Students and activists in Halifax are exploring different ways to show their support for the student strike in Quebec. On Thursday, June 21 a group of Haligonian students and activists piled into vehicles bound for Montreal, in order to take part in the mass demonstration planned for Friday, June 22. King’s Student Union President Nick Stark, who had planned to join the group before his ride got cancelled, says this is an exciting opportunity for students to be involved in.
One of the most memorable student protests in Halifax was the 2011 NS Student Day of Action, where students braved blizzard-like conditions to oppose tuition fee increases. (Photo: Meredith Conrad, 2011)
“I think a lot of people actually wanted to go and participate because it’s such an exciting thing,” says Stark. “We wanted to demonstrate our commitment to solidarity – so much that we would actually travel those kms.”
Friday’s rally saw a much smaller turnout than the previous rallies over the last four months. Though questions of whether or not the protests are losing steam have surfaced, Stark says he’s confident about the future of the movement.
“I don’t think the momentum is lagging,” he says. “Across the world there are solidarity protests. Even though the numbers might have shrunk a little, (the support) is still really impressive, especially for summertime.”
Stark says he hopes to be able to attend the next big demonstration in Quebec planned for July 22. Meanwhile in Halifax, a casserole demonstration has been organized for Wednesday June 27, where protesters are invited to march across the Macdonald Bridge with their pots, pans, signs and banners. This will be the third ‘casserole-style’ protest in Halifax since the beginning of the Quebec student strike. Aside from these rallies, student and activist groups in Halifax have also issued statements of solidarity and held panel discussions.
Why not Nova Scotia?
Despite its solidarity efforts, the nature of activism in Halifax cannot compare to the nature of activism in Quebec City and Montreal. According to Chris Parsons of Solidarity Halifax, this is for a number of different reasons.
“Quebec is a different situation from anywhere else in North America,” says Parsons, who is also a graduate student at Trent University and former Executive Representative of the Canadian Federation of Students.“During the 1960’s, (Quebec) students saw a lot more momentum; it was wider spread activism that permeated the culture a lot more. It had more of a class dynamic to it – students are seeing access to education as a class issue.”
As Parsons explains, examining the political and cultural history of Quebec makes it clearer why the movement surfaced there, rather than in other provinces or as a national initiative. Parsons says it’s unlikely that such a movement would have the capacity to survive in the province of Nova Scotia.
“It would be a huge mistake if we were to try to launch a student strike in Halifax,” Parsons says. “It would be destined to fail because we don’t have the same organization at the departmental level (as Quebec students). The better thing to do is pick smaller battles and mobilize students around those.”
Taking smaller steps
Smaller battles seem to be exactly what students will focus on in Halifax. Jonathan Williams, Executive Director for the Alliance of Nova Scotia Student Associations (ANSSA) says the organization will focus on making information more accessible to students in the future.
“We’re trying to make information more available, that’s certainly a priority for us,” says Williams. “It’s difficult to understand post-secondary issues in Nova Scotia. We’re trying to make things more accessible so people can understand. There’s no solution to improve student engagement – everybody’s working at it.”
ANSSA represents student associations at six of 11 universities in Nova Scotia, including the Dalhousie, St. Mary’s, Acadia and St.FX.
“I think there’s a lot of momentum behind student associations because of the attention they’ve garnered from what’s happening (in Quebec),” says Williams. “I can’t speak to how that’s going to translate here in Nova Scotia…but we will be focusing on looking at the law (Bill 78), defending the rights of student unions to advance their mandates, and reinforcing that the issues they’re raising are crucial issues that should be discussed all across Canada.”
