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Football, Sports

The NFL’s racist double standard

by Jasjot Grewal on

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After the San Francisco 49ers beat the Dallas Cowboys (30-24) on Oct. 27, the 49ers’ defensive end Nick Bosa videobombed his teammate and quarterback Brock Purdy’s postgame interview while proudly wearing and pointing to a Make America Great Again (MAGA) hat, indisputably endorsing presidential candidate Donald Trump. In 2016, the NFL blacklisted former 49ers quarterback (2011-2016) Colin Kaepernick for sitting and kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial inequality and police brutality toward Black individuals. Yet, despite its policy limiting political messaging, the NFL has not acted against Bosa. The league’s silence on Bosa’s sentiment in comparison to its response to Kaepernick illustrates the clear double standard in the NFL, further propagating the anti-Black racism and bigotry that prevails within American football and the broader sports sphere. 

In the 2016 NFL preseason, Kaepernick sat down during the Aug. 26 pre-game national anthem in protest of anti-Black policing. Kaepernick’s protests advanced to kneeling when the anthem was played, with 49ers safety Eric Reid soon joining him. Kaepernick received nationwide attention from proponents and critics alike. While former-president Barack Obama defended Kaepernick’s “constitutional right to make a statement,” 2016 president-elect Donald Trump denounced Kaepernick for his “lack of respect” for the American flag. 

Kaepernick continued his protests and frequently spoke out in interviews about the debate around racism and patriotism. After the 2016 season ended, the 49ers had a 2–14 record, and Kaepernick opted out of the final year of his contract, instead entering the NFL free-agent market. However, no team offered to sign him. Kaepernick soon filed a formal grievance accusing NFL team owners of conspiring to keep him out of the league, which was resolved in February 2019; the settlement details have remained confidential. Kaepernick has not played on an NFL team since 2016. 

While Kaepernick’s stance of anti-racism effectively ended his football career and resulted in him receiving countless death threats and hate messages online, Bosa has been commended for his endorsement of Trump. Users on X responded to clips of the interview with praise, including sentiments like “You gotta love it” and “We’re so fucking back.” 

Just hours before Bosa appeared in the NBC interview, Trump had held one of his most racist, sexist, and vile rallies yet. Speaker Tony Hinchcliffe began the rally with slurs against Latinx and African-American individuals, David Rem called presidential candidate Kamala Harris “the antichrist,” and Sid Rosenburg attacked former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton with misogynistic rhetoric. Trump himself gave some of his most sinister anti-immigration remarks, calling for the death penalty against migrants who kill American citizens, with chants of “Send them back” resounding from the crowd. 

For Bosa to endorse a candidate who is openly racist, misogynistic, and xenophobic should be considered an act of hate, especially considering the backlash Kaepernick received when he called for an end to anti-Black killings. At best, Bosa will be fined around $10,000 USD for his political statement. While Kaepernick was completely shunned from the NFL for his social activism efforts, Bosa will not face the same consequences and will be allowed to ‘practice his constitutional rights.’

Yet Bosa’s endorsement of Trump should come as no surprise given his own values. Bosa has long had a history of liking and following Instagram accounts featuring racist and homophobic language. During Kaepernick’s 2016 protests, Bosa called Kaepernick a “clown” on X. He has continuously commended former presidents Trump and Ronald Reagan, referring to them as the “greatest of all time.”

The NFL—administrators, players, coaches, and fans—cannot blacklist Kaepernick for a stance against racism and then commend Bosa for his hateful pro-Trump sentiments. Sport is not apolitical; rather, it chooses to platform racism and silence impactful dissent. The NFL’s racist double standard must be addressed. 

Local Stories, Student Life

How did students celebrate Diwaloween?

by Jasjot Grewal on

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This year, Diwali fell on Oct. 31—making the Hindu, Sikh, and Jain celebration fall on the same day as Halloween. For students who celebrate both Diwali and Halloween, this presented quite a conundrum. The Tribune talked to South Asian students to see how they commemorated the joint festivities. 

For Keya Tyagi, Vice President Academic of McGill’s South Asian Studies Student Association (SASSA), the days around Diwaloween were hectic as she navigated exams, family celebrations, and school events. 

“For me personally it’s been a bit chaotic, especially considering it’s still kind of midterms season for me as well,” Tyagi wrote in a statement to The Tribune. “As someone who’s from Montreal and currently lives at home, I definitely have a different experience from students who are celebrating far from home, but for me, the struggle has been in balancing family commitments/celebrating Diwali at home [versus] everything that is going on for Halloween and going out with friends.” 

