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McGill, News, Private

Students wait in line for hours at McGill’s first on-campus vaccination clinic

by Lily Cason on

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Amidst the implementation of Quebec’s vaccine passport, McGill announced that a vaccination clinic in Redpath Hall would offer first and second doses and register vaccines received outside of Quebec on Sept. 3. The event was heavily advertised by email and across McGill’s various social media accounts, but many attendees felt it was mismanaged. The clinic, which was a stand-alone event and did not require registration, was overwhelmed by the turnout from its start. Though the clinic was meant to remain from 1 p.m. until 7 p.m., it closed after only two and a half hours due to short supply. McGill has since stated that future clinics will be registration-only.

Dory Sampson, U3 Arts, who went to the clinic with the hope of getting help fixing her malfunctioning vaccine passport, remembered arriving early to a long line and then leaving without getting the help she needed. 

“My roommate and I showed up an hour early and there was already a line,” Sampson said. “After waiting in line for three and a half hours, we were told to go to a different location […] which, we had found out through Facebook, had been rejecting people […] because they were all booked up and under-staffed as well.”

Sampson said she had expected the event to be adequately staffed and better managed, given how much publicity the clinic had received from the university.

“The fact that they advertised it on their Instagram, with a countdown timer, and then the line was not moving at all was kind of unacceptable,” Sampson said.

Amir Shah, U3 Science, attended the clinic in hopes of registering his out-of-province vaccines, but eventually left the line after realizing he would not be helped. Shah feels the university should have foreseen the logistical issues, given its large international student population—including many who do not have access to Canada’s list of approved vaccines. According to the International Student Services (ISS), McGill has over 10,000 international students who make up nearly 30 per cent of the overall student body.

“If those [international student numbers] are the numbers you are proud of, then you also need to make sure you have the resources to work with those numbers,” Shah said. “I really was expecting McGill to have started this kind of program for vaccinating students and registering students’ vaccinations from before orientation so that […] as students trickled in from all around the world […] they would have slowly gotten their vaccinations and registrations done.”

Shah, like Sampson, did not receive the service the university had advertised. Shah pointed out that the clinic’s shortcomings could pose a challenge for those new to Montreal who may not know how to access local resources. 

“I walked out of the line after a while,” Shah said. “I got an appointment for next week on Wednesday at a clinic to register my vaccine, and I know a lot of friends who did that as well. It is okay for someone [like me] who has been in Montreal and who knows places around, but [I feel for] new students.”

In an email to The McGill Tribune, David Juncker, professor and chair of the department of biomedical engineering at McGill, emphasized the importance of offering vaccination clinics on campus, adding that the university should be taking more steps to effectively manage COVID-19.

“Lacking a vaccination mandate, [McGill’s] encouraging people to vaccinate via pop-up clinics is most certainly recommended,” Juncker wrote. “The university should also consider rapid testing, as is now used in Waterloo and at UBC.”

The administration stated that they are looking into the potential for more on-campus vaccination clinics, and encouraged students to take advantage of walk-in clinics in Montreal. 

“The university is working with public health authorities to explore options for future vaccination clinics,” Frédérique Mazerolle wrote in an email to the Tribune.  “In the meantime, […] there are a number of walk-in clinics set up for the first and the second dose depending on vaccine availability. They can also book vaccination times on the Clic Santé website.”

Since providing the Tribune with this statement, McGill has announced it will hold a vaccine registration clinic from Sept. 14 – Sept. 17.

Commentary, Opinion

Truth and Reconciliation Day: McGill’s lost opportunity

by Katie Anglin on

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McGill University has sent a bold message to Indigenous students and their communities by refusing to close for Truth and Reconciliation Day this upcoming Sept. 30. The federal government created this statutory holiday to give Canadians an opportunity to acknowledge and learn about the tragic history of residential schools. Educating oneself about the wrongdoings of Canadian predecessors is essential, but it is equally important to  honour survivors and their communities who continue to deal with and resist ongoing colonialism. McGill prides itself on being a progressive institution, yet by denying students and staff the opportunity to participate in Truth and Reconciliation Day to the fullest, they miss an opportunity to support Indigenous students and to pave a path toward reconciliation with their own violent, colonial past and present.

