The Tribune Vol. 45, Issue 5

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30 2025 | VOL. 45 | ISSUE 5

OFF THE BOARD

Do not let student jour-nihilism win PG. 7

McGill hosts “Reconciliation and Resistance” keynote with Dr. Niigaan Sinclair

PG. 3

To all my relations

FEATURE PG. 8-9

McGill files court order to indefinitely ban on-campus protests

Professor Barry Eidlin calls proposed injunction “an absolutely shocking violation of students’ rights”

Amelia H. Clark Staff Writer

McGill filed a court order over the summer of 2025 for an injunction that would permanently ban any protests on campus that block access to buildings, ‘bother’ staff, or make noise which disrupts classes. The proposal would enforce indefinitely the mandates of the 10-day provisional injunction passed by the Quebec courts in April 2025; this injunction was granted in response to three-day demonstration programming scheduled by Students for Palestine’s Honour and Resistance (SPHR) during a student strike for Palestine. If the new injunction is passed, only public demonstrations which do not impact McGill students, faculty, or property in the operations of daily life could not be penalized in court.

The Association of Graduate Students Employed at McGill (AGSEM) joined the team of McGill community members seeking to fight the injunction in court, citing that while the injunction specifically targets proPalestine activists, it could easily be used against other student groups in contract negotiations.

AGSEM Co-President Dallas Jokic stated in an interview with The Tribune that the injunction’s mandates are broad enough to be used against any public demonstration on campus, making it nearly impossible to conduct meaningful strike action.

“I think it’s no secret that McGill wants to make people nervous,” Jokic said. “They want people to think twice about going out to a

protest. They want to discourage people from speaking up against their policies, whether it’s a refusal to divest from Israel or corporations complicit in genocide, or whether it’s a labour union that’s protesting against jobs being cut.”

Further, Jokic criticized the evidence McGill’s law team used in court while seeking the injunction. While the injunction would prevent everyone on campus from holding protests, Jokic asserts that the only evidence McGill has used to justify it pertains to the primary defendant, SPHR.

In a written statement to The Tribune, McGill’s Media Relations Office (MRO) stated that the university is committed to “freedom of expression”.

“The University is seeking, through these proceedings, to uphold [...] peaceful assembly while protecting the rights of students to continue their academic journey without obstruction,” the MRO wrote.

The Association of McGill Professors of the Faculty of Arts (AMPFA) is the main arguing party against the injunction in court. Associate professor of the Department of Sociology, Barry Eidlin, told The Tribune that AMPFA believes it is imperative that students oppose this proposal vocally, as, if passed, it would detract from the learning environment at McGill by stifling the right to free speech.

Eidlin further stated that McGill itself has disturbed regular campus activities for demonstrations, such as cancelling classes on the anniversary of Oct. 7, 2023, demonstrating that the concern behind the injunction is not about preserving students’ schedules. He also argued that the way the April injunction

was enforced by McGill demonstrates how increased security on campus creates a more dangerous environment for students.

“[The April 2025 injunction] basically meant turning the campus into a police state,” Eidlin said. “My students did not feel safe in that environment, and I did not feel safe in that environment, and my colleagues of colour did not especially feel safe in that environment, because several of them were disproportionately targeted by those security agents.”

The Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) Outreach Coordinator Nelly Wat expressed their concerns about the injunction to The Tribune, writing that the broadness of the proposal would allow McGill to penalize peaceful actions, such as distributing flyers, to the same degree as vandalism.

“It is apparent that for the McGill administration, student protests are always wrong in the moment, but celebrated much later, when it becomes favourable for them to take a stance on a particular political issue,” Wat said. “One wonders if they’re ever going to tire of being on the wrong side of history.”

Eidlin further told The Tribune that, if passed, this injunction would mark a shift away from academic freedom and towards willful ignorance at McGill that would hinder students’ rights to an inclusive and accepting learning environment.

“The remedy that [McGill is] proposing for creating a peaceful environment is, for many members of the campus community, creating the exact conditions they claim to be trying to prevent,” Eidlin said.

William Clare Roberts dismissed as Vice-Chair of the Committee on Student Discipline Senate decision for removal followed Roberts’ publication of a pro-Hamas tweet on his personal X account

Ellen Lurie Opinion Editor

On Aug. 27, the McGill Senate Nominating Committee issued a report calling for the immediate replacement of associate professor of McGill’s Department of Political Science William Clare Roberts in his role as member and Vice-Chair of the university’s Committee on Student Discipline (CSD).

The committee’s decision followed a post made by Roberts on X on Aug. 23, in which he called for “full economic and military support for Hamas and Hezbollah” as the only “appropriate” means through which to counter the genocide being committed by Israel. Currently, Public Safety Canada lists Hamas and Hezbollah as terrorist entities.

In their report, the Nominating Committee offered two streams of rationale for Roberts’ dismissal: Potential for bias, as the committee expressed fears that Roberts’ personal views may compromise his ability to offer impartial judgments on disciplinary cases, and impact on the public’s confidence in the committee’s integrity and fairness.

In an email to The Tribune, Roberts provided the letter he submitted to the Nominating Committee following the notice of termination they sent him. In the letter, Roberts emphasized that potential for bias does not constitute reasonable grounds for termination.

“We have always taken care on the CSD to declare and weed out conflicts of interest,” Roberts wrote. “This does not require disallowing people from serving on the CSD as such.”

Roberts also noted that he self-elected to remove himself from disciplinary hearings against Palestinian liberation activists in an attempt to avoid the very conflict of interest the CSD accuses him of holding.

“I have never chaired a hearing of the CSD that dealt with charges arising from proPalestine protests,” he wrote. “That is, in part, because I voluntarily declared my political beliefs and noted that they may create the perception of unfairness.”

Roberts will be on sabbatical until September 2026, when his term on the CSD was set to end. In a written statement to The Tribune, a student of Roberts’ who wished to remain unnamed emphasized Roberts’ commitment to keeping his biases out of course curricula when he teaches at McGill.

“Professor Roberts began [his] course by clearly stating that any personal activism or political opinions, his or ours, had to be kept separate from class activities,” the student wrote.

On Sept. 17, the McGill Senate approved a motion passing the Nominating Committee’s recommendation to remove Roberts, with 42 in favour, 26 against, and 12 abstaining.

The Students’ Society of McGill University Vice-President University Affairs

Susan Aloudat, who serves on the CSD— formerly alongside Roberts—expressed concern with the process through which the Senate approached Roberts’ removal.

“It was unfortunate that this was all done on such a compressed timeline for such a complex issue,” Aloudat wrote in a statement to The Tribune “I wish this case, which was certain to generate this much debate, was approached differently.”

In a written statement to The Tribune, McGill’s Media Relations Office (MRO) confirmed Roberts was removed from the CSD in line with standard procedures.

“Faculty members [...] have responsibilities under University policies, the positions they hold at McGill, and, more broadly, the law,” the MRO wrote.

In his statement to the Nominating Committee, Roberts asserted that his termination was in part due to pressure from outside groups, namely the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA).

“My continued service as Vice-Chair could erode the confidence of the CIJA, Anthony Housefather, MP, and other loudmouthed bullies,” Roberts wrote. “The Committee has [...] laundered and euphemized the charges of external pressure groups, pretending that it is concerned with some principle other than embarrassment.”

Roberts continued to emphasize that his termination is grounded in the university’s appeasement of external groups.

“The Code of Student Conduct [...] makes possible a process of communitybased justice,” he wrote. “It is a shame that the President and Provost of the University are leading a charge to undermine that process by making it susceptible to outside political pressure.”

Roberts’ post on X has over 156,000 views. (Armen Erzingatzian / The Tribune)

The injunction can only be enforced through court, not by third parties such as McGill security.

(Zoe Lee / The Tribune)

McGill hosts “Reconciliation and Resistance” keynote with Dr. Niigaan Sinclair Talk challenges systemic injustice and asks Canadian institutions to turn their commitments into action

Eren Atac Contributor

McGill’s Office of Indigenous Initiatives hosted a keynote conversation titled “Reconciliation and Resistance: Where Are We Now?” on Sept. 24 in the Donald E. Armstrong Building. The talk was led by Dr. Niigaan Sinclair—Anishinaabe scholar at the University of Manitoba and son of Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Chairman Murray Sinclair—and moderated by Veldon Coburn, Faculty Chair of the Indigenous Relations Initiative at McGill. The keynote aimed to reflect on Canada’s progress since the release of the TRC’s 94 Calls to Action in 2015.

The TRC operated from 2008-2015 as part of the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, and worked to document the history and impacts of Canada’s residential school system. Over six years, the commission gathered testimony from over 6,500 witnesses, including survivors, about the residential school system. In 2015, the TRC released their final reports, including 94 Calls to Action directed at governments, institutions, and Canadian society to address the enduring effects of residential schools and make progress towards reconciliation.

The keynote began with a statement from Elder Ka’nahsóhon Kevin Deer, who called on the audience to remember the importance of gratitude and reciprocity in their relationships with the natural world.

“Because all of this love from our Mother comes without fail, and all she asks in return is that we acknowledge and give thanks,” Deer said. “This past Sunday, in our longhouse, we had sacred ceremonies, song, dance, speeches and rituals, because we’re so happy that we’re coming down to the end of the growing season. And our Mother gave us all of this love.”

Coburn then introduced Sinclair, who

began his talk by speaking on Winnipeg’s role in Canada’s Indigenous history, including its residential school system.

“Winnipeg is the ground zero in the center of the continent, and that means that we inherit everything,” Sinclair stated. “Good, bad, great, ugly, we inherit it all. We are the first footsteps. The residential school system [was] the first footsteps of theft of Indian lands, [was] the first footsteps of the imposition of Indian agents and the removal of children.”

He then spoke on the broad lack of knowledge among Canadian court officials on Indigenous rights in the realms of culture, health, and rental subsidies. Coburn furthered the talk by introducing the topic of racism’s far-reaching fiscal impact.

“Racism is a very expensive, bad fiscal policy,” Coburn described. “It’s very expensive to house Indigenous Peoples in jail each year, [costing] about $120,000 to $250,000 [CAD], and that stems from racism in policing, the courts, the correctional system, and education, depriving [Indigenous Peoples] of the opportunities that anyone else has.”

Sinclair illustrated these systemic inequities through a story shared with him by Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, who has spent time visiting Indigenous men in youth offender centres. Kinew explained to Sinclair that he initially went to these centres to guide young Indigenous men away from homelessness, addiction, and crime. But what struck Kinew most, Sinclair recounted, was not just the over-policing or poverty In-

digenous Peoples experience, but rather the absence of basic opportunities and experiences provided during their upbringing.

“You know how we all had these experiences where we developed fine motor skills?” Sinclair asked the audience. “Because of the removal of [Indigenous men’s] uncles and their fathers into jails before them, they never got a chance to throw the ball in the backyard with another person. Think about all of the social skills and fine motor skills they never had the opportunity to learn. And then suddenly you thrust them into positions and jobs in which they’re [expected to have those skills].”

Sinclair then returned to the topic of the residential school system, emphasizing how it stripped Indigenous children of their cultures and identities. He highlighted the significance of the orange shirt as a symbol of resistance.

“[Your home] was a place in which you were fostered and grown, and your language and tradition was there, and most markedly, your grandmother was there, who gave you

an orange shirt and said, ‘Please wear that for your memory,’” Sinclair described. “[At residential schools], you couldn’t even wear the orange shirt. That’s why [Orange Shirt Day happens]. We put on that orange shirt because we say enough is enough with the division, enough is enough with the hate to decide wonderful people don’t matter. We’re going to do this. We’re going to say, ‘Everybody matters for one day.’”

The keynote concluded with a closing remark from Deer, who offered a broad reflection on the roots of Indigenous inequality in Canada and the need for collective change.

“All of these things that we’re doing are coming back to haunt us,” Deer stated. “We don’t like how the air is contaminated, the water is contaminated, the land is contaminated, and the food that we eat is all full of chemicals and pesticides. But there is a solution. [....] The common denominator of this problem is money. If we understand that, why can’t we change? We can come from a place of love, seeing everybody as equals.”

Canada recognizes Palestine, UN calls out genocide, and McGill does not divest

Amidst acceleration of

Kaitlyn Schramm News Editor

On Sept. 21, Canada, under the leadership of Prime Minister Mark Carney, officially recognized Palestine as a state, advocating for a two-state solution between Palestine and Israel. The UK, Australia, and France have also recently announced their recognition of a Palestinian state.