Tyagi also explained that it can be difficult for South Asian students to balance both Diwali and Halloween events offered by campus groups. SASSA offered a Diwaloween event on Nov. 1 in the Morrice Hall Theatre, with dance, music, and food for attendees. 

“I think with [the SASSA Diwaloween event] and other similar ones I’ve seen happening around here you can find a way to combine the two holidays [and] celebrate Diwali in a way that’s very unique to the diaspora,” Tyagi wrote. “At first, [SASSA event organizers] were scared that we wouldn’t have as good of a turnout for our event due to people having conflicting Halloween plans, but so many people showed up which was a nice surprise!” 

Tia Sharma, U3 Arts, acknowledged that it can be difficult for South Asian students to find community in Montreal, especially if they don’t have friends from the same origin. 

“We live in North America currently, [and] naturally the culture is more western-centric so it’s hard to make time for your own festivals in between Halloween,” Sharma wrote in a statement to The Tribune.  “South Asian students with multiple brown friends like me are fortunate on that end that we do have an option to skip things together to celebrate Diwali but for students that don’t have any brown friends from their own culture, they’d have to just go along with their friends’ plans.” 

Nonetheless, Sharma explained that she has found a way to make a home away from home for herself, which helps when it comes to celebrating holidays such as Diwali. She strongly encourages students to create safe spaces where they can retain their cultural values. 

“For example, a friend of mine made everybody who entered his house light diyas, even his non-Indian friends and explained the concept to them. Most people (with a few exceptions [of course]) are willing to learn about and appreciate your culture. I personally always find things to do like eating an Indian meal, buying sparklers, facetiming my mom and sitting through her Diwali pooja to feel like I’m home,” she wrote. 

Bhavya Kalra, Co-President of the Indian Students’ Association, explained that for some students, Diwali has been a lifelong tradition, whereas Halloween is a new addition, meaning that Diwali takes precedence when it comes to celebrations. 

“With Halloween being something that I personally started celebrating very recently (since I moved to Canada 3 years ago), I’ve celebrated Diwali every single year since I’ve been born and so the festival means much more than anything. It keeps me connected to my roots and my family and I think this is how all the brown kids, who are miles away from their homes feel,” Kalra wrote in a statement to The Tribune. 

She added that she hopes more events such as SASSA’s Diwaloween are hosted in coming years to foster a sense of community for South Asian students. 

“It would further create a sense of belonging for South Asians far from their homes in this country while also being connected to their own cultural identity,” she wrote.

McGill, News

McGill administration and students consider potential ramifications of federal government immigration restrictions

by Asher Kui, Shani Laskin on

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On Oct. 24, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) Minister Marc Miller announced the 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan which aims to decrease the number of temporary residents in Canada from 6.2 per cent of the population in 2023 to 5 per cent by the end of 2026. To achieve this, the plan includes a new ceiling of 437,000 study permits issued for 2025. The government will also tighten the eligibility requirements to gain a post-graduation work permit (PGWP). Starting Nov. 1, those wishing to obtain a PGWP must demonstrate a Canadian Language Benchmark level 7 for French or English. Amid the rollout, McGill and its students hypothesize the potential impact on the university. 

According to a federal government news release from January, the government imposed the restrictive measures to address the housing and healthcare shortage. In the same release, Miller alluded to some institutions that “significantly increased their intakes to drive revenues.” 

McGill boasts a diverse student body with almost 30 per cent of the population coming from over 150 countries. The Media Relations Office (MRO) wrote to The Tribune that it is unclear whether these restrictions will impact the university as details have yet to be shared. As such, MRO wrote that McGill remains confident in its international standing. 

“McGill’s international standing is based on the excellence of its academic and research programs, its international outlook and its ability to innovate based on the research it conducts,” the MRO wrote. “As a result, we expect our international standing to remain strong. ”

According to Caroline Viola, U3 Science, and co-president of the McGill Biology Student Union (MBSU), many international students are attracted to McGill under the notion that there is a clear pathway to obtaining a PGWP. The implementation of the new PGWP restrictions could act as another stress factor for many—especially those who will be graduating this year.

“This change is definitely detrimental to students […] if you have jobs in mind in Canada, just knowing that there might be a restriction on if you can actually be allowed to stay here to take the job is really unfortunate, and I think it definitely just adds a stressor for a lot of students, as well as restricting probably where students will end up applying,” Viola told The Tribune.

