Last night as in virtually all the previous nights, the students and their many supporters marched through the streets of Quebec. Despite the fact that the march was as usual non- violent and peaceful the police moved in and arrested over 100 people.
Although I have sympathized with the student position I have had no strong motivation to pursue the protest as an active participant until last Monday night. The deciding factor was the passage of Bill 78 limiting the constitutionally guaranteed right to peaceful assembly and freedom of speech, so I joined them on the peaceful march.
Last night the police moved in and arrested people for no other reason than that they had not obeyed Bill 78 and chose to exercise their right to assemble. There is a time and place for police and the maintenance of order in society, but when citizens in a peaceful and law abiding manner exercise their constitutional rights and are arrested, then it is not the people or the community that is mocked but the law makers themselves. The actions of the government and the police are not at all what they claim them to be, concerns for traffic and being able to protect the populace, these are nothing more than pretence to cover what can only be described as a denial of fundamental freedom.
Tonight I go to the National Assembly and speak to the students and the hundreds who will be there to support them to denounce the use of Bill 78 on peaceful law abiding citizens. What we need now, is for the two sides to meet and speak in good faith. It is only by a willingness to engage in discussions in good faith that this impasse will come to an end.
If citizens can be arrested en masse for a peaceful and non-violent march protesting an issue that is, in their view, highly important, then it is a very small step for arrests to be made for far less. This must not be tolerated by any citizen if we are to call our society truly democratic. The great concern for me and I think for many is how our governments in Canada are increasingly resorting to diminishing rights rather than communicating and cooperating with the citizens who elected them.
thebishopsviews 
To see Canadians legislators and law enforcement stooping to the democracy-suppressing tactics of our friends south of the border is beyond disappointing. It is scandalous and an affront to every justice-seeking soul.
If we don’t know our history etc etc. Our modern history or that which I remember hearing about in my childhood began with the second world war and the post war evidence of just what went on in Germany just prior to and during the war. We thought the lesson of that history was all about the holocaust. And it was but only in part. One of the other parts was the distortion of information and the vilification of opponents or even just people deemed to be unacceptable. That is the part of our history that has not been well taught. It serves only a part of our education to lament the concentration camps but to ignore the political climate that spawned them. Is it any wonder that public is slow to respond? They like the German people in the late 30’s and early 40’s see only slightly what is happening and don’t recognize the past in our current situation. So that fuzzy focus helps fuel the student protests as well. There is a bigger picture that the students don’t seem to be aware of. But perhaps this is the start.
Thanks you so very much. +Dennis… A very fine exercise of leadership.
The student strikes had an increasing number of violent incidents associated with them. As well, the rights of non-striking students who wanted to go to class were violated, through violence and threats of violence, despite a court injunction. The government had every right, even an obligation to other citizens, as a democratically elected body to ensure that those doing wrong be stopped. The Quebec government showed extraordinary patience with the wrong-doers, and, as an alternative to force, legally passed Bill 87 seeking a “time-out”. What is so repressive about the temporary conditions set on public demonstrations? They are designed to ensure that they are done in an orderly fashion. Isn’t respect for laws and order integral to a properly functioning society? Aren’t you aligning yourself against democratic principles and in support of wrong doers? Are you concerned mostly with what is right, or are you concerned more with a perceived infringement on your rights?