Carney’s speech on the matter adhered to Canada’s longstanding support for this solution as a means for peace—except, now, Canada formally recognizes both of the states involved. Recognition of Palestine by Canada and other nations creates space for the United Nations (UN) and its member countries to legally oppose Israel, opening the door for Israel to face consequences for breaching the UN Charter.

On Sept. 16, a UN Commission of Inquiry concluded that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, citing the scale of Israel’s killings of, blocking of aid to, and forced displacement of Palestinians in its 72-page

genocide in Gaza, McGill maintains its stance

The death toll in Gaza has exceeded 66,000 as Israel continues committing genocide. (Eliot Loose / The Tribune)

report. The inquiry states that the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, is legally responsible for the genocide.

Amidst these updates, McGill’s Media Relations Office (MRO) maintained that the university will not divest.

“The analysis by the [Committee on Sustainability and Social Responsibility]

confirmed that the University had no exposure to companies involved in the production of controversial weapons at the time of the review [on July 8, 2024],” the MRO wrote to The Tribune

In an interview with The Tribune , a representative from Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) who wished to remain un -

named expressed that increasing international recognition of Palestine is an overdue show of support.

“It’s so incredibly dangerous for [Canada] to be doing this so late in the game, and [...] it’s also such an easy way for the Canadian government to clear their conscience of genocide-enabling and still continue to allow the promotion of arms, [and] still continue to [not take a stance on] the [Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions] movement,” the representative said.

The representative also emphasized that IJV’s goals remain the same: For McGill to divest from companies complicit in Israel’s genocide, and to acknowledge the atrocities that have occurred against Palestinians.

“[Student] demands have stayed the same throughout this entire genocide, and [in] the 75 years before that, and IJV [...] has been in coalition with [Students for Palestine’s Honour and Resistance], Law Students for Palestine, all of these other groups, to reinforce this message,” they stated.

Speaking on reconciliation, Sinclair challenged the audience: “You either believe in sovereignty, or you don’t.” (Armen Erzingatzian / The Tribune)

SSMU Legislative Council meeting covers staff hiring and gender-affirming care access

Meeting also discusses Gerts’ finances and VIA Rail discount

Devdas Hind Contributor

The second Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Legislative Council (LC) meeting of the year took place on Sept. 25, with 23 members of the Council present. SSMU President Dymetri Taylor started the meeting with three announcements.

The first was that the PT/OT Councillor had resigned, but elections were in progress to appoint a new one within the next few weeks. Taylor then announced that the SSMU Vice-President (VP) Internal and VP Finance positions are vacant, with replacements to be discussed later in the meeting. The third announcement was that SSMU members now receive a discount on VIA Rail tickets. The discount’s use will require SSMU members to present their McGill University IDs upon boarding.

Deputy Speaker Yasmin Beeai then outlined that councillors will have two proxies and two unexcused absences available to them, adding up to four permitted absences for LC meetings, throughout the academic year. She also presented the Absences and Reporting Schedules, stating that the LC’s committees must submit their reports in a timely manner.

“[Committee] reports are due [...] five days before the meeting [they are to be presented at],” Beeai said. “Late reports count as half of an absence, and missing reports count as one absence.”

VP Clubs and Services Hamza Abu Alkhair proposed to amend this rule to give newly active services more time to submit reports to the LC.

The

“It’s only been a month [of] these services [running], so I want to give them a good opportunity to actually know [where they are],” Abu Alkhair said.

The reporting schedule was sent back to the Steering Committee for review.

Taylor next proceeded with an account of Gerts Bar’s and Cafe’s finances. The bar is projected to make around $130,000 CAD in surplus this year, while the cafe has made $1,000 to $2,000 CAD in surplus per week this semester.

VP External Affairs Seraphina Crema Black then discussed an initiative where students may contact the Member of Parliament (MP) who represents the university through Liberal McGill. McGill students, along with MP Marc Miller, can thereby discuss a lobbying campaign that could put pressure on the Coalition Avenir Québec to

reconsider their tuition hike for anglophone universities.

Following this, VP University Affairs Susan Aloudat confirmed that SSMU has implemented the Menstrual Health Project, providing free hygiene products in washrooms across campus.

The LC moved to motions for approval. The first motion proposed edits to the SSMU’s Accountability Plan, proposing that the Accountability Commissioner meet with SSMU executives twice a year, instead of once. The motion passed unanimously.

The second motion on the table concerned gender-affirming care in the student health insurance plan. When SSMU initially added gender-affirming care to the plan, it was not voted on directly by the student body. Thus, this motion proposed to put the question of gender-affirming care

insurance to students during the Fall Referendum. The motion passed through a secret ballot, with one vote not-in-favour and one abstaining.

The third motion addressed the need to fill the SSMU VP Internal and VP Finance positions in a timely manner. President Taylor articulated that this would normally be done through a by-election, but that this process would be too lengthy. Therefore, he proposed to form a committee of LC members and members of the SSMU Board of Directors who would be responsible for reviewing applications and selecting candidates for these positions.

The LC established a committee of four councillors, two directors, and the Internal Logistics Coordinator as a non-voting member to select the VP Internal; the Council also established a second committee to select the VP Finance, composed of two councillors and three directors.

The application period for both VP positions will tentatively run from Sept. 29 to Oct. 5, with interviews and candidate selection occurring from Oct. 6 to Oct. 8.

Moment of the Meeting

President Taylor noted that turnout for First-Year Council elections was very high, with 16 candidates in the running.

Soundbite

“There’ll be a discussion item later this year [...] for allocating a budget [to] first years [that] all of the first year councils on campus can work with when it comes to making events for students, by students.”—Dymetri Taylor, on first year engagement.

Tribune Explains: The upcoming Montreal municipal election With Valérie Plante stepping down, Montreal prepares for a new mayor

Basil Atari Contributor

The race for Montreal’s next mayor kicked off on Sept. 19, following current mayor Valérie Plante’s announcement last year that she would not be running for a third term. Montreal’s municipal election day will be held on Nov. 2, 2025. The Tribune explains how to navigate voting.

How can I vote?

Voting on election day will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Nov. 2 at local polling stations. Advance polling is also scheduled from 12:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Oct. 26.

For the first time, students from 16 Montreal post-secondary institutions, including McGill, will be able to vote on their campuses on Oct. 24, 27, 28, and 29.

If one is unable to vote in person for health or mobility reasons, they can register to vote by mail or by mobile.

Montrealers can register to vote through an online video conference call before Oct. 15 at 6:00 p.m., or in-person at a commission of revision between Oct. 11 and Oct. 16. Voters can also check online to see if they are already registered.

You must be registered to vote.

Who is eligible to vote?

To be eligible for registration, a voter must

be a Canadian citizen who is at least 18 years old by Nov. 2, reside in the territory of the City of Montreal, and have lived in Quebec for at least six months prior to the election. Moreover, one must not have lost their right to vote due to legal incapacity or guardianship.

Who are the candidates?

There are currently five candidates running for mayor: Luc Rabouin for Projet Montréal; Soraya Martinez Ferrada for Ensemble Montréal; Craig Sauvé for Transition Montréal; JeanFrançois Kacou for Futur Montréal; and Gilbert Thibodeau for Action Montréal.

Luc Rabouin, the current borough mayor for the Plateau-Mont-Royal, was selected by Projet Montréal as Valérie Plante’s successor. Rabouin is running on a platform to offer discounted transit fares for low-income users, add more public bathrooms across the city, and add 1,000 BIXI stations to Montreal over the next four years, ensuring all Montrealers have a BIXI station within a 15-minute walk of their homes.

Soraya Martinez Ferrada resigned from her role as former federal tourism minister in Justin Trudeau’s Liberal cabinet to run for Montreal mayor with Ensemble Montréal. Her key campaign promises include using artificial intelligence to enhance traffic management and construction planning, and conducting a review of the city’s bike paths to eliminate any dangerous ones. Moreover, she is concerned with tackling youth crime and homelessness, aiming to create

more non-market housing that also offers social support to its residents.

Craig Sauvé is a city councillor for Montreal’s Sud Ouest borough. He was a former member of Projet Montréal, and left the party after a sexual assault allegation, which he has categorically denied. He ran for the New Democratic Party in the riding of LaSalle-Émard-Verdun in the most recent federal election. Some of Sauvé’s key campaign promises include taxing the “ultra-rich” to reinvest the resulting money in social housing, establishing a night mayor, and “standing up” to François Legault’s Coalition Avenir Quebec provincial government on its supposed neglect of Montreal’s infrastructure, citing the province’s abandoned tramway project in LaSalle and Lachine. Recently, Sauvé has denounced the provincial government’s directive banning the use of gender-neutral language in official state communications, calling it divisive and stigmatising.

Jean-François Kacou is running for

mayor with Futur Montréal, a party founded by civil rights activist Joel DeBellefeuille and community leader Matthew Kerr. He is originally from the Ivory Coast and was a former executive director of Ensemble Montréal. His platform includes making police and fire department equipment up-to-date and electrifying the entire bus network.

Gilbert Thibodeau is running again under the Action Montréal banner after receiving one per cent of the vote in the 2021 municipal elections. He believes Montreal requires more efficient financial and infrastructural management.

A potential Montreal municipal debate could be held at the University Centre on Oct. 27. (Armen Erzingatzian / The Tribune)

A potential Montreal municipal debate could be held at the University Centre on Oct. 27. (Eliot Loose / The Tribune)

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McGill cannot ‘check off’ reconciliation

The Tribune Editorial Board

Sept. 19 marked the commencement of McGill’s 2025 Indigenous Awareness Week, an 11-day event series celebrating Indigenous cultures and histories. The series also highlights the critical role McGill community members play in reconciling the historical and current impacts of settler colonialism. The week features guest lectures, campus Pow Wows, traditional cooking tasting events, and even a Legacy Game at Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, saluting the Indigenous roots of lacrosse.

But, concrete actions speak louder than an annual event series.

While McGill has taken important steps forward, the university has failed to deliver more than a mere perfunctory commitment to institutional change, offered misleading claims to progress, and consistently neglected substantial reconciliation.

McGill frames the initiatives scheduled during Indigenous Awareness Week as a step towards achieving the 52 Calls to Action identified by its Task Force on Indigenous Studies and Indigenous Education. The calls to action fall within five categories: Student recruitment and retention, physical representation and symbolic recognition, academic programs

and curricula, research, and building capacity and human resources.

On the Office of Indigenous Initiatives’ (OII) website, McGill’s progress on these 52 calls to action is monitored; three task force items are described as “in progress,” forty as “achieved,” and nine as “achieved and further expanded.” Initially sounding promising, these progress updates are at best misconstrued and at worst downright false.

McGill erroneously describes Call to Action 31: Indigenous Studies Program as being “achieved and further expanded,” despite the university failing to institute an Indigenous Studies major. In fine print, the website states that additional steps are necessary to fully complete this goal, but the action item remains deceptively marked as “achieved.”

McGill’s use of the word ‘achieved’ holds rhetorical significance, implying that it is somehow possible to ‘finish’ reconciliation—an inherently reflective, evolving process. This discourse epitomizes McGill’s approach towards reconciliation: Treating an ongoing responsibility as a task that must be checked off for the sake of plausible deniability as McGill continues to incite harm against Indigenous groups in Quebec.

Despite years of organizing by the Kanien’kehá:ka Kahnistensera (Mohawk Mothers) against McGill’s New Vic Project, the university has

continued construction and engaged in an ongoing legal battle to evade Indigenous consent—despite clear evidence of human remains.

Last November, McGill removed a pine sapling planted by Kanien’kehá:ka women in commemoration of the Palestine Solidarity Encampment, asserting the pine had been planted without consent by the university and therefore had to be removed. This defence represents an appalling contradiction to the sentiments McGill alleges in every land acknowledgement it utters. McGill acknowledges that it resides on stolen, unceded land, but weaponizes a claim of property ownership to justify the erasure of Indigenous tradition and action.

Clearly, McGill is only comfortable with convenient reconciliation. The recent redesign of the Y-Intersection to include Indigenous art, culture, and history is a beautiful gesture, but purely symbolic. At the very centre of the exposition, the university irreverently placed a decorative urn honouring founder James McGill, a slave owner, colonial figure, and exploiter of Indigenous communities and their financial reserves.

