Last week, the Macdonald Campus Students’ Society (MCSS) voted to go on a one-day strike on March 22. The Post Graduate Students’ Society (PGSS) also voted to go on a three-day strike from March 20 to March 22.

March 22 is the National Day of Action against tuition increases, when thousands of students are expected to take to the streets in protest of the Quebec government’s proposed tuition fee increases. Tuition is set to increase this September by $325 every year for the next five years.

“The one day strike is a symbolic action,” Kerry Blake-Savery, MCSS president, said.

MCSS’ General Assembly on March 8 required a quorum of 170, but attendance reached 304. According to Blake-Savery, the last time an MCSS GA had quorum was in 2005. The motion had originally called for a three-day strike, but was amended to a one-day strike. During the assembly, MCSS members voted against the present tuition increase and voted in favour of accessible education.

The PGSS Annual General Meeting on March 7 also exceeded quorum, with 185 members in attendance, more than twice the required quorum of 80 students. Mariève Isabel, PGSS VP External, explained that although the motion originally called for a one-day strike, it was amended on the floor by members to become a three-day strike.

“The goal, as mentioned in the motion itself, was to encourage graduate students to participate [in] the province-wide demonstration on March 22 and to show our support [for] the Quebec student movement,” Isabel said.

“We are going to use the extra two days to organize activities and information sessions about peaceful demonstration, tuition fees, etc. We want to make sure that as many students as possible can attend these activities and the demonstration on March 22.”

    —Carolina Millán Ronchetti