Volume 44, Issue 7

Volume 44, Issue 7 • November 28, 2023 • thelinknewspaper.ca

"Pounding the Ottawa pavement" Since 1980

CONCORDIA’S INDEPENDENT PUBLICATION SINCE 1980

NEWS

Students voice concerns over Quebec’s newest financial barriers Are the tuition hikes and Bill 96 driving students out of the province?

Safa Hachi

GRAPHIC SARA SALSABILI n the echoing halls of McMaster On Oct. 13, Coalition AvenIfourth-year University, Nathalie White, a ir Québec’s (CAQ) Minister of psychology student, Higher Education Pascale Déry saw her grad school ambitions clouded by the news of a tuition increase, emphasizing the intersection of academic dreams with financial barriers.

“I had a list of graduate schools that I wanted to apply to next year,” said White. “I initially heard about the tuition increase briefly on the news and was immediately disheartened. I knew that I could simply not afford tuition fees.”

“This may be a bit jaded, but it seems like they’re saying you’re not welcome unless you can afford it. I understand wanting to preserve French culture […] but that just means that whoever has the money can come,” she added.

disclosed that the province intended to increase tuition fees for students from outside of Quebec.

The new cost would rise from $8,992 to approximately $17,000 per year, starting fall 2024. Additionally, an established minimum tuition of $20,000 per year was stipulated for international students. For those who are already enrolled, they must remain in their current program for a maximum of five years, rendering deferrals and part-time studies more complicated.

This tuition hike hits Quebec's English universities the hardest— Concordia, Bishop's and McGill.

Despite claims from Dery stating,

Fighting gender violence on campus ConU Against Gender&Queer Violence fights for systemic change on campus Maria Cholakova

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@_maria_cholakova_

"I'm not closing the door to any anglophone student,” doubling out-of-province tuition undeniably imposes limitations.

Quebec French-language Minister Jean-François Roberge expressed in an interview with La Presse that, "We're fed up with managing the decline, protecting the language, curbing the erosion of the language; these are all defensive terms. It's time to regain some ground.”

In May 2022, Québec's National Assembly passed Bill 96.

The bill is designed to bolster the use of French in the province. The law spawned various initiatives, including Francisation Québec.

Introduced by the CAQ on June 1, 2023, this initiative aims to centralize French learning services for immigrants, contributing to Quebec's needs through temporary or permanent candidate selection, according to information taken from the Quebec government's website.

During their first six months in Quebec, new immigrants are entitled to services in English. However, after this period, they are expected to handle services in French as effortlessly as resident speakers.

This is despite the fact that the government’s own internal report on the feasibility of the acquisition of French within a six-month timeframe deemed it nearly impossible.

According to Julia Balot, a McGill student, there seems to be a lack of clarity between citizens and the government in regards to what Quebec is aiming to achieve.

“It really makes me feel unwelcome here, especially by the government. Which is weird, be-

cause my day-to-day interactions with [Quebec-born francophones] tend to be pretty positive,” said Balot. “I’m happy to be able to go to a school like McGill [...] but I definitely worry that the culture on campus might change. Amplifying this division between anglophones and francophones seems like a step in the wrong direction.”

Students with a French citizenship or a francophone Belgian citizenship will be able to avoid the tuition increase. However, many Middle Eastern and North African international students speak French, but are subject to pay international fees. Yasmina May Hafiz, an international student from Morocco, called out the Quebec government’s double standard when it comes to French-speaking immigrants.

“I am already paying $24,000 a year,” Hafiz said.

Hafiz comes from a country colonized by France, where French is a major part of her life.

She speaks it fluently, both back home and here.

“So why can’t I get lower tuition rates like French or Belgian citizens?” she continued. “I moved here, pay rent here, work here, speak French here, I add to the so-called fortification of French, but I am no longer a desirable immigrant because I am North African,” she added.

“If you value French this much, then reward the people who actually speak French and further your vision. When’s the line drawn? Like ‘oh no we don't want any POC French people, we want only this region of French people.’ They want a cookie-cutter culture,” she said.

While many believe this will affect Quebec’s economy and diversity, some acknowledge that it is a valid change, as it is Quebec's right to want to strengthen

French in the province.

Students aren’t the only people protesting the government’s changes when it comes to the tuition hikes. Both Concordia President Graham Carr and McGill Principal Deep Saini have expressed their disapproval of the legislation, saying it would be a massive loss for the universities and the province. In response to recent tuition hikes, students have organized protests and initiated petitions in unprecedented numbers to express discontent.

Julianna Smith, the campaign coordinator for the Concordia Student Union (CSU), has worked, alongside other CSU members, to mobilize students and unions in response to proposed tuition hikes, drawing inspiration from Quebec's history of successful student-led campaigns.

The CSU is currently working on a campaign to fight the hikes. The union had been actively promoting a petition filed in the Quebec National Assembly, which was filed by Marwah Rizqy, a member of the Quebec National Assembly, on behalf of the CSU, Students' Society of McGill University and Bishop's University Students Representative Council.

The petition successfully met the threshold of 30,000 signatures before its Nov. 27 deadline, with its primary objective to initiate a discussion in the National Assembly.

Beyond the immediate concern of increased tuition, the CSU is also shedding light on broader implications, including potential program cuts, larger class sizes, and reduced university resources resulting from the CAQ's announcement on tuition hikes. Concerns have escalated due to the government's lack of consultation and its swift enactment of bills, such as Bill 96, raising additional worries about xenophobic undertones.

lex Francavilla, Clara Belzile, wards the safety of LGBTQIA2S+ cludes a list of other demands that A Bianca Cicci and Steve Ka- students at Concordia. would help the safety and comfort laydjian were sitting in their Ethics According to a nationwide of queer students on campus. in Community Engagement class, ready to present a project in front of their classmates and professors on pronouns and gender diversity.

Their personal experiences, along with the testimonies of other students, inspired the presentation. The students had noticed that in many of their classes, many professors weren’t sufficiently educated on how to respect the pronouns of queer students.

The presentation prompted the group to create ConU against Gender and Queer Violence (CUAGQV), an organization on campus which aims to educate and highlight Concordia’s community on gender issues. They are also fighting for systemic change to-

poll of 3,700 LGBTQIA2S+ students featured in Plan Canada, 74 per cent of students reported having been verbally harassed about their gender expression, along with 64 per cent of LGBTQIA2S+ students feeling unsafe at school.

CUAGQV was founded on Nov. 1, with their first Instagram post highlighting that Concordia’s gender-inclusive bathrooms had cameras. According to the organization, the cameras are a violation of all students' privacy and enforce anti-trans narratives, making trans students feel like they are watched.

In order to get Concordia to remove the cameras, the organization drafted an open letter for students to sign. The letter also in-

Their demands include an easier path to name changes on campus, the implementation of a gender-based grievance policy, anti-oppression department trainings, gender-neutral changing rooms in athletic facilities, the implementation of pronoun guidelines in syllabi, and the conversion of single-stall gendered restrooms to gender-neutral spaces—with amenities like menstrual product disposal bins and free menstrual products, along with signage focused on amenities rather than user identity for all bathrooms. continues on p. 4

NOVEMBER 28, 2023 • NEWS 3

NEWS continued from p. 3 When coming up with the list of demands, Kalaydjian empathized with the inclusive gender-neutral changing rooms, as it’s an issue close to their heart. “As somebody that is trans masc, using different pronouns than she/her, and somebody that is on a gendered team (the Concordia Stingers women’s rugby team), I don't mind changing with my teammates,” they said.

“It's actually a part of the culture to change with your team, to get ready for the game with your team. But it's the fact that there is no option to [do so].”

“It's not even having a changing room, but to have a private setting that's not gendered, where somebody does not have to pick boy or girl, where they can go in and just do what they need to do in a comfortable setting,” they continued.

So far, the letter has been signed

by 130 students and backed by 11 student groups on campus. CUAGQV is hoping to reach 200 signatures

by December. To reach their goal, the organization is actively campaigning with posters and tabling.

For Aspen Crick, a first-year Concordia student, it’s important to have organizations on campus that support the LGBTQIA2S+ community. “[Places like] the Centre for Gender Advocacy are crucial [for students] to be able to talk to other people within the community,” they said.

Crick said that it is a blessing to see other queer people on campus and in classes, especially those who are vocal about it.

According to Concordia’s spokesperson Vannina Maestracci, Concordia is working on making the campus as inclusive as possible.

She said that “[w]hen large public bathrooms [...] need major renovations, our goal is to transform

them into an inclusive bathroom.

Because of their open design and location usually in spaces with a lot of traffic including from non-Concordians, these renovated bathrooms do have cameras that face the common space (i.e. sinks).”

Currently, Concordia has nine gender-neutral bathrooms at the Sir George Williams campus and 50 single-stall bathrooms, most of which are wheelchair accessible and few which require an access card to enter.

Maestracci explained that Concordia aims to increase the number of inclusive bathrooms on campus. When asked if professors on campus are encouraged to respect pronouns, she replied, “Everyone, not just professors, is encouraged to respect people’s pronouns and their preferred name in their interactions with colleagues and students.”

STUDENTS ARE FIGHTING FOR MORE INCLUSIVE BATHROOMS ON CAMPUS WITHOUT CAMERA. PHOTO MARIA CHOLAKOVA

100,000 protesters in Ottawa for Palestine Largest pro-Palestinian march in Canadian history pushes for a ceasefire Iness Rifay and Hannah Vogan In his eight years of bus driving, Mourae Mouassine feels he has never taken a more important contract than the drive from Montreal to Ottawa on Nov. 25.

“This is more than work,” he said, seated in the school bus driver’s seat with a keffiyeh hanging from his shoulders. “I am proud to be here to support humanity.”

Mouassine was one of the bus drivers who volunteered with Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) to mobilize protesters from across Canada to Parliament Hill. Nine soldout PYM-affiliated buses departed from Place du Canada around 9:30 a.m., all of which carried about 50 participants per busload.

Mouassine keeps a folder on his phone filled with pictures of the children who have died since the attacks on Gaza started. Between Oct. 7 and Nov. 26, over 6,000 Palestinian children have been killed. Following the collapse of Gaza’s health system, the Health Ministry has been unable to keep a regular count of the casualties, but it believes the toll continues to rise sharply.

“I have four kids,” he said.

“Every time I see this murder, I can’t sleep. Imagine if it was my child, my friend’s child, my neighbour’s child; I cannot accept this.”

Upon arriving in Ottawa, Mouassine stood on Parliament Hill alongside his family who drove from Montreal to attend with him.

They joined over 100,000 protesters gathered from all around the

@inessdagoat, @hannahvogann

PHOTO DOROTHY MOMBRUN country in what organizer PYM considers the largest pro-Palestinian protest in Canadian history.

“We are not standing on the hills of Parliament because we think we can convince or appeal to Justin Trudeau or the Canadian government’s morality,” said Yara Shoufani, a PYM member. “We are standing here because we know that by building a movement of the masses, we can force the Canadian government to change its direction.”

Speeches began echoing against the walls of Parliament around 1 p.m., delivered by a variety of speakers. Among them were independent Hamilton Centre member of provincial parliament Sarah Jama, who was removed from the Ontario New Democratic Party caucus; Dr. Tarek

4 NEWS • NOVEMBER 28, 2023

Loubani, a medic who worked in Gaza’s Al-Shifa hospital; Montreal Mohawk activist Ellen Gabriel and journalist Desmond Cole.

“We will never be bullied or intimidated into silence while Justin Trudeau and his partners in crime continue to support the genocidal Israeli regime in the slaughter of more than 14,000 people,” Jama said.