Beyond failing to meaningfully address its 52 Calls to Action, McGill has left 94 federal Calls to Action unaddressed entirely. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s (TRC) 2015 report, a

product of research spearheaded by Indigenous leader Murray Sinclair, offers tangible recommendations through which institutions can promote reconciliation of colonial histories and Canada’s residential school system. Notably, a number of McGill’s 52 Calls to Action actually undermine those of the TRC, allowing the university to cherry-pick its course of redress, while still operating under the guise of reconciliation.

TRC Call 71—calling on institutions to submit all evidence of remains of Indigenous children killed in residential schools—is explicitly undermined by McGill’s dismissal of the Mohawk Mothers and continued construction at the New Vic site. McGill has also failed to join the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation (NCTR), successor of the TRC, as a university partner, despite 17 other educational institutions in Canada doing so.

As the events of Indigenous Awareness Week come to a close, McGill cannot continue to limit its commitment to Indigenous communities to mere display and symbolic action. The university must cede to the demands of the Mohawk Mothers, demonstrate its commitment to both institutional and federal calls to action, and transform its reconciliation practices from a superficial, publicrelations exercise into a profound lived practice of accountability and repair.

Sportswashing will not cleanse Israel of its genocide

Liam McClellan Contributor

Ethey are often much more than that due to national representation.

Lilly

CONTRIBUTORS

TRIBUNE OFFICE STAFF

Gwen Heffernan, Emiko Kamiya, Alexa Roemer

vents meant to celebrate athleticism are too often exploited to burnish the reputations of countries responsible for humanitarian crises. On Sept. 14, seven protesters were arrested at the Montreal Cycling Grand Prix. They were rallying against the participation of the Israel—Premier Tech (IPT) cycling team in the race. The arrests were for obstruction, according to police reports, and the demonstrators mostly cooperated to avoid harm. The protesters opposed the presence of the team given Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The participation of IPT in a similar cycling event in Madrid was also met with protests of the same conviction. These protests bring attention to a common issue in the sports world: Sportswashing—the use of sport to alter the image of a sponsor or government.

opinions are strictly those of the author and do not necessarily re- flect the opinions of The Tribune, its editors or its staff.

These protesters should not be criticized for the politicization of an event that is already inherently political. While sports could just be a celebration of skill and athleticism,

Though IPT is a cycling team, its presence at the event can be seen as a political statement. While IPT is not directly tied to Israel, some members of the group—such as co-owner Sylvan Adams—consider themselves representatives for Israel. Adams has previously referred to himself and the team’s riders as self-appointed ambassadors for Israel. While Israel might not be actively sponsoring the Grand Prix, IPT’s participation ensures that Israel’s image is being promoted nonetheless. Thus, the protesters’ presence only ensured that their condemnation was heard in a typically depoliticised environment curated by corporations—in this case, a corporation representing Israel.

This issue is not exclusive to Israel; countries have long used sportswashing to improve their image. The 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin were infamously used as a way to project an image of a strong and united Nazi Germany all while the nation was actively persecuting its Jewish and Roma communities. In recent years, human rights activists have accused

Saudi Arabia of sportswashing by hosting sporting events including golf and soccer leagues to distract from the nation’s human rights abuses: These include the discrimination against LGBTQ+ communities, as well as the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi.

However, in the sports world, Israel’s human rights abuses, including the displacement of 90 per cent of Gaza’s population, are not criticized nearly as much as other countries perpetrating horrific violence at this scale.

Other countries condemned by sporting committees have been banned from events in which Israel is allowed to participate. Russia, for instance, has been banned from a plethora of international sporting events since 2022, due to its ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Yet, despite being responsible for the death of more than 60,000 Palestinians in Gaza, the international community does not hold Israel to the same standard. Instead, they welcome Israeli teams with open arms to their fields, arenas, and starting lines.

In any situation, the use of sports to generate undeserved good

press trivializes the sport and the hard work of its athletes. IPT should be made completely aware of the impact that it has on global politics, recognizing that the protesters at the Grand Prix were right to call it out for its ties to Israel. If the protesters were not there, IPT would have continued to promote Israel’s image unchallenged. Because of this, sports cannot be apolitical. All participants in sports should be held to the same standards as the governments they choose to support.

Israel—Premier Tech changed their jerseys to ‘IPT’ after more than 100,000 protesters in Madrid requested that they withdraw. (Gwen Heffernan / The Tribune)

Shatner University Centre, 3480 McTavish, Suites 404, 405, 406

Simona Culotta, Defne Feyzioglu, Alexandra Hawes Silva, Celine Li, Lialah Mavani, Nour Kouri, Laura Pantaleon

Norah Adams, Amelia Clark, Alex Hawes Silva, Lialah Mavani, Jamie Xie

Guilbeault

Eren Atac, Basil Atari, Julianne Ellis, Defne Feyzioglu, Devdas Hind, Dylan Hing,Joshua Karmiol, Merce Kellner, Will Kennedy, Antoine Larocque, Alexandra Lasser, Sofia Kuttner Lindelow, Liam McClellan, Zoya Mirza, Anna Roberts, Ivanna Zhang

Defne Feyzioglu Contributor

HSafety and speech aren’t either/or

ate-fuelled harassment deserves a firm legal answer. But Canada’s Bill C-9—also known as the Combating Hate Act—risks the criminalization of non-obstructive protests near community institutions, serving more as a tool to stifle political protest than to combat hate.

As currently drafted, Bill C-9 would establish new intimidation and obstruction offences to apply in the vicinity of houses of worship and buildings primarily used by an “identifiable group” for community and education purposes. It would also ban public display of certain terrorist or Nazi symbols when intended to promote hatred. The bill defines ‘hatred’ as detestation or vilification, but creates allowances for the symbols to be displayed for legitimate purposes, including journalism, religion, education, or art, and a narrow good-faith removal—a temporary and necessary display solely to identify and remove hateful material. Bill C-9’s stated intention—to keep people safe—is admirable. However, the line between respectful political dissent and actions fueled by hatred is dangerously blurred throughout the bill.

On multicultural campuses like McGill, a blurry legal line like that in Bill C-9 can give undue power to administrations at the expense of students’ freedoms of speech

COMMENTARY

Joshua Karmiol Contributor

Land assembly. Protests are designed to be disruptive: They interrupt routines, access, and comfort, even when peaceful. They are supposed to be felt . The bill’s intimidation offence condemns any conduct with the intent to provoke a state of fear in order to impede access to community buildings. Through the incorporation of conceptions of ‘intent’ into the bill, police officers will be given the jurisdiction to assess the intentions and goals of protestors, meaning that they can charge protesters with hatebased acts without proof of threats or physical obstruction. Though the bill permits protestors to be “at or near” a site to communicate information regarding their demonstration, this right only applies in the event of obstruction, not intimidation. Threatened with a potential penalty of 10 years of imprisonment, protests will be likely to self-censor.

On paper, Bill C-9 is content-neutral, and its access rules hinge on where conduct occurs, not on viewpoint. However, the political geography of recent protests means enforcement will inevitably fall unevenly. Because Bill C-9 is applicable when conduct occurs at or near protected sites, pro-Palestine demonstrations near Jewish institutions and counter-protests near mosques are the most likely to be policed. If protest behaviour is perceived as intimidation or impedes access—even without a hard blockade—police will be empowered to make arrests on the basis

of hateful action. In other words, the text targets conduct, but the political geography of recent protests shapes who is most vulnerable to enforcement.

Bill C-9 also removes Attorney General consent for hate-propaganda charges, which heightens the risk of charge-first, acquitlater outcomes. Its clause banning the use of symbols during demonstrations creates even more space for the criminalization of protest. Currently, the bill denounces any imagery that resembles banned symbols closely enough to the extent that it could be confused as such. This definitional elasticity invites law enforcement to act on visual uncertainty in fast-moving demonstrations.

If Bill C-9 is enacted, students’ ability and right to protest on campus will be severely suppressed. Under this legislation, tactics that simply look like impeding entry—or are read by on-site law enforcement as intimidation intended to impede access— will carry high legal risk for protesters. This subjectivity in assessing criminality

is damaging and unconstitutional; drawing clear, well-defined lines around police officers’ legal authority matters as much as the bill’s stated intent. Otherwise, the bill will not serve anyone; not minority student groups, not faculty members, not protestors, not even police who are asked to adjudicate in fast-paced moments.

Canada needs a firm answer to hatefueled harassment, but Bill C-9 is not it. The Combating Hate Act should be amended to protect access without criminalizing political voices: That’s how we keep our doors open, our arguments loud, and our rights intact.

Montreal’s new language policy furthers Legault’s war on a ghost of Anglophone supremacy

Avenir Québec (CAQ)’s 2022 expansion on the Charter of the French Language.

ast March, the city of Montreal provided a new guide for frontline workers. The internal guide, obtained by the Montreal Gazette , is titled, “Exemplary Conduct in the French Language: Mechanisms for Informing the Public,” and offers instructions on how government employees should speak to anglophone customers. One sample script reads: “We are delighted to serve you in French. Do you understand me if I continue in this language?”

If the citizen does not understand French or demands service in English, employees are to inform them about legal restrictions on providing services in English and provide an informational pamphlet, two versions of which exist: one French and one bilingual. Yet, only the French version can be displayed in public; the other must either be requested by the citizen or provided at the employee’s initiative.

That is to say that, if a hypothetical English-speaker enters a government building, it would be impossible for them to discover the government’s shift in language services policy: All the publicly accessible pamphlets that would inform of such a policy change are in French—the language which, presumably, they cannot read if in need of such a pamphlet.

This Kafkaesque insanity represents the latest stage in Montreal’s municipal compliance with Bill 96, the Coalition

The Charter of the French Language, commonly known as Bill 101, was introduced in 1977, when francophones earned significantly less than anglophones who dominated Montreal’s corporate elite. Immigrants primarily assimilated into English, and French-speaking Quebecers seemed an archaic underclass on its way towards total demographic obliteration. In this context, the Quiet Revolution occurred. In 1960, “Québécois” was not yet a word used in common parlance. By 1976, a newly elected sovereigntist provincial government received a mandate to call for an independent Quebec nation.

45 years later, Bill 96 requires that government services be provided exclusively in French. Thus, Montreal, with its long history of providing bilingual public services, now puts forth guidelines instructing workers on how to assert French exclusivity.

Today, francophone hegemony is the norm across Quebec. The lofty ambition set forth in the 1970s of maintaining a French island within the vast swaths of Englishspeaking North America has been virtually achieved. The unilingual anglophone elite have all but entirely vanished. Most anglophones emigrated post-Bill 101; those who stayed became increasingly bilingual.

Today, almost 95 per cent of all people in Quebec speak French. Virtually no large English-speaking population exists in Quebec outside of Montreal: The CAQ

essentially targets Montreal specifically. Attention must then be afforded to the ideology of the CAQ, and of its founder and leader François Legault, who views the further diminishment of English in Montreal as a war waged by honest Quebecers against the urban anglophone elite.

Before the 2023 McGill tuition hikes were announced, Quebec’s Minister of the French Language stated: “It’s time to regain some ground.” Prior to his inaugural term, Legault urged CAQ supporters to push for a new Quiet Revolution. This sentiment is especially popular with rural voters who likely hold inherent skepticism against large urban conglomerations, with linguistic differences serving as a conduit for punishment of the cosmopolitan elite.

In 2022, 31 per cent of English-speaking adults in Quebec experienced linguistic insecurity—a fear of using English in public—in the last five years. (Eliot Loose / The Tribune)

against, the CAQ inevitably seeks complete eradication of English language use in Montreal.

When will this nationalist impulse be satiated? When government services are rendered entirely in French? When “bonjourhi,” alongside the casual bilingualism it implies, is entirely eliminated from common practice? When Montreal’s iconic English universities are francized or destroyed? Populism will always seek more enemies, and in need of an out-group to pit itself

The mere fact that French will always remain a minority language in North America is bound to produce linguistic tension. In some sense, it must necessarily induce linguistic protectionism, lest French be reduced to a cultural curiosity rather than, as the Quebec government sees it, “the common language of the Québec nation.” Few would argue that the protection of French is entirely unnecessary in the maintenance of a Quebecois nation. The question is if, this time, this tightening of legislation perhaps seeks an enemy that is no longer potent.

Bill C-9’s access protections extend beyond worship spaces to cemeteries and senior residences. (Zoe Lee / The Tribune)

Do not let student jour-nihilism win

Mairin Burke Managing Editor

Iwas ecstatic when I earned the role of “party nun” in my elementary school’s production of The Sound of Music . Alongside 20 other fourthgraders, I acted as a lineless backdrop, twirling around the abbey during “How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria” before ripping off my habit to reveal a glittery gown for “So Long, Farewell.”

