly show off their costumes.

It is a peculiar image, but one that prompts audiences to take a closer look at the people who compose it. There lies the power of Arbus’ photography: the subjects are so candid and honest that one cannot help but be drawn to them.

Although Arbus’s fascination with subjects who created their own identities is endearing to modern viewers, her methods raise questions of exploitation. Did Arbus take advantage of the most vulnerable?

Was she a humanist or a voyeur?

In her 1977 book of essays, On Photography, Susan Sontag suggests that Arbus’ work is “based on distance, on privilege, on a feeling that what the viewer is asked to look

at is really other.” Even supposing Arbus identified with her subjects’ outsider statuses, her family’s upperclass background bound her to New York City’s higher society. While her subjects were ostracized from the world at large, she had access to connections and resources.

All in all, Arbus’s portraits retain their power to unsettle and enthrall no matter the period or space they are presented in. Her photographs remain significant not just because of their peculiar beauty or their sharp construction, but because they ask us to reflect on the predatory nature of photography, to consider the lengths people go to capture the perfect shot, and to meditate on the complicity of the viewer in it all.

Diane Arbus: Photographs, 19561971, will run until January 29, 2023.

Ariane Fournier Culture Contributor

The show concludes with pictures taken at a number of state institutions in New Jersey that housed individuals with developmental disabilities. Most of the series consists of large prints on 16 x 20-inch paper, making

Her photographs remain significant not just because of their peculiar beauty or their sharp construction, but because they ask us to reflect on the predatory nature of photography, to consider the lengths people go to capture the perfect shot, and to meditate the complicity of the viewer in it all.

Elsie Yang | Illustrations Contributor

Racism’s Effect on Aging

How racial discrimination shortens life expectancy among Black People

not represent populations from other geographic regions. Another limitation is the uneven gender distribution, as Black women and men may differ in their perceptions of racial discrimination and in their physiologic responses to racism-related stress. Moreover, the participants in the study were in midlife, so the results are likely specific to this age group. The authors themselves pointed to the need for more research to study biological consequences of racial discrimination in other stages of life, such as childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood, to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of racial discrimination on health outcomes.

K. Coco Zhang Sci-Tech Contributor

Around 46 per cent of Black Canadians 15 years old and older reported experiencing discrimination in the past five years, according to the 2019 General Social Survey (GSS) on Canadians’ Safety. Roughly 41 per cent of all Black Canadians experienced discrimination due to their race or skin colour. The likelihood of Black Canadians to be passed over for jobs for which they are qualified is as high as 40 per cent. One in five Black American adults, including three in ten Black American men, reported being a

victim of police violence. Although the definition of discrimination varies among scholars, it is generally understood as “the direct interpersonal experience of unfair treatment because of membership in a particular social group,” according to Dr. David H. Chae of Auburn University.

It is less well known, however, that racism is just as pressing a public health issue. According to a recent study led by Dr. Chae, the racism that the Black people face may age them prematurely, leading to the early onset of serious health problems.

This aging occurs at a cellular level and pertains to the

This study concluded that increased experiences of racial discrimination in midlife were associated with accelerated telomere shortening and health declines. The results are concordant with a growing body of research on the role of racism in reducing life expectancy for Black people.

shortening of telomeres, the DNAprotein structures that sit at both ends of each chromosome in the cell and prevent chromosomes from fraying. As a natural cellular process, a small segment of telomere is lost in each cell division. When telomere length reaches a critical limit, the cell no longer divides and will die, which can lead to tissue and organ dysfunction and various chronic diseases, such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and dementia. Telomere length controls the lifespan of a cell and thus an individual. The shortening of telomeres can be accelerated by many factors, including smoking, obesity, exposure to pollution or other harmful agents, an unhealthy diet, a lack of physical activity, and stress.

A unique form of stress experienced by the Black population is racial discrimination, which has contributed to welldocumented disparities in health. Numerous studies have shed light on the associations between racial discrimination and biological precursors of clinical disease outcomes, such as glucocorticoids (corticosteroid hormones that have inhibitory effects on immune responses and manage the acute onset of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders), proinflammatory cytokines (protein-based signalling

Olivia Shan | Managing Editor

molecules that mediate immune responses, such as proliferation and differentiation of lymphocytes, inflammation, allergies, and fever), and other markers of inflammation. One study specifically investigated one mechanism through which racism-related stress impacts the telomere maintenance system. Data was collected from around 400 African Americans who participated in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA), Telomere Ancillary Study in 2000, and the follow-up took place ten years later. At the beginning and the end of the study, the participants with an average age of 40 were inquired about the discrimination they experienced in various contexts, including employment, housing, and medical care. This study concluded that increased experiences of racial discrimination in midlife were associated with accelerated telomere shortening and health declines. The results are concordant with a growing body of research on the role of racism in reducing life expectancy for Black people.

Although this study advances research on racial discrimination and health outcomes, there are some notable caveats to consider. One issue pertains to the generalization of the findings.

The sample of the study was taken from metropolitan areas in the United States and thus may

In fact, another recent study led by Sierra Carter, a psychology professor at Georgia State University, shed light on the impact of racisminduced stress on aging earlier in life. Data, including selfreported questionnaires, from 368 participants in the Family and Community Health Study (FACHS) was included in Carter’s analyses. The findings of this study supported the conclusion that stress of racism accelerated physiological weathering. This weathering resulted in premature health deterioration and aging of bodily systems, putting Black people at a higher risk of diseases such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Additionally, the findings suggested that encounters of racial discrimination were associated with augmented depressive symptoms between the ages of 10 and 15 and 20 and 29 even when confounding variables, including smoking and alcohol consumption, were controlled. Based on these findings, the authors inferred that depressive symptoms could be the driving factor of accelerated aging. Carter plans to examine more deeply the accelerated aging processes and possible early life interventions. She also emphasizes the importance of acknowledging racism-related stress when treating mental health conditions, such as depression.

Despite an increased understanding of the impact of structural racism on health, further research is needed to quantify and characterize structural racism and its effects on public health. Only then can the effectiveness of anti-racism interventions in health service delivery and policy making be further ameliorated to dismantle structural racism and advance health equity.

HOROSCOPES

Aries

(Mar 21 - Apr 19)

re-assess and leaf behind a relationship that isn’t serving you.

Cancer

(Jun 21 - JUL 22)

squash your negative self talk at it’s root. moon in leo means time to shine.

Libra

(Sept 23 - Oct 22)

venus enters scorpio: pumpkin spice it up with that special someone.

Capricorn

(Dec 22 - Jan 19)

stop being a turkey and heal your inner child already.

Taurus

(Apr 20 - May)

sun trine saturn: a cornucopia of options will emerge soon. feast.

Leo

(Jul 23 - Aug 22)

hay, don’t be so baleful when people inevitably dissapoint you.

?

Scorpio

(Oct 23 - Nov 21)

you are feeling spiritual. christian girl autumn notwithstanding.

Aquarius

(Jan 20 - Feb 18)

you want two things at once. choose one cider another.

Gemini

(May 21 - Jun 20)

reap the rewards of your work and fall into peace.

Virgo

(Aug 23 - Sept 22)

pumpkin patch things up with the person you’re avoiding.

Sagittarius

(Nov 22 - Dec 21)

you are a force for gourd in the world this week.

Pisces

(Feb 19 - Mar 20)

be thankful and chai to avoid that one temptation this week.

Randa Mohamed

Cartoonist