7/31/2019 Quebec Student Activists Respond to 'Open Letter to the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS)' - June 2, 2012

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The following is a response to A c t i v i s t Co m m u n i q u e : O p e n L e t t e r t o t h e C a n a d ia n

Federa t ion o f Studen t s , which was published on May 18 on k r y s t a l l i n e k r a u s ' s b l o g .

The letter called for the CFS to " engage in a consistent and serious mobilizing effort to bring

the Quebec student movement to the rest of Canada."

Open Le t t e r t o th e CFS: A Response f rom Quebec Act iv i s t s

We write as student activists in Qubec who have been involved in organizing the2011-2012 general student strike - on both anglophone and francophone campuses.

We are ecstatic to hear that so many students in the rest of Canada are building a

campaign to mobilize similar strikes in Ontario and elsewhere. We are heartened by theoutpouring of solidarity, and we believe that the best way that students outside

Qubec can join the movement is by mobilizing strikes from the ground up in their owncommunities.

Open Letter to the CFS assumes that strikes can be organized by elected studentleaders and masterminded provincially, if not nationally. Certainly, the Federation canand must support strike initiatives. However, these have to be built from the ground up

and through structures of direct democracy - specifically, general assemblies which are

fully empowered to make real decisions. This is something that we have learned again

and again in Qubec, and this method of organizing has consistently proven to be theonly way to build viable strike movements. Students feel a sense of ownership over

movements created this way, which cannot be undermined by claims of a minority

imposing their will on a majority.

Strike campaigns or votes must not be i mposed by student federations, or even

individual unions. They must be organized by activists on the ground and discussed in

regular general assemblies to involve the broader student body. Strategically,

organizing strikes first where they re most likely to succeed - in traditionally progressivedepartmental unions rather than faculty or campus unions - will ensure the kind of

momentum-building that could lead to a general strike of Ontario students.

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There are, however, a number of things that the Federation can and must do to support

a general strike movement. Educational campaigns, facilitating solidarity delegations,

workshops, and activist exchanges are extremely important, even if they do not replace

locally-focused campaigns. Perhaps most importantly, the CFS could facilitate the

creation or mobilization of politically autonomous departmental associations, whichbarely exist on many anglophone campuses. In fact, the first unlimited strikes in the

history of McGill and Concordia Universities were organized mainly in previously dormant

departmental unions.

The formation of mobilized, combative departmental unions built upon structures of

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7/31/2019 Quebec Student Activists Respond to 'Open Letter to the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS)' - June 2, 2012

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direct democracy needs to be seen as a consequence of strike campaigns, not a

necessary precondition without which activists hands are tied. There is always a wayforward.

We are optimistic that a general student strike in Ontario can and will succeed, given

the right ingredients. Open Letter to the CFS represents a first step towards creating a

radical, democratic strike movement in Ontario and beyond. As we watch students lay

the foundations for powerful strike movements across the country, we hope we can

continue to share our experience in Quebec - both successes and failures.

1. Jamie Burnett - former member of the Board of Directors of the Students Society of McGill University (SSMU)

2. Jrmie Bdard -Wien - Coalition Large de l Association pour une Solidarit Syndicaletudiante (CLASSE)

3. Kevin Paul - former Political Campaigns Coordinator, Students Society of McGillUniversity (SSMU)

4. Christopher Bangs - Strike Organizer, Students Society of McGill University (SSMU)

5. Zachary Rosentzveig - Councillor, Students Society of McGill University (SSMU) & Co-President, NDP McGill

6. Irmak Bahar - Concordia University

5. Robin Reid-Fraser - Vice-President External 2012-2013, Students' Society of McGill

University (SSMU)

8. Mathieu Murphy-Perron - Staff, Dawson Student Union (DSU), Local 108, Canadian

Federation of Students

9. Ethan Feldman - McGill Philosophy Strike Organizer, Victim of Police Brutality

10. Kenevin Sraynr Parent. Local 108. Dawson Student Union

11. Lo Fugazza - Dawson Student Union, 20 11-2012 Director of Internal Affairs & Advocacy. Local 108, Canadian Federation of Students.