As my parents reminded me after the show, “the difference between ordinary and extraordinary is the extra.”

While perhaps less blasphemous, my current job as a student journalist requires a similar “extra-ness”, — “extra-ness” in trying to do justice to others’ perspectives on campus and the change they call for

Tamiyana Roemer Student Life Editor

Cat their events. Working to speak truth to power in this source-forward way is the foundation of The Tribune ’s mandate, allowing us to both communicate what is and advocate for what could be. Yet, as a well-meaning acquaintance asked me last year, “All love, Mairin, but who’s reading campus papers anyway?”

I was unsure how to answer. I struggle all the time with combatting what I call “student jour-nihilism”: The sense that it is impossible to appropriately capture the injustices of the world in, or drive tangible change through, a 600word story, so why write one, anyway? Yet falling into this pernicious trap is what will squash campus papers’ earnest, compassionate, and incredible coverage that has cemented so much invaluable social change.

Journalist spaces are undeniably in trouble. A proliferation of artificial intelligence and other ‘efficiency’ measures have certainly contributed to the 10,000 media job losses in Canada since 2020. Never mind the emotional burnout those covering the most horrific facets of humanity face, explaining why 56 per cent of journalists in the United States considered quitting in 2024.

If legacy outlets are in peril, student newspapers are left even more vulnerable,

with their coverage not buoyed by subscribers, major advertising revenue, or legal teams. Student journalists have to manage their course loads while working tireless hours each week as writers, researchers, fact-checkers, and editors. They must account for the disciplinary and safety threats posed by criticizing their university’s administration and navigate deadlock as the student demands they cover are met with indifference— or ignored entirely. How can we keep screaming as our voices get hoarser?

When my own student jour-nihilism edges too near, I am reminded of author Omar El Akkad’s observation that “to be accused of speaking too loudly about [injustice] is to be told, simply, to keep quiet.” The difference between ordinary reporting and extraordinary journalism is the extra time and care student journalists invest in being unapologetically and tirelessly LOUD. It is the solidarity campus papers show with their student communities by preserving and publicizing their peers’ ferocious drive toward what is right. It is how student journalists paint a vision of what is radically possible: By fighting an uphill battle against present injustice, in their own words and on their own terms. It is believing in the power of those words to reverberate.

Taking curiosity off campus

Beginner-friendly classes and workshops

lasses define student life. They structure our days, determine our cohorts, and funnel our inquiry. Academic courses may be the most influential classes in our lives, but they are not the only ones available to us. Montreal is full of beginner-friendly workshops that offer alternate outlets for our curiosity and creativity. The Tribune has put together six classes around the city to add to your weekly schedule—no midterm exams required.

Matcha preparation

Montreal’s thriving cafe culture has made it easy to find a good cup of coffee—but when it comes to matcha, the options can be disappointing. If you’re tired of paying $10 CAD for swampy-coloured lattes, it may be time to take matters into your hands. At Sakao Japanese Tea, you can enroll in a workshop led by Reina Sakao, a fourth-generation member of a Japanese tea house. In this hands-on class, you’ll learn proper matcha preparation techniques while exploring the history and production of this beloved tea. You’ll also get to taste four different grades of matcha and three types of Japanese sandwich-style desserts called Monaka.

Pottery wheel throwing

If you’ve ever dreamed of trying your hand at pottery, Les Faiseurs offers the perfect entry point. Their two-and-a-half-hour introductory class will teach you the basics

When I stepped into my role as a Managing Editor at The Tribune , I read decades of coverage to reflect upon what the paper has historically missed in its publishing. In the process, I stumbled across a 2011 Sports article about my late brother Brendan, who was an advocate for LGBTQ+ athletes. I bet the author never expected Brendan’s family to encounter the piece. But seeing some of the grief I carry with me every day reflected on a page reminded me more than ever that campus papers speak directly to students’ souls and preserve archives of what matters most to them, years down the line. As the piece about Brendan states, “there’s [always] someone [who] paves the way forward.” Despite student jour-nihilism’s attempts to undermine them, campus papers pave the way by persistently reminding fellow students that their missions for change are seen, heard, and honoured. Student journalists must persist in being fierce and hopeful as they boldly amplify their peers’ galvanizing work, and as they write their own words of dissent and ambition that dare to imagine something better. We cannot say “So Long, Farewell” to campus journalism when it immortalizes the fight for our shared humanity.

around Montreal

of wheel throwing in a beautiful, welcoming studio. Designed specifically for complete beginners, the session walks you through each step—from centring the clay to shaping your first pieces. Whether you’re looking for a new creative outlet or just want to get your hands dirty, this class is a great way to dip into the world of ceramics. But keep your expectations tempered: You’ll quickly find that mastering the pottery wheel is much harder than it looks. Luckily, Les Faiseurs also offers six-week courses for those who catch the clay bug and want to build on the basics.

Woodworking

Perhaps you’re ready to replace your screen time with sawdust. Les Affutes offers a variety of woodworking workshops with projects ranging from beginner to advanced. Experts can guide you through a range of courses from simple wood frames to intricate hanging mobiles. Under their supervision, you’ll learn how to safely use woodworking tools while simultaneously building your next handmade piece and confidence in a fresh skill set.

Silkscreening

LESPACEMAKER is a communitybased workshop that’s helping democratize technical know-how in Montreal. If ink is your medium of choice, their screen printing workshop offers a comprehensive introduction to the art of silkscreening. Designed for first-timers, their four-hour classes walk you through both the theory and practice of screen printing on paper. You’ll learn how to prepare visuals, expose a screen, and work with water-based inks.

Jazz dance

Cat’s Corner has been bringing the joy of dance to Montreal since 1998. From tap to Balboa, they offer a wide range of swingera styles in a fun, inclusive environment. New to swing dancing? Drop by for a Friday night intro class—no partner or experience needed. For those ready to dive deeper, their eight-week beginner sessions are a great way to build rhythm on the dance floor.

Knitting

Fibre arts can be daunting. If your self-taught sessions have looked more like knotting than knitting, a class at Les Laines Biscotte might be just what you need. Their six-week sessions are designed to build both skills and confidence, with experienced instructors guiding you every step of the way. For something more flexible, à la carte classes offer drop-in style learning tailored to your schedule and goals. Located around Montreal, these classes are a great opportunity to untangle the basics.

The potter’s wheel can be traced back as early as 3,250 BCE. (Alexa Roemer / The Tribune)

It’s not easy to talk about land acknowledgements. They are situated in a complicated web of relationships, discourses, and histories of responsibilities. The practice of researching whose land you work, learn, or live on is simple, and so is typing the words of a land acknowledgement. Delivering one—whether out loud, in an email signature, or on a website—is not difficult either. What complicates land acknowledgements is the misunderstanding of relationality.

Relationality is a framework for understanding the world we inhabit that recognizes our interconnection with animals, water, land, and each other. Unlike colonial views, which see humans as independent units and land as property to control or exploit, relationality emphasizes the importance of connection. The disjuncture between these worldviews informs how the interpretations of land acknowledgements, their purposes, and political meanings have diverged between Indigenous and settler imaginations. While land acknowledgements are becoming more routine across present-day Canada, their purposes are increasingly mistaken.

Land acknowledgements, also known as territorial acknowledgements, were popularized in 2015 following the publication of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s (TRC) reports. The TRC’s mandate was to inform Canadians about residential schools by documenting accounts from survivors and their families, and publishing a report alongside 94 Calls to Action for reconciliation. While the use of land acknowledgements is not included in the calls to action, it introduced a new era of reconciliatory efforts to mend relationships between Indigenous Peoples and settlers.

Most land acknowledgements recognize the traditional territories of Indigenous nations, relevant treaties, and the responsibilities of those who live here. Land acknowledgements are meant to assert everyone’s responsibilities to Indigenous Peoples and the land; however, without understanding the relational frameworks they are rooted in, they risk becoming performative, insincere, or futile.

Concordia University’s Indigenous Directions Leadership Group has worked to frame land acknowledgements as more than just a formality. Resources developed by Wahéhshon Shiann Whitebean, now assistant professor of Indigenous Studies at McGill, contend that Concordia’s land acknowledgments recognize Indigenous Peoples’ rich and vast histories on these lands and waters, and that this is their home.

At their core, land acknowledgments emerge from two types of relationships: Relations between people and relations between people and the land.

Human relationships are uncontestably complicated. We offend, we lie, we love, we harm. The relationships between Indigenous folks and settlers are especially fraught, wo-

ven with centuries of settler-colonialism.

The import of diseases that killed hundreds of Indigenous Peoples in Eastern Canada, the forced relocation of entire nations, the genocidal assimilationist policies enacted by the Canadian government, and the ongoing epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG) have seeded mistrust, anger, and intergenerational traumas within many Indigenous folks today. Land acknowledgements bring the history of this relationship to the fore. Too often, this reminder produces guilt that slips into resentment, rather than motivating responsibility and change.

Catherine Richardson Kinewesquao, a Métis professor at Concordia University, emphasizes that land acknowledgements reflect a commitment to cultivating positive relationships. In an interview with The Tribune, she said that recognizing “ongoing connection, relationality, protocol, and a little bit about your intent” is integral to writing a responsible land acknowledgement. Not only should we acknowledge the traditional territories, but also incorporate a commitment to healing these connections.

We should commit to change out of desire for a better tomorrow, not guilt from yesterday. Acknowledging those whose traditional territories you live in is a first step in entering relationships with Indigenous communities and peoples.

Richardson argues that these recognition protocols are not novel concepts to Indigenous Peoples.

“You’re entering someone else’s space,” she said. “These Indigenous nations here in Northern Turtle Island, they are sovereign. It’s not just polite or respectful, it’s actually a protocol.”

She cites the Haudenosaunee’s Thanksgiving Address, which greets and thanks the natural world.

“It’s about showing gratitude. [....] I would probably say every religion in the world that I know says some kind of grace.”

Canadians tend to believe that they are alienated from their relationships with Indigenous Peoples and the land, framing their disconnection as a lack of relationality and therefore of responsibility. In distancing themselves, settlers attempt to absolve themselves of accountability to reconciliation, as many regard themselves as too distant to be relational. Disconnection makes us ignorant of our inherent interconnectedness and shapes how non-Indigenous peoples conceptualize their involvement with Indigenous issues such as land acknowledgements.

student said, “I don’t think it’s necessarily up to us [non-Indigenous people], per se, to say if land acknowledgements are helpful or not. It’s not our past that’s being affected.”

Will Meslin, U3 Political Science, echoed a similar

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“I’m not a good judge of that,” he said, on what should be included in a land acknowledgement. “[My] opinion should be irrelevant. [....] What should be included should be dependent on [...] what actual Indigenous Peoples want to see. I don’t think it’s enough for me, a white guy, to be like, they should be represented in this capacity.”

While well-intentioned, settlers often approach land acknowledgements in ways that place the responsibility on Indigenous peoples. Though this may arise from respect, it risks reinforcing the idea that settlers exist outside these relationships.

We’re not separate from each other, our histories, or the land. This is what Indigenous Peoples want settlers to appreciate through the use of land acknowledgements.

Instead, Richardson argues that non-Indigenous peoples mustn’t remove themselves from these dialogues, absolving themselves of the responsibility to educate themselves.

“You do your work and figure out where you are,” she said.

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Indigenous Peoples laying out the foundations and settlers just colouring in the lines. We know where our roots are. We know that these are our traditional territories. The resources from Concordia’s Indigenous Directions state that the best way to deliver a land acknowledgement is to infuse it with what is personal to the one presenting it. Scripted land acknowledgements, especially those written by Indigenous Peoples, excuse non-Indigenous people from doing the heavy lifting required to fully respect and recognize their relationships to their neighbours, treaties, and Indigenous traditional territories.

In a written statement to The Tribune, Vanessa Reid, high school teacher and English Department Head at the Toronto District School Board (TDSB), explains how non-Indigenous settlers play a central role in renewing and nurturing these connections.

“I think [it’s important to include] notions of relationality and how we can better recognize our equal humanity; as a species, we have not done this well. I also think we should consider caring for our more-than-human relatives,” Reid writes. “I always think about the giant maples in my backyard and how they are a habitat for so many birds, insects and animals.

They provide so much! I appreciate the oxygen that these maples make and how, when I breathe, they are a part of me.”

