On Dec. 29, the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) banned convicted Catholic priest Brian Boucher from several parts of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (CDN-NDG) and the Town of Mount Royal, after he repeatedly crossed paths with an individual he had sexually assaulted. The individual said that encountering Boucher caused discomfort. They noted that[Read More…]
Commentary
Quebec’s winter crossings are a policy outcome, not a one-time crisis
January, colloquially known as the month of new beginnings. Planners for the calendar year fill the bookshelves, wellness advice on how to ‘improve’ flood TikTok and Instagram For-You-Pages, and even McGill sends out communications encouraging students to return to campus with better habits and a renewed zest for academia and[Read More…]
Bill C-3 forces adoptees to reconsider their national identity; Canada should too
On Nov. 20, the House of Commons passed Bill C-3, drastically altering the Canadian citizenship process. The bill, also known as the “Lost Canadians Bill,” expands access to citizenship for over 115,000 people born abroad. Previously, second-generation Canadians born outside of Canada couldn’t inherit citizenship from a naturalized parent. Now,[Read More…]
Without redistributing power, repatriation of artifacts remains incomplete
Reconciliation should not come with an invoice. The Vatican’s decision to return 62 Indigenous artifacts to Canada is being described as a “concrete sign of dialogue, respect and fraternity.” Yet when the Catholic Church maintains control over the timing, framing, and logistics of the return, even forcing Indigenous communities to[Read More…]
Cutting teaching assistant funding will hurt learning
With first- and second-year classes averaging 69 enrolled students—and many required classes tallying in the hundreds—McGill must create more opportunities for students to collaborate in smaller sections. The benefits of small-group learning have been widely documented; it is in McGill’s best interest to draw money from its endowment to expand[Read More…]
When Ottawa cuts, Kahnawà:ke pays
Through Bill C-5’s ‘Building Canada Act,’ the Carney administration aims to achieve extensive economic development projects—though without respect for Indigenous rights and sovereignty. When critical funding for Indigenous services is placed on the chopping block, Indigenous communities have no choice but to take sovereign action to secure for themselves what[Read More…]
A local grocer staves off the predatory Loblaws monopoly
In the Mile End, on av. du Parc just south of av St.-Viateur, lies Lipa’s Kosher Market. Lipa’s, established over 70 years ago, belongs to a dying breed of local grocers geared to the needs of their community: In Lipa’s case, the Montreal Hasidic Jewish community. However, this past August,[Read More…]
Fare dodging: Transit accessibility tactic or detractor?
Fare dodging, for many urban dwellers, is simply a part of life. Whether it be leaping over a turnstile at the metro entrance or sneaking onto the back of the bus, the practice of evading public transit fees is regarded by many as innocuous and commonplace. Over the past decade,[Read More…]
The poppy ban gets neutrality wrong
Everything is political—but not everything should be policed. This is the tension that sits at the heart of a recent decision in Nova Scotia, in which the judiciary ruled that court staff must seek the presiding judge’s permission to wear the Remembrance Day poppy, terming it a ‘symbol of support’[Read More…]
Quebec independence will not solve climate change
Hundreds of Quebec separatists—predominantly younger Quebecers—gathered in Montreal on Oct. 25 for a rally reaffirming their desire for independence 30 years after the 1995 Referendum for Quebec sovereignty, which failed by less than one per cent. The young Quebecers at the front of this movement not only argue that secession[Read More…]
