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Published by the Students’ Society of McGill University
T R IB U N E
N ovem ber 26th. 1996
V olum e 16 Issue 13
Frustrated TAs to vote on general strike By O ren Katz The A ssociation o f G raduate Students Employed at McGill coun cil voted unanimously in favour of a g e n e ra l strik e re so lu tio n la st Wednesday. AGSEM, which is the union of McGill’s TAs, will vote on the reso lution in a general assembly to be held tomorrow. If passed, AGSEM m em b ers w ill beg in strik in g December 1. This action comes after over two years of extended negotia tio n s and c o n c ilia tio n b etw een AGSEM and the McGill administra tion, which so far have not yielded any satisfactory results. “They have given us their best offer and it was unacceptable to us, and by striking we may be showing how p ro fo u n d ly u n a c c e p ta b le ,” AGSEM Joint Coordinator Regina Harrison said. In response to the university’s latest offer, AGSEM has requested a rb itra tio n fro m th e Q uebec M inistry of Labour. No arbitrator has yet been appointed to the case, but Harrison contends that a strike would show both the provincial gov ernment and the McGill administra tion that the union is serious about their position. The issues that still need to be resolved between AGSEM and the university administration are finan cial ones. The two sides have been u n ab le to ag re e on TA sa lary dem ands. M c G ill’s cu rren t offer would raise the hourly wage of some TAs, but would lower pay for the majority. AGSEM would also like to see tuition fee w aivers put into their contract, and wants a guarantee that undergraduate students will not be hired as TAs. AGSEM made their first contract proposal to the univer sity in M ay 1994. L ast M arch , AGSEM held a one-day strike to protest the slow pace of the negotia
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tions. Because A G SEM ’s and the u n iv e rs ity ’s p o sitio n s are so far apart, and the n eg o tiatio n s have been going on for so long, AGSEM feels that an arbitrator m ust force the two sides to come to an agree ment. “W e’re m ostly in te re ste d in getting arbitration,” said Harrison. With the fall semester coming to a close, a possible strike could in te rfe re w ith the sub m issio n o f final grades. Harrison is concerned that professors may ask TAs to work extra hours prior to the advent of a strike in order to avoid this problem. “W e are w o rrie d th a t once word gets around about the strike, the professors will put extra pressure on TAs to do more work in the week before the strike. That would be ask ing TAs to work for free, which is unethical,” she asserted. M cG ill V ic e -P rin c ip a l Academic Bill Chan explained that alth o u g h he re g re ts the ad v erse effects a strike would have on stu dents, the university has not aban doned negotiations. He stated that TAs have effectively put the deci sion in the hands o f a p rovincial mediator. “The university did not break off negotiations and progress was being made. The decision is now at the d isc re tio n of the a rb itra to r,” Chan said. “I regret their decision. Any strike by AGSEM would not be in the best interest of the students.” W hile th e re is a c le a r rift between TAs and the administration, certain faculty members have shown su p p o rt fo r A G S E M ’s cau se. C ultural studies professor Marike F inlay-D em onchy stated that she will not submit final grades in the event of a general strike. She main ta in s th a t to do so w o u ld be to devalue the work done by TAs and their role as co-teachers in the edu cation process. “If the TAs go out on strike, I will not submit final grades — I will respect the strike. I will not cross the picket line out of conscience, and I cannot cross the picket line because my TAs are an integral part of the evaluative process,” she said. English department Represen tativ e to A G SEM W ayne Eggers agrees that the quality of education offered to McGill students is threat-
Thousands of students w alked arm in arm through dow ntow n Montreal in support o f a w ide range of student issues last W ednesday. Although Q uebec students received a prom ise o f a tuition freeze from the provincial governm ent, many joined the m arch in order to protest cuts to education. See story page 2.
SSM U may take Quebec to court C o u n c il f i n d s th e p r o v i n c e ’s d iffe r e n tia l tu itio n f e e p la n a v io la tio n o f C h a rte r o f R ig h ts a n d F re ed o m , w ill s e e k le g a l c o u n se l By Laura MacN eil The Students’ Society of McGill U niversity has decided to sue the Quebec government over the deci sion to charge higher tuition fees for out-of-province students. SSM U co u n c il ag reed last Thursday that Quebec’s differential tu itio n p lan v io la te s C a n a d a ’s C h arter o f R ights and Freedom s. SSMU VP University Affairs Don McGowan accepted council’s man date to retain, instruct and work with legal counsel in developing the case against the provincial government. Quebec M inister of Education P au lin e M aro is an n o u n ced on N ovem ber 18 that tuition fees for out-of-province students will rise to the C anadian average o f $2,913, while international fees will increase to levels charged in Ontario. McGowan stated that Quebec’s differential fees illegally discriminate among Canadians and restrict student mobility. “No criteria could be set up for this d istin ctio n w hich w ould not re su lt in d isc rim in a tio n a g a in st Canadian students on the basis of their province of residence,” wrote McGowan. S ection 15 o f the C h arter o f Rights and Freedoms condemns dis
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crimination on the basis of national origin. McGowan has used this sec tion as the basis for part of his argu ment. “It seems to me that Section 15 implies that Canadians are viewed as equals; Quebec is making distinc tions among Canadians where they do not exist in the eyes of the law,” he said. McGowan noted, however, that he will let SSMU’s future legal coun sel develop a m ore com plete case against the government. Matthew Hough, national direc to r o f the C an ad ian A llia n c e o f S tu d e n ts’ A sso ciatio n s, supports SSMU’s stance against Marois’ deci sion. “CASA is involved in the deci sion-making process such as round ta b le d isc u ssio n s, b ut w hen the results turn out like this with such far-reach in g im p licatio n s, CASA fully supports student strikes and marches protesting against this harm ful precedent,” he said. Hough announced he will attend a meeting next week with all provin cial ministers of education to discuss the nation’s vision of post secondary education. His goal is to convince the ministers to remain committed to stu dent mobility across the country. \ “I hate it that education has been
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dragged into the political dynamics of Quebec versus the country,” said Hough. “I wish we could separate education from the issues of separa tion. I fear that other provinces will create the same barriers retaliating to what Quebec has done.” Restriction of student mobility across provincial borders is the sec ond b asis fo r M c G o w a n ’s case against Quebec’s differential tuition policy. M cG ow an explained that, under the Charter, the education sys tem sh o u ld be seen as the legal equivalent to the health care system. “W hen Canadians m ove from one province to another, they are
Continued on Page 2 URIrD INSIDE Maclean's: McGill rates third in annual ranking.....................Pg.4 AIDS: Is the ep id em ic o v er? ........................ Pg. 10- 11 Gulf War: Veterans experience mysterious symptoms..........Pg.9 Photo essa y :.... .......... Pg.14-15 Festive fun: Super holiday disc buying gu id e................... Pg-20 Sports: Redmen hockey skates by Ryerson and Brock..... Pg-23 What's On listings.... ...... Pg-27
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$ 4 . 9 9 * * includes two flame-broiled Whopper* sandwiches and two medium fries. Please present this coupon before ordering. Not valid with any other offer. No cash value. Applicable taxes payable by bearer. Valid only at 2001 University, McGill Metro. Expiry Date: Dec. 15, 1996 DE BURGER KING CORPORATION 1996