Translating the printemps érable
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For more useful English-language sources on the conflict, see:
CUTV - broadcasting live from the protests nightly
Rouge Squad - Tactical Translation Team
Rabble.ca's Maple Spring Coverage
Jessica Nadeau July 24, 2012
Original French text: http://www.ledevoir.com/societe/education/355233/pas-de-sursis-en-attendant-le-debat-sur-la-loi-speciale
The court of appeal rejects Juripop’s request
The court has refused an appeal from Juripop, a legal organization representing student associations, regarding the judgment that refused the suspension of certain of articles contained in bill 78. We will have to wait for a hearing on the substantive issues involved to determine if the law is valid or not.
“It’s only a partial surrender,” says the president of the Federation of Quebec college students (FECQ), Eliane Laberge.
“We know that our chances with this request for an injunction were not great,” says Felix-Antoine Michaud of Juripop, “But since the petition on the substantive issues won’t be heard before December at the earliest, we have nothing to lose.”
Dave L. May 2, 2012
Original French text: http://www.ameriquebec.net/actualites/2012/05/02/greve-etudiante-lindependance-du-juge-en-chef-francois-rolland-remise-en-question-8776.qc
The case of a judge who steps over the mandate for independence and impartiality that he himself had set.
The Chief Justice of the Québec Superior Court just committed a gaffe… Indeed, he who just a few months ago said that “a judge cannot, because of his obligation to be impartial, participate in public debate”, now states that Justice Minister Jean-Marc Fournier must intervene to support the injunctions ordering students back to the classroom. What happens when the lines blur between the judiciary, the executive and the legislative?
Renart Léveillé (editor, Le Globe) June 27 2012
Original French Text: http://leglobe.ca/blog/2012/06/loi-78-les-etudiants-grevistes-deboutes-par-un-juge-ayant-un-prejuge-defavorable-envers-eux/
Sad to say, the student federations lost the first round of their court challenge to Bill 78.
Justice François Rolland of the Québec Superior Court agreed with the government’s position on the request by the student federations for an emergency injunction. They had requested that the law be suspended until the court was able to give the case a full hearing.
But here’s the rub, the same judge (he is Chief Justice of the Superior Court) suggested in early May that students who are requesting injunctions to resume their classes should call on Québec’s Sollicitor General for help. The article in La Presse shows clearly that the man who is supposed to be neutral took a strong stand in the debate. Isn’t that odd, for someone in such an important position?
June 18, 2012
Original French Text: http://www.radio-canada.ca/nouvelles/Politique/2012/06/18/003-loi-78-onu.shtml
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, at the opening of the 20th Special Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.
After having expressed its concerns last month, the United Nations has once again criticized the adoption by the National Assembly of Québec of Special Law 78 and its strict restraint on the right to demonstrate.
“Moves to restrict freedom of assembly in many parts of the world are alarming,” declared the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, at the opening of the 20th Special Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, on Monday morning.
Pierre Saint-Arnaud June 12, 2012
Original French Text: http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/quebec-canada/justice-et-faits-divers/201206/12/01-4534002-la-loi-78-est-contestee-en-cour-superieure.php
On Tuesday, student associations have begun to elaborate their legal arguments to the opening of the hearings of the Superior Court of Quebec, which examines the first of two motions which aim is to ultimately overturn Bill 78, adopted on May 18.
This first motion, supported by 70 trade unions, social, environmental and community organisms, is a request for a stay of execution in order to suspend the application of certain provisions of the law, until courts study the issue thoroughly.
“If a year later, this law is found to be unconstitutional, there are people who will have been arrested and convicted while the law is unconstitutional. That’s the reason for the stay of execution request” explained Giuseppe Sciortino, lawyer for the Association pour une solidarité syndicale étudiante (ASSÉ), during a break in hearings.
Tommy Chouinard and Paul Journet June 12, 2012
Controversial poster art by music group Mise en Demeure, published on cover of today’s Journal de Montréal.