The MRO wrote that McGill President and Vice-Chancellor Deep Saini, along with administration leaders from the Université de Montréal, Université Laval, and Université de Sherbrooke, will appear before a Parliamentary Commission at the National Assembly of Québec on Tuesday, Nov. 5 to present their unified stance on the new immigration regulations. The MRO also noted that the International Student Services provides support to students who wish to obtain a PGWP through webinars, advising sessions, and step-by-step guides.

Nick Chow, U3 Arts and Science and MBSU’s co-president, also remarked on the potential that it may be some time before any impacts are seen at McGill. 

“These are federal government changes and changes that are affecting schools all across the country,” Chow told The Tribune. “And so we’re getting numbers at the federal level and once that trickles down to McGill itself, it’s really hard to know exactly how many less international student spots there will be.”

Alongside these restrictions, the Quebec government has taken its own measures to cut down immigration levels. The provincial government announced on Oct. 31 that it will not accept new applications under the Québec graduate stream of the Québec Experience Program. This will be in effect until July 30, 2025 at the latest. Additionally, tuition hikes have been imposed on out-of-province and international students at anglophone universities. For Twisha Singh, coordinator for the Post-Graduate Students’ Society’s International Student Caucus, these kinds of measures have an outsized effect on students from low-income backgrounds.

“When considered alongside Quebec’s recent tuition increases for out-of-province and international students, these federal restrictions seem part of a broader trend that could disproportionately impact students from marginalized or lower-income backgrounds,” Singh wrote to The Tribune. “Policies like these affect not just individual students but also our ability to foster an environment where diversity, representation, and inclusivity are more than words—they are lived realities.” 

McGill, News

“Kiki as Resistance” discusses ballroom culture, radical joy, and Black queer identity

by Eliza Lee on

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A crowd of roughly 25 people gathered in Redpath Library on Oct. 28 for a talk entitled “Kiki as Resistance: Shaping Black Queer and Trans Identities” by Vincent Mousseau—a social worker, PhD student in Health at Dalhousie University, and member of the kiki scene in Montreal. Mousseau discussed the role of kiki ballroom culture in shaping the identities of Black queer individuals and as resistance to systemic anti-Black racism. 

Mousseau first explained that kiki ballroom is a “youth-centred offshoot” of the ballroom scene that focuses less on competition and seeks to build community and foster self-expression among Black and Latinx youth in particular. They then presented their research, which explores the way Black and queer people understand their own racial and sexual identities. They argued that kiki ballroom culture influences identity development by affirming an understanding of Black and queer identity as one rather than being seen as split. Mousseau’s research found that when Black queer people report an understanding of their identities as one, they also experience better health outcomes. 

“[W]hen we consider human physiology and more specifically our central nervous system, it becomes clearer how our bodies hold onto trauma and stress,” Mousseau wrote to The Tribune. “Understanding identity holistically, without having to police parts of oneself, plays a significant role in alleviating that burden. This perspective is also deeply personal to me as a Black queer person, experiencing the fullness of my identity within spaces where I don’t need to hide or fragment myself.”

They went on to discuss how elements of ballroom are rooted in Africentric principles, such as the understanding of kinship outside of biological family. Mousseau also noted ballroom’s emphasis on embodied ways of transferring knowledge as another Africentric principle, which is a tool to “hold knowledge that has been taken from us.”

Later in the talk, Mousseau invited Father Ali Old Navy, a member of the Montreal kiki scene, to the front of the room to enact and discuss the significance of different moves and styles of walks in ballroom culture. For example, Ali explained that ballroom culture works to reclaim the “limp wrist”—a gesture that has been historically used to mock queer people—by incorporating this movement in voguing. For Mousseau, this element of the talk highlighted the conversational dimension of ballroom.

“Ballroom, and especially Vogue, is about dialogue. It’s a way of saying something powerful in response to the marginalization we face,” Mousseau wrote. “Working with Father Ali brought this out; the talk wasn’t just me sharing information, it became a space where people engaged in the conversation together.”

Mousseau’s talk was organized as part of Queer History Month at McGill. Amanda Wheatley, Outreach and Engagement Coordinator at the Humanities and Social Sciences Library, spoke to the choice to hold the talk in a library, highlighting the “collective” nature of the space.

“Libraries are often unique in that they are available for everyone, regardless of disciplinary affiliation. It makes sense to host these events in collective spaces on campus,” Wheatley wrote. “We hold talks about knitting, Voltaire, science dissemination, challenges to scholarly publishing, medieval manuscripts, and more. So why not kiki balls?”