Every morning at Reid’s high school, students speak a land acknowledgement, which was created by her and her students in NBE3U, a contemporary Indigenous literature class in the Ontario high school curriculum. Beyond our relationships with people, how we are in relation with the land is another source of misunderstanding. Colonial entities such as the Canadian government have historically viewed land relationships as transactional, which is evident in how they approached treaty-making processes in Canada, as well as present-day dialogues about their contents. For example, in negotiations for Treaty 1, which covers lands across Southern Manitoba, the Crown’s terms involved the cession, surrender, and release of land. The Indigenous nations did not understand that land surrender was central to the terms of the agreements; rather, the Anishinaabe viewed the agreements as agreeing to share the land with the settlers.

Furthermore, non-Indigenous settlers often express detachment from the lands that they live on.

“My personal relationship to land feels negligible,” said Meslin. “I’m so disconnected from the land that I live on.”

This is a common sentiment among students who grew up in big cities, like Meslin, who was raised in Toronto. To feel disconnected from the land is to also feel disconnected from the responsibilities entailed by your existence on these territories, like fighting for Indigenous land rights, protesting development on the Greenbelt, or even refraining from littering.

Indigenous Peoples view their relationships with land as reciprocal, a commitment to responsibilities to the land that is embodied in their traditions, practices, and protocols. For example, offering tobacco or asemaa is a traditional practice in Anishinaabe culture (as well as other Indigenous groups) as a way to enter and maintain relationships with the spiritual and natural worlds. It is necessary to give before anything is taken. To many Indigenous Peoples, it is impossible not to be in relation to the land.

“It’s funny how we call land—we can call it dirt, soil, Mother Earth, or real estate,” said Richardson. “What we call the soil is actually the remains of our ancestors. Bones, Ash, DNA. So we are, in so many ways, part of the land.”

Criticisms of land acknowledgements by many non-Indigenous people represent how their purposes are misunderstood.

For example, Canadian lawyer Peter Best writes on his Substack, “Instead of binding us together with a constructive vision of the future, with their unrelenting, misrepresentative focus on the distant past, [land acknowledgements] push us apart.”

This perspective positions the past, present, and future as independent, with the notion that we cannot use our histories to guide how we act moving forward. He characterizes Indigenous Peoples as having an unhealthy obsession with the past, as though the past does not have lasting effects on the present. Ironically, land acknowledgements are meant to set a framework for substantive change toward the future, whether personal, cultural, or relational. Indigenous scholars have critiqued land acknowledgements, pointing out the limits and contradictions of this vehicle of recognition. Instead of renewing relationships between people and land, land acknowledgements today legitimize the colonial state and settler occupation. They read as performative allyship without action and authentic relations.

Over time, land acknowledgements have changed context, meaning, and purpose in their co-optation by corporations and institutions. Co-opted land acknowledgements are no longer about challenging power, emancipation from oppression, or relationality. They have become impersonal and hollow, dissolving the relational frameworks upon which they are meant to be written. They instead serve as a box to be checked for a company’s reconciliatory policies or a mechanism to erase settler guilt. In this sense, land acknowledgements are no longer even about Indigenous Peoples, histories, or land.

Reconciling these worldviews is not a new challenge, nor is it a simple one—we have been taught to conceptualize land and relationships in a very particular way. This is not an impossible task, though. Taking the time to understand the true purposes of land acknowledgements within Indigenous frameworks is a step toward deconstructing these misleading perspectives. When you go from seeing land as something you can be detached from to seeing it as interwoven in your food, livelihood, ancestors, and more, you can begin to understand how crucial it is to recognize the histories of whose land you live on. It’s undeniable that we are in relation with each other and the land. What is important is how we wish to conduct ourselves in these relationships. We must pledge to respect and care for these lands and each other in the name of truth, reconciliation, and relationality. This is our collective responsibility.

If you are writing a land acknowledgement, I recommend you consult the resources by Concordia University’s Indigenous Directions, native-land.ca, and the Guide to Acknowledging First Peoples & Traditional Territory by the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT). These materials provide guidance in acknowledging the traditional territories and treaties relevant to your address. I also highly encourage you to make the acknowledgment personal to your relationships with others (Indigenous and non-Indigenous) and the lands you occupy.

How to prepare for Piknic Electronik

Everything you need to know about ticket prices, transportation, and packing.

Zoya Mirza Contributor

There are many annual events in Montreal that you don’t want to miss out on:

Piknic Electronik is one of them. Let’s demystify this iconic event so that you’re fully prepared for your night at Parc Jean-Drapeau. From metro lines to dress codes, The Tribune has put together a guide for everything you need to know to have a well-prepared, stressfree experience.

Tickets

First order of business: Tickets. General admission tickets start at $24 CAD, and many McGill students choose to purchase them in the fall, while classes are in session. Don’t stress about buying tickets super early: In an interview with The Tribune, Natasha Pfeffer, U2 Arts, said that she bought her tickets lastminute and still managed to attend in the Fall semester.

“I booked my ticket about a week before I went, and I went September 14, so late summer, early fall season, and this is my first time going.”

However, if you’re set on a specific night, the Piknic Electronik website drops tickets well in advance.

Piknic Electronik runs every Sunday for six months, from May 18 to Oct. 12, so there are plenty of opportunities to attend. Going at

the beginning of the fall semester, before the stress of school hits, is a great way to enjoy the weather with your friends.

Transportation

If you’ve heard about Piknic, you might know that it takes place on an island, and it’s not exactly walkable from campus. Most students take the metro, where a one-way ticket costs $3.75 CAD, or use their OPUS card. This fee is often more affordable than services like Uber, even if you’re travelling in a group. At the end of the day, taking the subway is much more convenient—but it’s also fun. When taking the metro, be ready for noise, energy, and speed to secure a coveted seat.

“My best transportation tip is to take the metro with friends. Don’t go alone because the hectic aspect can get really scary,” Pfeffer suggested.

It’s also important to note that you will need to switch lines at the Jean-Drapeau (Yellow Line) metro stop, so make sure you have your route nailed down beforehand. But don’t stress—if you and your friends had a little too much fun at the pregame, you can always just follow the crowd.

Packing

When it comes to packing, Piknic has restrictions on bag sizes, so pack light and prioritize the essentials. Besides, you don’t want to carry a bag that weighs you down and limits

your dance moves. Luckily, the venue allows you to bring non-alcoholic sealed beverages, so it’s a good idea to pack a plastic water bottle—hydration is always key.

“All I really needed was my phone and ID,” Pfeffer told The Tribune

You want to worry less about what to pack and more about what to wear. Outfits can vary depending on who’s DJing that night. At some events, you’ll see funky, eclectic accessory choices. At others, you might spy event-goers rocking sweatpants. But most of the time, you can count on spotting fun hats, face gems, and shimmery scarves.

Weather

Before you plan out your night, remember to check the weather. Oftentimes, especially deeper into fall, the weather is anything but sunny and pleasant. Don’t dress for a delightful spring day if the forecast calls for torrential rain. Don’t be afraid to pack ponchos or

umbrellas—you’ll still look great. Prioritize comfort over everything; it’s hard to enjoy the music and vibes of Piknic Electronik when you’re freezing to the bone.

No matter what you choose to wear, what you pack, or how you get there, Piknic Electronik is an exciting event that you shouldn’t miss out on, and it’s sure to be full of excitement and amusement for you and your friends.

Happy hour, happy life: A guide to 5 à 7 in the city

From cheap beer and cocktails to deals on meals, Montreal has it all

Kaitlyn Schramm News Editor

After a long day of classes, extracurriculars, and small talk, McGill students often find themselves in search of an affordable, relaxing outing. While the low prices at Gerts and Blues can make for a cost-effective evening, The Tribune has compiled a list of restaurants and bars throughout Montreal that also offer discounts and deals. This fall, escape the McGill bubble and enjoy some new eats and cheap drinks.

Lola Rosa

Though technically still within the McGill sphere, located just a block down from Milton Gates, Lola Rosa offers a variety of plant-based menu items from tacos asada to curry, gyro to braised tofu. The restaurant also offers a selection of desserts and caffeinated beverages, serving an excellent cappuccino. While the food is delicious, and the ambiance is warm and intimate (with a range of music choices from Addison Rae to Grimes), it is also economical for broke university students, who can receive a 15 per cent discount with a McGill student ID. For those who live far away from campus, Lola Rosa is the perfect spot to unwind after a day of classes and catch up with a friend over a $14 CAD platter of nachos. If caffeine alone fails to ease your day, Lola Rosa also offers alcoholic coffee beverages.

Le Majestique Bar

For delicious seafood on a budget, Montreal is home to many restaurants that offer deals on oysters—but the atmosphere in Le Majestique is unbeatable. Their typical price for oysters is $3.75 CAD, which drops down to $2.50 CAD for their happy hour deal between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. The space, although not particularly spacious, is always bustling with large crowds until 3:00 a.m.

Begin your night with an economical platter of oysters and signature cocktails, transitioning into a longer night of casual partying.

Urbanista

If you’re in search of a hot pregame bar or simply an evening of many cheap cocktails, Urbanista, located in the heart of the Plateau area, is the ideal place to go. Their happy hour, from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., promotes two-for-one cocktail deals—an ideal arrangement for students on a budget. With booths lining the bar and eclectic, vintage lights hanging from the ceiling, Urbanista curates a laid-back vibe conducive to a night of tipsy chatting among a large group.

Bar Bootlegger

In competition with Le Majestique, Bar Bootlegger is yet another Montreal bar that offers happy hour deals on oysters—but their happy hour menu extends past the $1 CAD oysters, including deals on drinks as well. Available every day of the week between 5:00 p.m. and

7:00 p.m., Bootlegger sells local beer or cider pints for only $5 CAD and signature cocktails for $13 CAD, rather than their usual pricing of around $19 CAD per cocktail. On Tuesdays, enjoy free entry to the spot, with live jazz performances starting at 9:00 p.m.

Barbossa Barbossa is a known favourite among McGill students. Free entry before 10:00 p.m. is not the only deal this spot offers: It also provides a variety of happy hour deals— $10 CAD martinis all night on Mondays; $10 CAD margaritas on Tuesdays; $10 CAD espresso martinis on Wednesdays. From Thursday through Saturday, Barbossa promotes two-for-one cocktails between 8:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Any day of the week, stop by Barbossa for great deals on drinks and enjoy music from local DJs. Whether you

the

Piknic hosts events rain or shine. Luckily, heavy rain can add to the euphoric energy. (Alexa Roemer / The Tribune)

are in the mood for a martini or an amaretto sour, jazz music or house, Barbossa has it all, coupled with a groovy, checkerprinted dance floor.

Originally referencing

two-hour span, 5 à 7 can refer to many hours in the evening. (Lilly Guilbeault / The Tribune)

The Lost Paintings, a Prelude to Return grapples with past histories and lost art

53 Palestinian artists explore themes of loss, land, and time

Anna Roberts Contributor

The Montreal, arts interculturels’ (MAI) recent exhibition, The Lost Paintings, a Prelude to Return, brings together an expansive range of art to create a compelling and powerful showcase. Featuring works by 53 Palestinian artists, the exhibition showcased a diverse range of media, including photographs, sculptures, paintings, and multimedia pieces. The collection reimagines the works of the Palestinian-Lebanese artist Maroun Tomb, whose 1947 exhibition of 53 oil paintings in Haifa was lost during the Nakba. Curated by Rula Khoury, Joëlle Tomb, and Haidi Motola, The Lost Paintings attempts to reclaim this past by having each artist draw inspiration from Tomb’s painting using the few remaining records and archival documents.

The exhibition was deeply engaging, as the curators drew from pieces across time and settings, blending together the works of rising and established artists from across generations. While these pieces were stylistically varied, they all drew on central themes of loss, memory, and time through rich imagery and visual storytelling.

Weaving and embroidery were used across multiple pieces, such as Landmark, Nardeen Srouji’s sculpture of industrial metal sheets embroidered with brightly colored wool thread, and Farid Abu Shakra’s Embroidered Landscape, which consists of four copper prints embroidered with colourful thread and punctured holes to create patterns and images of birds. These

works reference traditional forms of embroidery in Palestine by engaging with the practice itself and using these familiar patterns and motifs.

More contemporary pieces balanced artistic tradition throughout the exhibition. The collection featured large-scale installations made with unconventional materials, such as Mary Tuma’s The Road to Stella Maris. Tuma’s piece is a metal framework from which orange and cream crocheted ropes hang down over a blue print of the ocean waves, incorporating other materials such as candles and compasses. This collection of materials and forms made for a dynamic exhibition.