On Nov. 24, Israel granted a four-day ceasefire in Gaza to exchange 50 of the 240 Israeli hostages held by Hamas with 150 Palestinian women and teenagers in Israeli detention. For Loubani, this isn’t enough.

Loubani shared his experiences with protesters of “sewing up children’s heads” in Gaza without anesthesia prior to the events of Oct. 7.

“Ceasefire is not my only demand,” Loubani shared with the crowd. “I will not go back to treating patients without tools. I will not go back to making up for the failures of the world to treat our Palestinian brothers, sisters and siblings.”

Protesters began marching through Ottawa at 3:40 p.m., with the demonstration looping back to reestablish its place on Parliament Hill around 5 p.m. Palestinian flags and signs of all sizes waved in the dry, chilly wind. The signs read “stop killing children” and “end the genocide in Gaza.”

Janine—a Palestinian protester who wished to keep her last name anonymous for safety reasons— has witnessed the Israeli occupation first hand. She feels that what is happening in Palestine is unjust,

and deserves nothing less than demonstrators to dedicate their Saturday to solidarity. “[Our politicians] are the ones who are in control of this situation, they are the ones who are murdering the children— maybe not first hand—but they are not calling for the ceasefire,” said Janine. “For us to be such a huge number in the capital of our country puts a lot of pressure on Justin Trudeau who is complicit.”

English, Arabic, and French chants were loudly, and diligently, repeated throughout the protest.

“The people united, will never be defeated,” “From Turtle Island to Palestine, occupation is a crime,” and “Ceasefire now” were among the chants cried out in unison by the masses.

Jina —who wished to keep her last name anonymous for safety reasons— is another Palestinian protester who wore face paint that read “Free Palestine” on her cheek.

Jina partook in the protest because Palestinians “deserve to have a land, and deserve to live in it.”

Jina recalled how when she was little, she would bear jealousy, as her classmates who weren't from Canada would share about going home for the summer, while she had to stay. “I couldn’t go home, there’s no such thing for me. I just know that’s a feeling that a lot of other [Palestianians] feel,” expressed Jina. “I don't think that is a feeling that anyone should feel.”

thelinknewspaper.ca

NEWS

Integration over extraction; prioritizing action Comm-Un’s panel invites the community to share ideas on the role of academia in addressing homelessness Hannah Vogan

@hannahvogann

CARMELA CUCUZZELLA, SHAYANA NARCISSE, JAYNE MALENFANT, CHRIS BROWN LISTEN TO JONATHAN LEBIRE (FAR-RIGHT) SPEAK AT COMM-UN’S PANEL ON UNIVERSITIES ROLE IN ADDRESSING HOMELESSNESS. PHOTO JULIA CIERI n Nov. 25, from 5 p.m. to 8 love the first step with unhoused own large amounts of land, infraO p.m., community members communities. “I coach, I listen, structure, and public spaces that and students gathered at Concordia but I don’t tell them what to do. have a copious potential to be emUniversity's SHIFT center to learn about the non-profit Comm-Un, and discuss the role of universities in addressing homelessness.

Founded just over a year ago, Comm-Un is a non-profit collective deeply rooted in the Milton-Parc community, an area of Montreal made up of a number of unhoused Indigenous and Inuit persons.

In 2018, Indigenous people represented 12 per cent of Montreal's unhoused population, despite representing just under one per cent of the city's total population. Inuit made up 25 per cent of unhoused Indigenous people, despite making up only five per cent of Montreal’s Indigenous population.

Comm-Un's held a panel to addressed and critiqued the multiple social-worker and research programs throughout Montreal universities, highlighting what is missing in the exploration and intervention of homelessness.

Comm-Un believes the most important part about working with the unhoused is healing trauma.

According to Jonathan Lebire, founder and director of CommUn, the different approaches to homelessness—like “housing-first,” a concept that is recovery-focused which prioritizes swiftly placing individuals experiencing homelessness into stable housing, followed by further support and services that are offered based on individual needs—isn’t effective. Comm-Un, however, approaches care for the unhoused differently; to make healing and thelinknewspaper.ca

They tell me what they need to do and I make sure they can do it,” Lebire told The Link.

“Unhoused people experience lots of trauma—most of the services now are focused on just survival needs, and we need some spaces that consider the healing process,” said Concordia PhD student Moh Abdalreza.

Abdalreza helps organize, plan events and projects, and so much more, according to Lebire, who has dubbed the Concordia student “Super-Moh.” Abdalreza researches the relationship between art and homelessness.

A frequent sentiment expressed by Comm-Un is that there is a lack of communication between government bodies, neighbours, media and (most importantly) the unhoused regarding efforts to create safe spaces and take steps towards healing for a vulnerable population.

“We found that there is a big gap between lived experiences of unhoused people and policy making processes,” Abdalreza said.

Comm-Un also launched their current project and proposal for the collective at the panel. Their project, “Street University,” is described to be a strength-based space, alternative to day-shelters. “[Street University] is about moving from fragmentation to reintegration, from survival needs to healing, and also merging resources,” Abdalreza noted.

Abdalreza stressed how universities have access to many resources. He shared how they

ployed for the benefit of the community. He feels many students who study homelessness within the walls of an institution fail to have actual conversations with their subjects; unhoused people.

When it came time for the panel, rectangular tables with three chairs were dually positioned in front of the panelists.

Tables were set with crayons, markers, and paint-sticks coupled with paper to encourage art during the discussion.

The night, which drew in an audience of all ages, began with Lebire introducing himself and Comm-Un. He shared how, when he was about 16, he was unhoused.

Lebire left his home for Sherbrooke, Que., with $20 and a backpack. When he came back to Montreal, he wanted to make a change.

He went to the Université de Montréal to become a social worker. However, school didn’t help him understand the complexity of being a social worker and working with unhoused populations.

“By the magic in life, I was introduced to the Indigenous people at Atwater park,” said Lebire. This changed how he saw intervention work.

The floor was then turned to the five panelists and researchers whose work aligned with addressing homelessness; Jayne Malenfant, Shayana Narcisse, Carmela Cucuzzella, Janis Timm-Bottos and Chris Brown.

When the question was posed to panelists about the universities’ impact on addressing homeless-

ness, Malenfant expressed dissatisfaction with the disconnect from university researchers and those being researched.

Malenfant, an assistant professor in social justice and community engaged studies at McGill University, spent a period of her life unhoused.

“I often ask, ‘what is the point of working with researchers, and what is the point of working with universities when we as (unhoused) communities can take care of ourselves?’” she said.

“The way we evaluate impact in the university is not just. It is not grounded in community knowledge, and there aren’t ongoing mechanisms for evaluation that are led by people who are directly impacted by the issues we are studying. The accountability isn't there,” Malenfant explained.

She believes one way universities could improve with its research approach, particularly when tackling homelessness, is by resourcing people with lived experiences and allowing them to lead the research.

For Timm-Bottos, the founder of Montreal’s first art-hive, social infrastructure within universities is the catalyst for action and change.

“We need to have gathering places, otherwise people are afraid of each other,” said Timm-Bottos.

“We need to have these safe environments where we can throw off our identities and be real with each other.” She elaborated on how art is a method to communicate and learn from those residing in different socio-economic classes.

Comm-Un’s art hive is a testimony to Timm-Bottos’ shared sentiment. Members of the community paint, draw, carve stone or create any craft desired. Once the crafts are made, Lebire, will sell the creations —sometimes for upwards of $200— and relay the money back to the artist. According to Abdalreza, there is a type of communication that transcends beyond words when those of different power dynamics gather to create art and learn techniques from each other.

Lebire borrowed the mic from panelists for a moment to heed caution of the delicacy that should come with conducting research of the unhoused.

He described how, if you’re considered unhoused by the system, it’s primarily because you went through struggles which transformed into traumas that

were not dealt with—as there was no safety net in place. Lebire explained how these traumas want to be forgotten.

"The worst thing for [an unhoused individual] is somebody poking you, and reminding you of all of these [traumas],” asserted Lebire. “Whenever all of these researchers ask those questions, you have to keep in mind, you are bringing those things back up for a person that still does not have any means to deal with it. So every time, you trigger [their trauma] without giving a healing opportunity.”

Narcisse is a creative with a focus on visual art and works toward action with her art. She has a lived experience with homelessness, and believes researchers with the subject of homelessness should approach the research in a holistic way: hiring the street workers and compensating them for the time spent learning from their experiences.

The panel later made room to hear and inquire further on the audience's ideas on where they think the role of universities fit in addressing homelessness.

One participant expressed suspicion in whether an institution can have an acceptable role in helping the unhoused community.

“Unless we radically transform what a university is—and it can be in the service of direct action by collectivity that is autonomous— we have to be really skeptical about what we can do,” they explained.

The night concluded with a workshop where everyone was encouraged to share and explore alternative ways to mobilize researchers and leverage university resources effectively. Looseleaf was passed around, prompting participants to jot down resources and programs with their paintsticks and markers— information Comm-Un could utilize to strengthen Street University.

During the workshop, ideas were bounced off of both organizers and participants in hopes of mending ideas and outlets that Comm-Un can use to leverage storytelling through their work.

“If we want to understand [homelessness] from different perspectives. We need a new way of research and understanding that is connected to action,” Abdalreza said.

NOVEMBER 28, 2023 • NEWS 5

NEWS

Unity under scrutiny: Troubling reports cast shadow over Montreal queer nightclub

Allegations of bouncer aggression, mishandling of incidents, and staff misconduct spark boycott and calls for accountability Abby Cole

@abbycyyt

ON NOV. 5 SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS WERE SHARED TO PUSH FORTH A BOYCOTT OF CLUB UNITY. PHOTO ABBY COLE ontreal’s Gay Village is supOn Google, there are many ing the exit after the club’s closing.

M posedly a place for LG- reviews related to Unity’s bouncer Apparently, the security agent had BTQIA2S+ folks to enjoy them- aggression and use of force. asked for them to move but they selves openly. One of its most popular nightclubs, Club Unity, is well known amongst Montreal’s younger demographic—both queer and straight.

The club’s website describes itself as “an inclusive club open to all,” and that “with respect as a core value, Unity prides itself on providing a safe environment.”

On Nov. 5, Concordia anthropology student Clara Meagher made an Instagram post calling for a boycott of the club.

“Unity claims to be a safe, queer space for its patrons, and yet recurring events have proven otherwise,” claims Meagher in the post. It includes screenshots from the club’s Google reviews accusing the bouncers of assaulting patrons amongst other accusations.

The post has received 1,288 likes and over 90 comments from people expressing sympathy and similar stories of harassment at the club.

Meagher and her friends have also taken their campaign to the streets. The group distributed flyers outside the club reading “Before heading into Club Unity, please read” and listed accusations made against the club including that security has been accused of assault, and that the owner ignores claims of abuse and belittles victims.

Alleged Bouncer Violence

The Link spoke to Mathieu Drapeau, the club’s owner.

“The fact is, it's a nightclub […] sometimes people are under the influence,” he said. “Sometimes that’s where people don’t understand there are some rules to follow. It’s not a public place.

It’s a private place.”

According to Drapeau, Unity’s security agents receive a Bureau de la Sécurité Privée (BSP) license after participating in a course where they are taught “how to deal with people.”

“The rules are you cannot drink alcohol from outside, you cannot use drugs, you cannot do sexual acts inside, you cannot be violent with people. So if you do that, we ask people to leave,” Drapeau said.

