On February 6, a five-alarm fire destroyed a 117-year-old abandoned church at 2040 René Lévesque. The blaze raged from 5 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., forcing the Montreal Fire Department to demolish what remained of the building for safety reasons. The fire badly damaged the former convent attached to the church and an historic mansion on the same property.
News
News, off and on campus.
Senate delays approval on Research and IT Resource policies
The McGill University Senate met for the second time this calendar year on Wednesday to address two policies awaiting approval by its members. Acting as the Senate’s chair, Principal Heather Munroe-Blum spoke about her recent trip to India in her opening remarks.
Five of seven motions pass at Winter General Assembly
Five out of seven motions passed at the Students’ Society’s Winter General Assembly last Wednesday, with only a motion that sought to ban discriminatory groups – specifically pro-life groups – failing, and another being ruled out of order. Unlike last semester’s GA, the assembly managed to address each motion of new business while maintaining quorum throughout.
In Kahnawake, eviction notices force non-Aboriginals off the land
In response to a growing number of complaints by residents of the Kahnawake reservation on the South Shore, the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake has served eviction notices to all non-native people living illegally on the reserve. In accordance with Canadian law, the federal government grants land reserves to native bands, who are then in charge of deciding their own residence laws.
Penguins CEO addresses Management students
Ken Sawyer, CEO of the Pittsburgh Penguins, spoke to an enthusiastic audience in the third-floor lounge of the Bronfman building last Friday as part of the Faculty of Management’s CEO Speaker Series. Within the last decade, the Penguins have propelled themselves from bankruptcy to the Stanley Cup.
Queen’s may join other universities in banning bottled water
At Queen’s University, the Water Access Group, a group of students and professors interested in promoting public water and discouraging the use of bottled water, has completed a study of the school’s water fountains. The group found that 84 of 151 fountains were broken or dirty, and only 24 had gooseneck spouts for refilling water bottles, which prompted them to write an open letter to Daniel Woolf, the university’s principal.
Law Students’ Association considers cutting ties to SSMU
The Law Students’ Association Council recently voted to establish a committee that will evaluate its relationship with the Students’ Society, opening the door to the possibility that the LSA will disaffiliate from SSMU. The motion, put forward by LSA President Alexandre Shee, requires the new five-person committee make suggestions as to how its relationship with SSMU can be improved.
Students failing language exams
The University of Waterloo is one of the few institutions in Canada to administer a language proficiency exam as a degree requirement. Although the university has used the test since 1976, students’ writing problems just appear to be getting worse. “What we do know is that our pass rate is declining,” said Ann Barrett, managing director of the English language proficiency exam at Waterloo.
With H1N1 cases decreasing, McGill removes the red button
In response to a decreasing number of reported H1N1 cases, McGill is ending pandemic-related activities prompted by H1N1 influenza. The decision followed the announcement from the Quebec Ministry of Education, Recreation and Sports, which stated that pandemic-related activities can now be discontinued.
Understanding Wednesday’s General Assembly motions
Undergraduate students will gather tomorrow beginning at 5:00 p.m. in the Shatner cafeteria to participate in the Winter General Assembly. With seven new motions on the table there is a wide variety of SSMU policy to be decided. Motion Re: The Defense of Human Rights, Social Justice, and Environmental Protection Put forward by Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights, this motion has emerged as perhaps the most controversial Genderal Assembly motion.
