Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Monday, June 11, 2012

Students’ new goal: turf Liberal government

MONTREAL - Tuition fees are still very much a concern, but some Quebec students are now turning their focus to trying to unseat the Quebec Liberal government.

The Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec says it plans to continue its mobilization against tuition fee increases this summer, but also has a new goal.

“We want to work on getting a different government to represent us,” said new leader Éliane Laberge. “We are going to work on that transition this summer.”

She said Jean Charest’s government doesn’t represent the “values” that Quebec youth consider to be important, most notably accessibility to education and equality between the classes.

“There is real frustration on the part of a generation that is not being heard by the government,” she said at a press conference on Sunday. “There is a good part of society that is asking for this change.”

She said after consulting with members this weekend, the message about making this goal part of their mobilization became clear.

“The Liberal government has made many decisions that don’t agree with Quebec values. We need a government that represents us,” she said.

Students still plan to continue with protests this summer, and hold demonstrations throughout the province between June 17 and 22. June 22 has already been marked as another big protest day for all the student associations, and then July 22 following that.

Laberge also decried the harsh police interventions on Grand Prix weekend, saying: “Quebecers shouldn’t be afraid to express themselves.” But she acknowledged messages are best delivered peacefully.

And as for students being blamed for the economy of downtown Montreal, where business owners have been complaining that daily protests are keeping people away and hurting their bottom lines, she said the government has to share in the blame.

“It was also the responsibility of the government to stop the crisis when they had the chance,” she said.

Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: KAREN SEIDMAN

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