Federal offices and banks are closed on Sept. 30, and numerous academic institutions across Canada—including  Simon Fraser University and the University of Saskatchewan—are closing for the day to show their support for Indigenous communities. As one of the top schools in Canada, McGill should be leading by example, not failing to support reconciliation efforts. 

It is ironic that the university’s motto is Grandescunt Aucta Labore, meaning “by work, all things increase and grow,” and yet they are unwilling to work to try and mend the relationship with the Kanyen’kehà:ka (Mohawk) people, on whose land McGill is built. It is even more hypocritical that the school closes for Patriots Day in May every year to recognize and celebrate the French rebellion that fought against English forces in the 19th century, but refuses to acknowledge that McGill exists because of the French colonial power that Indigenous people are currently resisting.

The university’s name perpetuates the tragic and ongoing legacy of English and French colonialism and systemic racial injustice in Canada. As a trader in the West Indies, James McGill enslaved at least two Indigenous children and three Black people while gaining immense wealth on the backs of other enslaved people. Even after the statue’s temporary removal due to vandalism, racialized staff and students have been pushing the university to decolonize for years.  McGill’s reluctance to remove a statue speaks to the maintenance of colonial history as the status quo. But the removal of statues is but a small step of the more transformative steps McGill must take to address their colonial legacy. One institution beginning to assume responsibility for its ruinous past is X University—formerly known as Ryerson University—in Toronto. In response to widespread student activism, the Canadian university has declared it will change its school name and remove statues that celebrate colonial figures, including Egerton Ryerson––an architect of the residential school system. While there is still more work to be done, the X University case sets a precedent for how large institutions can begin to acknowledge their wrongdoings and work to repair relationships with Indigenous communities. Sam Howden, a Red River Métis student activist and organizer at X University who was among the first students to refer to the school as “X University,” emphasized that the student action that led to the name change was fundamental in centring Indigenous experiences on campus. 


In 2016, McGill assembled a task force to implement changes laid out in the final report of the National Truth and Reconciliation Commission. McGill pledged to work on the university’s relationship with Indigenous communities by creating initiatives designed to encourage an inclusive environment for present and future Indigenous students. A negative environment is not conducive to academic productivity or individual growth, and McGill still has yet to unequivocally acknowledge the suffering the school has caused. While a closure alone would not allow McGill to rectify broken promises, its failure to do the bare minimum is a lost opportunity and an insult to Indigenous communities on campus.

Off the Board, Opinion

The significance of silence

by Lowell Wolfe on

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Recently I drove two and a half hours to visit a long-time friend. Coming from different childhood backgrounds, and following similarly disparate pathways of life, our perspectives mesh and reinvigorate in surprising, and rewarding, ways. As my rickety Subaru accelerated its way north along Lake Superior’s rural coastline, we, too, brought each other metaphorically up to speed. 

My friend had been dealing with incredibly difficult personal circumstances, while I was excitedly returning to university, enthusiastic to re-enter the physical realm of scholarship. Sensing the uneven footing, and slightly unsure of how to navigate our colliding circumstances, I tried to respect that our shared time would not be celebratory. With different reasons driving our desires to ditch town one last time before summer’s end, there was little my friend and I could do but sit and be quiet together. 

Such a way to pass the time is not as wasteful or impersonal as it might seem. My friend and I shared space in mutual silence without any dependence on the other’s words for personal gratification, reaffirming that we valued each other holistically. Instead of attempting to fill a void with words, our individual presences were enough for one other. Not only was it gratifying, but it reified the significance of our friendship. We saw each other, we didn’t talk much, and we were still very close––perhaps even closer than before. 

The realms that benefit from silence extend beyond the social. I’ve always devoured literature and music, and I am grateful for the technology that posits these sources of entertainment and knowledge directly at my fingertips. For much of my young life, I’ve felt a constant urge to satisfy these enjoyments, hip-hopping around from content to content; I would read a book in a cafe, then listen to a different audiobook on the way home, and finally put on music when I cooked my dinner that evening. 

Now, I try to create space for silence each and every day; whether it is at the breakfast table, a park bench, my yoga mat, or anywhere else that I feel inclined to back away from the immediacy, noise, and temptation of over-indulgence. This past July, while I was in the backcountry with my father, I challenged myself to see how long I could sit silently, and just think. Sometimes it was boring. Occasionally my train of thought would stumble across a memory or an emotional trigger that I didn’t enjoy, and my body would want to distract itself. But I tried really, really hard to do absolutely nothing.