First alleged incident Meagher’s post features a Google review posted by Ana Luiza Marques. It reads, “I went with my friend tonight and the bouncer just threw her on the floor […] The worst place I’ve ever been. It’s not a safe space, don’t go there. Never.”

The post also includes a video of a patron being aggressively pushed out of the club by a bouncer.

The Link spoke with Drapeau about the incident. He said “it was after closing and that guy was hurt [and] the girl pulled his rasta.”

Drapeau responded to Marques’ review, arguing that she and her friends had been block-

6 NEWS • NOVEMBER 28, 2023

became aggressive. That is when she allegedly scratched him and pulled out his hair.

The Link viewed images presented by Drapeau, which are also linked in his Google response, of the security guard from the video with bruising and scratches across his forehead, and a long dreadlock on the floor. The Link cannot confirm these images are from the same incident.

Second alleged incident Andres, a friend of Meagher, alleges that his sister was assaulted by staff after her friend lost her coat check number chip and attempted to re-enter the club.

“My friends and I started to head to the back area of the coat check so we wouldn’t block the doorway,” alleges Andres’ sister in a testimony provided to The Link.

“When suddenly this man stood in front of me and started yelling that I had to leave.”

“These other two guys started to grab me and push me towards the stairs. I had three guys touching me inappropriately,” the sister added. After the incident, Andres told The Link that his sister informed him that a security guard grabbed her breast.

“One of them had his hands wrapped tightly around my wrist. I felt vulnerable”, explained Andres’ sister, “I remember telling them that I didn’t want to go

wait for my friends on the street because, as a woman, I feel unsafe. And they told me to go be a girl on the streets as they touched me inappropriately. After that, I quickly left and the famous abusive security guard at the door pushed me as I walked out.”

In response to this story, Drapeau admits that he was there for this incident.

Drapeau claims that the woman was blocking the way into the club, and another employee told her she can go inside the club to wait until 3 a.m. According to Drapeau, she refused to move, prompting him to escort her out.

In security footage provided

by Drapeau, the woman appears to attempt to re-enter the club, but then is blocked by club staff. She is then pulled back towards the staircase by Drapeau who wraps his arm around her neck, pulling her backwards. The Link has confirmed that this footage is of the same incident.

Mishandling of alleged overdose A Concordia student alleges her boyfriend had a drink spiked with an illegal substance at Unity, resulting in an overdose and hospitalization.

In retrospect, she said “I’ve only seen him like this one other time, when he had been drugged.”

She noted that she thought the drink looked cloudy but assumed it was a dirty glass.

“I’ve seen that with people with Benzos and Xanax and stuff like that. [My boyfriend] has not used any sort of substance, even weed, for years. He’s only been drinking," she added.

Outside the club her boyfriend was placed on the sidewalk. Allegedly, another man from the club, who she believes to be the owner, arrived on the scene but left shortly after.

He had small pupils, cold and clammy skin, slow and weak breathing, as well as an inability to wake up, which are all signs of an opioid overdose, according to Health Canada. She called an ambulance and he was brought to hospital. The paramedics and attending nurses agreed that it could have been an overdose but a toxicology test never took place.

One of their friends spoke with another employee from the club, who asked “what have you

guys been taking tonight?” They responded “we’ve been drinking and maybe a bit of weed.” The woman allegedly said “well, that’s what happens when you mix weed and alcohol,” and left.

“There was no responsibility or accountability. She was trying to come up with an excuse to brush off a [drugging] incident […] completely ignoring the fact my friend was unconscious on the floor,” said the student’s friend.

Allegedly, only one bouncer had been helpful, assisting the student and her boyfriend out of the club.

“I would love to see them take fucking responsibility for all the shit that’s happened there,” added the student.

“I’m here every night and I’m on the walkie talkie, so whenever there is a situation, I’ve been called. I wouldn't let someone die,” explained Drapeau. When someone is secure, once everything seems okay, I’m out of it.”

“Sorry if you dealt with that” Drapeau continued. “I haven't seen drugs for a long time […]

I'm fully against drugs.”

Former staff The Link spoke to a former dancer and bartender at Club Unity.

The dancer alleges that a manager yelled at her and another dancer in front of customers for taking too much time to cool down on the bar’s rooftop. “[The manager] told us to take our things and go [...] and while we were going out, she pushed my dancer friend, and the bouncer pushed her aside so she wouldn’t go back in.”

The dancer also alleges that she was paid “under the table.”

However, according to Drapeau, the processes to maintain alcohol permits and venue licenses means that a lot of time is spent making sure everything is happening legally. “The level of investment that we need to put into making sure everything is legal wouldn’t allow us to have people paid under the table.”

The bartender alleges that she was underpaid and never received pay stubs, which is why she eventually quit. She had to file a complaint to the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et continues on p. 7 thelinknewspaper.ca

NEWS

CONCORDIA STUDENTS PREPARING TO HAND OUT ‘BOYCOTT UNITY’ FLYERS NEAR THE NIGHTCLUB. PHOTO ABBY COLE continues on p. 8 de la sécurité du travail when they refused to give her the last pay stub. After she filed the complaint, she was eventually paid by Unity.

Drapeau explained to The Link that the problem is staff treating the job like partying rather than work. “We need a worker, we

don’t need a partier, so if you want to receive a salary, then you need to work and you need to follow some rules."

Growing disapproval In response to the growing disapproval of the bar and boycott campaign, Drapeau says that

he believes it is a change in the customer base.

“People think ‘I’m way better than you’ or ‘I’m way better than the place.’ So ‘it's a privilege for you to host me’ […] But it’s not,” said Drapeau. “It’s a privilege to come into the club. It’s not about one bad experience. It’s also about the fact that like 99.9 per cent of the people who come here […] tell me ‘what a night, it was wonderful.’”

Despite the boycott and poor reviews, Drapeau is not worried about the club’s reputation. “I do have a customer base. I mean, the club is packed every weekend,” he claims.

Club Safety and Accountability The Link asked Drapeau about what he is doing to ensure safety at the club: “I think it’s mostly about educating people. I just bought a lot of signs about how to behave, how to react, and what we’re going to

do. Like a possible body check in the lineup.” Drapeau also thought about handing out cards to customers explaining the rules of the club.

“It’s more about educating people about how to behave inside,” Drapeau said.

He adds that he wants to make security more visible, so that if a customer needs help they are easier to find.

Drapeau also showed The Link a Ziploc bag of pocket knives and pepper spray that he alleges was collected by security the past two weekends at the door.

Pepper spray is a prohibited weapon under Canadian law.

However, for Meagher, Unity needs a rebranding, and the ownership needs to work on themselves before it can open again.

“Because not only are they not taking accountability for what’s happening,” she said, “but they’re making themselves seem like the victims and belittling the people who lived

those traumatic experiences.”

In a statement submitted to The Link by Queer Concordia, they expressed that “the reports of violence and abuses of power by some staff members are deeply troubling. It is disheartening to witness the transformation of what was once a safe space into an environment that disrespects its patrons.”

“We earnestly look forward to a future where more [LGBTQIA2S+] spaces prioritize the well-being of their guests," wrote Queer Concordia. “Our hearts go out to anyone who has been hurt and disrespected, and we want you to know that your community stands with you.”

STI stigma: Reinforcing the cycle Navigating an STI diagnosis Claudia Beaudoin

@claudiaclx

n Nov. 13, Carl Nowack, grap- people from accessing testing for a partners are all quite susceptible to “The people that really need to A recent study indicates that the O pling with a range of symp- bunch of reasons: they don't want STIs as well. So the kind of judg- hear it, they might not be seeking Canadian sex education system is toms akin to a sexually transmitted to, they're embarrassed or they ment that tends to come with STIs it out,” said Muriel Smith, a film outdated and lacks a comprehensive infection (STI), made the decision to head to the hospital. The verdict was clear: he had gonorrhea.

Gonorrhea is an STI that can cause discomfort in the genital, rectal, and throat regions, typically treated within a few weeks with antibiotics.

The symptoms initially felt challenging, but reaching out to a healthcare provider brought relief.

“Right after I got a shot of antibiotics and started my seven-day wait I was pretty relaxed,” he expressed.

The prevalence of sexually transmitted infections has been on the rise in Canada, with chlamydia, gonorrhea, and infectious syphilis rates experiencing significant increases between 2011 and 2019.

Gonorrhea has surged by 171 per cent, chlamydia by 26 per cent, and infectious syphilis by a staggering 389 per cent.

Nowack’s diagnosis prompted discussions in his surroundings about stigma and the mental challenges associated with such health issues. He reflected on the emotional impact and stated he didn’t even realize how getting an STI could change how he felt.

“One thought I’ve had is just how this wouldn’t have happened if I wasn’t single, which re-opened some underlying feelings of loneliness,” he said.

According to Alex McKay, the executive director of the Sex Information and Education Council of Canada, “STI stigma discourages thelinknewspaper.ca

don't feel particularly comfortable interacting with healthcare providers because of that stigma.”

“There actually tends to be more stigma around those viral STIs than there is around bacterial STIs and the whole reason is that gonorrhea and chlamydia are very easily treatable,” added McKay. “So often when people are told they have human papillomaviruses (HPV), they panic, especially if they've been told it's incurable.”

According to WebMD, HPVs are often treatable, and a significant number of cases may exhibit no symptoms at all.

“We say that stigma kills because we have medications that allow human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) individuals to live as long as their peers who don’t have it,” said Olivier Renaud-Charest, a fourth-year medical student at McGill University, who is part of the LGBTQIA2S+ community.

McKay explained that misconceptions frequently fuel the stigma surrounding sexually transmitted infections, as a dearth of education and a deficient understanding. A common misconception is that only individuals who engage in high levels of sexual activity or practice non-monogamy are susceptible to the impact of STIs. “People who are serially monogamous and have one partner at a time, but end up over their life course with a number of sexual

is completely counterfactual and unjustified,” McKay said.

Health Canada has recently approved new at-home HPV tests, offering a means to prevent cervical cancer.

Cervical cancer will affect 1 in 168 women in their lifetime, with 1 in 478 succumbing to it. The proactive use of appropriate testing has the potential to lower these numbers significantly.

This form of screening is becoming more common with the recent approval by the Food and Drug Administration for new athome tests for chlamydia and gonorrhea.

“Overall, the concept of home testing for STIs is a good one because people, for a number of reasons including STI-related stigma, might be hesitant to visit a clinic or a doctor if they suspect they have an STI,” said Mckay.

On campuses, other resources strive to combat stigma and advocate for comprehensive sex education.

The Sex and Self club strives to offer accessible resources within Concordia University, functioning as a chapter in a larger organization. One of its initiatives is the wellness pantry at Le Frigo Vert, providing various gender-affirming and safety items such as condoms, binders, menstruation products and more.

Although the club aims to be accessible to all, it tends to attract only a fraction of students.

animation student and executive member of the Sex and Self club at Concordia University.

Upon receiving an STI diagnosis, a common response is an apprehension surrounding how others might react, coupled with internalized feelings of shame and guilt associated with the topic.

Smith shared a personal experience from a previous relationship where her ex-partner had dishonestly claimed to have transmitted an STI to her following their breakup, expressing, "I was not only scared for my health but also for my desirability.”

As for Nowack, he was grateful to have a positive response knowing it might not be the case for everyone who receives a diagnosis, saying, “it d e f i n ite ly was stressful to bring up, especially having to inform multiple partners. I would say I was lucky to have had really nice responses.”

Despite the federal government's efforts to raise awareness on the subject, there remains a lack of coherence in the education system.

understanding of the dimensions of sexual health.

