It all started in 2007. It was my first year of College. I got involved in my student association and became Club's Coordinator. Until then, I had been living in my happy bubble. My parents were struggling financially but they were paying for my tuition and all of my textbooks. I didn't realize how lucky I was...
Slowly but surely, I came to know how the Canadian government was spending more money on its armed forces than on its population's education. I couldn't understand why educating future leaders that could potentially change the world in any field was any less important.
I started helping stage protests. I picketed the school when our General Assembly voted to strike. All this because I believed in free if not accessible education for all.
And then came 2012, the biggest student protest in the history of Quebec and of Canada. It was also the longest. It began the 13th of February 2012 and ended the 7th of September 2012.
Why was there a protest? The government of Quebec had decided to increase the tuition 325$ over 3 years for a total of 1625$. You might say, Quebec has the lowest tuition in Canada caping at around 3500$ per year with the rest of the country at 7500$ in average.
Yes, but... We fought for that. Every time an increase was announced we fought. Sometimes, it worked. Sometimes, it didn't. However, we fought because we believed everyone should have access to education.
Students from across the province voted to strike. Some voted for a day and others for weeks until the government would back down. At the height of the student strike, on March 22nd 2012, 200 000 people marched in downtown Montreal. At this point, a quarter million of students in Quebec had voted to strike.
There started to be nightly protests that turned to violence. I remember being terrorized running away from policemen all clad in anti-riot gear. I was running away with some friends as we heard flash-bang grenades not far from us. I could barely breathe or see through the smoke bombs thrown at us but I kept coming back to protest.
Still, the government wouldn't listen.
One of those nights, I got arrested. I was getting out of the National Library with my laptop in bag and I decided to join the nightly protest. The city had just passed a law dictating that any protest that was not sanctioned by the police would be deemed illegal. This is why, as soon as we started, the anti-riot squad started charging, hitting, pepper-spraying, throwing gas bombs and arresting. Three police officers charged into me so hard that my bicycle helmet cracked. My hands were tie-wrapped and I was moved in a truck with other arrestees. When I got there, I got mug shots taken. I removed all of my laces (hoodie and shoes) and signed a paper with all the items they were keeping during my detention. We were four in our cell. There was a toilet with no toilet paper. A guard would not even provide a sanitary napkin for a girl on her period. As time passed, the women who came in were more bruised and beaten up. I was scared.
More than 400 people got arrested that night. Some had to spend more than 8 hours in public buses because all holding cells were full. My parents got a call from me from the detention center where I spent the night. When they heard my voice, they said: "We saw what happened in tv. You got arrested didn't you?" I was lucky to not have been fined because I remembered the phone number of a pro bono lawyer. Others were not as lucky.
Then came the pots and pans movement! Every evening students and families came out with their ladle and pot. They banged them through the streets of their neighbourhoods as another way to make their voices heard. This was inspired by the pots and pans movement in Chile.
It came to a point where the government had to do something. Because of all our actions, the province was in turmoil. Day after day, students were getting their voices heard. Opposing political parties rallied with us.
Finally, the government did cede. The political party was not reelected. The former Premier resigned from politics but most of all tuition froze.
We never gave up. We kept going fighting for our rights and beliefs. Yes, it was hard. Yes, it might have been scary. All this was done for future generations. I wanted my children to have access to College education.
That’s why I did it. That’s why we all did it. For our future.
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I was inspired to write this post because of the students of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. You are rallying people from all walks of life to finally change gun regulation in the US.
When we were fighting against the tuition hike, we were told we were young, idealistic and didn't really know about the real world.
No one can say that you know nothing of the real world. Sadly, you experienced it first hand.
You are a true inspiration. Keep fighting the fight. Keep informing others and, most of all, never back down.
Everyday, every moment possible make your voices heard. Don’t let this be another “fleeting movement”, another media sensation. Because lives are affected and things need to change.
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I encourage you to inform your political leaders about your stance on necessary gun control.
I also encourage you to join the March for our Lives on March 24th. Bring your friends and families, it's time to make a change.
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For your eyes, a glimpse of the 2012 student protest.
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