Returning to McGill, and along with it, a city populated by over one million people, has reduced the opportunities that I have for true, complete silence. However, I still seek it out, and the effects are worth the while. Without anything else to focus on, the mind quickly processes its most pressing matters, sifting its way through the stressors of school, friends, family, careers, and anything else that’s there for it to digest. With these thoughts washed and hung to dry, I find myself more capable of attending to these responsibilities with patience and focus—and with an ease that I hadn’t had previously. Additionally, these moments of quiet and stillness have become increasingly enjoyable. There’s something warm and comforting in the knowledge that wherever I may be, such peace is available.

Album Reviews, Arts & Entertainment, Books, Film and TV, Internet, Music

What we liked this summer

by Michelle Siegel, Suzanna Graham, Anna Berglas on

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A return to schoolwork entails an adjustment to our levels of consumption. In the spirit of endings, new beginnings and transitions, the Tribune weighs in on their favourite pieces of content from this summer. There’s plenty of time left until midterms for a few binges.

Book: The Authenticity Project

Suzanna Graham

In a post-pandemic world, it is easy to feel isolated from everyone around you. Clare Pooley’s debut novel, The Authenticity Project, explores this common sentiment, conveying that a simple act of kindness can bring people together. When struggling artist Julian Jessop deliberately discards his angst-filled diary, he has no expectations to later find a myriad of kind messages within its bounds. Over the course of a few months, the journal is discovered and passed between six strangers who choose to share their own struggles and attempt to help the writers before them. This feel-good novel proves that every person is looking for the same things: Love, community, and authenticity. 

Podcast: Are You Michelle From Skins?

Michelle Siegel

Starting as an Instagram TV (IGTV) series before becoming a full-fledged podcast, “Are You Michelle From Skins?” is a unique podcast on nostalgia, identity, and the complicated lens in which people view their past selves. Created and hosted by British actress April Pearson, who played Michelle on E4’s iconic teen drama //Skins//, podcast guests discuss their cultural relevance due to one role in their careers. Guests include James and Oliver Phelps, of //Harry Potter// fame, as well as Jessica Sula, who also played a character on a later generation of //Skins//. The podcast’s powerful focus on celebrating the holistic identities and experiences of actors—rather than only heralding and upholding their iconic roles— makes it worth a listen.

TV Show: White Lotus

Suzanna Graham

Written and directed by Mike White, White Lotus is a satirical ‘dramedy’ series detailing the shenanigans and adventures of several tourists, travellers, and staff at a Hawaiian resort. With a skilled cast, including hilariously over-the-top performances by Jennifer Coolidge, an ominous score, and masterful cinematography, the show is funny without compromising an edge that keeps the audience interested. Although the series explores serious themes of drug addiction, loneliness, and entitlement, it never loses its humour, thereby remaining both relatable and lighthearted.

Album: Blue Weekend

Anna Berglas

Blue Weekend, Wolf Alice’s third studio album released on June 4, 2021, features aggressive, fast-paced songs and excellent synths to capture the eeriness of life during a pandemic. On “Delicious Things,” the band’s singer Ellie Rosell delves into coming to terms with her womanhood in a man-centered society. The more lighthearted “Smile” features empowering lyrics such as “I am what I am and I’m good at it.” Ellie Rowsell knows her strengths, and one of these is vocal talent. The layering of her voice is ethereal, and each atmospheric musical intro is emotive and chilling. Blue Weekend speaks to the bravery needed to make noise, and the ability to push forward. 

Science & Technology

Proposed hydro dams put free-flowing rivers at risk

by Shafaq Nami on

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Many hydropower dam projects have been proposed around the world as countries shift toward renewable energy sources, in line with United Nations’ (UN) 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. However, a recent study conducted by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) found that these proposed dam projects threaten the free-flowing status of 260,000 kilometres of major rivers around the world, such as the Amazon, Congo, and Irrawaddy.

Free-flowing rivers are characterized as those whose flow and connectivity are unaffected by human-induced changes. A study conducted in 2019 found that two-thirds of major rivers have lost their connectivity to dams, resulting in devastating consequences on aquatic ecosystems.