Librarian in the Humanities and Social Sciences Library Michael David Miller, who introduced Mousseau at the beginning of the event, noted that it “might be the very first kiki ballroom talk at the university.”

Reflecting on what they hope attendees take away from the talk, Mousseau reinforced the joy that comes with ballroom’s opposition to societal norms and its celebration of this subversion. 

“It’s about honouring femininity in a world steeped in misogyny, uplifting Blackness and queerness unapologetically, and celebrating the ‘limp-wristedness of it all,’” Mousseau wrote. “This joy and defiance have an immense cultural impact, visible in how mainstream culture borrows from ballroom—even though it’s often misaligned or taken without respect. My hope is that attendees leave with a sense of this joy, resilience, and the power of community-based resistance.”

Behind the Bench, Sports

Northern Super League makes exciting new signings ahead of first-ever season

by Alex Hawes Silva on

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The Northern Super League (NSL), Canada’s first professional women’s soccer league, was officially announced in May 2024 and is set to launch in April 2025. This new league fills a major gap in Canadian sports by providing a top-tier platform for women athletes, previously missing in Canadian soccer. Spearheaded by Diana Matheson’s Project 8, the NSL will debut with six teams, based in Montreal, Ottawa, Halifax, Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary. Team franchises were first announced in May 2024, with Calgary Wild FC being the first. Montreal was one of the next to be launched, naming themselves Montreal Roses FC, a tribute to the roses featured in the city’s coat of arms. 

With the first season quickly approaching, teams are beginning to announce new signings as they gradually build up their rosters. On Oct. 21, 2024, Montreal Roses FC announced two significant signings that have created a buzz in the NSL, the first being French midfielder Charlotte Bilbault. Bilbault is a seasoned player with 56 international caps for France; this experience will bring leadership and defensive strength to the team’s midfield. Additionally, Bilbault has experience in top European leagues, including Montpellier in France’s Division 1 Féminine, and will thus hopefully bring insight and expertise to Roses FC as they build their team from the ground up. Athletic director and French former soccer player, Marinette Pichon, described Bilbault as an “impact player” whose game-reading ability will enhance the team’s defensive and playmaking abilities. 

Another noteworthy signing for the Roses is Gabrielle Lambert, a Canadian goalkeeper from SC Freiburg in Germany. Known for her agility and tactical awareness, she’s set to play a mentoring role, elevating standards and setting an example for the team’s younger players. Roses FC’s early signings of seasoned players highlight their intent to compete at a high level and provide fans with a strong first-ever season. Looking forward, there’s excitement over the Roses’ future as a team and potential signings that could further balance the team’s roster with promising young talent as the league approaches kickoff in April 2024​. 

Other teams across the NSL have also made several exciting roster moves. AFC Toronto signed forward Jade Kovacevic, one of Canada’s top talents, who brings an abundance of experience from both the collegiate and international levels, including time at Louisiana State University and Fanshawe College. Known for her playmaking skills and leadership qualities, Kovacevic is expected to be a key player for Toronto both on and off the field. Calgary Wild FC, although still finalizing and building its lineup, is also rumoured to be targeting myriad high-profile names such as Stephanie Bukovec as they establish their roster. The Canadian-Croatian goalkeeper has spent the last six seasons in Europe but stated that there’s always a chance she would return home. She recently followed Calgary Wild FC on Instagram, a possible hint toward her future team.     

These early signings illustrate the league’s commitment to building a highly competitive, talent-driven division that can captivate fans across Canada. The NSL’s inaugural season truly marks a transformative moment for women’s soccer in Canada, promising to elevate the sport domestically and provide new pathways for players and coaches who have never previously had the opportunity to do so domestically. By pulling talent from both Canadian and international sources, the league is already capturing the attention of fans eager to support hometown teams and see high-quality professional soccer close to home. These initial signings not only bolster the league’s competitiveness but also display their commitment to creating a strong, sustainable foundation for women’s professional soccer in Canada. With solid backing from sponsors and a national broadcast deal, the NSL is set to inspire the next generation of female athletes and create a thriving sports culture that will grow the game and inspire young girls for years to come. 