While landscapes are a form that can often easily be overlooked, many pieces in The Lost Paintings make the land the central figure of their designs, creating a sense of both instilled beauty and loss. Antoine Elias Raffoul’s blackand-white ink drawing, Back to 55: An Imaginary Mediterranean Landscape, uses artistic techniques he learned in 1955 from Maroun Tomb. Sandra Tomb’s oil painting of lush green forest, Under the Oak Trees with a Basket of Watermelons, brings a sense of hopefulness to an exhibition that is sombre and heavy. The work’s warm, earthy palette and thick, heavy brush strokes give the landscape a glowing effect. These landscapes vary in stylistic qualities and materials, yet all display a clear care and concern for the land.

One of the most striking pieces in the exhibition was Faissal El-Malak’s multimedia art piece, Hadar Hacarmel: I never thought I would ever find you, yet here you all are. It combines personal testimony, newspaper articles, and

visual media to tell a greater story. The mix of media forces the viewer to ponder the work longer and engage with the emotional stories of displacement and loss. These raw and powerful testimonies bring a personal dimension to the overwhelming tragedies represented across the exhibition. The heavy use of writing also contrasts with many of the other visually based works in the gallery. The image of the cursor hovering over the buildings in El-Malak’s work gestures to a sense of forced distance from these landscapes and the role of technology in the contemporary age, bridging the gap between past

histories and contemporaneity.

This collaboration weaves together different stories and histories in a powerful way, attempting to reanimate the nearly lost legacy of Maroun Tomb. Viewers are reminded of the importance of art in documenting the experiences of individuals and the sorrow attached to the loss of Tomb’s works. Each piece provides a significant contribution to the exhibition as a whole and highlights the power of storytelling through art.

The Lost Paintings, a Prelude to Return is open until October 4th.

Audience participation ensures traditions are not relegated to history Weci | Koninut cements voices of Indigenous land-stewardship in both present and future

Dylan Hing Contributor

What do you dream about? Hopes, fears, a pigeon wearing a coconut hat? What about your memories, or the pieces of yourself you can still hold on to? Weci | Koninut, a new installation in the Quartier des Spectacles, uses dreamlike experiences to ground audiences in the six seasons of Atikamekw culture, opening a doorway to the past and hopefully carrying its pieces into the future.

Created by Indigenous artists JulieChristina Picher and Dave Jenniss, Weci | Koninut guides visitors through the six Atikamekw seasons, from Pitcipipon (pre-winter) to Takwakin (autumn). It specifically details the artists’ relationship with the Atikamekw people’s sacred land of Notcimik—how their ways of living and hunting there changed through the seasons.

Six colourful, boxy structures called ‘dreamcatchers’ facilitate the experience, each one separated through the middle by a woven mesh with space on either side to lie down. These dreamcatchers encourage visitors to come closer and activate the sounds, music, and spoken stories of the represented season. In one dreamcatcher, you hear footsteps crunch through the snow; in another, the excitement of the music seems to herald the coming of a more prosperous season.

These sounds, plus a spectacle of light that is projected down onto the audience

(

member, do not give away too much. Even when there are spoken stories, you may not be able to understand them—that is the point.

“Weci | Koninut is, above all, a meeting point where our voices mingle with those of our ancestors,” explained Picher and Jenniss in a press statement.

“The dreamcatchers are thresholds that invite surrender to the rhythm of the Atikamekw seasons, guided by imagination and by the dialogue that unites us with the Earth.”

In creating a dialogue that concerns itself with both the present and past, the installation prompts our imagination to fill in some of the blanks for us.

The design of the dreamcatchers themselves helps create a connection among visitors. While separated from each other by the woven mesh of the dreamcatchers, participants still find even the most unintentional connection through a shared fascination with the structures or interest in how another reacts to their dream. Although nobody hears the same thing, the unspoken presence of another carries them into a reverie, expressing the idea that there’s always someone to help, to comfort, to brave the seasons.

These quiet connections with others echo the bond with the land that this installation conveys, where, as Picher and Jenniss

mention in their statement, “each gesture and breath recalls the living bond with the land.” The land is presented as a living, breathing thing; it’s something that has to be worked through, something that presents obstacles, yet also joys and successes. This land emphasizes how these bonds of affection are the result of unity between people and the Earth.

In this project, every interaction between the audience and the art becomes part of the larger story. It’s where, despite being in the middle of the largest city in Quebec, a modern perspective can seamlessly drift into a lucid imagination about a culture that so valued— and still values—guardianship of the land.

With all this talk of dreaming and resonance with ancestors, it’s still important to remember that this art was not meant to memorialize a long-forgotten past. Weci | Koninut is, by its nature, echoing the lives and the callings of ancestors, but it also asks audiences to do more than just listen and move on. After all, dialogue means nothing if it does not bring change.

The act of dreaming and awakening to the same sounds, music, and voices of history juxtaposed against the backdrop of an overwhelming metropolis brings one closer to understanding contemporary Indigenous voices. Remember: These stories of culture are still living and breathing today as they have for generations. Just as dreaming is a sign of sleep, sleep is a sign of refreshment, and this installation refreshes our continued need for connection to nature and to those we’ve failed to listen to.

This showcase marks Weci | Koninut’s Canadian debut after a summer exhibition in Houston.

Anna Seger / The Tribune)

The exhibition by Rula Khoury, Joëlle Tomb, and Haidi Motola features artworks of varying mediums and styles. (Anna Roberts / The Tribune)

Zacharias Kunuk’s new film reclaims Inuit myths for Inuit Voices

Uiksaringtara:

Julianne Ellis Contributor

Aexpanding Indigenous storytelling into the present

t the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 14, Inuit filmmaker and co-founder of Isuma Productions, Zacharius Kunuk, received the Best Canadian Feature Film Award for his latest work, Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband) . This award recognizes his career’s continued influence—defined by innovation, community, and cultural reclamation. Over two decades after his 2001 hit film Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner , Kunuk once again reclaims myth from the colonial lens, showcasing Inuit life in all its cultural richness. He asserts that Indigenous life is not an archaic history to be caricaturized, but that it belongs to a present and future to be expanded on in Indigenous pop culture.

Uiksaringitara carries this narrative forward, using its plot to intertwine themes of survival, personal struggle, familial ties, and spiritual guidance into mythology. The film opens with a promise of two young lovers, Kaujak and Sapa, pledged to one another at birth. Their relationship is split apart when Kaujak’s mother remarries after her husband’s death, forcing Kaujak into another camp. She sets out on a journey to find Sapa, guided by spirit helpers, blurring the line between physical and mythical.

Uiksaringitara also captivates its audience by combining authenticity with imagination. It pushes against Hollywood’s reductive portrayal of Indigenous characters through its careful casting. The film’s cast consists almost entirely of new Inuit

actors, allowing community dynamics of traditional narratives and spiritual practices to shine through naturally, rather than be distorted by old Hollywood conventions. His film is not to be examined through the Western lens; shamans and spirit guides are reflections of Inuit cosmology, not metaphors to be critiqued. This intention of creating community, rather than international critical acclaim, is a sentiment reflected by many contemporary Indigenous filmmakers.

Kunuk is not working alone in his reclamation of the screen—he is part of a larger scheme in contemporary Indigenous media. Wapikoni Mobile is a Montrealbased travelling film studio that works with Indigenous youth across Québec and Canada. Their short films construct narratives of everyday life, joy, humour, and continued resilience, despite the harmful stereotypes imposed on them by film history. Abenaki filmmaker Alanis Obomsawin contributes to this larger movement as well, using film as a political tool. In her 1993 documentary Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance , she depicts the events of the Oka Crisis through an Indigenous lens. Her work dismantles the harmful narratives perpetuated by Canadian media, which have often portrayed the Kanehsatake people as violent aggressors.

In Uiksaringitara , Kunuk’s attention to detail, evident in his use of language, extends to his visual portrayal of Inuit culture. During the filmmaking process, he consulted elders to ensure accuracy in all aspects, notably in the costume department. Their deep knowledge contributed to the

rejection of stereotypes through a hands-on approach, as they taught the younger community sewing traditions. The costumes in Uiksaringitara are handmade from caribou and sealskin, using methods of Inuit clothing tradition. Every aspect of these films is reconstructed with painstaking care, not as static museum pieces, but as living things. Compared to old Hollywood’s mocking costumes of fringe jackets and cowboy clothes, the contrast is stark.

Kunuk’s work also revives the Indigenous tradition of oral history, giving voice to Inuit culture for future generations. Both Atanarjuat and Uiksaringitara are filmed entirely in Inuktitut, with the former being the first Canadian film produced entirely in the language. Québecers in particular know the power of language in preserving culture and building identity. Yet, this urgency rarely extends to the Indigenous languages spoken here long before the arrival of French or English. Their language is not a relic of the past, but

a living vessel of culture and identity. Kunuk and his peers do more than fight stereotypes: They transcend them. Uiksaringitara creates an art world where Inuit audiences see themselves not as exotic relics, but as protagonists. This is art made first for the community, and then for the world. Kunuk writes Inuit life into the present tense, claiming the screen as a space of belonging, imagination, and cultural sovereignty.

This Pretty Agony: Our shared plight echoed in song

Touch Grass’ debut EP invites introspection and reflection in troubled times

Alexandra Lasser Contributor

Uncertainty, disappointment, anger, and numbness have become commonplace descriptors for life in the 21st century. Ottawa-based rock band Touch Grass offers a beautiful exploration of these complex emotions in their debut EP, This Pretty Agony . The songs are sung and written by Adam Blasl, who is accompanied by Cameron McGetrick on bass, producer of the EP Flynn Graham on guitar, Abigail White on vocals, and Luka Eriksen on bassoon, all supported by the strong percussion of Bradley Lapensée. While Blasl is the songwriter, all members contributed to the musical direction of the EP.

This Pretty Agony takes listeners on a journey through six songs about struggling to find purpose in an overwhelming world. The first song, “Reason,” invites listeners to reflect with Blasl as he contemplates meaning and motivation. His sombre plea for a reason to live is contrasted by the light and playful instrumentation, suggesting a more hopeful attitude: Purpose is something that exists and can be found.

Touch Grass introduces the duality of emotions at the heart of the EP in the aptly named second song, “Apathy & Rage.” Where rage is filled with energy and motivation to promote change, apathy is resignation, an acceptance of the tragedy of our time.

“The idea that we have no control is an illusion,” Blasl stated in an interview with The Tribune

Apathy is a result of overwhelming rage, yet it is constantly at odds with the desire to seek progress. The two play out in every song—not only in Blasl’s lyrics, but also in the balance between jazz and rock. In constant conversation, the two styles serve to introduce a wide spectrum of feelings and messages unique to this EP.

The EP crescendoes with “The Gish Gallop” and “Helical Memory,” the EP’s single. The first is a song infused with energy. As bossa nova elements propel the song into the chorus, vocals swell and crash over a raging beat that mirrors a horse’s gallop. This anger explodes at the end of the song with a bright guitar riff before being transformed into apathy in “Helical Memory.” The concept of apathy is nuanced, with lyrics exploring how our reality echoes the past and how all of our emotions have been felt before. Instead of hopelessness, however, the song evokes a sense of comfort and continuity—dread and disappointment with the world are not unique to this generation. This perspective lessens the burden of our own heavy emotions. This gentle positivity comes through musically with soothing violin, as well as the bass line, which remains upbeat throughout.

“The main purpose of the EP is just to

let people know that they’re not alone in the feelings they have. They’re shared by a lot of people,” Blasl stated.

This idea is explored through vulnerable lyrics describing feeling lost and alone, which invite listeners to relate and feel relief at hearing their innermost thoughts echoed in song.

The last two songs return to the introspective space from the beginning of the EP. Although at the start, listeners were only audience to Blasl’s plight, the band has recentered personal struggles as communal, now allowing listeners to hear their own thoughts shared and sung with them. “Tow the Line” laments the uncertainty of one’s role in life. The beginning explores the sense of resignation at one’s place until the introduction of percussion, which transforms this apathy into motivated anger to seek personal improvement.

The final song, “What’s The Rush?,” closes the EP with a warm embrace. Soft vo -

cals and harmonies over quiet percussion plead with time to slow down. The song becomes a lullaby, soothing listeners. Despite the sombre themes explored, the EP remains comforting and uplifting. Touch Grass reminds us that there is always community in dark times and illuminates the beauty of our shared plight.

This Pretty Agony is available to stream on all platforms.