“[Dams] create a barrier in the river that, in most cases, cannot be surpassed by organisms that naturally would want to traverse the river system,” Bernhard Lehner, associate professor in McGill’s Department of Geography and member of McGill’s Global Hydrolab, wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “[The dams also] change the natural cycle of high and low water flows downstream of the dam, which can disconnect ecologically vital floodplains from the main river channel. They even can change the water quality as they often release water that is colder and contains less oxygen than natural flows.”

The new study, inspired by the effects dams have on river connectivity, assesses how 3700 hydropower dams currently proposed or under construction will affect the environment. One of the major obstacles of the study, however, was obtaining data regarding the projects.

“There is no international group or organization that collects and freely distributes information on global dams,” Lehner wrote. “We only had one database available to us, which was compiled by a research colleague and which only included planned hydropower dams. So we are missing many other dams in our study, such as irrigation dams or dams built for flood protection. To overcome this general problem, we have now founded our own international consortium called Global Dam Watch.”

The study also found that the energy produced by these dams would contribute to only two per cent of the renewable energy needed by 2050 to keep the global temperature increase below 1.5 degrees Celsius—a small benefit with a hefty ecological price tag.  

With the World Hydropower Congress taking place in September and the upcoming UN climate and biodiversity summits, the researchers hope that policy-makers will take their findings into consideration and make informed decisions that benefit everyone—instead of sacrificing ecosystems for the sake of clean energy.

Lehner clarified that such a debate does not call for an end to all hydropower projects: The study includes a comprehensive list of science-based solutions to build hydropower dams in a more sustainable way, such as using computer simulations to find less intrusive dam locations.

“The best solution […] is likely the most simple one, avoid building new hydro dams that are not essential, [like] those that produce little energy but have large environmental consequences,”  Lehner wrote. “In the past, we have often built hydro dams, or other types of dams, on an opportunistic basis [….] We have not always asked whether this particular dam is indeed the most useful to be built.”

The team believes that research similar to theirs influenced the European Commission to set a goal of removing barriers from 25,000 kilometres of rivers as part of their “Biodiversity strategy for 2030.”

“We can now, quite easily, produce tools that help energy planners to prioritize ‘better’ from ‘worse’ future scenarios of dam locations,” Lehner wrote. “The ultimate decisions remain to be made by politicians and managers, but science can support them in this task in order to arrive at informed decisions, which we believe is an important step forward.”

Features

The long arm of the law

by Kennedy McKee-Braide on

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This November, Montrealers will head to the polls to vote for the next mayor of the city––and perhaps the future of its police. This year more than ever, a key issue on the ballot will be the role and budget of the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM). 

Global protests against police brutality that erupted in the summer of 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, a Black man murdered by police in Minneapolis, sparked renewed calls for a re-evaluation of the current state of policing. Increasingly, these calls have shifted from demands for reform to demands for defunding––and even demands to do away with policing altogether. According to a poll conducted in July 2020, approximately 51 per cent of Canadians support defunding the police––redirecting funds from the police to social services. 

Montreal’s first official police department and predecessor to the SPVM, the the Montréal Police Department––a predecessor to the SPVM––was established in 1865. However, various forms of policing have existed since the city’s founding in 1843, from small citizen militias to ensembles of nighttime watchmen. 

Policing has its roots to slavery and settler colonialism, explained Ted Rutland, an associate professor at Concordia University and urban social and cultural geographer who studies urban issues in Montreal, including policing. Rutland likened early policing in Montreal to slave patrols in the United States, noting how white people were essentially “tasked with scrutinizing and reporting” racialized people.

“In Montreal, […] it was basically the job of all white people to surveil Black and Indigenous people, who were not on plantations,” Rutland said. “There were no plantations in Canada. [Instead], they were doing unpaid chores for wealthy Montrealers and so they were walking around the city, going to the market.”

Early laws in Montreal were also key in dispossessing Kanienʼkehá꞉ka (Mohawk) people of land and setting up rules and practices that limited their right to exist freely in the city. 

“There were a bunch of laws around alcohol that were specifically targeting Indigenous people in order to ensure that they were not in public spaces,” Rutland said. “The law was also used to move Indigenous people off the island in the mid-1700s to the point where for a long time there were not a lot of Indigenous people in Montreal. Even now I think there is a way in which white settlers see Indigenous people as new arrivals in the city and maybe think that this is not where they are supposed to be.”

Toward the late 1960s and early 1970s, Black people began to experience much higher rates of police surveillance and violence. 