McGill Recommendations, Out on the Town, Student Life

Explore Montreal’s culinary milieu with MTLàTABLE

by Tamiyana Roemer on

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With Halloween behind us, there’s no need to fear surprise charges lurking at the end of a meal. MTLàTABLE’s set-price menus offer students a taste of the city’s vibrant culinary scene, spook-free, until Nov. 17. Each participating restaurant offers three or four-course set-price evening menus priced at $35, $50, $65, or $80 CAD. With over 150 restaurants on board, MTLàTABLE showcases Montreal’s rich culinary diversity—and to help you choose, The Tribune has curated highlights from this year’s lineup.

French fare

From casual bistros to fine dining establishments, French cuisine is a cornerstone of the city’s restaurant scene. MTLàTABLE showcases this rich culinary heritage and invites diners to explore French dishes from an array of restaurants. Among the most enticing options are the $65 CAD three-course offerings at both Leméac and Modavie. Leméac, a landmark Montreal restaurant, is celebrated for its chic bistro fare, featuring unique delights such as cromesquis of suckling pig and arctic char. Meanwhile, Modavie, nestled in the heart of Old Montreal, presents French classics like escargots and duck confit in a charming vintage atmosphere. Both venues promise delightful evenings that highlight the depth of French influence in Montreal’s food culture.

Quebec cuisine

Quebec cuisine blends traditional French influences and local ingredients, reflecting the province’s distinct cultural heritage and culinary landscape. If you’d like to explore this gastronomic scene during MTLàTABLE, Caribou Gourmand is an excellent choice, offering a $50 CAD four-course menu that captures the essence of Montreal’s flavours. Their dishes include bison stew and the Magdalen Islands wild seal, highlighting unique Canadian offerings. If that doesn’t pique your interest, fear not: There are vegetarian options too, ideal for those who prefer their meals more flora than fauna-centered. After all, who needs to wrestle with a wild seal when you can indulge in homemade beet gnocchi?

For a unique twist on traditional Quebec flavours, try h3, which infuses Québecois classics with Asian influences—think squash soup with hints of yuzu and maple. Priced at $65 CAD for four courses, H3 impresses with main offerings like seared salmon paired with Massawipi miso and celeriac, along with beef striploin steak served with aligot potatoes. 

Pescatarian and vegetarian options

Perles et Paddock’s $50 CAD four-course menu features the rich flavours of Quebec and the Maritimes, featuring standout dishes like their tapioca cromesqui with pumpkin and curry, and a robust seafood option of grilled Bobines Farm trout served with barbecued salsify. Guests can choose between vegetarian delights, such as the roasted cauliflower with honey and tahini, and meatier fare like the braised beef short rib with butter-roasted parsnips. With clear identification of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options, this menu ensures that everyone can experience a remarkable dining experience, regardless of their dietary preference.

Date nightAs the temperatures drop, there’s nothing like warming up a chilly evening with a romantic date night and a cozy meal. The Tribune recommends three enticing dining options at varying price points, ensuring you can impress without breaking the bank. Foiegwa presents a three-course experience for just $35 CAD. Featured on their MTLàTABLE menu is the popular black truffle spaghetti, artfully topped with an egg yolk. The restaurant’s intimate seating and warm dim lighting create the perfect ambiance for a cozy evening. Le Boulevardier steps it up with four courses at $65 CAD, offering an impressive selection that includes scallops, tuna tartare, burrata, and sea bass. This elegant eatery strikes the right balance between sophistication and comfort, making it an ideal choice for a memorable night out. For those looking to treat themselves, Ratafia provides a luxurious four-course menu for $80 CAD. Highlights include the gravlax of Arctic char, eggplant with koji and amazake glaze, and a stunning dessert featuring burnt meringue paired with fresh sea buckthorn, buckwheat ganache, and a refreshing buffalo mozzarella sorbet from Maciocia Farm. Whichever option you choose, you’re bound to keep the chill at bay and impress your date!

Art, Arts & Entertainment

AM Kanngieser’s ‘Listening as Coming To’ transports you through time

by Alex Hawes Silva on

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This fall, the PHI Centre is hosting Habitat Sonore: A Kind of Harmony, a series of six sound exhibitions created by different artists. Each event comprises an in-depth interview with the artist, followed by a collective listening experience for the sound piece. Most recently, the centre welcomed audiences on Oct. 26 and 27 for AM Kanngieser’s exhibition ‘Listening as Coming To.’ Kanngieser, an award-winning geographer and sound artist, brings his talent to the PHI Centre to shed light on environmental justice through sound art.  

Pioneered by futurist Luigi Russolo, sound art is an immersive art form that utilizes auditory mechanisms for creative expression through atmosphere. Kanngieser’s exhibition cultivates sounds in a way that illustrates a deeper form of recognition and understanding of the land and all that came before him: For ‘Listening as Coming To,” Kanngieser worked with the sounds of Nauru, a small island in Micronesia, to pay respect to the island’s Indigenous population.

