Recently, Parti Quebecois — the sovereigntist party — forcefully came out and said that it will rewrite the Quebec Charter to do away with reasonable accommodation, so that Quebec remains a “secular” state. In reality, this is an anti-immigrant and specifically anti-Muslim agenda dressed as secularism, where wearing a cross is alright but wearing a hijab is not (Because certain things like “Christmas” are a part of Quebec’s heritage, said Marois). You can read about this from the party’s website (in French), or read this editorial in English (note: it is an editorial by an anglophone newspaper, so it does not don the “neutral” tone you would find in a news article) to learn more about it.
Pauline Marois (image via Wikipedia)
Time and time again, just when I feel that maybe Montreal could be my home, I see the Quebec’s ugly side of its uniqueness – where the politicians don the hurtful language of cultural preservation and purity and whatever else to win votes. A shame, really.
You may or may not have heard about the student strike in Quebec, against the proposed $1700 tuition hike over 7 years. It’s been going on since February – nobody ever thought it’d be still going or even get this much attention. Charest – the premier of Quebec – sure didn’t, and he may or may not be regretting it now. The Education Minister – who was considered a rising political star – resigned over the matter. To this day, the Charest government refuses to negotiate with student groups.
In fact, he may be regretting it so much that he passed a new bill that would outlaw student “riots” altogether. A demonstration is defined as a gathering of 10 students or more in public. Students who wish for a demonstration must notify the police eight hours in advance. Those that break these provisions can face fines between $70,000-$350,000.
I had a short stint one summer where I examined laws of countries that were considered human rights violations. Many of them contained similar clauses on demonstrations – having to notify the police or the union and obtaining approval – which have been singled out by many human rights organizations as infringing on their democratic rights. And it’s happening here, in this country.
That’s why this bill is very, very worrisome. More and more our streets are being intruded upon, and taken away from us by corporations, cars, the police, and now the law. During this school year, as I heard person after person refer to student protests with disdain, I kept on asking (sometimes to others and often to myself), “to whom do the streets belong?”
When did we give up our streets as a democratic medium?
For some reason, we as a society seem to have given up on using the streets as a medium of expressing our will, instead being content with voting (which is not representative of popular will), or “online activism” in the means of petitions or sharing things on Facebook.
Maybe it is the increasing presence of the internet and gadgets in our lives, but when did we take the physical and bodily “act” out of activism?
And when did we start believing that heavy police presence is necessary, or that the police somehow knows more and should have monopoly of the streets? I’m not sure, but laws like this tells me that perhaps we need to have our voices heard and our bodies seen - which is our right, not a privilege granted by governments – more than ever.
So here’s a start – an online petition against Bill 78. I know I spoke about the inadequacies of “online activism” earlier – but it’s an easy start, I won’t argue with that.
Earlier this week, Jack Layton passed away- a loss that still feels too surreal. As much as his humane and relatable image should be remembered, Noah Gataveckas reminds us that his political legacy must also be celebrated, and that we should not let mainstream media and conservative figures de-politicize Layton.
Actor Tristan D. Lalla and his film crew were subjected to racial profiling at a popular Montreal bar, St-Sulpice. He describes the incident here.
This is pretty old news in Korea, but a former rap star named EpikHigh (Dan Lee) was ostracized and bullied on suspicions of forging his Stanford credentials. The pretty extraordinary tale of extreme cyber “witch hunt” is recounted in Stanford Magazine.
I was incredibly saddened to hear the news of Jack Layton‘s death yesterday. Here’s my tribute to him, which I wrote for Schema – you can read other Schema team member’s words here.
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Jack Layton passed away today, leaving behind his political legacy and his powerful, moving words to Canadians. As we all embark on new journeys and chapters in our lives, Layton’s courage and motivational words will resonate with Canadians forever. Jack Layton’s last letter to Canadians affected me profoundly.
I remember feeling excited earlier this year, about studying an area where I would be able to fight on behalf of those who had been disenfranchised. However, this summer I have been hit with waves of doubts regarding my decision. Was I being naïve about my optimism towards changing the world with my new degree? Was it too late for me to be doing this? But reading Layton’s affirmation that optimism is better than despair, and that Canada can be a country of greater equality, I saw the answer to my questions clearly: I am in no position to doubt myself, as my life lies ahead of me. My words and my efforts will not be wasted, if I do not waste them.
I voted for the NDP in the last election, in the “orange province” that resonated with his vision and his spirit so much. I felt proud to be a part of that change in Canadian politics. I felt proud to see so many young and fresh faces enter politics for the first time.