“You can almost say it's normal to have been exposed to an STI at some point and that's not the general perception,” said McKay. “STIs do not discriminate in any way based on race, class, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any demographic factor, we are all susceptible to STIs and that's the information that we all need to know.”

GRAPHIC SAMANTHA LEPINE

NOVEMBER 28, 2023 • NEWS 7

NEWS

Parc-Ex: A testimony of Montreal’s housing crisis Immigrant communities are most vulnerable to gentrification and discrimination, tenant unions say Julia Cieri

@_juliacieri

arc-Extension, a borough with “[The housing crisis] disproDussault explained that The reason for this bias toAt the beginning of this year, P a rich history, characterized portionately affects immigrants, ‘speculation’ drives landlords to wards landlords, according to another resource for tenants was by a predominantly working-class women, single parents, elder- make the most profit possible, in MATU, is that government em- shut down. AccèsLogis has served population and vibrant immigrant communities, has traditionally faced economic challenges.

Amy Darwish, a worker at Comité d’Action de Parc-Extension (CAPE), said that immigrant tenants in the area are being hit the hardest by the housing crisis, as Parc-Extension is one of the neighbourhoods in the city that is commonly subjected to gentrification and the housing crisis.

According to Darwish, a major cause of gentrification in Parc-Extension was the arrival of the Université de Montréal (UdeM) campus. There was an enormous amount of pressure put on tenants as a result, seen in the form of abusive rent increases, evictions and intimidation from landlords, she explained. The arrival of the campus in 2019 brought an influx of amenities catering to wealthy students, “which incentivized landlords to force out long-term tenants and rent out at much higher rates,” Darwish said.

Beyond the construction of the UdeM campus as a sign of gentrification in Parc-Extension, renting a place to live in is proving to be a hurdle in itself. According to a 2021 survey conducted by the Regroupement des comités logement et associations de locataires du Québec (RCLALQ), several barriers stand in the way of finding housing for Parc-Extension residents. With most rental listings being posted exclusively online, those with limited internet and digital access are left unable to access the advertisements.

“You used to be able to find apartments in adjacent neighbourhoods,” said Darwish. “But what we're seeing now is that people are being pushed off the island altogether.”

In addition, several tenants experienced being turned away from possible housing in discriminatory ways. The survey found that tenants with children, foreign accents, who are single women, and individuals with “non-Quebecois” names are more likely to be rejected from renting.

ly people; and people who don’t have the financial, organizational [means], or time to be able to fight back,” said Melissa Simard, a member of the Montreal’s Autonomous Tenant Union (MATU), a non-hierarchical tenant union.

RCLALQ member Cédrick Dussault explained that, “recent immigrants are targets for eviction because they do not know their rights, as well as people who were here for a long time.”

Tenants who find themselves in discriminatory situations may fight for their rights, but must do so through the Régie du logement.

The process however, like the listings, is often done online or over the phone, and may only be done in French or English. Additionally, some tenants may not know this service is available to them.

Despite discrimination in housing being forbidden by law, Dussault added that “landlords can just pick and choose who to accommodate.”

Darwish echoed Dussault’s sentiment. “[Discrimination] is very much triggered by the arrival of whiter, wealthier residents into the neighbourhood,” said Darwish. “We see a lot of landlords who are flat out refusing to rent to immigrants and are openly expressing preferences.”

Simard believes harmful stereotypes carried out against marginalized communities, including assumptions about their lifestyle and economic contributions, foster more barriers within the housing market.

The issue is also intertwined with unstable legal statuses.

Renting while undocumented makes it more difficult to fight for housing rights for fear of being denounced to immigration by landlords. “Having precarious immigration statuses is something that complicates people's capacity to navigate a housing crisis,” Darwish said.

Montreal has also become a hot real estate market, suitable for speculation—an investment method among properties in which investors expect high rates of return quickly.

8 NEWS • NOVEMBER 28, 2023

places that were originally cheap and affordable, with inexpensive buildings, slowly but surely rendering all sectors of Montreal with exorbitant rents.

The issue is additionally apparent at the provincial level, according to tenant union associations. “This is probably the most severe housing crisis that we've had in the province,” Dussault said.

“Basically, there is no control on the price of rent,” he added. “When there is a change in tenant, the landlord can dictate the price they want.”

While tenant rights exist in the Code civil du Québec, Dussault believes they are not sufficiently protected, and landlords do not face major consequences when bending the rules.

In the summer of 2023, a landlord in the Notre-Dame-deGrâce neighbourhood attempted to bypass “tribunal rules” by giving money to their tenants in exchange for their eviction.

The tribunal rules in question refer to the Tribunal administratif du logement. Darwish said she’s seen several other cases like these in Parc-Extension.

“You see many instances where landlords say they’re going to get permits to renovate or are going to be moving in a family member, but it doesn’t end up happening, and they just rent to someone else for higher rates,” she added.

Every year, the tribunal publishes a suggested increase in rent prices for landlords to refer to in their own increases. However, according to the RCLALQ, they are not legally bound to follow this suggestion.

“For a long time, Montreal was considered more affordable than other cities in Canada, like Vancouver and Toronto, but data shows that we’re catching up,” said Dussault. In the last year alone, rent in Montreal rose by 16.4 per cent. According to statistics by the RCLALQ, the average monthly rent for a four-and-a-half apartment in Quebec went from $1,222 in 2020 to $1,504 in 2023. For more than three rooms, it amounts to almost $2,000 on average.

ployees and ministers are part of the people who benefit from these systems. The Minister of Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, is a former real estate agent.

“This is reflective of the ideas around housing and accessibility,” said Simard. “The government is encouraging the speculative real estate market.”

Dussault supported this statement. “It’s a matter of social class,” he said. “People who are in power come from backgrounds of real estate investors.”

Bill 31 is another barrier to housing accessibility for Montreal tenants. The bill, currently under review, would eliminate the possibility of lease transfers, and would consequently hit lower-income renters the hardest.

“Lease transfers were a way of keeping rents affordable and getting around housing discrimination in neighbourhoods,” Darwish said.

Simard believes lease transfers were an important tool for tenants. “They were kind of the last strongholds of tenants to be able to afford housing, and they're taking that away,” she said.

as the main provincial social housing program since 1997. According to the housing minister, the project was outdated, and carried out too slowly.

To Darwish, these are all “concerted efforts by the Legault government to backtrack significantly on tenants’ rights.”

With files from Iness Rifay.

"This is probably the most severe housing crisis that we're had in the province."

— Cédric Dussault

GRAPHIC MAYA ROBITAILLE-LOPEZ thelinknewspaper.ca

NEWS

The Yellow Door: Combatting senior isolation Building a community through cross-generational bonding Demetra Kritsidimas

@demetra.kritsidimas

KATHRYN RIEB (SECOND FROM LEFT) AND GABRIELLE MCLAREN (RIGHT) PARTICIPATE IN THE KNITTING CIRCLE ALONGISDE TWO MEMBERS.PHOTO DEMETRA KRITSIDIMAS mid the clicking of knitting The Yellow Door runs an initia- sions are also great social bond- perience. Upon moving from Vic- They are also marking the holiday A needles and a table full of vi- tive called the “55+ Community ing moments for many seniors. toria, B.C. to Montreal last August, season with a fundraising drive, brant-coloured yarn, the Yellow Hour” every Wednesday afternoon. “Sometimes seniors have to wait a and knowing nobody in town a holiday concert on Dec. 6, and Door’s Tuesday afternoon knitting circle weaves together individuals from all generations. This scene captures the essence of the organization’s mission to bridge the gap between young and elderly communities through a plethora of activities.

The Yellow Door aims to minimize social isolation and exclusion of seniors, which is related to serious health effects and reduced quality of life. According to the International Federation on Aging, “the number one emerging issue facing seniors in Canada is keeping older people socially connected and active.” The government of Canada estimates that 30 per cent of Canadian seniors are at risk of becoming socially isolated. To combat the increasing senior isolation, Yellow Door helps up to a dozen seniors at each of their events.

Ever since moving to Montreal six years ago, Caroline Alince, the wellness group program coordinator, has been actively involved within the organization. Contributing as a volunteer since the age of 18 and getting hired into a full-time position this September, Alince said they have always been interested in the Yellow Door’s mission and thought it was a great community space. thelinknewspaper.ca

A new activity takes place every week, with certain popular ones on a recurring basis. Seniors who would like to partake in this weekly hour are required to sign up free of charge to become a member.

“I choose [the activities], but I also like to listen to seniors’ input about what they would like. That’s one of the only wellness groups that’s exclusive to our members.”

Alince explained.

So far, the community hour has seen activities like line dancing, bingo, workshops held by special guests, potlucks, a reading group and yoga. The group also goes on field trips, for instance, their apple-picking excursion this fall.

The Yellow Door also teaches seniors about technology. The idea was created in response to people’s reliance on technology during the pandemic. Dubbed BiblioTech Connect, the initiative notably allows seniors to borrow tablets. Tech Cafés are also hosted, where seniors can bring their own devices while volunteers give presentations and initiate small group projects about tech-related topics to help seniors get more familiar with their cell phone or tablet.

If the members need more help, the organization provides one-on-one support with trained volunteers. Those Tech Help ses-

little bit before they’re able to get help, and I’ve seen some members helping each other while they wait and that’s really cool,” said Alince.

“A lot of times they’ve actually problem-solved before we even get to it, and it’s really amazing to see that kind of mutual help.”

According to Alince, Tech Help is quite popular, with 10 to 12 members attending each session.

The Yellow Door’s contributions to well-being, however, go beyond its senior members. Many volunteers have found a place of belonging through the organization.

Gabrielle McLaren, who is currently employed at Concordia University, has been volunteering at the Yellow Door since moving to Montreal for her Master’s degree during the pandemic. She says that the most fulfilling part of volunteering is meeting people from all walks and stages of life.

“I had a pretty good academic community, but then I realized, I didn't want to only talk to people who were equally entrenched in academia in Montreal,” said McLaren. When a call went out for more people to join the Tuesday afternoon knitting circle a little over a year ago, McLaren began volunteering and has kept coming back ever since.

Kathryn Rieb, a software developer, relates to McLaren’s ex-

other than her partner, Rieb wondered how she could immediately become a part of something in this new city. Having enjoyed previous volunteer experiences, a few Google searches led her to join the knitting group at the Yellow Door.

“I really enjoyed having an immediate and accepting community. From the first day I showed up, everyone was so kind, everyone was happy to talk about their projects and share, and it was so easy to become a part of this group,” Rieb said, as she knit a wine-coloured turtleneck.

McLaren found that a simple activity like knitting can offer much more than just social benefits. “I knit in classes, I knit on the bus, and I get comments like, ‘I could never do that.’ And the answer is, no, you for real could, and it actually is shown to be good for you,” said McLaren. “Textile crafts are good [for maintaining] your cognitive abilities and they have good emotional regulation benefits. It's also cool to do volunteering that is good for you and that is good for the people who are participating.”

As the winter months approach—a time linked to heightened senior isolation—the Yellow Door continues to organize lively activities like their Nordic walking group on Fridays, and a potential snowshoeing or skiing field trip.

meal deliveries to seniors who are homebound on Dec. 14.

Alince said they are looking forward to making new community connections and collaborating with organizations doing similar things in order to increase the number of participants and share resources. They have already reached out to Growing A.R.C. Montreal, a non-profit group with a community garden for new summer activities.

As the pandemic highlighted the need for increased attention to seniors, the Yellow Door’s mission is as vital as ever, as McLaren put it, to “make sure people in [our] community aren’t falling through the cracks.”

