news 2
TUESDAY, JANUARY 29, 2013
Write to the editor: news@theconcordian.com
City in brief The homeless seek refuge in frigid weather
MATTHEW GUITÉ Assistant news editor
>> House explodes
in fireball
The Montreal Police arson squad are investigating a massive blaze that overtook, and eventually destroyed, a home in Rivière-desPrairies—Pointe-aux-Trembles Thursday. Witnesses to the fire claim to have seen men fleeing the scene following a loud explosion. Montreal Police spokeswoman Anie Lemieux confirmed that men were seen breaking into the home and later made their getaway when the fire began. The homeowners were not in when the fire began, and no injuries have been reported.
>>We don’t need no
education
The Parti Québécois’ education minister has stated that free education will not be part of the discussion at the upcoming education summit due to be held next month. Pierre Duchesne told CBC that indexing education fees to the cost of living is what the government is pursuing, despite the wishes of student groups to consider other options. “The good thing about this possibility is that there are different indexation models, some of which resemble a freeze, others which are indexed based on certain indicators,” said Duchesne. Martine Desjardins, president of the Fédération étudiante universitaire du Québec, told CBC that indexation was not the answer. “The consensus is clearly not around indexation,” she said. “Even at the summit table with all of the people involved in the university milieu, we don’t hear the word ‘indexation’ except when it comes from the government.”
>>Baby-snatching
video goes viral
The Montreal design school Centre NAD has announced a scholarship which will be funded by the proceeds from their Internet-famous video of a golden eagle snatching a baby out of a stroller that was released last year. The video, a hoax which received international attention and millions of views, has earned money through AdSense on YouTube. The cash will go towards a scholarship for a student at the school, as the money earned cannot directly benefit the school because the video was created with software on an educational license. School spokeswoman Claude Arsenault told CBC that she could not yet confirm the amount designated to the scholarship, as it had not yet been given to the school.
city// NEWS
Montreal shelters provide additional care despite lack of room MADELON KIROV Contributor
Last week’s dangerously low temperatures had shelters across the city working hard to accommodate and take in as many people in need as possible. With severe wind-chill warnings in effect, residents province-wide were advised to stay indoors and to layer-up when going outside. In Montreal, temperatures reached a paralyzing minus 36 degrees Celsius combined with winds of over 20 kilometres per hour. With no place to call home, inadequate winter clothing and minimal food, the homeless people of Montreal were left depending on shelters and drop-in centres. “During the winter we have a policy where we must take in everyone that comes and we cannot turn anyone away,” said Virginie Lussier, an employee at the Old Brewery Mission. “It’s a question of survival.” The Old Brewery Mission offers a shuttle service that drives around the
city to other shelters and picks up the homeless on the street to bring them back to hot food and a bed. The shelter also has a cafeteria and a kitchen run by volunteers. If an individual has a bit of extra money they are able to rent a bed for a very low cost. Men can stay from one to three weeks and women from one to three months. With the deepfreeze, the Old Brewery Mission is experiencing overcrowding but Lussier said that everyone is accepted. “We put mattresses on the floor in the cafeteria and everywhere if there are no more beds available or we call other shelters,” said Lussier. “Under no circumstance, especially in the winter, can we deny shelter to those looking for it.” J.C., a homeless man currently residing at the Old Brewery Mission, explained that shelters are essential in freezing weather. “In the summer, there’s no problem, but in the winter if we did not have the shelter we would probably be forced to sleep in shopping centres or anywhere really that’s warm. Or we would freeze to death,” said J.C..
Photo by Leonardo Nieto-Montenegro
The St. James United Church also offers a day shelter. Allan Spitzer, who works at the drop-in centre, said that the church provides access to showers, clean clothing, hot meals and a few beds as well. On average, they take in about 50 people each day. According to Spitzer, the goal of the church is to be a catalyst for change as the number of homeless grows in Montreal to ensure that destitution doesn’t “become the norm.” “What we are trying to do here is to offer a safe and supportive environment for those who are
homeless or marginalized in our society.” said Spitzer. “We want them to experience community, not only just [the] services.” The church also aims to help people reclaim their own dignity and find their own solutions to their problems. The drop-in centre works actively with people while they are there, helping them find more suitable housing and work. These shelters depend greatly on donations. They accept non-perishable food items, clothes, pillows and money.
campus // NEWS
CSBC credit card fraud addressed at AGM Some members pushing to conduct retroactive financial audits MATTHEW GUITÉ Assistant news editor
C
redit card fraud, the split with Concordia University Television and an ongoing debate over how financial records should be reviewed were all issues addressed at the Concordia Student Broadcasting Corporation’s Annual General Meeting last Saturday. During the hour-long meeting, CSBC President Angelica Calcagnile gave an overview of the Board of Directors report, the CSBC’s financial statements were reviewed and elections and re-elections of the BoD took place. During the BoD report, Calcagnile gave a frank explanation of current issues the CSBC has been dealing with, such as the issue of money still owed to CUTV following their separation last fall. The money, owed to CUTV following an audit of the value of the station, amounts to just over $14,000. Patrice Blais, treasurer of the CSBC, ex-
plained that the figure does not take into account money that CUTV spent using the corporation’s accounts, including the purchase of new computers and credit card statements dating back to June. Blais estimated that a more accurate figure of the money still owed would be between $7,000 and $10,000. Calcagnile described to members a recent incident of credit card fraud on three of the CSBC’s credit cards. The fraudulent transactions committed in December, totalling $862.19, were spotted and reversed in early January. “I was alerted to it by multiple sources around the 10th of January and it was resolved I believe the 10th of January as well,” Calcagnile said. “They credited our accounts and there was no damage whatsoever. There might be something that we’ll see on our next statement, because they might have continued to commit [fraud] into January, but the cards were cancelled.” After the bank returned the money, CSBC opened a file with the Montreal Police. Calcagnile explained that the issue was not one the authorities con-
sidered to be worth investigating due to the fact that the amount was small and no financial damage resulted from the incident. A third issue mentioned during the BoD report was a push by former CSBC director Sabine Friesinger for retroactive audits of the CSBC’s books going back three years. The motion was put forward at the CSBC’s BoD meeting in January and was voted down. According to Calcagnile, the issue will be addressed at the Graduate Students’ Association Tuesday. “[Friesinger] is trying to get the GSA to agree to encourage us to do a retroactive audit and if not, the outcome of that motion is that they could hold our GSA fee-levy,” said Calcagnile. Calcagnile went on to explain the reasoning behind the CSBC’s switch from audits to financial reviews several years ago, stating that it wasn’t necessary to perform full audits. “The auditor said, ‘listen, I’ve looked at your books and I’ve been doing your books for X amount of years and it doesn’t seem necessary, it represents a significant cost to you
that I don’t feel is necessary for your organization’,” she said. “Here at Concordia, the only organization that does a full audit every year is the Concordia Student Union and they’re dealing with significantly more money than the rest of us.” Friesinger, the one who first proposed the motion, told The Concordian that allegations of mismanagement during the separation of CUTV and CSBC were what first led her to the idea of retroactive audits. “If those allegations are proven to be wrong after a full audit then all the better,” said Friesinger. “But when these kinds of things are said and people are worried about it then we need to take action on it.” Friesinger also said the amount of funding the CSBC receives from student fee-levies was another reason she was concerned with what she called a lack of financial transparency. “I don’t know whether or not there is financial mismanagement, but I know that when I asked about seeing bank statements or credit card statements, or even statements from internal accounts, I was refused.”