Sophie Deraspe won the Best Canadian Feature Film Award in 2024. (Zoe Lee / The Tribune)

The EP’s single “Helical Memory” was released on Aug. 9. (Touch Grass)

“Unofficially the best,” McGill Women’s Squash aims to

secure varsity status

The Martlets dominate the Jesters League while being entirely student-run

Ivanna Zhang Contributor

The McGill Women’s Squash Team has emerged as one of the most successful in Canada since the COVID-19 pandemic. The players have rebuilt their team and gone on to capture two consecutive Jesters League Championships in 2024 and 2025. This year, they are aiming for a third straight title—all without varsity status.

McGill Squash Head Coach Yvon Provençal explained in an interview with The Tribune just how involved the players are in overseeing the team.

“[The team members] select good leaders for captains who take care of the organization,” he said. “I do the coaching, but [the students] organize. [....] We’re getting some of the top players in North America.”

Unlike varsity sports like football, hockey, basketball, or soccer, squash at McGill is classified as a ‘club sport.’ As a club sport, the team receives no university funding and cannot attend some official competitions.

Each year, the Women’s Squash Team plays in the Jesters League, a competitive Ontario league of 10 universities. The league features four meets over six months each season. Two are sectionals, where two teams compete, and two are crossovers, where all teams gather to play.

Despite winning the Jesters for two years straight—and therefore proving the team’s ability to compete with, and often outperform, teams in the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) league—the Women’s Squash Team is unable to participate in the OUA Championships due to their lack of varsity status.

Sofia Llewellyn, co-captain of the McGill Squash team, explained how frustrating this exclusion is in an interview with The Tribune

“I think our biggest [question] is why can’t we just play in the OUA?” she asked. “We’ve played all the teams in [Jesters] and beaten all of them. We are unofficially the best women’s [university] team in Canada.”

Former team captain Ava Bicknell added in an interview with The Tribune that the team feels stuck.

“I think we’re still at a kind of stagnation where we can’t go much farther until we get the varsity status,” she said.

Squash’s lack of varsity recognition affects more than just its competitive opportunities, Llewellyn explained. Without university funding, the team must handle every administrative detail on its own, from organizing travel and accommodations to fundraising for tournaments.

“We have to drive on our own to get to tournaments,” Llewellyn said. “And then we stay at hotels that are far away from [the tournaments] because they’re cheaper.”

Despite these challenges, the team has also worked to raise funds on campus. Bicknell shared that the team hosts events to teach McGill students squash, and takes an active role during McGill24, the university’s annual fundraising and community engagement day.

“McGill24 is a big, big thing for us,” Bicknell said. “I think bigger for us than some of the other varsity sports because we solely rely on [that event] for money.”

The team’s accomplishments have not gone unnoticed. Llewellyn pointed out that Squash Québec has donated to the McGill team over the past few years during McGill24 to show their support. The team also earned a sponsorship deal with Dunlop.

However, this year’s team has still reached out to McGill Athletics about earning varsity status; according to Llewellyn, a review of all McGill teams will take place this semester to determine which programs receive this status based on team performance, among other criteria. Due to funding limitations, only a se -

lect number of teams will be classified as varsity.

“It’s a lot more difficult to get the varsity status than people may think,” Llewellyn said.

The team, per Bicknell, is encouraging all McGill students to come support them at their first sectional on Oct. 4, held at the McGill squash courts near the B2 Gym.

“It helps raise awareness that we have a team, that we’re a strong team, and it puts some respect on the sport,” she said. “For us, the main thing is being a student and an athlete. Let us relax a little bit and not have to handle all the organizing, travel, and fundraising strictly on our own, but have McGill bear some of that burden as well.”

Despite losing World Cup final, Canada Women’s Rugby still has l ots to be proud of

The final match between Canada and England marked a massive moment in Canadian sporting history

Ethan Kahn Sports Editor

Before the Women’s Rugby World Cup Final kicked off on Sept. 27, Canada and England’s women’s rugby squads had already etched their names into the history books. When they walked onto the pitch at Twickenham Stadium in the London suburbs, a sold-out crowd of nearly 82,000 rugby fanatics greeted them with a roar, eager to see the Canadian and English national teams face off for glory. A watershed moment in women’s sport, this tournament was more than a chance to prove which team was the best in the world: It was an opportunity to capture the eyes of viewers across the planet.

The matchup promised excitement at every turn. England’s squad, known as the Red Roses, had not tasted defeat since their loss in the 2022 World Cup final at the hands of the New Zealand Black Ferns. They had made the final in each of the previous six World Cups—which happen once every four years—but were victorious only in 2014. The Red Roses were looking to shake off their 1–5 finals record and turn over a new leaf, elevating them to the status of the undisputed number one team in the world.

Canada, on the other hand, has a much less storied rugby past. They had only made

one World Cup final, coincidentally losing to England in 2014. However, they were undefeated throughout 2025 and ranked second in the world. Win or lose, Canada could look back at the 2025 tournament as a whole and take pride in the history they had already made. They guaranteed their best finish ever in a World Cup, and a victory in the final would have been the cherry on top.

Both teams had remarkably similar paths to the final. England started out redhot, winning all three of their group stage games and out-scoring their opponents 108-17. They saw off Scotland in the quarterfinal, winning 40-8, and survived a test against France in the semi-finals. Canada started their tournament with a bang as well, winning all three of their group stage games including a 65-7 romp over Fiji and a flawless 42-0 victory against Wales. The crowning moment of their tournament occurred in the semi-finals, where the Canadians went up against perennial powerhouse New Zealand. The Black Ferns had not lost a World Cup knockout round match since 1991, and were the two-time defending World Champions.

Powered by Queen’s University Gaels alum and 2022 U SPORTS Athlete of the Year Sophie de Goede, who scored a try and a penalty kick, and made three conversions, Canada pulled off one of the great-

est upsets in the history of women’s rugby. They went from fundraising just to attend the World Cup, to being one win away from the greatest achievement in program history. The win against New Zealand proved that Canada can go toe-to-toe with anyone, and should be considered one of the best teams in the world from now on. The victory was more than just a chance to go for the gold—it marked a significant milestone and turning point for women’s rugby in Canada.

In the final, Canada got off to a quick start, with wing Asia Hogan-Rochester scoring a try in the opening five minutes of the game to make it 5-0 in favour of the Canadians. However, England struck back with tries from Ellie Kildunne, Amy Cokayne, and Alex Matthews before the thirty-minute mark. Successful conversions on all three tries left Canada facing

a 21-8 deficit at halftime. England’s proficiency in the scrum and staunch defence proved to be too much for Canada, and the Red Roses triumphed 33-13 to cap off an unheralded run of 33 games unbeaten.

Despite the defeat, Canada’s players and fans should be immensely proud of the team’s efforts. While they may not have had the fairy tale ending they were hoping for, the World Cup solidified Canada as a rugby powerhouse for years to come and represents a new chapter in the story of women’s sport in Canada.

Canadian player Sophie de Goede was named World Rugby Women’s Player of the Year. (Eliot Loose & Zoe Lee / The Tribune)

Varsity sports at McGill are divided into different tiers, with each tier receiving a corresponding level of funding. (Emiko Kamiya/ The Tribune)

Know Your Athlete: Ann Stephanie Fortin

Standout Fortin describes the stark differences between Canadian and American college athletics

Merce Kellner Contributor

Dominating once again, the Martlets Soccer program has had a valiant start to their season, conceding zero goals in five of their opening nine games. This remarkable defensive effort can be largely credited to their new arrival, Ann Stephanie Fortin, the team’s starting goalkeeper. On Sept. 21, Fortin made eight saves, including against a crucial last-minute penalty kick, to add to her shutout tally in a 0-0 tie versus the Bishop’s University Gaiters at Percival Molson Stadium.

Although Fortin, a native of Ste. Julie, Quebec, has only just begun her McGill career, she is already on a path to paving a legacy. In an interview with The Tribune , she credited her impressive performances to her teammates and emphasized the importance of being on the same page during games.

“We work as a team, and we are very strong defensively,” Fortin said. “That is what puts me in the position to make [big plays].”

Before McGill, Fortin played for the Rice University Owls from 2021 to 2024, a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I program in the United States. Now, Fortin brings her talents and experience to the Réseau du sport étudiant du Québec (RSEQ). Fortin described

playing soccer at Rice as a time when she learned a lot about herself.

“[Rice had] a bit of ups and downs, but ultimately confirmed values that were important to me as a person,” she noted. “It was a great experience, academically incredible, [and] that is why I finished my bachelor’s there.”

McGill provided Fortin with the tools she was missing.

“I came to McGill [because], one, I knew what I needed as a player, and I knew what I needed as a human being,” she said. “[I saw] that so many players on the team operated the same way I wanted to operate, [which] made for a natural transition. I know half, if not three-quarters of the [McGill] team. We grew up together, and we went to the same training centre together. We all know how to work with each other.”

Fortin’s college career represents a unique situation, as she has played collegiate athletics in both Canada and the United States. She spoke on the key differences between the two systems.

“I don’t think it is a secret how important it is for an athlete over [in the NCAA] to be physically powerful, fast, and have an incredible amount of endurance,” Fortin stated. “The mentality behind the [United] States approach to soccer is focused on that.”

In contrast, Fortin highlighted the Canadian college soccer model as more

technical and closer to how teams in Europe play.

“European teams will do video [analysis],” she explained. “They will look at [videos] after every training [session]. That is what we do at McGill, [which] I really like.”

Soccer and a passion for goalkeeping have long been significant in Fortin’s life. In her youth, Fortin represented the Canadian Under15 National Team and participated in the Under-20 National Team camp in 2021.

The Martlets will play crosstown rivals Université du Québec à Montréal on Friday, Oct. 3. (Alexa Roemer / The Tribune)

“[Playing for Canada] is my favourite memory,” she expressed. “[When] we played against Mexico, that was the highlight of my career. The pride of being able to represent your country, there is nothing like that.”

Speaking about whether she has considered what her soccer career will look like post-McGill, Fortin emphasized the importance of staying present.

“Honestly, right now, I don’t even

Dynasty in demise: Kansas City in trouble

want to think about that. I want to have fun and keep trusting the process,” she said. “That is the team’s motto right now, and [mine as well]. I’m having fun while I perform, and it has been a long while since that has happened for me.”

With only six games left in the regular season, Fortin looks to continue her hot streak from the backline and push the Martlets toward the RSEQ Championship in late October.

The Chiefs have not been up to their usual standards so far this season—can they right the ship?

Will Kennedy Contributor

The Kansas City Chiefs are off to a slow start, having just picked up their first win of the season against the New York Giants. Only 10.1 per cent of teams who start 0–2 have ever made the playoffs. However, never before has an 0–2 team had Patrick Mahomes, so one would imagine they will be okay. Then, why the slow start if the Chiefs have Mahomes?

The team has certainly felt the temporary loss of their top two receivers Rashee Rice and Xavier Worthy, due to suspension and injury, respectively. Rice is clearly the team’s best receiver, with well over a thousand career receiving yards in only twenty games. Worthy, on the other hand, is a speedster who racks up yards after the catch, and a gadget guy who can take screen passes and end-arounds for big plays.

In the absence of the two, the Chiefs’ offence currently looks toothless. They are a bit of a one-trick pony, focusing on throwing short passes underneath. In the team’s first win against the Giants, Mahomes only had five completions which travelled more than eight yards in the air, and fifteen of his twentytwo completions travelled five yards or fewer, with eight even going behind the line of scrimmage.

Chiefs fans can expect improvement when Rice and Worthy return, but they will still have other problems on offence with

their run game. This offseason, the Chiefs traded away four-time All-Pro guard and massive offensive contributor Joe Thuney to cut costs as Mahomes’ new contract kicks in.

As for the team’s running back talent, Isaiah Pacheco and Kareem Hunt are simply not good enough. Opposing defences have been playing two high safeties against the Chiefs, limiting passing windows downfield, as well as playing nickel personnel that use an extra defensive back instead of a bigger body near

the line. The lack of rushing threat has made it far too easy for opposing defences to stop the Chiefs’ already struggling passing attack.