The exhibition began with a conversation with the artist dissecting the concept of listening itself. Kanngieser and the interviewer discussed how, as humans, we come to conversations and environments with our own personal baggage that influences how we perceive and interpret sound. Thus, by bringing our own presence to every experience, we change the environment itself. 

Additionally, Kanngieser spoke to how certain cultures build relationships with sound patterns and utilize similar motifs of audio over the course of time. This cultural side of sound is based mostly on the environment, the history of a place, and the people that came there before. Recognizing and respecting that facet of the listening process is a crucial part of building a relationship with the listening environment and ensuring that the audience fully sees the space for all that it is.

“You have to establish a relation, you know, you can’t just go in and take things. You can’t just extract all the time again and again,” Kanngieser stated. 

He accompanied that statement by asserting that one’s presence must appreciate the totality of the environment when recording sounds for their art. Kanngeiser touched on building a relationship with a space, elaborating on how people can choose the conditions in which they care for a space and take into account its liberation amidst environmental change. With appreciation for the space came greater respect and understanding of what he created. 

One of the final things discussed in the interview was the power of silence and its complexities. Kanngieser explained that while most people view silence as a lack and sense of emptiness, he approaches it differently. 

“Silence is more of an overflowing of, an overabundance [of], all of these things that exist in a way that maybe can’t be said, that sit at the limits of language,” Kanngieser clarified. 

The interview concluded with Kanngieser establishing silence as an invitation to the audience to pause and listen, thereby reorienting themselves to the plethora of sonic relations occurring at that moment. Kanngieser’s 15-minute piece followed. 

The piece commenced with tranquil nature sounds that simulated a rainforest and what I perceived to be a river. With serene water sounds flowing all around the room, I felt as though I myself was in the rainforest. The dim lighting of the exhibition room, paired with the cozy cushions provided for audience members to lie on, created an idyllic ambience for sinking into the auditory experience. The piece continued with a series of sparkling sounds, celestial and otherworldly, until eventually fading out to silence. 

Throughout the experience, I felt transported from place to place and was moved to such a state of peace that I felt myself slowly being lulled to sleep. The piece was transportive and sensational, evoking feelings and sensations of serenity strictly from listening and bathing in the surrounding sounds. 

Kanngieser built this ambience by using recordings from Nauru to reveal the natural life of the island. By displaying the beauty of Nauru, Kanngieser hopes to spread awareness and spark discussions of environmental justice for the land in other creative spaces. 

Editorial, Opinion

Canada’s new immigration restriction promotes racism and xenophobia

by The Tribune Editorial Board on

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On Oct. 24, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a new policy which will significantly cut the number of immigrants Canada admits, as a response to rapid population growth and insufficient resources. This policy will reduce the number of legal immigrants in 2025 from the previously projected 500,000 to just 395,000—a drop of 21 per cent. The policy places additional restrictions on undergraduate and master’s student visas, further jeopardizing the country’s international student population. This new legislation reflects the broader Canadian tendency to render certain immigrant groups scapegoats for governmental failures to properly address the turbulent economy, unaffordable housing, and crime rates. 

Since the 1988 Canadian Multiculturalism Act, Canada has prided itself on being a haven of diversity which welcomes and honours cultural, religious, and ethnic differences. However, racism in Canada has steadily increased in the past several years. Racism against the South Asian population—including the largest recent-immigrant demographic, Indians—has risen 143 per cent from 2019 to 2022. Forty-one per cent of Canada’s Black community report having experienced discrimination based on their skin colour—a frequency 15 times higher than non-Indigenous and non-racialized populations. The growing anti-immigration rhetoric, especially in reaction to Canada’s persistent housing crisis, exacerbates this bigotry. Under such circumstances, the Canadian government and large Canadian corporations evade accountability, shoving the onus of a failing housing system onto the backs of those most vulnerable and with the least power to defend themselves. 

Because Canadian xenophobic anti-immigration rhetoric is based in racism, it does not apply to white or white-passing immigrants, regardless of the country from which they emigrated, but instead to the “visible immigrant.” In this way, “immigrant” has become a euphemism for people of colour and thus a systemic, legally-enforced mechanism for racism in Canada. In addition to the racist anti-immigrant rhetoric they face, “visible immigrants” simultaneously contend with other forms of racism in the police force, the workplace, and healthcare, to name only a few environments. 

