(Quebec) The Legault government is calling for calm after the scuffle at Concordia University, which left three people injured on Wednesday, in the context of a tense climate of the war between Hamas and Israel.
“The situation is very, very worrying. Even disturbing, I would tell you,” argued Thursday the Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry. “The video clips were shared with me [mercredi]. I even communicated with the rector of Concordia Graham Carr who, obviously, took the situation very, very seriously. We saw the escalation of violence that there was,” she added.
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Pascale Déry
She and her colleague from Public Security, François Bonnardel, also sent a letter to the heads of university and college education establishments to request their “collaboration in order to maintain calm in higher education establishments” in the in the wake of the conflict “which is currently raging in the Middle East and whose consequences are being felt as much in Quebec as elsewhere in the world”.
“My colleague and I asked for a certain call for calm and also to ensure that the places where these people want to demonstrate are well secured. So, we expect rectors to ensure the safety of students,” explained Minister Bonnardel. The latter added that the City of Montreal Police Department was monitoring the situation closely.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
François Bonnardel
On Wednesday, a quarrel broke out between students at Concordia University. According to the Advisory Center for Jewish and Israeli Relations (CIJA), demonstrators opposed a group of Jewish students who had placed posters of Israelis taken hostage by Hamas on October 7 on a table. Protesters allegedly used an offensive term to refer to Jews, according to CIJA.
It all took place at a pavilion at the corner of De Maisonneuve Boulevard and Mackay Street. Sarah Shamy, a representative of the Palestinian Youth Movement met on site by CBC, affirmed that it was rather a fundraising table for Palestine which was attacked by pro-Israel demonstrators, and that other demonstrators, pro-Palestinian, subsequently got involved.
Two Jewish schools were also targeted by gunfire last night in Montreal, in a context of growing tensions linked to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Student Safety
The Minister responsible for the Fight against Racism, Christopher Skeete, seemed particularly shaken Thursday when he arrived at the CAQ caucus. “I’m a Concordia graduate, it breaks my heart,” he said. “What I would like to say to people today is: let’s calm down. It is possible in Quebec to have constructive and open dialogues. I would also say that there is zero tolerance of violence in Quebec. »
PHOTO PATRICK SANFAÇON, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Christopher Skeete
If there are people who want to file a complaint because they feel like victims, the police are there, the DPCP is there, and we don’t have to be afraid in Quebec.
Christopher Skeete, Minister responsible for the Fight against Racism
Minister Déry affirmed that students are afraid to return to campuses in the context of current tensions. “There is still a strong mobilization today on different campuses and we will obviously ensure that it happens calmly, without overflowing. We will not tolerate any form of intimidation, any form of incitement to hatred, the excesses that we saw yesterday, we do not like that at all,” she said.
Elected officials in the Legault government have been cautious about the rise in anti-Semitism and Islamophobia. “We are on a line that is very, very thin. Very, very thin. You have to be careful about what you say and what you do. The right to demonstrate is governed by our laws,” said Mr. Bonnardel.
“We are seeing this, this is not new, we have been seeing an increase in anti-Semitism for several months, then even several years. This is not acceptable,” said Mr. Skeete.
With Mathieu Perreault