Articles by The Tribune Editorial Board

McGill shields Israeli institutions at the expense of its students

The McGill administration’s recent effort to obstruct the Law Students’ Association’s (LSA) referendum epitomizes its blatant disrespect for student expression and democracy. From March 19–21, students in the Faculty of Law voted in favour of a referendum endorsing the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI). The referendum, introduced by[Read More…]

Winter 2026 PGSS Executive Endorsements

The Tribune’s Editorial Board presents its endorsements of the candidates for the 2025-2026 Post-Graduate Students’ Society of McGill University (PGSS) Executive Committee. Editors researched and communicated with each candidate before leading an Editorial Board discussion on the candidates’ qualifications and vision for their prospective roles. Editors with conflicts of interest[Read More…]

Winter 2026 SSMU Executive Endorsements

The Tribune’s Editorial Board presents its endorsements of the candidates for the 2025-2026 Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Executive Committee. Editors researched and communicated with each candidate before leading an Editorial Board discussion on the candidates’ qualifications and vision for their prospective roles. Editors with conflicts of interest abstained[Read More…]

McGill’s partnership with Planet Labs undermines its claim to neutrality

Satellite imaging company Planet Labs recently restricted public access to satellite imagery over Iran and surrounding regions. Now, images will be subject to a mandatory 14-day delay before being made available, with the intention of preventing ‘adversarial actors’ from conducting Battle Damage Assessments (BDAs) of Israeli and American attacks—a military[Read More…]

Ferrada’s austerity must not threaten accessibility

Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada’s 2026 budget implemented a 90 per cent reduction in funding for Montreal’s universal mobility program, an initiative dedicated to making public spaces accessible for individuals with reduced mobility. Ferrada’s administration allocated $354,000 CAD in funding for 2026 and has planned $0 CAD for 2027, severely compromising[Read More…]

Montreal upholds its colonial legacy by failing to prioritize reconciliation

On Nov. 18, Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada announced the composition of her new 14-member executive committee, with roles ranging from security and housing to green economic development. While Ferrada’s committee included a plethora of portfolios, it omitted a committee member explicitly responsible for reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples—a role that[Read More…]

Canada would rather spend millions than confront systemic anti-Black racism

In 2020, the Black Class Action Secretariat (BCAS), a non-profit organization dedicated to addressing systemic discrimination against workers across Canada’s public institutions, filed Thompson et al. vs Canada, a federal class action representing 45,000 Black Canadians. The lawsuit seeks to address systemic anti-Black racism in the Public Service of Canada,[Read More…]

Quebec’s neglect of students with disabilities is undermining education and well-being

Last week, Quebec school administrators informed thousands of students with disabilities that they would be experiencing a ‘break in services’ until Nov. 2026. Those breaks, the result of funding and staffing shortages that made accessibility programming reportedly infeasible, entail reduced schedules, removal from classes, and in some instances, being forced[Read More…]

2025 PGSS executive midterm reviews

The Tribune’s Editorial Board presents its midterm reviews of the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) executives. Tribune editors researched and communicated with each executive before leading an Editorial Board discussion on the executives’ work and accomplishments. Editors with conflicts of interest abstained from discussing, writing, and editing relevant reviews. PGSS Secretary-General:[Read More…]

2025 SSMU executives midterm review

The Tribune‘s Editorial Board presents its midterm reviews of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) executives. Tribune editors researched and communicated with each executive before leading an Editorial Board discussion on the executives’ work and accomplishments. Editors with conflicts of interest abstained from discussing, writing, and editing relevant reviews.[Read More…]

Montreal’s unhoused population deserves to thrive, not just survive

For Montreal’s unhoused individuals, the early-descending freezing temperatures and the predicted high-precipitation winter ahead pose fatal risks, including frostbite, hypothermia, and death. Yet, shelters across the city are already struggling at and over capacity.  Although Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada has promised to expand housing and healthcare services for the unhoused,[Read More…]

Trans rights are human rights—and Canada is infringing on them

On Nov. 20, communities across the world recognized Transgender Day of Remembrance, a day honouring the lives of trans and nonbinary people lost to anti-trans violence. However, this year’s commemoration in Canada was countered by an unprecedented wave of political hostility toward transgender youth.  The Alberta government, in particular, has[Read More…]

