TORONTO (AFP) - Thousands of students marched in the streets of Montreal on Friday to cap off five days of protest against conditions in post-secondary institutions, government austerity measures, and the cost of living.
The protest was organized by the Coalition de résistance pour l’unité étudiante syndicale, CRUES. Several protesters were wearing the red square on their jackets, a symbol of the historic 2012 student strike.
The students and their supporters, who say they were inspired by the student protests across France in recent weeks, say Quebec’s education ministry has been underfunded for years, and students are suffering.
James, a Concordia University student who did not provide his last name, said he is already seeing the quality of universities degrade across the board.
“You take Concordia, for example, we’re seeing a rapid increase in class size, the student-to-professor ratio, we’re seeing cuts in course selection, and the university is starting to fire a lot of their faculty, leaving big gaps in the programming, making these rapid cost-cutting measures, really degrading the quality of the education we’re receiving,” he said
“But, of course, the tuition remains the same price or in fact goes up.”
After gathering in Victoria Square, the protesters walked through downtown Montreal. There were some clashes between certain individuals and police after they threw rocks at officers.
Several Montreal police officers are monitoring the demonstration and have deployed tear gas at times to disperse the crowd.
Some of the protesters caused damage to some buildings, including shattering some windows on the World Trade building.
Two individuals were arrested for armed assault on a police officer and a third for assault on a police officer, SPVM spokesperson Caroline Chèvrefils said Friday evening. The SPVM also reported eight cases of vandalism to buildings or vehicles.
Quebec’s Domestic Security Minister, Guy Jr. Lapointe, and Higher Education Minister Elsie Lefebvre commented on the student protest, saying that their movement “deserves to be listened to and respected.”
“Dialogue and freedom of expression are essential in a democratic society,” they said on social media.
“That said, a very clear distinction must be made between legitimate student protests and acts of violence or vandalism. It is unacceptable for anyone to take advantage of this movement to commit acts of vandalism or destruction and, in doing so, jeopardize the sense of safety of peaceful protesters.”
Prior to the clashes with police, many protesters spoke about their calls for action, which include a reworking of the student aid program that the students rely on. They said with the rising cost of living and the cost of tuition, they have had to find part-time jobs or go to part-time studies to make ends meet, which can disqualify them from the government program.