The Government is Teetering

   Since world news is being made here in Montreal, I suppose I should say something--briefly.

May 22, 2012 - estimated 300,000

   Last Tuesday, the student associations, the union federations and the community organizations called for a march downtown. At least 300,000 showed up: a historical first for Quebec. It was a joyous festive moment with all generations present. It was also illegal. Law 78, passed a few days earlier, was supposed to calm things down by suspending courses until August and putting a lid on demonstrations. However, people were outraged that the police had to be informed of any demonstration in advance along with the itinerary. For the monster march, the people did not follow the itinerary indicated. Anyway, we made our way to Park Lafontaine chanting slogans and generally enjoying a beautiful day. Later in the evening the police cracked down and there were many arrests.
   That evening at precisely 8 PM, pots started banging on my little residential street. The racket grew. Then people gathered for a while at the corner making quite a lot of noise. Finally we went to the main intersection where there were about four groups of 50 people (one on each corner since the law prohibits anything over 50 people without police approval). As the traffick lights changed we crossed the intersection and traded corners. It went on for a couple of hours.

Le Devoir, May 24, 2012

   Yesterday, Wednesday, the banging of pots started again at 8 PM but this time there were far more people at the intersection (perhaps 300).  It made the front page of the papers this morning.   Later in the evening, the police cracked down on protesters downtown and arrested over 500.  It doesn’t seem to have dampened spirits.
   Tonight, the same ritual except that there were at least 500 people at the intersection and at one point we met a march of at least 1000 people coming down the street toward us. Almost everyone joined in and we spent a good hour marching through the streets of our little neighbourhood of Montreal. We were in the end perhaps 2000. I left as the marchers moved south toward the center of town.  The same thing is happening in at least 60 other neighbourhoods throughout the city and in several other cities throughout Quebec.
   The initial idea was to offer support to the students in their efforts to settle their dispute with the government. (The Minister responsible for education resigned her post and her seat in the Assembly-- quite politics altogether. Now the chief political advisor to our head of government (Jean Charest) has also resigned. In the minds of most people it would seem that the Law 78 was the last straw and many will not be satisfied until elections are called and the government itself is changed. Few people support it at this point; there have been too many scandals and crazy development projects involving billions of dollars.
   Banging pots is such a simple thing. Anybody can stand at their door and do it. Parents bring along their kids who are happy to bang on their pots. The elderly join in from their apartments. It is a simple way that finally everyone can have a voice and it is certainly bringing our neighbourhoods to life.  Such a simple thing and it is tumbling the governement!

Comments would be more than welcome.