Rethink Muskrat Falls protest — Nov 5, 2012

Concerned citizens gathered at Confederation Building this morning to urge people to rethink the Muskrat Falls project. Members of the group Friends of the Grand River/Mistashipu, along with supporters from various parts of the province, came out to make their voices heard! This is only the beginning. Solidarity!

Check out blogposts on other recent protests in Labrador here and here.

Note the upside down flags indicating distress

Protesters took their message to the roadside.
Lots of cars honked to show their support!

A small but lively group – sure to grow.

Solidarity.

Protest at Happy Valley-Goose Bay's Town Office

Press release via Friends of Grand River/Mistashipu

Friends of Grand River/Mistashipu Concerned about Mayor Abbass’s Potential Conflict of Interest

Friends of Grand River/Mistashipu (FOGR/M) have requested that Mayor Abbass and the Town Council of Happy Valley-Goose Bay hold a public meeting to explain to its residents how there is no conflict of interest in relation to the mayor’s various positions. In addition to Mayor Abbass’s appointment to Nalcor’s Board, he has also publicly taken the stand with Peter Woodward’s pro Muskrat Falls business group.

We at FOGR/M are concerned about the adjacency principle and lack of consultation since the mayor’s appointment to these groups. We are further concerned about how all residents are being represented as plans move forward. Many of us in FOGR/M are residents of Happy Valley-Goose Bay and do not feel represented, consulted, or considered as he takes such a vocal public stand for the project.

FOGR/M will be continuing protests at the town office until we feel these concerns are being publicly addressed. A letter will also be presented to the Town Council on October 12, 2012 requesting the same. It is our position that a well-advertised public meeting called by the town council would give ample opportunity for all residents to come and understand how these various positions do not put the mayor and town council in a conflict of interest in representing all of the electorate.

Friends of Grand River/Mistashipu believe in a common mission, to protect and preserve all Labrador Rivers, including our efforts to Save Muskrat Falls! FOGR/M believe this government proposed megaproject to create a hydroelectric dam at Muskrat Falls that will eventually lead to potentially damming of other Labrador rivers is wrong, our reasons are varied, still the end decision the same - it is not a healthy project for anyone involved. FOGR/M are committed to stopping it! Search us on Facebook for more information.

PAST PROTESTS

via Friends of Grand River/Mistashipu

Friends of Grand River/Mistashipu would like to invite you to

Happy Valley-Goose Bay's Town Office

Friday, October 5 at 12pm

to join us in protest of the Muskrat Falls Hydro Project.

We are all aware that Happy Valley-Goose Bay Mayor Leo Abbass is now a NALCOR Board Member, and we'd like to hear from him and how Labrador and his community is going to benefit from this project in the long run? How is he looking out for the interests of the Labradorians and residents who elected him? And why has he made no public presentations to inform us of why he's on this board, what this project will mean to all of us, and will he allow us any input at all as this moves forward!? 

Read more at the Facebook Event Page

Join us July 22 in the streets to celebrate five months of resistance

Join us for a huge Casseroles (Pots and Pans) Night on Sunday July 22 at 8 pm, in solidarity with students in Quebec and Canadians throughout this country who have had enough.

WHY: Because the fight is about more than tuition, debt, and fundamental rights. It is about demanding a future where the rights of people and the health of the environment are MORE IMPORTANT than the health of the economy and the rights of the elite.

This is a demonstration first and foremost about community, joy, solidarity, togetherness, and creating a democratic space for people beyond the ballot box.

It's about building grassroots connections and meeting your neighbours. Building the revolution from the bottom up!

It's about voicing your rejection to the policies of the federal and provincial governments that have repeatedly made us the greatest embarrassment in the global community.

(View recaps of our past Casseroles events downtown here, here, here, and here.)

Massive student protests in Montreal

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

The Maple Spring is important to all Canadians, and not just Quebec. Here's why.

That's why Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, past student leader of CLASSE, has undertaken a cross-Canada speaking tour to help spread the message of resisting austerity and defeating the stranglehold of neoliberalism across this country.

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Massive student protests have been ongoing in Montreal since March 22nd, when 200,000 protesters took part in a demonstration in downtown Montreal. Exactly a month later, on Earth Day, another 200,000 people took to the streets. And yet another month later, only picking up steam, a wave of people in red packed downtown Montreal on May 22nd, more than 300,000 strong.

June 22, as expected, was a massive show of solidarity across Canada (and of course massive amounts of people on the streets of Montreal and across Quebec).

Every month has a 22nd, so here's to ongoing shows of solidarity and support! Check out the global call to resistance on the 22nd of every month.

As of Sept 20th, after the inauguration of Pauline Marois' minority Parti Quebecois government (and the defeat of Jean Charest's government (he was also defeated in his own riding)), the tuition fee hikes have been repealed.  However, the Concordia Graduate Students Association, still fighting for a very realistic goal of free education in the province, along with other student groups such as CLASSE, will show that they are still organized and come out for a demo on Sept 22.

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Click here for a refresher on what this conflict is about: The Conflict: 101 
Here is a great explanation of the context for the current mobilisation of students in Quebec. Free education is not a new idea, neither is it impossible. In fact, "it was the state’s very own idea on the recommendation of a Royal Commission, a choice that was respected and prized for four decades."

Downtown Montreal on May 22, 2012

Great recap: Ten Things Everyone Should Know about the Quebec Student Movement.

In response to the emergency law passed, Law 78, people have this to say: Arrest me!

Concordia Student Union General Assembly operates using horizontal decision making like that used by the Occupy movement, and they spearheaded the student strike originating at Concordia. More info here about how this started. View this video on the 8 Myths of Tuition Hikes.

For up-to-date and reliable info on the Montreal student movement, check out the Montreal Media Co-op and Concordia University TV (CUTV) to watch the recap videos and livestream from the student protests.

Resources

You can also visit the Concordia Student Union site. And the McGill Student Union has a Student Strike FAQ up on their site.

Visit the CLASSE website for more info as well. CLASSE is a temporary national student organization that includes, across Quebec, more than 76,000 members in many student unions from both colleges and universities. 

Visit the MobSquad website for info on the campaign against tuition hikes.

Click here for more images from the March 22 demonstrations.

ONGOING UPDATES:

Demands to Concordia's Administration from students on strike 

Here's a good overview of what's been happening since March 22. 

April 11th -- Occupy Wall Street reports on Montreal student protests

April 20th -- CUTV footage of violent police encounter with student protesters

April 20th -- Footage of protests at the Montreal Palais des Congres

April 22th-- Crowd shot of Earth Day protest

April 28th -- Montreal demonstrators march in protest of Jean Charest  (here's why)

May 4th -- Montreal Students Stage Nearly-Nude Protests

May 14th -- Quebec's Education Minister Resigns as Protests Continue

May 17th -- Montreal students occupy University of Quebec

May 17th -- Quebec announces emergency law to restore order and thousands protest in Montreal

May 19th -- Quebec steps closer to martial law to repress students

May 22nd -- Anatomy of a conflict after 100 days of student protest

May 30 -- We are immense (translated from Le Devoir)

June 3 -- Protests shine spotlight on skewed priorities

June 7 -- Canada's Maple Spring (via Aljazeera)

June 22 -- Highlights from the Streets of Montreal 

Sept 20 -- It's official: Quebec tuition hikes are history (proof that radical movements can win).