The prevalence of anti-immigration sentiment is ironic considering that the term “immigrant” applies to every citizen in Canada who is not part of the Indigenous population. It is a further irony that anti-immigration rhetoric blames immigrants for overtaking the job market or undermining the opportunities of other (“non-immigrant”) Canadians, when much of Canada itself is built on stolen Indigenous lands. 

At McGill, international students are a critical part of the campus ecosystem—they make up about 30 per cent of the student population and pay the highest tuition fees of all university attendees. For this reason, the new immigration policy could present a massive cut to McGill’s funding, potentially diluting the quality of its facilities and faculty, and thus reducing its prestige on the global educational stage. While McGill is taking productive steps by suing the Québec government for its tuition hikes and restrictions on international student visas, it still incentivizes European French-speaking students with lower tuition not offered to francophones from other parts of the world.

Perhaps more detrimental, reducing the number of international students at McGill undermines its diversity. One of the best remedies to rising racist rhetoric is exposure—coexisting with students from different countries, with different ethnic identities, and who practice different religions is the best education a school can offer. Denying this campus diversity will homogenize McGill’s student population and thus homogenize its students’ worldviews, working against Canada’s alleged commitment to multiculturalism and against challenging racist and anti-immigrant rhetoric. 

The first step in combating the growing xenophobic attitude in Canada is a governmental commitment to strong public services. There must be substantial and holistic attention to social safety nets such as affordable housing, access to transportation, and lower food prices in order to establish a solid foundation to support all those within the country. McGill must continue to fight for its international students while also ensuring fair and equitable admission and outreach, such as equitable incentivization for all francophone students, not just European francophones.  However, before all else, Canadian governments, corporations, and individual politicians must accept accountability for the faults of their own policies and institutions without shirking the blame onto its already vulnerable immigrant population.  

Behind the Bench, Sports

Jack Draper and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard claim ATP 500 titles in Vienna and Basel

by Samuel Ferreira Duran on

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On Oct. 27, Jack Draper and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard continued to set the stage for a new era of young tennis stars, claiming their maiden Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) 500 titles in the Vienna Open and the Swiss Indoors Basel. Both players won their finals in narrow straight sets, with Draper defeating the experienced Russian player Karen Khachanov 6-4, 7-5 and Perricard edging out sixth seed Ben Shelton 6-4, 7-6.

Their victories solidified what has been an exceptional year for the pair, as both players captured their first ATP 200 and 500 titles—achievements that position them for an exciting 2025 season, focused on Masters 1000 and Grand Slam opportunities. Perricard’s championship in Vienna culminated his breakthrough season, while Draper’s victory in Basel marked an impressive comeback year following a 2023 season marred by injuries.

Draper had his first standout season in 2022, climbing the ATP Rankings from World No. 265 to 42. Unfortunately, the 22-year-old Brit suffered numerous injuries in 2023, which caused him to drop out of the top 100 at one point during the year. At the end of 2023, Draper set his goal for the 2024 season: a top-20 finish. His triumph in Basel achieved just that, pushing him to World No. 15—a career-high—and capping off a spectacular year. Apart from his victory in Vienna, Draper won his first ATP 250 title in Stuttgart in June. He reached the US Open semifinals in September, where he lost to the eventual champion and World No. 1 Jannik Sinner. 

While Draper’s season continued to cement him as a highly-ranked player, Mpetshi Perricard made a name for himself this year; his victory in Basel sent a strong message to those still unaware of his talent. The Frenchman, standing at 6’8, showed his impressive backhand and unbelievable serve in the Basel championship game, drawing eyes as he hit 22 aces in the final. He defeated Canadian No. 1 Felix Auger-Aliassime, a Montreal native and a two-time defending champion, on his way to the final. Perricard, who only went pro in 2021, soared to World No. 31 following his triumph in Basel, having started the year at No. 205. The 21-year-old also won the ATP Lyon Open in May on home soil and reached the last 16 at Wimbledon in July. 

Draper’s and Perricard’s victories further mark 2024 as a transformative year for tennis. Until recently, the Big Three continued to rule Grand Slams and Master 1000 tournaments. Following Federer’s retirement in 2022 and Nadal’s exit this year, Djokovic maintained the Big Three’s dominance, producing a staggering 2023 season in which he won the Australian Open, Roland Garros, and the US Open. Still, for Djokovic, at 37 years old, retirement is on the horizon. 2024 marked the first year since 2002 that one of the Big Three did not win a Grand Slam, signalling a passing of the torch to the younger generations.