So thank you, Jack, for showing me that change is really possible with passion and dedication, and thank you, for giving me affirmation for my idealistic vision and goals for a better society as I embark on this new journey.
Is it just me, or has it been a really depressing news week/end?
First I read about the famine in East Africa, with its worst drought in 60 years with more than 11 million people at risk.
Then I could not believe what had happened in Norway, and felt so shocked about the loss of 70 teenage lives who were at a Labour Party summer camp. How terrible is it to suffer something like that where you are learning to be politically active and engaged I will never really know, but it is devastating. Then of course, there was the doozy from American media that jumped to the “MUSLIMS!” conclusion before they even had a clue of who the shooter was.
On Canadian soil, we have the Toronto mayor Rob Ford – who has said charming things like how Asians work like dogs and whatnot – trying to defund public libraries because according to him, there are more libraries in Etobicoke than Tim Hortons (which is factually incorrect, and also, what’s wrong with having more books than donuts and really mediocre food?). Naturally, people have been protesting the budget cuts and trying to save the public libraries, including some famous names like Margaret Atwood (you can sign the petition to save libraries here). Except to add salt to the wound, Ford’s brother and city councilor Doug Ford said not only does he not care, but he doesn’t even know who Margaret Atwood is: “Well good luck to Margaret Atwood. I don’t even know her. If she walked by me, I wouldn’t have a clue who she is.”
To cap it all off, Jack Layton is leaving politics temporarily after a new cancer was found, leaving parliament with…well…I don’t know.
Just dropping in to say that tomorrow is the big voting day, people! Don’t forget to take some time out of your day to make a difference. Your employer is legally obliged to give you some time off to exercise your civic duty. 5:30pm-7pm tend to be the busiest time for voting; if you’re a student with a more flexible schedule, try to avoid the lineup.
If you’re in Canada, you know (or you should know) that there is an upcoming federal election. In my opinion, his election campaign has been a particularly disappointing one for two reasons. First, there is a definite lack of issues being discussed (aboriginal issues? cuts to culture funding? women’s issues? WHERE ARE THEY?).
Second, because of the blatant hypocrisy of the Conservatives the Conservatives have been circulating the word “ethnic vote” for awhile now. Schema Magazine asked the question “WTF is the Ethnic Vote?” which got me thinking about the particular issue and the election in general.
The first issue at hand is the inappropriate broadness of the word “ethnic vote.” When Jason Kenney sent out his original note with the phrase used, he really meant the South Asian community. But instead, he chose to use a rather loaded term for Canadian politics; in 1995, when the sovereignty referendum in Quebec resulted in a “no” (very barely), the premier and separatist Jacques Parizeau blamed it on “money and the ethnic vote.”
Semantics aside, this shameless pandering to the “ethnic vote” is eye-roll inducing on other sides, too. For majority of the time, people of colour are swept under the rug, or only brought up when they’re deemed a problem – or a potential source of gain for the white man. It is also insulting to see the so-called effort of “wooing” ethnic votes, which apparently involves telling people of colour to dress up in their ethnic costumes for a photo-op of Stephen Harper. This is tokenism at its worst. (As an Asian-Canadian, my options would’ve been pretty varied too, like this one, or this one.)
What might people of colour gain from all of this? Turns out, not very much. The Conservative platform on immigration is woefully lacking when it comes to welcoming immigrants or refugees, and only detailed in areas of deporting immigrants or cracking down on “human trafficking”. The one incentive for newly arrived immigrants they do offer is a “foreign credentials loans program” that will help immigrants “upgrade their skills for use in Canada.” So those immigrants still need to pay to be re-educated out of their own pockets. (All of the quotes are from the Conservative Party platform)
Moreover, a group of legal scholars have found that while the “Harper government” is busy trying to convince people of colour that the Conservative government is on their side, the reality is pretty much the opposite. Some of the highlighted statistics include: quotas for sponsored parents and grandparents are down, and it takes longer time for refugees to reunite with their families.
And let’s not forget about women’s issues. The Conservative government has been slashing funds to women’s groups left and right, while also telling women that their votes matter. Here’s a list of women’s groups that have lost their funding during Harper’s time as Prime Minister. I am glad, however, that voters everywhere are speaking out against these measures.
So what is the Harper government doing, exactly? It is paying lip service to my ethnicity and my gender, while secretly making the lives of people belonging in my “identity brackets” harder. It all feels rather disingenuous and unfair.