Sudan’s genocide is fueled by global and local apathy toward Black lives

In April 2023, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group descended into a civil war. Since then, both groups have executed large-scale massacres and targeted ethnic cleansing against Black, non-Arab ethnic groups, such as the Masalit, Fur, and Zaghawa peoples. This genocide—enabled by a[Read More…]

Fall 2025 Referendum Endorsements

The Tribune’s Editorial Board presents its endorsements for the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Fall 2025 Referendum questions. The endorsements reflect a majority vote of the editorial board, with the option for editors with conflicts of interest to abstain from pertinent questions. First Year Fee Renewal: Yes This motion[Read More…]

McGill must get on the right track and prioritize accessibility—not anti-unionism

This October, employees of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) filed strike notices that will disrupt bus and metro services throughout November. The Syndicat du transport de Montréal-CSN, which represents maintenance workers, has pledged to strike from Oct. 31 to Nov. 28. The Syndicat des chauffeurs, opérateurs, et employés[Read More…]

With far-right extremism on the rise, McGill must actively counter hate

On Sep. 9, white nationalist group the Second Sons announced the opening of a Montreal division. This expansion is part of a rising wave of extremist ‘active clubs’ across Eastern Canada. Framed as organizations propagating a combination of fitness and men’s mentorship, these ‘active clubs’ co-opt medieval aesthetics and martial[Read More…]

McGill, prestige won’t protect students from inequitable healthcare education

The McGill administration has dissolved its Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences’ Social Accountability and Community Engagement (SACE) office—the medical school’s main equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) body. Consequently, the university fired three major SACE leaders, all members of racialized groups with extensive research backgrounds in healthcare equity. In their[Read More…]

McGill must confront its hand in human torture

//Content warning: Medical abuse, racial and colonial violence// After decades of institutional negligence, a new class-action lawsuit presents McGill with the opportunity to formally address its role in the human torture experiments conducted through the CIA-funded MKUltra program. Given this opening for reparative action, McGill must reconcile its historic and[Read More…]

McGill, it shouldn’t take bodies to believe Indigenous voices

During the 2023 provincial election, Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative (PC) government refused to support a search of the Prairie Green landfill, which local police suspected contained the remains of several missing Indigenous women. This week, investigators found remains of Marcedes Myran on the site, proving that the calls for an investigation[Read More…]

Quebec’s potential ban on public prayer epitomizes the hypocrisies of selective secularism

With the announcement of a new committee on secularism, the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government is poised to tighten restrictions on religious expression, especially through the expansion of Bill 21—a 2019 law barring public employees from wearing religious symbols—and a potential ban on public prayer. The CAQ committee will assess[Read More…]

Privatization derails transportation accessibility

Montreal’s public transit system is at its breaking point. Ongoing weather and power disruptions to the Réseau express métropolitain (REM) light-rail network, budgetary challenges within the Societé de Transport de Montréal (STM), and most recently, the looming threat of privatization of essential transit services have left users and workers frustrated.[Read More…]

Lip service won’t save lives amid the Indigenous domestic violence crisis

This Valentine’s Day, the Centre for Gender Advocacy and The Native Women’’s Shelter of Montreal’’s Iskewu Project co-hosted 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[Read More…]

Canadian democracy depends on investment in Black political representation

Following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau‘s resignation announcement last month, he leaves behind a 10-year-long legacy of landmark initiatives founded in his majority Liberal government, including the establishment of the Parliamentary Black Caucus (PBC) and the Liberal Black Caucus (LBC). The past decade has been shaped by both progress and challenges[Read More…]

McGill does not contest the latest faculty union certification: A shift or merely an exception?