Alince gets testimonies of the impacts the Yellow Door makes every day. “It’s amazing to see that that is actually happening with these seniors who are making connections every day, remaining active, and yeah, it’s just good to talk to them about that and be a part of [the Yellow Door’s mission],” they said.

NOVEMBER 28, 2023 • NEWS 9

FRINGE ARTS

On the fringe of Montreal’s music scene : APXO APXO, a testimony that hard work can make dreams come true Gabrielle Laperriere Leblanc

@gabouts

he childhood home of An- Plage." “I never want someone to T thony Pounder—a cozy tell me that this new song kind of duplex in the borough of Ho- reminds them of an older one that chelaga-Maisonneuve, where he grew up with his Sri Lankan and Italian grandparents—represents more to him than his heritage.

For Pounder, who is also known by his artist name APXO, it is the birthplace of his music and of a support system that allowed him to create.

APXO, a 28-year-old born and raised Montrealer, has lived in many countries like Switzerland, the Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates, which provided him with a variety of musical and artistic inspirations.

However, APXO has been immersed in Montreal's rap, music and art scene for quite some time.

His two most recent projects, Side B and Part 1, are an accurate representation of APXO’s art. He carefully balances current popular musical elements, such as snappy, clever bars and bass-infused instrumentals, with his own spin and originality.

APXO describes his projects as art rather than music. “Because I try to do something different with each project, I wouldn’t say this is a rap record, or this is an R&B record, it’s really a mix,” he said.

APXO’s catalogue is varied, ranging from lo-fi and rap instrumentals to spanish influences and even songs perfect for summer playlists; like the aptly named "La

I did,” APXO said.

Songs like “Keeper” and “Currency” also display the artist’s knack for writing with profound and vulnerable lyrics, something he said felt very raw and honest, despite a little scary APXO admitted.

APXO’s producer Steven Gallipeau, also known as 808 Vybz, is a sound engineer who has produced music since 2018. The pair started working together around December 2021, and have developed a close friendship over the years. 808 Vybz produced a lot of APXO’s music, notably the songs “Crazy” and “Trapped” on the Side B EP. “The studio sessions are almost like bonding time now,” said 808 Vybz. “I work with many different artists, but it’s not everyone I consider a close friend. He definitely became that [...] Ever since our first studio session, I could tell that he was serious about his music, that feeling has been there from the start.”

APXO, described Side B as his first real project. “I really started taking music seriously about a year ago, I always had different projects in mind. This (Side B) is the first time a lot of the songs are mastered and a lot of work went into [it],” he explained.

APXO’s grandparents bore witness to the beginning of

APXO’S MERCH DISPLAYED FOR THE PUBLIC. PHOTO DANA HACHWA

10 FRINGE ARTS • NOVEMBER 28, 2023

COURTESY TRUST HOLLYWOOD APXO’s music career. “He is so creative and extremely talented,” said Angel Pounder, APXO’s grandmother, while sitting down at the dinner table and enjoying homemade food.“For a couple of years, he danced and he was really good at it. Then came the music; he would sing in the house and I would think, ‘Wow.’ He’s always been creating in some way.”

The couple have immense pride for their grandson, and both were instrumental pillars in APXO’s success.

“We raised that boy,” said Victorio Peirera, APXO’s grandfather. “All he needs is a break because the talent is there.”

APXO, his grandparents, and 808 Vybz all have stories of APXO’s first-ever studio session.

“I pulled up with all my sound equipment to this apartment in Hochelaga,” 808 Vybz said.

“I had put up a mattress against the wall for sound and we recorded a whole EP in the back of my grandparent's house, in this tiny room. My grandma would come to feed us three meals a day,” APXO said, laughing.

Since 2022, APXO has released EPs, albums, and singles, but has also delved into and surrounded himself with many different artists from many different spheres.

After dropping his latest EP, Part One, on Nov. 1, APXO left for Switzerland. He describes the trip as an opportunity to work with many different artists from the country, and create as much art as possible. “The reason behind the Switzerland trip is to connect with different artists of different regions, different cultures, who speak different languages and have different goals,” APXO said in an Instagram post.

On Oct. 29, APXO hosted a pop-up event selling his clothing brand, Family Ties, to help finance his Switzerland trip.

The pop-up saw a good flow of supporters showing up to say their goodbyes. Other creators were also present, such as photographer Trust Hollywood; tattoo artist and painter The Hood Picasso, who was seen live painting; as well as painter and fashion designer Mackenzie Cyr. Tables of colorful hoodies and t-shirts were placed in the middle of the space, with APXO’s music playing in the background. Two jumpsuits, designed by Cyr, were hanging on the wall next to some of his paintings.

“I wore this jumpsuit during my first performance ever in my life. It was in Switzerland, where I headlined a music festival,” said APXO. “I don’t know how I fi-

nessed them into letting someone who had never performed live before headline a festival with hundreds of people, but I did it,” APXO added, laughing.

As of now, APXO has left for Switzerland and will continue to make art and will be back. “I am going to the end of my days with this,” the artist said, this being his music, his dream.

After years of hard work and determination, APXO has quality projects under his belt, with more to come in the future.

“It was not talent that brought me here, it was the fear of not being good at things and proving people wrong,” APXO said.

“I never want someone to tell me that this new song kind of reminds them of an older one that I did." — APXO

thelinknewspaper.ca

FRINGE ARTS

Miss Chief Eagle Testickle: Her true story in her own words Kent Monkman and Gisèle Gordon’s genre-bending literary debut challenges colonial “truths” Olivia Shan

@youngmiddleold

KENT MONKMAN READING A PASSAGE FROM HIS MEMOIR, DRESSED HAS HIS CHARACTER MISS CHIEF. PHOTO GABRIELLE LAPERRIERE LEBLANC It is no hyperbole to describe Cree artist Kent Monkman as a superstar in the contemporary art world.

Renowned for his large-scale oil paintings which riff on 19th century European art with a bold Indigenous and queer gaze, his towering career has since led him to branch into other mediums, such as video installations and performance art, with his longtime collaborator Gisèle Gordon, a settler writer and artist in her own right.

On Monday, Nov. 20, the Concordia fine arts faculty and Penguin Random House co-hosted the much-anticipated Montreal book launch of Monkman and Gordon’s latest project: The Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle: A True and Exact Accounting of the History of Turtle Island.

The progeny of six years of intense artistic collaboration and historical research, The Memoirs of Miss Chief is a labour of love in every respect. Published into two thelinknewspaper.ca

beautifully produced volumes, it is interspersed with full-colour renderings of Monkman's artwork, spanning his twenty-year career. The book is also infused with many Cree words and expressions, highlighted in red, and a glossary for non-Cree speakers.

As Monkman’s literary debut, The Memoirs of Miss Chief represents an undeniable pivotal point in his long and illustrious career.

No surprise there that, according to Marc Weiser, a lead organizer and supervisor of the strategic initiatives portfolio in the fine arts faculty, the event was completely sold out the day after it had just been announced.

When The Link arrived at the venue, a volunteer manning a table full of Miss Chief copies informed the public that they were already nearly sold out of signed editions. The roomy auditorium of the Bibliothèque nationale was buzzing with fans of Monkman’s work, and their excitement was sincere and palpable.

After a brief introduction to the night’s speakers, a surprise guest was announced: Miss Chief herself—with her bejeweled flair, chunky heels, fuschia-coloured lips, and long, luscious black wig—made a rare and glamorous appearance to a roaring applause from the audience. After an animated reading of some select chapters, she retired backstage, and Monkman soon emerged to discuss his newly-published work along with Gordon and fellow Indigenous artist Skawennati.

Who is Miss Chief Eagle Testickle? More than just a recurring figure in his artwork, Monkman described her as an idea that “embodies Indigenous concepts of gender and sexuality.” Miss Chief, as a time-bending, shape-shifting, genderfluid alter-ego of Monkman, allows the artist to create a striking lived-in persona in his artwork who “looks back at the settler gaze.” Though Miss Chief was first conceived as a figment of satire, this project gave Monk-

man and Gordon the opportunity to shape her into a fully-realized character; one who is deeply involved in Turtle Island’s history— from prehistoric times all the way to the present day—and actively engaged in the histories of both its First Nations and settler peoples.

Her lively narration thus offers readers a “more truthful” reinterpretation of this country’s history.

Miss Chief ’s Memoirs are far from being her swan song. Towards the end of the discussion, Monkman hinted at several future projects which also center around the character, including a cycle of new oil paintings. Now that she has a story of her own, the possibilities are endless, Monkman said.

Attendees Evelyn, a sculpture major, and Chloe, a studio arts major, who had learned about Monkman’s work in their art history courses, expressed how excited and happy they were with the event. “It’s nice to see all of his work compiled like this, because it allows people to retrace his works chronologically. I feel so inspired,” Chloe said.

Evelyn and Chloe were able to attend the event thanks to the fact that it was offered free of charge to all students. Lead organizer Marc Weiser underlined how accessibility was vitally important when organizing the event. “For me, it was all about opening up space

for our students, and particularly for our Indigenous students,” Weiser said.

The Memoirs of Miss Chief, more than just a cumulative achievement in Monkman’s career, asks readers to challenge colonial and eurocentric understandings of “truth,” which often exclude Indigenous perspectives, past and present. When speaking to the book’s timeliness, Weiser said that the fundamental anti-colonial ideas of Monkman’s work may, sadly, always be relevant. “We’re at a time right now, globally, where questions of colonialism and gender identity are not just academic—it’s a matter of life and death. It’s important for that conversation to happen again and again. To hear these ideas we may discuss internally, being talked about by someone like him—It’s a reminder that we need to keep fighting,” Weiser said.

KENT MOMKMAN AND GISÈLE GORDON ANSWERING QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR LATEST FICTIONAL MEMOIRS. PHOTO GABRIELLE LAPERRIERE LEBLANC NOVEMBER 28, 2023 • FRINGE ARTS 11

FRINGE ARTS

“Read”: Bearing Witness (2023) H.K

@undergroundseeding

Read At the sight of trees How mothers broke to breed Earthing dreams from rivers to seas Read How a reverence gets set ablaze Hatred taints Your heart spins and land remembers Our silence is complicit, hearts are faint People game away at human dignity Searching gratification in moral baselines Facts are not accounted for Entire family trees bared witness Bearing the price In the name of the birds in exodus the beings displaced Use your senses, Read Swallow your pride and read beyond the lines At every hemisphere your jugular vein works for release To return the gas you need inwards, gradually, To return your weeps Oxygenize your peace Painting your deeds Helping— To seek a gate 75 years of bad blood Torture “cleansing” In the name of liberty “Most certainly one exceeds all bounds once they think they are self-sufficient Surely to your Rab you will return” (Qur’ān, 96:6-8) Dear beloved, you were allowed to embody so little of this world’s vastness.

You are Seen.

Hold your heart as it beats.

Lift your chins, hold your key.

Feel the ground beneath your feet, Speak and Read, A simultaneous breath.

GRAPHIC MYRIAM OUAZZANI

12 FRINGE ARTS • NOVEMBER 28, 2023

thelinknewspaper.ca

SPORTS

Women’s basketball’s beating heart returns with a flourish Serena Tchida rejuvenates her Stingers team following unfortunate injury Jared Lackman-Mincoff

@jared_lm02

obody thought that one of the second-best scorer at 14 points dependence, she hated needing N most impactful moments of per game. She finished the season help from other people. the 2022-23 Concordia Stingers as the team’s third-best rebounder “Having a handicap, not being women’s basketball season would come in a blowout loss visiting the Laval Rouge et Or in January.