Football, Sports

Redbirds clinch win in home opener against Sherbrooke Vert et Or

by Adam Burton, Sarah Farnand, Madison McLauchlan, Shafaq Nami on

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On Sept. 4, the McGill Redbirds (1–1) defeated the Sherbrooke University Vert et Or (1–1) in their first home game of the season. For the first time in 693 days, over one thousand spectators—1,628, to be exact—filled Percival Molson Memorial Stadium to witness an exciting return to varsity football.

Both teams came out with strong defensive presences in the first quarter, stopping each other in their tracks and never making it farther than a few downs before punting. McGill ended the scoreless streak with suffocating defence in Sherbrooke’s endzone, leading to a safety and a 1–0 score with 1:21 left in the first quarter. 

The second quarter brought more action, with several convincing offensive drives, before quarterback Dimitrios Sinodinos beamed a bullet pass to wide receiver Mathieu Soucy in the back right corner of the endzone. After a successful field goal attempt, McGill led 8–0 with 6:38 remaining in the first half. Sherbrooke quarterback Anthony Robichaud, however, promptly retaliated with a 53-yard-arcing throw to wide receiver Kevin Morin, and, after a successful 2-point conversion, McGill and Sherbrooke were tied with 4:48 left in the quarter. Both teams managed a field goal in the following minutes, leaving fans on a razor’s edge heading into the second half.

McGill came out guns blazing in the opening moments of the second half, but was quickly halted in what would be the worst of a string of 11 injuries throughout the game. Second-year wide receiver Dhandre Weekes suffered a severe lower body injury that had him carted away to an ambulance. The game was stopped for the next 45 minutes as both teams waited for another ambulance to assume its post. 

“A lot of guys look up to and respect [Dhandre],” Sinodinos said when asked about his teammate’s injury. “He is a really emotional player and brings so much energy to practice. He wants it so bad. To see a guy like him go down really sucks, but we came out to play for him and we got the win for him.”

Come out and play, McGill certainly did; just a few minutes after the delay, Soucy completed his second touchdown off a 39-yard high-arcing throw from Sinodinos. Second-year kicker Antoine Couture furthered the Redbirds’ lead to 21–11 with a field goal, six seconds before the end of the third quarter. 

The Vert et Or made an admirable run at McGill’s lead in the fourth quarter, but the Redbird defence ultimately stopped them in their tracks, allowing only one more touchdown with 54 seconds left in the game. The crowd erupted into cheers of celebration as McGill emerged victorious, with a final score of 21–18.

Despite the strong first showing, Soucy believes he and his team still have room to improve. 

“We did good, not great,” Soucy said. “We could have put up more points and we have a couple of things to fix up but in the end, we got the W.”

Head coach Ronald Hilaire agreed with Soucy, but was pleased with the players’ performance in the second half. 

“I felt that we bounced back from a lacklustre first half from our team,” Hilaire wrote in an email to The McGill Tribune. “At halftime, we regrouped, got our bearings, and came to play in the second half. I was proud of our team for responding that way. We need to be able to maintain [our] level of play notwithstanding the opponent we face.” 

Moment of the Game:

Quarterback Dimitrios Sinodinos lofted a 39-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Mathieu Soucy to take a 18–11 lead with 9:20 left in the third quarter.

Quotable

“It feels so nice to be back playing for a crowd. We have been waiting for this moment for a long time. We have been working hard, with Zoom calls, and training camp so it definitely feels good to be back on the field.” — Fifth year Mathieu Soucy on the return from the two-year hiatus from RSEQ sports.

Stat Corner
Running back Elijah Woods led McGill’s running efforts, rushing 70 yards over the course of the game.

McGill, News, SSMU

Students and professors stage protest, demand vaccine mandate and a safer campus

by Sabrina Nelson on

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Members of the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) protested outside the James Administration building Sept. 1, calling for a safe and accessible return to campus. The common area outside was decorated with SSMU banners and posters that displayed slogans, with one asking whether McGill wanted its bicentennial to be remembered as one where students did not feel safe on campus. SSMU and McGill staff demanded that McGill implement a vaccine mandate, make accommodations for both international and immunocompromised students, and include student consultation in decisions concerning COVID-19. 

SSMU vice-president (VP) of university affairs Claire Downie expressed her satisfaction with the demonstration, and argued that better accommodations for students is crucial. 