On Dec. 31, the Tribunal administratif du travail certified the Association of McGill Academic Staff of the School of Continuing Studies (AMASCS) as McGill’s fourth faculty union. AMASCS is the first instance of faculty unionization that McGill did not contest in court—a pivotal moment for the unions, who have faced[Read More…]

McGill’s bandaid solutions don’t protect students from bigotry

On Nov. 25, the McGill administration announced an immediate suspension of room bookings for extracurricular speaker events until January, citing “unacceptably high” security risks and the need to protect the school’s academic mission during the exam period. The decision follows recent backlash surrounding the invitation of Mosab Hassan Yousef to[Read More…]

2024 SSMU executive midterm reviews

The Tribune’s Editorial Board presents its midterm reviews of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) and Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) executives. Tribune editors researched and communicated with each executive before leading an Editorial Board discussion on the executives’ work and accomplishments. Editors with conflicts of interest abstained from discussing,[Read More…]

2024 PGSS executive midterm reviews

The Tribune’s Editorial Board presents its midterm reviews of the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) executives. Tribune editors researched and communicated with each executive before leading an Editorial Board discussion on the executives’ work and accomplishments. Editors with conflicts of interest abstained from discussing, writing, and editing relevant reviews. PGSS Secretary-General: Satish Kumar Tumulu [Read More…]

The Tribune’s SSMU by-election endorsements

The Tribune’s editorial board presents its endorsements of the candidates for the Fall 2024 Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) by-election for the Vice-President (VP) Student Life and VP Sustainability and Operations positions. Editors researched and communicated with each candidate before leading an editorial board discussion on the candidate’s qualifications[Read More…]

Montreal’s unhoused population deserves care, not cruelty

The Société de transport de Montréal’s (STM) recent decision to close a major entrance to the Atwater metro station until April 2025 exemplifies Montreal’s unempathetic approach toward its most vulnerable residents. This entrance has long served as a crucial warming space for unhoused individuals during Quebec’s harsh winters. The STM’s[Read More…]

Quebec’s healthcare system needs a prescription for change

Quebec Health Minister Christian Dubé recently announced reform plans for Quebec’s healthcare system, which include restricting new doctors to the public sector and potentially invoking the notwithstanding clause to enforce compliance. The provincial doctor shortage is a pressing issue: Quebec has seen a 70 per cent increase in physicians moving[Read More…]

Student protest is meant to disrupt the status quo

In anticipation of heightened tensions on Oct. 7, the McGill administration preemptively closed campus, silencing student protest and increasing policing. The university moved classes online and required students to show identification at security checkpoints, with some students reporting that they were denied entry into academic buildings despite valid credentials. Fences[Read More…]

As climate crises reach an unprecedented scale, Canada needs to rethink eco-justice

The climate crisis in Canada is worsening every year. In 2023, wildfires burned six times their historical average, polluting Montreal’s air quality to the lowest level in the world for two days. In 2024, 32,000 hectares of Jasper National Park burned down, rapidly eliminating critical local biodiversity and natural ecosystems.[Read More…]

Solidarity must supersede suppression at McGill

In the past week, Israel has intensified its military actions in Lebanon, killing over 700 civilians and displacing over 90,000 people. Destructive Israeli airstrikes have destroyed densely populated residential areas, including a massive bombing that flattened four buildings in Southern Beirut. Lebanon’s health minister, Dr. Firass Abiad, reported that Israel’s[Read More…]

Canada and McGill must confront their roles in eco-racism against Indigenous peoples 

As the climate crisis steadily worsens in Canada, so do the livelihoods and environments of Indigenous peoples who bear the disproportionate brunt of its effects. Climate change is eroding both access to resources and foundations of Indigenous tradition, ritual, and history. These impacts on Indigenous communities are not incidental. They[Read More…]

Winter 2024 SSMU Executive Endorsements 

The Tribune’s editorial board presents its endorsements of the candidates for the 2024-2025 Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) executive team. Editors researched and communicated with each candidate before leading an editorial board discussion on the candidate’s qualifications and vision for their prospective role. Editors with conflicts of interest abstained[Read More…]

Winter 2024 SSMU Referendum Endorsements 

The Tribune’s Editorial Board presents its endorsements for the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Winter 2024 referendum questions. Editors researched and discussed the questions before voting on each endorsement. These endorsements reflect a majority vote of the editorial board, with editors who have conflicts of interest abstaining from pertinent[Read More…]