Trailing 60-43 late in the third quarter, Stingers forward Serena Tchida received a pass in tight, and started driving to the rim. She suddenly fell down. She heard a whistle and assumed it was the official calling a foul, feeling as if somebody hit her in the back of the leg—but no one had. Her teammates looked at her, confused as to why she fell so violently. After feeling around behind both of her legs, only two words went through Tchida’s mind: “Oh shit.” “[In] the moment, I was shocked that it happened to me. I was like, ‘It can’t be real,’ but at the same time, I knew what it was,” Tchida said.

Tchida missed the entire second half of the 2022-23 season with a torn Achilles in her left leg.

Averaging just over 29 minutes per game in her second year of eligibility, she was the Stingers’

with 68 boards, despite missing the final eight games. Her incredible breakout season saw an early, uncomfortable end.

“She was just having fun with it and starting to really come into her own,” said head coach Tenicha Gittens.

But Gittens runs a tight ship.

She could not let Tchida spend too much time dwelling on her injury. “As soon as we [went] into the locker room after the game, I said, ‘Okay, you have 24 hours to cry, and then you’ve got to work for your comeback,’” Gittens said.

Tchida took that message to heart. The list of steps she took to make it back to the court was endless: physiotherapy several times a week, workouts, watching what she ate; re-learning how to walk, jog, jump and sprint.

But Tchida’s biggest obstacle during her rehab was the mental aspect of her recovery. As someone who prides herself on in-

SERENA TCHIDA ATTEMPTS A FIELD GOAL. PHOTO ALICE MARTIN thelinknewspaper.ca

able to take your own shower, not being able to cook your own meals because you have crutches, waking up and being hurt and being tired […] it was hard mentally,” she said.

But, to no one’s surprise, the Stingers’ rebound machine could additionally rebound from her injury with flying colours. Her surgery in January 2023 was supposed to keep her off the court until January 2024, meaning she was slated to miss the entire first half of the 202324 season. Yet, she returned to practice in October and has appeared in every game this season, although she is not back to 100 per cent just yet. She still does physiotherapy and listens to her body to ensure that she does not push too hard.

Tchida put in countless hours of effort to work towards her recovery, but she credits her coaches and teammates for her early return, most notably player development coach Shawn Browne.

“He’s like a dad to me,” Tchida said about Browne. “He helped me [with] groceries, coming back home, taking the garbage out, even taking showers. He was my lift to come back to school. He was my mental support.”

The impact that the rest of her teammates and coaching staff had on her recovery is not lost on her, either. She gave a load of credit to Gittens for driving her from Quebec City back to Montreal in a snowstorm to get her to the hospital. Athletic therapist Inderpreet Khela also holds a special place in Tchida’s heart for her ongoing contribution to her recovery, and Tchida could not be happier being back on the court.

“It’s just great being back,” said Tchida, smiling. “I feel more present. I feel more in the moment.

I feel more in shape. I’m not there yet cardio-wise, but physically, I’m [stronger] and more powerful.”

She has been on minute restriction this season, only playing 11 minutes in the season opener, and just over 20 in every game since. Her playing time will likely stagnate until after the winter

SERENA TCHIDA BLOCKS A MCGILL PLAYER’S LAYUP. PHOTO ALICE MARTIN break, when she is scheduled to complete her rehab.

But despite limited playing time, Tchida is still putting up monster numbers. After five games, she is the team’s leading scorer at 14.2 points per game, and she is tied for the team lead in rebounds with 25. To boot, she is accomplishing this while playing 20 minutes per game, just half of regulation time. She is a big contributor to the Stingers’ 3-2 start to the season.

“Just seeing [her rehab] every day, I’m not surprised, with her early return, [and] just how successful she’s been since coming back,” said fifth-year Stinger and teammate Areej Burgonio.

Tchida is in her third year of eligibility, but it’s actually her fifth year with the Stingers. She joined the team in 2019-20, but her eligibility was extended by two years, since she spent her entire first season in rehab for a torn ACL that she suffered in CEGEP, and her second season was cancelled due to the pandemic. She and Burgonio have been teammates for four years, going on five. Gittens said that Tchida is the most senior player on the team after Burgonio and Gretta-Olivia Ineza, another fifth-year player.

All of Tchida’s teammates hold her in very high regard. Throughout her career with the Stingers, she has evolved into a team leader more and more every season.

“She’s kind of like our mom or our big sister,” chuckled Burgonio.

“She’s very responsible. She definitely shows that older sibling, eldest sister tendency, always looking

out for others. She’s very selfless.

Whenever we have a problem, we look to her.”

But Tchida’s impact on her teammates is not only felt off the court. Burgonio believes that the team behaves completely differently in-game when Tchida is available versus when she is out with an injury.

“With her, we’re more on point. She holds us accountable, but most importantly, she holds herself accountable,” said Burgonio. “That, to me, is showing that she’s a leader.”

Tchida’s list of admirers is a long one, and it does not end with her teammates. Even Gittens— who is already known for her powerful leadership behind the bench—can’t help but take a page out of Tchida’s book.

“When I tell you that kid is relentless; she’s one of the most relentless people I’ve ever been around. I learned a lot from her, too,” said Gittens. “She’s somebody that everybody looks up to and listens to. She’s our leader in the locker room, not just on the floor.”

Everyone in the Stingers locker room is proud to see Tchida’s triumphant return to the floor. As for Tchida herself, she is committed to helping the Stingers continue their hot start, and she hopes that her recovery will be a positive message to her teammates.

“I hope it inspires them to never give up and keep working hard,” she said.

NOVEMBER 28, 2023 • SPORTS 13

SPORTS

Alouettes Grey Cup parade takes over Montreal Fans celebrate a long-awaited return to Canadian Football League glory Jared Lackman-Mincoff & Alice Martin The Montreal Alouettes defeated the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 28-24 on Nov. 19 to win the 110th Grey Cup, held in Hamilton, Ont. Management, coaching

@jared_lm02, @_alcmrtn

staff, players, and fans gathered in downtown Montreal on Nov. 22 to celebrate the Alouettes’ first championship in 13 years. It was the second-longest Grey Cup

Championship drought in the CFL. Only the Hamilton TigerCats, who have not won a title since 1999, had gone longer without hoisting the trophy.

The Alouettes left from the corner of Crescent and De Maisonneuve Street in high spirits, helped by an abundance of beer on the bus. Despite cold and muddy weather, a crowd of fans followed the bus diligently all the way to the Quartier des Spectacles. Photo Alice Martin

Linebacker Tyrice Beverette (26) hoists the Grey Cup alongside teammates. During the Grey Cup game, he recorded seven defensive tackles—the second-most on the team behind Sankey—as well as a special teams tackle. Photo Alice Martin

Julien-Grant and running back William Stanback (31) dance to music on stage. Full-back David Dallaire (39) is seen lifting the Grey Cup. Stanback scored his team’s first touchdown of the championship game. Photo Jared Lackman-Mincoff 14 SPORTS • NOVEMBER 28, 2023

Alouettes quarterback Cody Fajardo (7) and receiver Austin Mack (81) greet the crowd on the balcony of Crescent Street pub Sir Winston Churchill in downtown Montreal. Photo Jared Lackman-Mincoff

Receivers Kaion Julien-Grant (11) and Tyson Philpot (6) pose for the picture. Philpot caught the momentous go-ahead touchdown with seconds to play to give the Alouettes a lead they would not relinquish.

He also took home Most Outstanding Canadian honours in the game.

Defensive back Kabion Ento (48) signs a fan’s poster before hopping on the stage. Ento saved his best performance of the season for last, finishing the Grey Cup with two pass break-ups, a forced fumble, and a critical third quarter interception in the endzone. Photo Alice Martin

Receiver Cole Spieker—who caught the penultimate reception— holds the Grey Cup. Spieker caught three passes for 62 yards and a touchdown in the Grey Cup game. Photo Jared Lackman-Mincoff

Linebacker Darnell Sankey (1) takes in the moment as the float travels on De Maisonneuve Street. He led the team in defensive tackles in the Grey Cup with eight, including a sack of Winnipeg quarterback Zach Collaros late in the fourth quarter. Photo Alice Martin

Want to see more snaps from the parade? Scan here for more. thelinknewspaper.ca

SPORTS

The future of hockey protection One month after Adam Johnson’s death, the hockey community reflects on new safety standards Max Moller

@fckyoumax

(LEFT TO RIGHT) BLAKE RICHARDSON, VINCENT NARDONE, CHRISTOPHER INNISS AND KYLE HAVLENA RETURN TO CENTRE ICE. PHOTO CATE GRANSAULL n Oct. 28, Adam Johnson, an ous slams. As he spoke about the O Elite Ice Hockey League play- innate dangers of the game, like er in England, died in what was flying pucks and sharp blades, it deemed a “freak accident” in a press release by his team, the Nottingham Panthers. During a game in Sheffield, he received a skate blade to the throat. His death left his team and the hockey world heartbroken.

Concordia’s hockey community is no exception. Stingers men’s hockey team captain Phélix Martineau was terrified when he found out about the accident. “It’s always scary to see another player hurt [...] We all have families and friends. We don’t want to lose our lives during the game,” he said.

Stingers forward Blake Richardson was shocked and devastated when he heard the news, especially due to his connection with the Nottingham team. “My dad played for them [in the past], so it hit close to home,” he said.

During a drill at practice, men’s hockey head coach Marc-André Elément stood in the centre of the ice, shooting pucks towards players and watching intently as teammates collided with each other into the sideboards with thunderthelinknewspaper.ca

was clear that Elément cares about the team’s well-being.

Elément also felt the accident on a personal level; Nottingham defenceman Carl Neill, a former Stinger, was on the ice when the accident occurred. “This is something that shouldn’t happen,” Elément said. He said that he found out about the accident through social media the day after, and contacted the ex-player to offer support. “I don’t want to go through this,” Elément said, adding that sometimes he feels his players are not protected enough.

Women’s hockey head coach Julie Chu also spoke to the physical nature of the sport. “It’s a fastpaced sport that’s high contact.

We have chances to make body contact that might lead to injury, then sometimes we make the same body contact and nothing happens,” said Chu, adding that despite injuries being a reality in hockey, “it doesn’t mean we don’t have to be safe.”

Chu has spoken with her team in the past about on-ice safety, fo-

cusing on teaching players to pay attention to their surroundings and their own bodies. “Hopefully we can create skills that allow us to play the physical—but safe— way,” she said.

Outside of coaching techniques, much of a player’s level of safety is left in their own hands.

For instance, Martineau wears a full fishbowl face covering, but only after he sustained an injury.

“I got a hockey stick to the eye and I couldn’t see [...] I thought I was gonna lose my eye,” he said.

Although he regained his vision after a few hours, he said it was a frightening experience.

Johnson's death has sparked change within the hockey community, Stingers included.

Richardson recalled that he used to wear a neck guard when he was young, but stopped as he got older. He noted that since Johnson’s death, the team has been especially proactive regarding safety. “Someone even came in and asked what kind of neck guards we wanted,” he said.

Both Martineau and Elément indicated that the team may be wearing neck guards consistently going forward.

Hockey Canada already had mandatory neck guards for minor leagues and women’s leagues, as laid out in their equipment regulations. Two major junior hockey leagues, the Ontario Hockey League and the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League already made them mandatory.

However, several other leagues,

especially in England, have seen changes in regulations following Johnson’s death.

