Masked protesters hunt for ‘scabs’ in Montreal university classes
Myles Dolphin, The Canadian Press May 16, 2012 – 12:19 PM ET | Last Updated: May 16, 2012 4:11 PM ET
MONTREAL & QUEBEC CITY — Protesters stormed into a university, many of them with their faces covered by masks, moving through the hallways in a hunt for classes to disrupt.
The chaotic scene, which made some international news reports, was orchestrated Wednesday by protesters determined to enforce their declared strikes. They resented the fact that some students had used legal injunctions to return to school.
With a list of scheduled classes in hand, about 100 protesters marched through pavilions at the Université du Québec à Montreal and stopped at a few choice spots along the way.
Making noise with drums and whistles, they moved through the main UQAM building, splitting up on a number of occasions as they searched for ongoing classes. A masked protester would yell out marching orders for the next target, such as: “Pavilion M!”
Paul Chiasson/The Canadian Press
A few of the 100 or so protesters who marched through the Université du Québec à Montreal on May 16, 2012, disrupting classes and yelling “Scab!”
A few dozen entered a contract-law class at one point.
Having marched upstairs to that ninth-storey classroom, the group began flicking on and off the lights; they repeatedly yelled, “Scab!” at the stunned group of students seated inside.
A few men even grabbed two female students by the arm, telling them to get out. Some of the intruders jumped on desks and tables.
The teacher and students shouted at them to leave. But during the 10-minute standoff, most of the students eventually gave up and left the classroom, as did the teacher.
By the time it was over, there were chairs and tables knocked over. On a wall of the classroom there was a spray-painted message, written in red: “On strike, dammit!”
The protesters then worked their way toward another class. They had marched east on De Maisonneuve Boulevard for a few minutes before they found their target: 1001 De Maisonneuve East. They chanted, “Who owns UQAM? We own UQAM!”
None of the protesters were carrying weapons. They did, however, get into students’ faces, shouting at them, shoving their books and climbing on desks.
Protesters make their way through the hall of a Montreal university to disrupt classes, May 16, 2012. “They’re trying to make us afraid to go back to class,” one student said.
There were clearly differences of opinion among the protesters. When one masked man grabbed a desk and flipped it over, another looked at him and said: “You’re an idiot.”
Some annoyed students reported the incident to police. Others snapped photos of the intruders with their cellphone cameras.
At one point, while a student was talking to a police officer outside the school, several demonstrators who were watching shouted: “Scabs!” But she kept chatting with police.
“They’re trying to make us afraid to go back to class,” UQAM law student Celina Toia said after talking to the officers, who were sitting in a van.
“Teachers are more than willing to give their classes, so they’re trying to make it extremely inconvenient. They’re threatening us and they’re creating a hostile environment for us.”
The student unrest has lasted 14 weeks. Only one-third of Quebec students are actually on declared strikes, but the conflict has created considerable social disorder.
Wednesday’s events were notable — in that they were actually taking place inside classrooms, in face-to-face confrontations.
The social conflict so far has consisted of different sides fighting in court, and in the court of public opinion. It has also seen scuffles between police and protesters, but the events inside the classrooms Wednesday came as a shock.
The crisis appears headed for a crescendo.
The provincial cabinet was meeting Wednesday to discuss the possibility of adopting emergency legislation — a law reportedly laden with financial penalties for people who have played a role in encouraging the ongoing disruption.
Premier Jean Charest and his ministers were assembled in Quebec City. On her way into the meeting, new Education Minister Michelle Courchesne said she had noticed a hardening of demands from student leaders.
That remark came as a surprise to the student groups, who had emerged from a meeting with Courchesne the previous night saying they had had a constructive dialogue.
POSITION ‘HARDENING’
While student representatives seemed optimistic that a tuition hike moratorium was possible after meeting on Tuesday with Michelle Courchesne, Quebec’s new education minister, the minister had another reading.
“On their side I sensed a hardening of their position,” Courchesne told reporters Wednesday. “That was very clear.
“I will report to the cabinet soon. The government will judge what decision to make then.”
In a Twitter message, the Coalition large de l’association pour une solidarite syndicale etudiante (CLASSE) replied to Courchesne, “It isn’t the position of the students that has hardened, it is the position of the government that has hardened.”
Asked if a legislated end to the tuition-hike conflict was possible, Courchesne replied, “Don’t conclude on any scenario.”
The minister was on her way to National Assembly question period, to be followed by a meeting of the Quebec cabinet.
Asked for an indication of what he would do, Premier Jean Charest joked with reporters: “Are you lacking affection?”
The student representatives told reporters their meeting with Courchesne went well and that she listened to them.
“The tone was correct, honestly,” Courchesne said. “Their position didn’t really change. I didn’t have a view of any kind of compromise.”
With files from Kevin Dougherty, Montreal Gazette, and a file from Andy Blatchford, The Canadian Press
