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…]
Opinion
Opinions from our editorial board and contributors.
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…]
Love is a verb
Late on a Saturday night of St. Laurent bar-hopping, you walk into the dingy bathroom of Bar Bifteck to find a college-aged stranger kneeling over the toilet. They appear to be alone. You go over and ask if they are okay, offering to hold their hair back or to get[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…]
Self-care is the opposite of revolutionary
We’ve heard the lines and seen the videos probably more times than we can count—“Protect your peace,” “choose yourself”, “cut people off that don’t serve you,” and the one that gives me the most pause, “you don’t owe anyone anything.” The latest mental health trend: ‘Radical’ self-care. Originally coined by[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…]
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…]