The English Ice Hockey Association announced in a press release that neck guards will be mandatory after Dec. 31, leaving a delay to accommodate “anticipated supply issues.” Until then, players are strongly recommended to wear them.

The British Universities Ice Hockey association also announced on Facebook on Nov. 4 that both mouth and neck guards would be mandatory as of Dec. 1.

Leagues in Canada where neck guards were not already mandatory are now moving in the same direction. The Western Hockey League, a major junior league, announced on social media that neck guards would be mandatory as of Nov. 3.

TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger also reported on social media that Ontario University Athletics, the league in which the Stingers men’s hockey team plays, will be mandating neck guards, but did not specify when the change would go into effect.

Elément mentioned that he thinks the NHL could be implementing neck guards in the future.

Canadiens forwards Brendan Gallagher and Michael Pezzetta were recently seen wearing neck guards at practice, as well as Josh Norris and Claude Giroux from the Ottawa Senators. Elément said that, if the NHL changed their regulations, other leagues would follow suit.

Chu, however, was less confi-

dent that the NHL would change their rules. “I’m not sure if it would ever be mandated,” she said. She pointed out that the NHL predates neck guards by several decades, and that new safety equipment takes a while to be generally accepted.

“With that said,” Chu added, “There were probably people in the past that would not have expected helmets to be mandated.”

She noted that, with or without regulation changes, neck guards are now a part of the continuous dialogue about safety in hockey.

While the hockey community remains shaken by Johnson's death, Chu noted that confidence in the game needs to remain solid and that players must think about the game on the ice.

“For our team, we don’t step on the ice and think, ‘Oh, we’re going to get injured,’ because if we do, I think we actually put ourselves at a greater risk of injury,” said Chu, adding that fear and hesitancy can disrupt the game’s natural flow. “We’re thinking it’s going to be a great game, and [about] the things we love about hockey.”

GABRIEL PROULX BATTLES AGAINST THUNDERWOLVES PLAYERS. PHOTO CATE GRANSAULL NOVEMBER 28, 2023 • SPORTS 15

SPORTS

The PWHL’s jerseys exemplify the league’s many disasters Unfair contract negotiation, poor communication with fans, and erasure of flourishing women’s hockey markets plague the PWHL Catriona Ray

@catrioughna

GRAPHIC MYRIAM OUAZZANI AND MEIJI GRACE ESTRADA n Nov. 14, the Profession- last straw in a series of marketO al Women’s Hockey League ing mishaps the PWHL has been (PWHL) released its jersey de- making since before the league signs for the inaugural season, and they’re disappointing. The colours are bland—there are no team logos to be displayed, not even team names.

The jerseys—although reportedly temporary—represent the

was even established.

The first mishap came last June when I learned that the Premier Hockey Federation (PHF) was being bought by the rival Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA). My first

thought (like a good Minnesotan) was, “Oh my god, my Caps.”

The Whitecaps, Minnesota’s PHF team, had been active in the state since 2004, playing in two different leagues and winning championships in both. They were the longest standing professional women’s hockey franchise in North America, and if I was right about what the PWHPA’s acquisition of the PHF meant, I was about to lose them.

Hours after the PHF was acquired, it became clear that the team and the league I had put so much time and enthusiasm into supporting was gone. What’s worse, PHF players found out about the acquisition via social media at the same time I did.

Players are now faced with a league that voided all PHF contracts entirely when PHF players recently had their minimum contract value raised to $27,000 per year. The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman also reported that PWHPA players were given priority on new PWHL contracts.

Undefeated yet unsatisfied After winning twelve straight games, Stingers explain what factors contribute to their success Alice Martin

@_alcmrtn

he Stingers women’s hock“Our team does their best to versity really easy,” said Lussier.

T ey team is a gem within the really focus on one shift at a time,” “It was also easy for me to come Concordia varsity programs this she said. “It's been a really big part into the team since it’s already so season. Boasting a 12-0-0 record after their last game on Nov. 25 against McGill University, the women’s hockey team is a force to reckon with.

The Stingers are the only undefeated team so far in all of U Sports women’s hockey. While they have been hogging the number one spot in U Sports for two consecutive weeks, they have also consistently ranked in the top two since the start of the season.

Head coach Julie Chu attributed this domination to the team’s ability to break down the season into small manageable chunks.

of why we've been successful and make sure that we don't get ahead of ourselves, because we're still in November and we want to play our best hockey in February.”

Welcoming a class of seven first-year players, Chu said they kept a strong focus on team development throughout the start of the season. First-year forward Émilie Lussier noted she felt seamlessly integrated into the team by veterans, as well as Chu and associate head coach Caroline Ouellette.

“Julie and Caroline made the transition from CEGEP to uni-

16 SPORTS • NOVEMBER 28, 2023

well structured.”

Lussier is already having an exceptional inaugural season with the Stingers, leading the team with eight goals scored, closely followed by third-year forward Émilie Lavoie who recorded seven. So far, the Stingers have tallied 52 goals, the most in the Réseau des sports étudiants du Québec.

Captain and forward Emmy Fecteau explained that their scoring prowess is a result of off-theice chemistry translating to complete passes and positive energy.

“We cheer for the little details.

If someone scores, we cheer, but

Tensions have existed between the PHF and PWHPA ever since it was formed. After the Canadian Women’s Hockey League dissolved, some of its players decided against joining the National Women’s Hockey League (later renamed to PHF), and created the PWHPA. The PWHPA intended to create a professional women’s hockey league in North America by 2024. The issue, however, was the already-flourishing PHF, which by then had attracted fans who wanted an independent league.

The acquisition of the PHF by the PWHPA removed any competition the PWHL might face.

However, former PHF players were suddenly vulnerable to loss of employment and lower wages due to the now-saturated women’s hockey market and higher competition for roster spots. This was the case for Allie Thunstrom, who played for the Whitecaps. After the formation of the PWHL, Thunstrom went from one of Minnesota’s key players to an unsigned free agent, and eventually she was forced to retire.

With the PWHL either terminating or completely rebranding well-established PHF teams, its inaugural season—with no team names, no individual team logos, and no game schedule to speak of—is underwhelming compared to what we once had.

What amuses me in particular from Sept. 18 until Nov. 14, the PWHL was running a campaign where fans could make a $50 deposit to guarantee they would be first in line for tickets to individual games in the 2024 season.

I’ve gotta ask—which games? In which arenas? All of these factors, while temporary, have dealt serious blows to fan enthusiasm.

It's important to note that everything the PWHL has come up with, including team locations, rosters, and branding, has occurred in the last four months.

Jerseys alone usually take upward of a year to finalize, so these designs were likely where the league cut corners, as with team names and logos. Since the PWHPA noted that they had been planning to buy the PHF out for almost a year before they actually did, I can’t help but wonder why they waited so long to start planning these fundamental aspects of the league.

The league is sticking with these jerseys for their inaugural season. But their boring anonymity is making it harder for hockey fans to engage with the league as is traditional: with blind, rabid devotion to their chosen team and its players. This, coupled with a mountain of other marketing and contractual mistakes, is putting a serious strain on professional women’s hockey.

I’m not saying the PWHL can’t be great, or that having a unified professional women’s hockey league isn’t important.

But long-time PHF fans are being driven away from the new league because the origins of the PWHL and its treatment of former PHF players are unconscionable. Let’s not forget the players the PWHL left in the dust and the hockey history they discarded in the name of unity.

also if someone does a big block shot or a nice pass, we cheer for them,” she said, adding that they stay optimistic even between periods where they trail.

But the Stingers are more than an offensive powerhouse. The defence, accompanied by goaltenders Jordyn Verbeek and Arianne Leblanc, has kept opposing teams to only 16 points scored against the Stingers this season—the lowest in the division. Fourth-year defenceman Léonie Philbert said the defence aims to create opportunities for the forward players.

“It’s a style of defence where we attack afterwards,” explained Philbert, who exemplifies this, having recorded eleven assists and one goal. “As for the team’s success, we work hard and no matter our results, every game has to be earned.”

After reaching the U Sports National Championships in 2021 and 2022, winning gold and silver respectively, the bond of the Stingers seems stronger than ever.

While players and coaches cele-

brate their wins, they know each game is a brand-new challenge.

“We’re having a great start, but we aren’t satisfied yet,” said Lussier. “We know there’s a championship at the end, and we are only going to get there by going one step at a time. Right now, we’re having a perfect season, but even if we lose a game, we’re not going to stop there.”

ÉMILIE LUSSIER (FRONT) DRIVES INTO ENEMY TERRITORY BACKED BY ALEXANDRA-ANNE BOYER (BACK). PHOTO ALICE MARTIN thelinknewspaper.ca

OPINIONS

Legault’s failure to protect public transit Quebec’s resistance to fund public transit is detrimental for riders and climate Geneviève Sylvestre

@gen_sylvestre

GRAPHIC OLIVIA SHAN

Bill 31 will mean more impossible choices for Montreal women The housing crisis’ exacerbating effects on women who have experienced abuse Benjamin Lucas

thelinknewspaper.ca

@ben_lucas1917

very day, I leave my apartment $238 million dollars going to the a cost of living crisis, especialE in the freezing cold to queue city of Montreal. That is $35 mil- ly as the quality of services goes up and take a bus, followed by the lion dollars less than what publcis down. And with the news that metro, followed by another bus, or, God forbid, the Concordia shuttle.

The problem: as I approach my bus stop, I notice the line is unusually long on a daily basis.

The bus I was supposed to take is late, as are all the ones after it, which seems to be the new norm.

Instead of a bus passing every five minutes, three to four busses pass every fifteen to twenty minutes, and they are all filled to the brim with passengers.

If this sounds all too familiar, it's not just you. According to data from the Sociéte de Transport de Montréal (STM), around a quarter of all buses are late. On average, only 78.3 per cent of all buses were on time in 2023 so far, and 74.9 per cent were on time in the month of September.

Overall, buses this year are consistently more likely to be late than at the same time in 2022, and the yearly average has not been this low since 2019.

The potential reduction in the STM’s services came after Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault announced that the province’s capital would only fund 20 per cent of the cost of public transit in Montreal. Since this, Guilbault has agreed to cover 70 per cent of the cost, but that is still less than what the city asked for.

Indeed, the ten regional transit agencies had asked for $300 million dollars, but the Quebec government is only offering to pay $265 million dollars, with

transit agencies requested.

The number of people using public transit in the city has not gone back to pre-pandemic levels, a huge blow to the STM budget. Even with the new offer from Guilbault, the STM still has a hole in its budget. If the STM cannot find the money, it will have to cut back on services, although the transit provider claims that it should not impact buses or the metro.

For people who have to take multiple forms of public transit back to back, this tardiness compounds. A few minutes means missing a metro or maybe even the next bus, leading to even more wasted time and an increased risk of being late.

It is true that passengers can always leave earlier, but doing so can add 15 to 20 minutes to one's daily commute, which can add up to two hours every week.

As someone who already spends around three hours commuting to Loyola campus every day, I would much rather spend those two hours sleeping or doing literally anything else besides waiting.

This decrease in quality is especially frustrating considering STM fairs are rising rapidly. The cost of a monthly pass jumped from $94 to $97 in July 2023—a three per cent increase—while single passes jumped from $3.50 to $3.75.

These hikes put additional pressure on commuters amidst

the metro could begin closing at 11 p.m. and start opening at 9 a.m. on weekends, the future is looking bleak for those who rely on public transit.

While these changes are not guaranteed, it is not uncommon for people who work in healthcare or in the service industry to leave or come back from work at that time.These changes could force people to use their car, pay for a taxi or an Uber just to get to work, or quit their job altogether.