The old guard has changed. The Basel Open featured for the first time that the ATP tour had four semi-finalists born in the 2000s. The Vienna Open’s semi-finals featured two 22-year-olds. Draper has set himself as Britain’s new No. 1 following Andy Murray’s retirement this year, and Perricard joins the likes of Arthur Fils as exciting new French talent. 

A new era of young tennis talent has emerged, spearheaded by 21-year-old Carlos Alcaraz and 23-year-old Jannik Sinner who already have multiple Grand Slams to their names. The question remains of who will join them as the third great in this new chapter. Stories play a beautiful role in sports, and fans will quickly look to find a third member to join Alcaraz and Sinner. Draper’s and Perricard’s victories this past Sunday may well position both as potential candidates for that third member of a new Big Three.

McGill, News

2024 Mallory Lecture interrogates Canada’s pro-immigration appearance

by Ella Paulin on

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Irene Bloemraad, professor of Political Science and Sociology at the University of British Columbia, delivered the McGill Institute for the Study of Canada’s 2024 Mallory Lecture, titled “The Limits of Canadian Tolerance” on Oct. 30. She presented her recent research on Canadians’ attitudes towards out-of-status immigrants—temporary residents whose visas have expired. Bloemraad also explored the broader landscape of concerns around how many temporary and permanent immigrants Canada allows, what kind of support should be given to immigrants, and how Canada’s immigration patterns compare with the United States.

Opening by comparing the U.S. and Canada, Bloemraad noted that scholars in the U.S. have more reliable numbers on out-of-status immigrants than Canada does, because undocumented immigration has historically been a higher-profile issue in the U.S. than in Canada. In Canada, estimates of the number of out-of-status immigrants ranges from 20,000 up to 500,000, leaving Canadian experts unsure how widespread an occurrence this is. Bloemraad discussed this uncertainty in the field, which can leave policymakers and the public unsure of how many resources to allocate to addressing the issue. 

“Should we as Canadians, be concerned about [the number of out-of-status immigrants]?” Bloemraad asked during her lecture. “If you walk out of this talk with at least one thing in your mind, I want you to think that we need to get ahead of this, because it is going to be an issue.”

Bloemraad presented two major reasons for concern about immigration: That Canada currently grants more temporary work and study permits than permanent residencies; and that an influx of immigrants may face deportation from the U.S. by a possible Trump administration. 

“Irrespective of whether you think this is a good policy or a bad policy, if you have a temporary worker program or temporary students, you are probably going to get undocumented migration at some point in the future, because the temporary [immigrants] might stay and then fall out of status,” Bloemraad noted. 

Jacob Kates Rose, a master’s student in McGill’s Max Bell School of Public Policy, emphasized Bloemraad’s point about possible immigration from the U.S. in an interview with The Tribune. 

“One of the most important takeaways was that, projecting a possible Trump presidency, if [government officials] follow through on trying to deport millions of people, […] a lot of those people will end up in Canada,” Kates Rose said. 

Shifting from the broader policy landscape, Bloemraad outlined her recent study: “Categorical Inequalities and Canadian Attitudes toward Positive and Negative Rights.” To determine how likely Canadians were to be concerned about human rights violations against out-of-status immigrants, and endorse governmental support for them, Bloemraad designed a series of survey questions based on fictional vignettes. 

The vignettes showed immigrants of different races and legal statuses experiencing difficulties such as being repeatedly stopped and questioned by the police, or not having enough food to eat. Participants then answered questions about how serious of a problem they viewed the police stops as, and whether the government should support them in accessing food. 


Bloemraad found that respondents were most concerned about the police stops when the immigrant was Black, and a legal resident, less so for a white legal resident, and least of all for out-of-status immigrants of any race. In the food insecurity scenario, respondents generally agreed that the government should support the residents with legal status, although it was slightly lower for the Black immigrant than the white one. 

“The story here is, again, if you’re out-of-status, people are not particularly excited about having the government step in and help you, even if you’re not having enough to eat,” Bloemraad said. 

This research approach resonated with Japteg Singh, a PhD student in Epidemiology at McGill, who is studying immigrant experiences with the healthcare system in Canada. 
“No one’s really looked at [immigration] as heterogeneous, like immigrants come from different parts of the world. How does that affect their interaction with the healthcare system?” Singh said in an interview with The Tribune. “Immigration is complex, there are a lot of forces in play.”

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