Opinion

Opinions from our editorial board and contributors.

A midterm adventure

Sometimes, during the middle of midterms when one’s diet consists of a problematic number of Tim Horton’s bagels and too much coffee, and the dirty laundry pile is functioning as a chest of drawers, one decides to take a small adventure. A small midterm adventure, to be precise. The small[Read More…]

Confusing questions and unclear mandates

On Thursday morning voting in the Fall Referendum period closes, and in all likelihood the QPIRG-McGill and CKUT referendum questions will pass—as long as quorum is reached. It’s rare for a fee renewal question to fail, as these referenda are more a test of whether a group can mobilize enough[Read More…]

Online gateway toward greater accountability

McGill Tribune Following the lead of Toronto, Vancouver, and Ottawa, the City of Montreal has created a website—donnees.ville.montreal.qc.ca—opening up its municipal data to the public. The website, known as an open data portal, is intended to be a universally accessible resource for municipal information, ranging from government contract details to[Read More…]

To walk or to wait

Jaywalking is a practice that is only nominally illegal in most North American cities. However, Montreal seems to be taking a different approach. The Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) has begun its annual pedestrian safety campaign. Like most measures by government to raise “awareness” of a[Read More…]

The importance of QPIRG at McGill

McGill Tribune I have just returned from the 100th anniversary of the McGill Daily. I was a writer and editor from 1964 to 1967. The McGill Daily set me on my path both as an activist and as a journalist.      Needless to say the 1960s were an exciting[Read More…]

Consultation reaps rewards on niche issues

McGill Tribune SSMU should be commended for their efforts at giving McGill students a voice with the various consultation fairs and strategic summits that have been held so far this semester. For years, SSMU has been talking about better student representation via improved communication with students, and this year they[Read More…]

Paws off the beaver

1975 was one fine year for the beaver fan, especially for those with a particular fondness for the Castor Canadensis—the Canadian beaver. That year marked the start of the beaver’s official role, alongside the maple leaf, as a Canadian national symbol. However, 2011 has proved to be a much more[Read More…]

Geuss’s winning maxim

Last October, philosopher Raymond Geuss stood in a graveyard in Cambridge, England for a mysterious filmed interview. In an eery setting, Geuss communicated an inspired statement: knowing the historical context of what you stand for “will change your attitude toward the world and toward yourself … It will prevent you[Read More…]

Keep opt-outs the way they are

In just over a week’s time, students will have the chance to vote on the continued funding of Radio CKUT and the Quebec Public Interest Research Group at McGill. Yet in a way this is also a referendum on the current opt-out system, and whether it was a mistake to[Read More…]

Occupy where, and for what?

After leaving its humble beginnings in Vancouver to make a splash in the Big Apple, the Occupy movement returned to its birth country last week, hitting large Canadian cities with full force. Crowds defying any demographic classification filled streets and parks across the country to join what has become a[Read More…]

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