A functioning democracy at SSMU depends on student engagement

On Mar. 11, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) opened voting for their Winter 2024 referendum and 2024 Executive Elections. Three candidates ran unopposed for the vice president (VP) positions of Sustainability and Operations, University Affairs, and Internal, and two outstanding vacancies mark this semester’s ballot: SSMU President and[Read More…]

McGill must protect its queer students and stand against growing bigotry

On Feb. 22, 2024, the town of Westlock, Alberta, voted to prohibit rainbow crosswalks and flying anything other than government flags. This measure is yet another recent example of Canadian politicians implementing homophobic and transphobic policies, all of which normalize hatred against queer communities. The Westlock decision came after Alberta[Read More…]

Divestment from fossil fuels was the first step; divestment from genocide is the next

Following 12 years of mobilization from students and faculty, the Board of Governors (BoG) voted on Dec. 14 to divest from all direct holdings in Carbon Underground (CU) 200 fossil fuel companies. This is a significant step toward greater environmental justice and a well-deserved victory for Divest McGill, an organization[Read More…]

Reconceptualizing free speech on an unequal campus

The debate over free speech in higher education has attracted significant attention in recent months. Elite universities, such as Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), have received international attention as raging conservative movements take down administrations while these same administrators stumble over institutional oppression. Recent right-wing backlash against[Read More…]

Palestinian artists will not be silenced on campus and in liberation

Since the recent escalation of violence in Gaza and the West Bank, artists worldwide are raising their voices in solidarity with Palestine, advocating for a ceasefire amidst dire violations of human rights and mass destruction of Palestinian land. In parallel, a disturbing pattern of censorship and backlash, particularly targeting Palestinian[Read More…]

2023 SSMU executive midterm reviews

The Tribune’s editorial board presents its midterm reviews of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) executives. Tribune editors researched and communicated with each executive before leading an editorial board discussion on the executives’ work and accomplishments. Editors with conflicts of interest abstained from discussing, writing, and editing relevant reviews.[Read More…]

2023 PGSS executive midterm reviews

The Tribune’s editorial board presents its midterm reviews of the Post-Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) executives. Tribune editors researched and communicated with each executive before leading an editorial board discussion on the executives’ work and accomplishments. Editors with conflicts of interest abstained from discussing, writing, and editing relevant reviews. Secretary-General: Satish[Read More…]

Montreal’s 2024 budget inflates a ballooning SPVM, while crucial accessibility issues go unaddressed

Announced on Nov. 15, Montreal’s 2024 budget raises serious concerns regarding the skewed allocation of funds accompanying the 3.5 per cent spending increase. The municipal government allocated the majority of the budget to investments in public transit––which is receiving a budget increase of $48.4 million, bringing it up to $715.6[Read More…]

Student journalism must serve as an example for mainstream media on responsible reporting

Student journalism has a long, rich history of on-the-ground reporting of university-related issues. McGill’s first newspaper, The McGill Gazette, began in 1874, and today’s vibrant publications maintain this legacy. In light of recent violence in Israel and Palestine, rising tensions on campuses have illuminated the division and bias that mainstream[Read More…]

McGill’s neglect of Indigenous veterans fuels settler colonialism

Content warning: sexual violence, settler colonialism. Observed a few days before Remembrance Day, Indigenous Veterans Day on Nov. 8 commemorates the notable contributions of Indigenous veterans to Canada’s historical military pursuits. Despite official recognition since the day’s establishment in 1994, the broader acknowledgment of Indigenous contributions remains insufficient, and the[Read More…]

Palestinian, Israeli, Arab and Jewish students need McGill’s institutional support now

Over the past four weeks, Jewish, Israeli, and Palestinian students,  community members and allies have demonstrated on the McGill campus. On Oct. 7, Hamas launched an unprecedented attack killing over 1,400 Israelis and taking over 200 hostages. In a brutal response consisting of airstrikes, ground incursions, and a siege on[Read More…]

We need collective action against Quebec’s push for financially inaccessible education

On Oct. 13, the Quebec government announced that tuition for incoming out-of-province Canadian students hoping to study at Quebec universities would double, at both anglophone and francophone post-secondary institutions. This measure will come into effect for all incoming students in Fall 2024 and would entirely reshape the province’s educational landscape.[Read More…]