“Everyone has different needs to feel safe on campus,” Downie said in an interview with The McGill Tribune. “Right now, McGill has not provided any accommodation for its international students who are stuck abroad, or immunocompromised students who cannot be safely on campus.”

According to Downie, SSMU’s efforts to address these concerns to the administration at the end of last spring were unsuccessful.

“We have been trying to communicate with the university for several months on this issue,” Downie said. “We spoke in June or May with Fabrice Lebeau and Chris Buddle and we were just told to look at the positive, ‘the vaccine rollout is going so well, everything is going to be normal and fine. ’ But in reality that is not the case.”

Emily Black, U4 Arts and a participant at the protest, expressed concern about being back on campus as an immunocompromised person.

“McGill has suggested that students in such extraordinary situations should take a year off,” Black said. “If I were to do that, because I am on student aid, I would lose all my funding and would probably not be able to come back [to McGill].”

McGill’s response to student and faculty concerns has been to remind everyone of health and safety measures, including procedural mask requirements, distancing in non-classroom environments, contact tracing, and optimizing ventilation.

Downie explained that every Canadian university that has implemented a vaccine mandate has given students a buffer time of six weeks to get vaccinated or apply for a human rights exemption. 

“A vaccine mandate never means that everyone has to be vaccinated or that you will be kicked off if you are not,” Downie said. “You might have to be tested three times a week in order to be on campus, whereas a vaccinated student will be exempt from that.” 

McGill Faculty of Law professor Richard Gold argued that the university’s decision to not impose a vaccine mandate is discriminatory against vulnerable members of the community. 

“Our view is that McGill is in breach of its obligations under article 10 of the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms by having adopted a policy that discriminates against disabled and pregnant [people], and those who live in families where individuals are at risk,” Gold said.

On Aug. 29, the Office of the Provost and vice-president (Academic) sent an internal memo to faculty deans, which a CBC reporter shared to Twitter, that stated that fear of campus safety and concern about relatives who might be at risk to possible exposure to COVID-19, were not valid reasons for an instructor to teach remotely. 

Gold argued McGill could, and should, implement a vaccine mandate as well as stricter requirements.

“We have asked McGill for months to explain the legal basis of its claim otherwise and it has refused to answer,” Gold said. “Provost Jutras at the University of Montreal concluded that the university could bring in a requirement if it decided to do so. McGill is in no different situation. In short, there is little doubt that McGill could, but refuses to, implement a proof of vaccination requirement.” 

The McGill Tribune reached out to the McGill administration for a comment on the demands for a vaccine mandate and did not receive a response.

Arts & Entertainment, Film and TV

‘Haiti Trahie’ and ‘Invasion’ reveal the imperialist truths behind a facade of Canadian benevolence

by Alex Jonas on

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The evening of Sept. 2 was chilly, but the back alley of the Milton Park Housing Co-op was hot with the buzz of political activism. Gathering for a viewing of Elaine Briere’s Haiti Trahie and Franklin Lopez’s Invasion put on by Cinema Politica Concordia, viewers and concerned citizens ate pizza, drank coffee, and listened to Burning Cop Car. 

Both documentaries explore Canada’s role in the systemic racial and imperial oppression of people of colour within, and beyond, the Canadian border. In Haiti Trahie, Marie Dimanche, a Haitian activist, founder of Solidarité Québec-Haïti, and the French-English translator of the film, examines how Canada, France, the U.S., and the United Nations actively worked to undermine Haiti’s success as a democracy. Dimanche explained how external forces condemned Haiti to poverty, violence, and social strife by pressuring the government to adopt neo-liberal policies and privatize essential services—as well as instigating a coup d’etat and exiling the democratically elected Jean Bertrand to Africa. 

“There was a veil of secrecy,” Dimanche said. “The Canadian people were kept deliberately ignorant of [their] government’s role in undermining Haitian democracy.”

Meanwhile, well-respected non-governmental organizations defended the Canadian government’s actions, promoting the paternalist picture of “white saviours” intervening in the affairs of a nation deemed incapable of handling its own. 

“It’s not that [the Haitians] do not know how to govern [themselves], it’s that [the Canadian government does not] let them govern,” Dimanche said in a Q&A panel after the presentation of the films.