Indeed, if people are forced to pay to get to and from work, it might no longer be financially viable to keep that job.

The reliance on cars over public transit also contributes significantly to the climate crisis.

According to the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) environmental plan, Quebec’s transportation sector accounted for 42.8 per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) in 2020, with light vehicles accounting for 60 per cent of those emissions.

Public transit is essential to decreasing GHG emissions, with the STM reporting that public transit in Montreal helps avoid the emission of 2.3 million additional tonnes of greenhouse gases.

If the CAQ governments directed even a small amount of funds into public transit, it could help increase the number of buses on the road, increase the metro’s punctuality and could even lead to it closing later rather than earlier.

Content warning: this article mentions suicide and abuse.

women in a double bind, forcing them to make impossible decisions, and exacerbating it will only put more strain on already scarce resources. Like living in any other city, being in Montreal brings you face-to-face with certain social realities.

Advocates and experts say that lease transfers are one of the mechanisms that keep rent controlled, and in addition, the Coalition Avenir Québec’s (CAQ) bill would allow for the selling off of much-needed social housing. Given that Montreal is the only city in Canada with more renters than owners, this is especially dangerous.

Throughout Canada, the story is the same. There is a simultaneous rising of rents and domestic abuse. Women’s shelters have lost $150M in federal funding and face high staff turnover due to their inability to pay them. One woman, interviewed by the CBC, said, "I can't try to find a job, I can't better myself, I can't be safe if I don't have a home."

What is a woman to do? Some have even attempted suicide to escape this double bind.

This is not hypothetical. The strain of the housing crisis on domestic violence survivors has already been seen as they lose alternatives to living with their abusers. In Montreal, the women’s shelter Chez Doris was forced to shut down temporarily because it could not feed everyone nor did it have the staff to keep up with demand. This drives women to other shelters, putting more strain on them in turn. A conservative estimate places the number of women turned away from Canadian shelters because of a lack of space at 19,000 per month.

Wait lists for social housing in Canada can be a years long wait, and even the (relatively) fortunate women who can find a bed in a shelter may be unable to find a longterm place to go afterwards, leaving them to spend up to a year in the

osters on signposts, recurring P protests down major streets, petitions and newscasts reveal

the outrage of renters against the Legault regime’s proposed end to lease transfers through Bill 31.

The gravity of the situation cannot be overstated: Quebec now stands at a crossroads, with a 44 per cent increase in homelessness in five years and 500 households left without a lease last moving day. The effects of the housing crisis have cascaded across all Canadian society.

Women, who are at an economic disadvantage, are impacted more than most—with single mothers being 38 per cent more likely to spend more than a third of their income on rent. The result of this is that women having experienced abuse have to make a choice: remain with their abusers on whom they depend for housing, or face homelessness.

The housing crisis is putting

continues on p. 18

NOVEMBER 28, 2023 • OPINIONS 17

OPINIONS continued from p. 17 transition homes. At every stage, the housing crisis means abused women are left with no place to go to get away from their abusers.

Stories from women in this situation are stark and display the impossible situations that they face. Women’s experiences include fearing losing custody of their children because they lack a stable home, spending weeks in abusive homes waiting for calls from shelters, or making the decision to return to the men abusing them. Living with their abusers means forfeiting full participation in society, as explored in Kylie Cheung’s book Survivor Injustice, including losing control over their ability to vote, reproductive

GRAPHIC PANOS MICHALAKOPOULOS

system, and too often escalating to losing their life.

The CAQ’s policy makes all this worse. By increasing rent, more people will be made unhoused, and this will put even more strain on the shelters that are available now. More women will be unable to leave their abusers. This comes in the aftermath of a rising tide of domestic abuse, just one sordid result of Legault’s COVID policy.

Perhaps all of this is easy for Legault to ignore, but it is impossible for women who have become ensnared in it. If the state fails to provide alternatives, it is complicit in this abuse. Legault should obey the will of Montreal renters and rescind Bill 31 immediately.

On being a teenage girl in her twenties TikTok’s newest catchphrases explore reverting back to girlhood as a form of escapism from adult responsibilities Geneviève Sylvestre

@gen_sylvestre

ll over the internet, women adult responsibilities, I can confi- hood I didn’t know I needed.

A are posting videos of them- dently say that I am much happier This is not to say that there is selves indulging in their child- than I was back then. no valid criticism of the lazy and hood favourites whilst refusing to partake in all traditional adult responsibilities.

With nostalgia being one of the biggest selling points of the moment, I get to experience seeing many of the pop-culture phenomenons I grew up with beat the height of their popularity. From Taylor Swift and Beyoncé’s sold-out tours, to the return of the Tumblr aesthetic and the Hunger Games being back in theatres—which is a big one for me—I get to experience all the things I loved as a kid, this time with a little bit more money and a lot more freedom.

I often feel my teens passed me by, marked only by the lowest moments of my life and by a desperate scramble for the approval of others that I couldn’t give myself.

My teen years were largely spent between the four dirty white walls of my therapist’s office and struggling with an anxiety disorder. When my friends went out, I stayed cooped-up inside with the lights off and the curtains closed, listening to sad music, and doom-scrolling endlessly.

Due to this, it does strike me as bizarre how much I yearn for that time. Despite the fact that I am now struggling with bills and

I have noticed my uniquely pointed ability to put on my rose-coloured glasses when looking back at my life. But then again, finding joy in the things that were once my only source of light isn't entirely out of the ordinary.

Besides, the traditional post-university path of financial stability, marriage, kids, and property ownership is becoming increasingly less plausible and looking to the future can be quite terrifying.

The odds that I get a stable job right out of university like my parents did are slim, and following in their footsteps feels more like a hazy dream than a tangible reality. Why not fully embrace this time of uncertainty by unabashedly relishing in the things that bring me joy? Not doing so won’t bring me any closer to a 401k.

The yearning for a time past is made ever so easier by the constant rebooting, repackaging and republicizing of every semi-profitable piece of media of the past decade. Staying up until midnight waiting for the re-release of 1989, the album that got me through high school, and watching the Barbie movie dressed in pink surrounded by my closest girlfriends felt healing to a part of my girl-

18 OPINIONS • NOVEMBER 28, 2023

overdone nostalgia marketing that led to countless lazy live-action remakes of classic movies and one too many superhero blockbusters. There is undoubtedly a lack of willingness to invest in young and diverse talent and creativity and an overreliance on a dated formula, leading to unoriginal films with an overall lower quality.

However, seeing Greta Gerwig being embraced when I grew up seeing other talented female directors, like Sophia Coppola, be berated for their unapologetic femininity gives me hope for the future of storytelling and women’s place in it.

There is still so much further to go, especially in terms of diversity, and I hope that the media’s depiction of girlhood steps away from how overwhelmingly white it has been and continues to be. Everyone deserves to feel their girlhood represented and heal the part of themselves they believed they left behind when they walked at their high school graduation.

THE RESURGENCE OF GIRLHOOD AS A CULTURAL PHENOMENA CAN BE FELT ON SOCIAL MEDIA LIKE TIKTOK. COURTSEY SERENITY MELVIN

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EDITORIAL

GRAPHIC ZACHARY FORTIER

Power to the public sector uardian angels” is how Que- salary of a “regular teacher” has (or more) occupancy. Nearly 14,000 Previous strikes by various amounts to hundreds of thousands “G bec Premier François Le- increased 15.6 per cent over eight patients have been waiting for vari- unions have led the government of dollars for travel and “transigault described healthcare workers in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. We heard similar sentiments towards teachers who made sure children were being educated, both online and eventually in-person, often putting their health at risk by doing so.

Now, these “guardian angels” are all without contracts and going on strike because the Coalition Avenir Quebec is failing to fairly compensate them for their work.

Teachers in Quebec remain the lowest paid across Canada, even if they’ve been working in the profession for over a decade. According to the latest salary-scale, released by the Quebec Provincial Association of Teachers, the base

Volume 44, Issue 7 Tuesday, November 28, 2023 Concordia University Library Building, Room LB-717 1400 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W. Montreal, Quebec H3G 2V8 Editor: 514-848-2424 x. 7407 Arts: 514-848-2424 x. 5813 News: 514-848-2424 x. 8682 Business: 514-848-7406 Advertising: 514-848-7406

years, from $39,291 in 2014-2015 to $46,527 today.

This pales in comparison to the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) who was recently offered—and rejected—a 21 per cent increase over five years. On their website, the SQ 2021 starting salary is $48,386, which rises to $84,366 after five years. The SQ also increases the salary of officers every six months for the first three years, and every year after the fourth year.

Many nurses, who often have to deal with insufficient staffing and lack of beds, have reportedly been sleeping at the hospital between double or triple shifts.

At any given time, Montreal hospitals are at 80 to 200 per cent

ous surgeries for over a year, including over 4,000 in the Montreal area.

An estimated 450 further delays are caused every day, that healthcare workers are on strike.

In the last few years, broken promises have led to growing anger. This includes the promise of bonuses to people to work in the healthcare system being cut, and a Quebec tribunal ordering nurses to stop threatening mass resignations.

Quebec has more than enough talent and money to be able to fill vacancies and properly compensate those who take on the exhausting work most often performed by women, particularly immigrant women of colour.

enacting “back to work” legislation, and then continuing to shaft the people who were deemed heroes globally just under four years ago.

Back in 2021, Legault said "We've reached the capacity of what we can pay. So when some union leaders say 'We want more money,' well, we don't have any more money," adding that he had “been patient” with the unions for the previous year. The truth is that our essential “guardian angels” have been patient with you, Frank.

If the National Assembly is looking for extra funding, they can rescind the $30,000 salary increase they gave themselves in June 2023, or one of the other benefits that

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Corrections for Vol. 44, Issue 6: In the article “Best Buddies Concordia: Building special bonds” p/6, the original subhed of the article assumed the volunteers were fostering friendships with students with disabilities. However, the Club aims to foster friendships between volunteers and anyone with disabilities. The subhed was corrected online to clarify this difference. The Link regrets this error.

tion” allowances when they get voted out or leave politics.

If any of these politicians gave half a fuck about any of the roughly 570,000 striking workers, they would cap their own salary increases to match that of the lowest public sector employees.

The Link stands firm in its support of the Fédération interprofessionnelle de la santé, The Fédération autonome de l’enseignement, the Common Front, and all labour unions. We applaud the fight to ensure members are paid more than the subsistence wage and given protections from the abysmal working conditions far too many are subject to.

Editor-in-Chief ZACHARY FORTIER Managing Editor AUTUMN DAREY Coordinating Editor ANTHONY ISSA Creative Director MEIJI GRACE ESTRADA Co-News Editors MARIA CHOLAKOVA INESS RIFAY

Features Editor HANNAH VOGAN Outreach Coordinator PANOS MICHALAKOPOULOS Fringe Arts Editor GABRIELLE LAPERRIÈRE-LEBLANC Sports Editor ALICE MARTIN Opinions Editor OPEN Photo Editor DOROTHY MOMBRUN Video Editor DANA HACHWA Graphics Editor MYRIAM OUAZZANI Copy Editor CONOR TOMALTY Operations Manager ADAM GIBBARD Systems Administrator SHREYA SAVANT Bookkeeper MIKE TALAMANTES Distribution GUY LANDRY

In the article “Concordia Students' Nightline hopes to adapt and expand,” The Link misspelled Brooks Reid-Constantin's name. The Link regrets this error.

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NOVEMBER 28, 2023 • EDITORIAL 19