Saint Mary’s University faces outrage over frosh chants

Controversy arose at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax this past weekend after a video emerged featuring student leaders singing a frosh week chant about non-consensual and under-aged sex. Although the video was removed from Instagram where it was originally posted, it has since been made available on other websites.

Jared Perry, president of St. Mary’s University’s student union and one of the orientation leaders who performed the chant, resigned from his position following the incident. Perry apologized for the video, calling it inappropriate. He told the CBC that the incident “was simply a moment with a lack of judgement.” 

The student union apologised for the actions of the orientation leaders, many of whom were remorseful, according to Perry. While some students have remarked that they were not personally offended by the cheer, the Avalon Sexual Assault Centre, which is based in Halifax, said it has received calls from distressed survivors of sexual violence who have viewed the video. The centre’s executive director Irene Smith told CBC that Nova Scotia has the highest rate of sexual assault per capita in Canada, and that the chant “reinforces rape culture in our society.” 

Officials from the university have stated that they will conduct a review of the incident that will include recommendations for future precautionary measures.

Third birth control pill recall of the year in Canada

Mylan Pharmaceuticals has announced the recall of another one of the company’s contraceptive medications, Esme-28. Last week, the company stated that it would be recalling Freya-28, a separate type of birth control pills, as one package was discovered to have contained a placebo instead of functional medication.

According to Health Canada, the recall of Esme-28 was a cautionary measure, as it was impossible for Mylan to determine whether Esme-28 had been affected by the same placebo switch as Freya-28. 

This is the third recall of birth control pills in Canada this year, following last April’s recall of Alysena-28, produced by Apotex. Both the public and the medical community have voiced growing concerns about the quality control procedures used in manufacturing these drugs. 

Quebec corruption suspects linked to federal party donations

Last Thursday, the Canadian Press released a report stating that, out of the 102 people charged by Quebec’s anti-corruption police, the Unité permanente anticorruption (UPAC), 45 have also made donations to federal political parties. According to the report, the suspects donated over two million dollars to federal parties between 1993 and 2011.

Findings from the inquiry conducted by UPAC suggest that members of companies made donations in order to gain political influence. However, UPAC cannot legally investigate federal donations made by corrupt officials within Quebec, as it only has provincial jurisdiction.

Legislation capping corporate and personal donations was introduced by Jean Chrétien in 2003 and Stephen Harper in 2006 to curb the number of illegal donations to political parties. 

Federal government funds initiative to prevent honour crimes

On Thursday Sept. 5, the federal government announced that it would fund a project aimed at decreasing the number of honour crimes committed in Canada. $306,040 will go towards the Canadian Council of Muslim Women (CCMW)’s two-year project aimed at providing women and men across Canada with the training and tools to help Muslim women in their local community who are most at risk for these crimes. 

The project, called Violence Against Women: Health and Justice for Canadian Muslim Women, is a response to the highly publicised honour crimes that have taken place in Canada in recent years. Of the 19 honour killings on record in Canada, 13 have occurred since 2002.

As part of this project, CCMW executive director Alia Hogben is attempting to replace the term “honour killing” with “femicide,” since she said there is no honour in killing women, as the former term suggests.

Tensions at the G20 summit regarding the Syrian crisis

Last Thursday, the G20 summit launched in St. Petersburg, Russia. Regarding the Syrian Civil War, Prime Minister Stephen Harper maintained that Canadian research had indicated that the Assad government used chemical weapons on its people and that backing a United States-led strike against the Assad government is necessary to send a “clear message” that the use of chemical weapons will be punished. 

Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird also condemned the Syrian government’s use of chemical weapons, but appeared doubtful that an agreement would be reached on a plan of action, stating that the G20 is foremost an economic forum. 

Dmitry Peskov, press secretary to the Russian president, was critical of investigations led by the United States and told reporters that the evidence used to implicate Assad was “far from convincing.”

Plans for the Quartier de l’Innovation (QI) continue to progress since its official launch last May. A collaborative initiative of the Griffintown neighborhood, the project is designed to involve McGill and École de technologie supérieure (ETS), NGOs, and corporations, in a centre that drives research and innovation.

One development this summer was the creation of the QI Student Working Group (SWG) action plan, which will be presented at the end of September.

“At McGill, students are considered to be an integral part of the QI initiative and developing this district as a ‘playground’ where students can learn, experiment, research, work, and play is of utmost importance,” QI Project Director Isabelle Péan said. “That is why it was considered essential to develop a strategic communication-marketing action plan specifically targeted at increasing student involvement at McGill University within the QI and its vast variety of offered projects.”

Further opportunities for student interaction with development of the QI will arise throughout the year, according to Péan.

One such opportunity will be on Oct. 4, when McGill’s Social Equity and Diversity Education Office (SEDE) will host its annual Community Engagement Day—an event where students have the opportunity to volunteer in the Montreal community. This year, students will have the opportunity to work within the QI district.

“Specific activities will be organized in the QI district with the Horse Palace, Bâtiment 7, the Darling Foundery, and many others NGOs,” Péan said. “In addition, a walking tour concentrating on arts and history, as well as an open discussion on the main social issues in the district will be available for students to participate in.”

The QI consists of four pillars—categories under which various projects fall—of innovation: industrial, social and cultural, urban, and education and research. According to the QI Project Booklet, investments of around six billion dollars over the course of the decade combined with projects led by professors from both schools aim to develop the area into a modern district of learning and technology. Some planned events include CLUMEQ, “a research consortium for high-performance computing,” and C2-MTL, “an annual global conference exploring commerce and creativity.”

On the QI’s website, connections are drawn between the project and similar initiatives in other cities, such as 22@Barcelona and the Innovation District in Boston. Despite the similarities, Péan said there are fundamental differences that separate the QI from its international counterparts.

“Boston is a little bit younger [than Barcelona] and, for instance, their main focus is the industrial pillar,” Péan said. “QI is really a unique model. That’s also why we have so many challenges in bringing different projects related to our four pillars.”

Will Straw, a professor in the Department of Art History and Communications Studies at McGill, is leading the development of the Laboratory of Urban Culture. The project aims to set up space for collaborative research and art within the community. Straw said the project still faces a number of financial challenges.

“It would be great if funds could be found to rent or buy a cultural space [for the laboratory] for McGill in the Quartier d’Innovation, and we are exploring various alternatives, but we all know about the fiscal constraints facing McGill,” Straw said. “If we found and financed a space, McGill people would come, and that cultural activity could balance whatever high-tech and entrepreneurial activities might be part of the QI.”

Some members of the development team cite a lack of student support for their projects as another obstacle. Anita Nowak, a professor in the Faculty of Management, is leading the Social Economy Initiative, which “builds social entrepreneurship and social innovation into teaching, research and community activities.”

“I presented at a meeting last year to all the student union groups,” Nowak said. “I was surprised by the suspicion that the community of students had towards the QI project. It was considered quite top-down. That was just my reading of it.”

Nowak says students may be reassured to know that the QI is developing in a socially responsible manner.

“I know the players who’ve been involved and I know the intent is coming from a really sensitive place to honour the Quartier itself as it goes through a process of gentrification, to honour the history, to honour the community, [and] to be responsive to the community,” Nowak said. “Montreal is an absolutely amazing ecosystem to see this fluorish. I would invite students to look at the QI as an opportunity.”