In a similar exploration of Canadian imperialism, Invasion documents the Canadian government’s egregious violation of the Wet’suwet’en nation’s sovereignty for the sake of the Pacific Trail pipeline. The film follows Freda Huston, a Wet’suwet’en activist, tribal chief, and Unist’ot’en spokesperson, as she resists the pipeline swallowing up her people’s territory and contends for the sanctity of the waters that her people rely upon.

“We have already said ‘no’ to these projects and that no pipelines will come on our territory,” Huston said, rejecting bottled water and tobacco offered by a Chevron representative. “No thanks, we have got clean water right there […] and that is plastic that adds to the landfills.”

After the film’s screenings, guest speaker Renel Exentus, a Haitian-Canadian activist and member of the REHMONCO, detailed how the great powers of the international community resist Haitian prosperity as those powers value profit over all else and feel entitled to Haiti’s workforce and resources. When they face resistance, they push back mercilessly. 

Together, the films encapsulate the clear pattern of imperial entitlement at the core of Canada’s foreign and domestic policies. Through emotional narration, horror-stricken interviewees, and disturbing visuals of destruction and violence, both Haiti Trahie and Invasion demonstrate the extent to which the history of our own country is saturated in oppressive ethnocentrism that we must never forget, and never forgive.

Cinema Politica will screen Haiti Trahie and Invasion again on Sept. 18 at 18:00. 

Arts & Entertainment, Books

Ceilidh Michelle’s ‘Vagabond’ depicts hitchhiking’s joys and tears

by Lowell Wolfe on

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It takes days to travel by bus from Montreal to Sacramento, California, and even longer to hitchhike and squat along the state’s coastal highway—the famous California State Route 1. Montreal-based author Ceilidh Michelle’s new novel Vagabond condenses such a quest into just over 200 pages through a series of creative non-fiction vignettes. Vagabond takes readers into the vibrant, yet sometimes unpleasant, adventures that a younger Michelle experiences while wayfaring along the West Coast. Functioning somewhat like a memoir, the stories she tells are genuine and honest, for better or for worse. 

The novel follows a 21-year-old Michelle narrating her journey, starting with her departure from an unhealthy relationship in Montreal to Vancouver, after which travels down south to the United States to pursue her dreams. All the while, Michelle reflects on the sights and scenery, transforming the physical distance she travels into a mental expedition of self-growth. 

In an interview with The McGill Tribune, Michelle spoke about the multiple journeys encapsulated in Vagabond.

“The only difficult part [about writing the book] was trying to stay true to the emotion of each experience,” Michelle said. “I did not want to make anything too melodramatic or overwrought. I really wanted to try and capture things as they [happened]. Some of it is embarrassing, and some of it seems silly to me […] but it’s what happened, and I wanted to stay true to it.”

Michelle meets new friends along every step of her journey, such as the banjo-playing, train-hopping Half-Peach who becomes Michelle’s close companion, as well as individuals worn down by living without homes. Michelle’s encounters with promiscuous drug addicts and unsavoury street bullies paint a somber depiction of living unhoused, reminding readers that her journey is nowhere near as cushioned as that of a university student’s gap year. 

“An undercurrent […] in my writing is affordable housing,” Michelle said. “Home is so important, and it is so essential to feeling human and having dignity.”

Released on Sept. 4 under Douglas & McIntyre, Vagabond is Michelle’s second book. The author’s first title, Butterflies, Zebras, Moonbeams, published through Palimpsest Press in 2020, was shortlisted for 2020’s Hugh McLennan Prize for Fiction. While she was busy pursuing her master of science degree in creative writing at the University of Edinburgh and writing other creative projects, Michelle felt an urge to distill her memories into something more concrete, which led to the spontaneous creation of Vagabond. 

“I had written a very rough account of what had happened, as it happened, so I already had all of this archival writing to draw from,” Michelle said. “I had [another] project that I was working on with [my agent], and I basically cheated on that prototype and wrote Vagabond instead.” 

Michelle’s narrative takes readers to exciting destinations, whether they be the sometimes-comical streets of Slab City, California’s famous squatter community, or the interior landscapes of a young, curious woman as she learns about herself and the world—each place complete with its own beauty and pain. 

Fans can look forward to Michelle’s upcoming appearances at the Winnipeg International Writers’ Festival Thin Air in September and Junction Reads in January. 

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