Volume No. 32 Issue No. 15
TRIBUNE THE mcgill
curiosity delivers
Published by the Tribune Publication Society
new year's resolutions P 14 mtl homeless p 12
Album reviews p 19 women's bball p 20
@mcgill_tribune • www. mcgilltribune.com
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
McGill reacts to recent budget cuts Idle No More Quebec government slashes postsecondary funding by $124 million reaches Montreal P3 & 6
Christy Frost Contributor
Pauline Marois and Heather Munroe-Blum at odds over budget cuts. (Ben Ko / McGill Tribune)
Protestors denounce federal omnibus Bill C-45 Christy Frost Contributor Approximately 1,500 people gathered in front of the Palais des Congrès last Friday to show their solidarity with Canadian First Nations and Chief Theresa Spence, who has been on a hunger strike for the past month in protest of the federal government’s stance on Indigenous rights. Following a traditional round dance, the crowd marched through downtown Montreal. This event was part of Idle No More, a growing grassroots movement advocating for Indigenous rights in Canada. The movement began last November, when four women in Saskatchewan used Facebook and the title “Idle No More” to draw attention to the ways in which Bill C-45—commonly known as the second omnibus budget bill— erodes Indigenous communities’ control over their land. Bill C-45 changes legislation for more than 60 government acts. The main concerns of the Idle No More movement are the changes made to the Indian Act, the Environmental Assessment Act, and the replacement of the Navigable Waters Act with the Navigation Protection Act. These legislation changes speed up the approval process for leasing Indigenous land, and remove protection from the majority of Canada’s rivers so that pipeline and power-line installation firms no longer need to prove that their activity will not damage a navigable waterway. Friday’s protest attracted a diverse, multi-generational crowd. A group of elderly women were among the demonstrators, wearing
brightly coloured hats and holding signs demanding that Prime Minister Stephen Harper listen to Indigenous Peoples’ concerns. “[This movement has] been a long time coming,” a senior participant, who would only be identified as Marguerite, said. “The government and private corporations have a duty to always consult with First Nations.” In front of Palais des Congrès on Friday, the crowd joined hands and formed a series of circles where participants turned and stamped in time to the beat of hand drums. Two students from Dawson College handed out red felt feathers to protestors. Jeffrey Graham, an executive of Dawson’s student union, explained that he had found the ideafor the feathers online. “We just converted a few of our red squares in our office into red feathers,” Graham said. “[Idle No More] is kind of like a continuum to the Occupy movement and the student movement,” a student in the Concordia School of Community and Public Affairs, who would only be identified as Crystal, said. “[But it is] different because it is in response to a direct attack on First Nations people.” Crystal also explained that she wanted to take part in the Idle No More movement because she is of Métis descent. “My family doesn’t practice Aboriginal [customs], but I feel really connected to the land, like all Canadians I guess,” she said. For many supporters of Idle No More, Indigenous people’s concerns are integrally linked to Canadian environmental concerns. “We really feel strongly that our resources need to be protected, See “Idle No More” on p. 2