So yes, I will be voting in this election against the problematic messages of Stephen Harper and this government, and I would like to encourage all the young people of colour voters to do the same. Here are some useful links for educating and humouring yourselves this election:
During the last couple of weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of profiling Montreal’s own fine poets for the “Women In Art” Q&A series. Oana Avasilichioaei is a Montreal-based poet who founded and curated the Atwater Poetry Project from 2003 to 2008, bringing poets from all over Canada and the United States. The second conversation features Branka Petrovic, who started writing poetry during her undergrad years at McGill, and continued her journey into poetry with an MA in Creative Writing and English Literature at Concordia University.
Meet Magda O: photographer extraordinaire, DJ, and feminist scholar who is researching on women electronic artists (she will soon be relocating to Montreal from her native Toronto to start a Ph.D. at Concordia. Yes!) The stats she posted some startling stats on how many (or how few) women participate in electronic music festivals for a documentary she’s working on caught my eye this week. Bottom line: things aren’t looking good for women electronic artists.
Amy Mihyang, a Korean-American writer now living in Seoul, is performing her one-woman play “between” about her life as an adoptee of American parents. Her birth parents – she reunited with them 6 years ago – will also be attendance. I wish I was in Seoul to catch this.
According to a recent PPP Poll, almost half of Mississippi Republican voters not only believe that interracial marriage is immoral, but also believe it should be illegal. In 2011.
I had an unexpectedly eventful Thursday night, so I opted to go to bed early on Friday (I’m fun). So here are some links that caught my eye this week, a day late:
Oh America, I want to stop talking about you. I really do. But every week, some other ridiculous anti-choice thing happens, and I just have to mention it again. Like how the House of Representatives just passed a bill that would cut all federal funding to Planned Parenthood. Protest this decision and sign the ACLU petition here.
This New York Times article highlights the different ethnic preferences in plastic surgery, and reveals that a higher percentage of women of colour have had plastic surgeries done than white women.
To celebrate Women’s History Month, Feminist Fashion Bloggers network will have a virtual roundtable AND a featured series, where feminist fashion bloggers can answer the question: “How do you express feminism in the way you dress?”
Here are some great blogs I’ve recently added to my regular , and you should check them out too:
Crunk Feminist Collective is a blog that aims to “create a space of support and camaraderie for hip hop generation feminists of color, queer and straight, in the academy and without, by building a rhetorical community, in which we can discuss our ideas, express our crunk feminist selves, fellowship with one another, debate and challenge one another, and support each other, as we struggle together to articulate our feminist goals, ideas, visions, and dreams in ways that are both personally and professionally beneficial.” Amen!
Shitty First Drafts is a series of intelligent, sharp, and funny reflections from an ABD graduate student in English literature – everything from how James Franco will finish his Yale Ph.D. to how being a graduate student can warrant many inane questions and rants about grammar from strangers.
For Women In Art next week, I interviewed Monique Polak, young adult book writer extraordinaire/journalist for the Montreal Gazette who also happens to teach at Marianopolis. She was kind enough to blog about our meeting and even take a picture of us in her office.
Sometimes, a news item is so incredibly absurd and horrifying that you wish it was published in The Onion. But it’s not.
Like the fact that South Dakota is about to pass a law that would expand the definition of “justified homicide” to pardon those who kill abortion-providing doctors.
The original version of the bill did not include the language regarding the “unborn child”; it was pitched as a simple clarification of South Dakota’s justifiable homicide law. Last week, however, the bill was “hoghoused”—a term used in South Dakota for heavily amending legislation in committee—in a little-noticed hearing. A parade of right-wing groups—the Family Heritage Alliance, Concerned Women for America, the South Dakota branch of Phyllis Schlafly’s Eagle Forum, and a political action committee called Family Matters in South Dakota—all testified in favor of the amended version of the law.
The Mother Jones article now includes an update with a quote from Phil Jensen, who instigated the change, insisting that the bill has nothing to do with abortion. But others are calling foul – Kristin Aschenbrenner, lobbyist for South Dakota Advocacy Network for Women, is quoted saying: “They always intended this to be a fetal personhood bill, they just tried to cloak it as a self-defense bill.”
All I can say is that it astonishes me every time that lawmakers (and politicians) go great lengths to protect the rights of those who haven’t stepped out into the world (literally) and ruminating ways to preserve their lives, but won’t even give a second thought to protecting the rights of women and their lives. The fact that this bill is spearheaded by Phil Jensen, a middle-aged man who will never be directly affected by abortion laws (he with no uterus), against the women who are fighting against this bill, is also telling.
Edited to add: South Dakota has decided to shelve this bill, stating that “the bill as it’s currently written is a very bad idea.”