12. Kayla Christos, Director of Clubs and Services, Dawson Student Union.

13. Xavier Lafrance. York University. Local 84, CFS.

14. Nicholas Di Penna, incoming Director of external affairs. Local 108 Dawson Student

Union

15. Audrey Deveault - Dawson Student Union, Chairperson. Local 108, Canadian

Federation of Students

16. Fatima Santin- Dawson Student Union. Incoming Director of Student Life. Local 108

17. Gabrielle Brais Harvey - Fine Arts Student Alliance-Concordia.

18. Alexis Blanchard- Mthot - Socit Gnrale des tudiants et tudiantes du Cgepde Maisoneuve (SOGCOM), Association pour une Solidarit Syndicale tudiante (ASS)

19. Laura Dolan, McGill University, OSMC

20. Rushdia Mehreen, Strike organizer, Concordia University; Coalition Large de

lAssociation pour une Solidarit Syndicale tudiante (CLASSE)

21. Farah Noun, Dawson Student Union. Local 108, Canadian Federation of Students

22. Marianne Breton Fontaine, AFESH UQAM

23. Agatha Slupek - Steward at A.M.U.S.E, Student at McGill University

24. Eleanor Foulkes - BA 2012, McGill

25. John-Erik Hansson, McGill Alumnus, Outreach worker at Association of McGill

University Support Employees (AMUSE).

26. Sunch Av Sunci Avlijas - Strike organizer, McGill University graduate student;

Mobilization Officer on the Executive Committee of the Association of Graduate Students

Employed at McGill (AGSEM) TA Unit 2012/2013

27. Amber Gross, former Political Campaigns Coordinator, Students' Society of McGill

University (SSMU); Labour Relations Officer, Association of McGill University Support

Employees (AMUSE-PSAC); member of the Board of Directors of the Quebec Public

Interest Research Group at McGill (QPIRG-McGill)

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28. Robert Green - Former President of the Concordia Student Union (99-01) and former

CFS National Executive Representative for the Province of Quebec (98-99)

29. Dmitri Zrajevski, former member of the Vanier College Mob Squad

30. Morgan Crockett Dawson Student Union, 2012-2013 Director of Internal Affairs &

Advocacy. Local 108, Canadian Federation of Students.

31. Anthony Kantara, Vanier College Mob Squad

32. Soeleman Hassan, Vanier College Mob Squad

33. David Bernans, former Concordia GSA President, former York U GSA VP Liaison

35. Clo Zawadzki-Turcotte - Coalition Large de l Association pour une Solidarit

Syndicale tudiante (CLASSE)

36. Mathieu Frappier, former CFS- Qubec executive assistant (staff)

37. Carl Y. Prvil, Vanier College Mob Squad

38. Frank Lvesque -Nicol - Executive committee of AFESH-UQAM; Social strugglescommittee of the Coalition Large de l Association pour une Solidarit Syndicale tudiante(CLASSE)

39. Nicolas Vittorio Saavedra Fusinato, Vanier College Mob Squad

40. Amber Gross - former Political Campaigns Coordinator, Students Society of McGillUniversity (SSMU); Labour Relations Officer, Association of McGill University Support

Employees (AMUSE-PSAC); and member of the Board of Directors of the Quebec Public

Interest Research Group at McGill University (QPIRG-McGill)41. Jaime MacLean - Strike Organizer, Students Society of McGill University (SSMU),President, Association of McGill University Support Employees (AMUSE-PSAC)

Some names hav e been excluded, as th is letter is addressed by activists in Quebec. Your

support is noted and appreciated, however!

STUDENT ACTIVI SM S O LI D A R I T Y QUEBEC O N TA R I O KRYSTALLI NE KRAUS CFS AC TI V I S M

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