The other side of the ball has also been a problem for Kansas City, as their defence lacks real difference-makers outside of Chris Jones and Trent McDuffie. The main issue has been down on the line of scrimmage. Jones is an elite player, but the rest of the defensive line has looked rough, with the exception of the team’s win against a bad Giants team. Op-

posing offensive lines have dominated the non-Jones linemen on runs, and the Chiefs’ defensive front has failed to pressure the quarterback on passing downs. Against bad quarterbacks, you can rely on the blitz, but when you play MVP-calibre quarterbacks like Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson in the playoffs, the Chiefs will need to get pressure on them with four rushers to leave seven defenders in coverage. The Chiefs have lost a lot of talent in recent years as they try to build a roster around Mahomes. While the size of his new contract has certainly not helped, the real issue is that the Chiefs simply have not drafted well enough. As long as Mahomes is on the team, their championship window is open. But, they need to hit on more picks.

As for this season, the Chiefs will get Rice and Worthy back and should make the playoffs—barring a Mahomes or Jones injury—but their path to the Super Bowl does not look great. With the Buffalo Bills sitting at 4–0, becoming the number one seed in their conference is a long shot for Kansas City. Winning the American Football Conference (AFC) would likely require beating both the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo, whereas if the Chiefs had the top seed, they would only need to beat one or the other. No team in the AFC is without its weaknesses, but—as currently constructed—fans should not expect the Chiefs to be the conference’s Super Bowl representative, let alone to beat the National Football Conference’s best in the big game.

The Kansas City Chiefs finished 15–2 in 2024 and appeared in the Super Bowl. (Eliot Loose / The Tribune)

Designing culturally safe interventions in obstetrics Implementing Joyce’s Principle for Indigenous care

Sofia Kuttner Lindelow

Contributor

Sept. 28, 2025, marks five years since the death of Joyce Echaquan, a 37-year-old Atikamekw woman who died of pulmonary edema—fluid accumulation in the lungs— due to medical negligence in a northern Montreal hospital, Centre Hospitalier de Lanaudière. Joyce livestreamed the persistent mistreatment and discrimination she endured while seeking medical attention, sparking public outrage over the racist practices and lack of cultural safety. This ultimately led to the development of Joyce’s Principle: A call to action that aims to end systemic racism by guaranteeing Indigenous Peoples’ equitable access to all social and health services without discrimination.

In a recent study in the Journal of Transcultural Nursing, Hilah Silver, a doctoral researcher in McGill’s Department of Family Medicine, aimed to design culturally safe practices for Indigenous birth in a Montreal high-risk obstetrical unit following Joyce’s Principle.

Transfers to specialized obstetric care units prevent pregnant people from getting critical community and family support. They also limit access to traditional Inuit and Cree perinatal traditions and foods; this detachment is one of the primary stressors evacuees face. These observations motivated a working group of perinatal nurses and physicians in the high-risk obstetrics unit to develop short-term cultural safety interventions alongside Indigenous collaborators that

are already driving meaningful impact.

“[We] focus on a sense of safety and respect as defined by the communities themselves, and how that gets embedded and realized in the services provided,” Silver explained in an interview with The Tribune

The study also used a participatory research framework, ensuring that Indigenous stakeholders participated in the conceptualization, design, and continuous involvement in research processes. Together, Joyce’s Principle and the participatory research framework guided the development and implementation of interventions to address the negative consequences associated with maternal evacuation.

In phase one, Silver and an Inuk researcher consulted 14 Inuit and Cree participants and 26 Indigenous and non-Indigenous perinatal providers to operationalize Joyce’s Principle within the unit.

“A lot of the community consultations took place during the pandemic,” Silver noted. “[It was] incredibly challenging to navigate.”

Even so, the consultations centred community-defined safety and generated a clear set of priorities for change. Four key interventions were distilled in the second phase: Developing and testing an Indigenous-led cultural safety training program for perinatal staff; increasing family presence and support during childbirth; improving access to traditional country foods; and supporting Inuit and Cree perinatal traditions.

The cultural training program involved two

online presentations. The first was an introductory presentation led by the Nunavik liaison midwife, focusing on Inuit health, the realities of northern living, and the current healthcare system in Nunavik. The second was given by a Cree midwife and a patient partner on informed choice versus informed consent. These were followed by in-person workshops with Inuit midwives to deepen understanding of perinatal traditions and methods of supporting families in the context of evacuation.

Staff completed questions before and after the training, demonstrating that this program not only provided knowledge of cultural safety, but also increased the use of the knowledge in practice. Although evaluating Cree and Inuit satisfaction with the interventions and their impact on maternal-infant health outcomes is ongoing, Silver explained that the independent impact assessment of the Inuit midwifery workshop was positive.

There are 163 hospitals in Quebec. (Mia

tial feedback on these interventions was encouraging, indicating rapid uptake and promise for meaningfully improving outcomes.

“It showed an important increase in our hospital staff’s sense of ability to act on, and be aware of their knowledge and actions about cultural safety,” Silver said.

Alongside the workshop series, the team expanded visitor policies, installed food storage facilities, and expanded access to Inuit and Cree cultural items and perinatal traditions. Ini-

Ultimately, this demonstrates how Joyce’s Principle can move from pledge to practice, and illustrates the importance of keeping collaboration at the centre of the design, implementation, and evaluation of research. Continued efforts such as these are vital for decolonizing medical frameworks and ending systemic racism embedded in healthcare in Quebec and beyond.

New scoping review maps Indigenous harm reduction, barriers, an d gaps Lack of Māori-focused studies highlights an important gap in harm reduction literature

Defne Feyzioglu Contributor

Indigenous Peoples across North America and Oceania experience higher rates of drug-related harm than other populations. These harms are shaped both by the historical and ongoing impacts of settler colonialism. While Indigenous Peoples in these regions are often willing to access health services that reduce the risks of drug use, access and trust make it difficult to do so. A new scoping review examines the use of harm-reduction services across Canada, the U.S., and Australia, while also highlighting a notable research gap in New Zealand.

After screening 578 references, the researchers distilled the evidence into 28 studies. The majority came from Canada, fewer came from the United States and Australia, and none came from New Zealand. The review covered industry standard tools—needle-syringe programs, naloxone, supervised consumption, drug checking, peer support, and safer-supply alcohol services—and examined where these services are reaching Indigenous communities and where they are falling short.

The review indicated that people who use drugs tend to see harm-reduction services as practical and helpful. However, non-using community members and some providers tend to be more skeptical of their utility. Examples stated in the study range from large urban sites to reservations and regional settings, as well as youth-focused programs in Australia. This suggests the issue is not a lack of willingness to use these services but rather barriers such as constraints on access, visibility, and avail-

ability.

Camille Zolopa, first author of the review and PhD candidate in McGill’s Department of Counselling Psychology, explained this in an interview with The Tribune.

“Whenever Indigenous Peoples who use drugs were surveyed, they tended to be equally interested as non-Indigenous people. [They were] willing to use the various specific harm reduction strategies that were being discussed.”

The review organized barriers with ‘five A’s.’ Approachability is the degree to which services are visible to their intended population. Acceptability is the alignment between clients’ and providers’ cultural and social backgrounds. Availability and accommodation cover service volume, hours and service types. Affordability is clients’ capacity to pay for care. Lastly, appropriateness is the technical and personal quality of care. The literature repeatedly cites low visibility, stigma, and racism in care, as well as short or inconsistent hours and transportation barriers.

The logistics of providing adequate services are more complicated for rural and remote communities. In addition to distance, staffing constraints, and reduced hours— which are common constraints all over—anonymity and privacy become decisive factors in smaller cities.

In terms of solutions, the review noted that culturally grounded approaches and peer roles are associated with higher acceptability. Participants at Canadian supervised consumption sites described peer injection networks as “circles of trust” with “kinship-like bonds,” emphasizing relational care. One study re-

ported “American Indian and Alaska Native” Harm Reduction Talking Circles as highly acceptable, helpful, and culturally aligned, with quality of life improving with the number of sessions attended. Early evidence also linked Managed Alcohol Programs with reconnection to kin and culture.

“[While] there are still some people who express hesitancy, there were others who conceptualized harm reduction as more in line with Indigenous ways of healing,” Zolopa said.

The review also flagged a crucial gap, as no Māori-focused studies from New Zealand were returned in the database searches.

“We didn’t find any studies from New Zealand, and we know that Māori people face a lot of disproportionate drug-related harms, including over-incarceration,” Zolopa said. “It

would be great to see more community-based, participatory research.”

Because the evidence base is uneven across regions and interventions, the study stops short of firm claims. Instead, it maps recurring patterns and outlines the next steps: Indigenous-led, community-based evaluations that track outcomes like uptake, safety, and quality of life; comparative work on rural versus urban models; and dedicated research with Māori communities. Simply put, harmreduction uptake rises when services are clear, culturally safe, and keep clients’ information private.

“Harm reduction is important. It saves lives and people who use drugs,” Zolopa said. “And Indigenous Peoples who use drugs have been on the front lines of this fight for a long time.”

Helfrich / The Tribune)

Lack of Māori-focused studies highlights an important gap in harm reduction literature. (Eliot Loose / The Tribune)

Are deep-ocean microbes waiting for lunch?

Investigating everlasting deep-ocean carbon and its implications in geoengineering

Antoine Larocque

Contributor

The deep ocean—at least 200 metres below sea level—is home to an organic carbon pool comparable in size to the atmospheric carbon reservoir. This carbon pool has remained consistent in size for millennia. If just one per cent of the deep-ocean carbon were released in the atmosphere through microbial respiration, it would equal a year’s worth of human greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, the mechanisms that keep this carbon stable for so long remain unknown.

During his postdoctoral fellowship at the McGill Geomicrobiology Lab in the Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Richard LaBrie and his collaborators investigated whether bacteria in the deep ocean are too starved to decompose dissolved organic carbon (DOC), offering an explanation as to why the carbon pool has not shrunk.

LaBrie’s hypothesis relates to the priming effect, which was introduced in soil science a century ago.

“The priming effect is the addition of simple or moderately complex organic molecules that help microbes degrade more [persistent] carbon that would not be degraded otherwise or within [a given] context,” LaBrie said in an interview with The Tribune.

The addition of exogenous organic compounds makes it easier for microbes to eat their lunch.

To test his hypothesis, LaBrie collected water from 2,500 metres deep in the Antarctic Ocean and added different compounds

separately to the samples: Glucose; amino acids, a substitute for dissolved organic nitrogen; glucose 6-phosphate, a substitute for dissolved organic phosphorus; and a mix of amino acids and glucose 6-phosphate.

“Nitrogen and phosphorus are both very important for microbial growth, [so] we thought that they could also help bacteria break that energy barrier,” LaBrie explained

At several time points, the researchers analyzed DOC, cell abundance, and the microbial community composition in water.

Surprisingly, they found no evidence of the priming effect, as bacteria did not degrade the deep seawater DOC after the addition of exogenous carbon sources.

“The addition of [the organic carbon]

compounds did not bring the carbon below the background level, but we did find some very interesting results,” LaBrie elaborated.

Contrary to expectations, glucose 6-phosphate was the least usable carbon compound, even though phosphorus is usually the most limiting nutrient—meaning the essential nutrient—in the deep ocean.

“In contrast, it was the amino acids that were first consumed and resulted in the highest increase in cell abundance,” LaBrie added. “So, there was maybe a larger limitation in nitrogen than in other compounds, like phosphorus or pure carbon.”

The microbial community composition analysis further revealed that different microbes consumed DOC under different treatments. They also found evidence of

competition between two microbes in the amino acid and glucose 6-phosphate treatment.

“We think these types of relationships between microbes are important for deep ocean cycling,” LaBrie said.

A limitation of the experiment is that it only tested simple carbon molecules. To build on this work, LaBrie plans to do another priming effect experiment in the St. Lawrence estuary. This time, he will add more complex carbon compounds to deepestuary water samples.

“When the molecules are more complex, the microbial communities need to produce enzymes to cut these molecules down before they can consume them,” LaBrie said. “By producing these enzymes, they could also break down more complex molecules that are in their vicinity, […] [degrading] what is already present in the ecosystem.”

The findings have implications for geoengineering, a branch of science that explores approaches to counteract climate change. One of the most studied geoengineering techniques is the enhancement of ocean primary productivity. This inevitably results in some of the carbon made by producers sinking into the deep ocean and contributing to the carbon reservoir, keeping carbon away from the atmosphere.

If the priming effect is absent, as LaBrie’s findings suggest, then the persistent deep-ocean carbon will not be released into the atmosphere, even with the addition of DOC produced by primary producers. As a society, it is our role to determine whether such geoengineering technologies are ethical.

As an alternative hypothesis for deep-ocean carbon stability, some researchers believe the underwater carbon is too complex to be degraded by microorganisms. (Leanne Cherry / The Tribune)

(Mia Helfrich / The Tribune)