Original French text: http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/quebec-canada/politique-quebecoise/201206/12/01-4534219-khadir-envisage-de-poursuivre-le-journal-de-montreal.php
The deputy leader of Quebec Solidaire, Amir Khadir, will likely take legal action against the Journal de Montréal and the Journal de Québec for headlines in today’s editions.
The front pages of both dailies featured the headline, “Khadir Armed, Charest Dead” («Khadir armé, Charest mort»,). A subtitle specified that a “troubling image” had been found at the Mercier MNA’s home during a police search of his residence last Thursday. The front page image is a of poster inspired by the famous painting, “Liberty Guiding the People,” by Eugène Delacroix. In the altered version of the painting featured in the papers, Amir Khadir’s head has been photo-shopped onto the body of a revolutionary fighter, and Premier Jean Charest’s head has been photo-shopped onto the body of a man lying on the ground.
Lisa-Marie Gervais May 26, 2012
Original French Text: http://www.ledevoir.com/societe/education/350993/la-loi-78-est-contestee-devant-les-tribunaux
One week after it was adopted, the Charest government’s loi spécial (special law) is before the courts. The student organizations, in conjunction with unions, professors and community organizations, have filed two applications, the first to suspend Law 78 as soon as possible, and the second to contest the law under the Canadian and Quebec Charters of Rights and Freedoms.
Daphné Cameron and David Santerre May 28, 2012
Original French Text: http://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/dossiers/conflit-etudiant/201205/28/01-4529429-des-centaines-de-juristes-en-toge-manifestent-contre-la-loi-78.php
Photo Credit: André Pichette, La Presse
(Montreal) About 500 lawyers dressed in their robes are currently demonstrating in downtown Montreal against Bill 78, which they believe seriously jeopardizes rights and freedoms.
Original French Text: http://www.faitsetcauses.com/2012/05/27/marche-silencieuse-des-juristes-toges-a-lappui/
PRESS RELEASE
Subject: silent march of the “robed lawyers in support”
We are a spontaneous group of lawyers in support of the contestation of Law 78.
We will meet at the Palais de justice in Montreal, Monday May 28 2012 at 6:30PM for a silent walk up to Parc Émilie-Gamelin. We will be donning our finest apparel in order to recall the inherent dignity of our professions and of our justice system founded on the primacy of the law and of the respect of fundamental freedoms.
Our walk has the purpose of expressing our dismay in light of the passing of a special law that we believe constitutes a disproportionate attack on our freedom of expression, of association, and of peaceful protest. We equally wish to demonstrate our concern regarding the (predictable) loss of confidence of a growing number of citizens in our judicial institutions following the passing of this law.
by Maxence Knepper May 22nd, 2012
Original French text: http://journalmetro.com/actualites/national/77523/requete-en-nullite-deposee-par-les-etudiants/
Although on Tuesday the Minister of Public Safety defended Law 78’s compliance with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the student federations are preparing to submit a request to nullify this same law in front of tribunals.
“The Juripop judicial clinic received over 500 résumés from lawyers who want to work on this case,” confirmed Léo Bureau-Blouin, president of the Federation of College Students of Québec (FECQ). “Of course, they won’t all be able to collaborate with us, but it shows a real uneasiness among the members of this profession.”
“This is a law which contains discretionary measures and cannot be applied other than arbitrarily,” stated Marc-Antoine Cloutier, president of the Juripop judicial clinic, who believes that Law 78 is unconstitutional.
The University Federation of Québec (FEUQ) and FECQ have decided to submit this request before Friday.
More than 170 000 people have already signed the petition in support of this judicial challenge. The petition has been incredibly successful on social networks where it circulated widely last weekend.
The project does have some risks associated with it, however. This type of request is not always validated by judicial authorities. Of 50 nullification requests submitted recently in the province, only nine received a favourable recommendation. “In the judicial world, one can never know in advance what the repercussions of an action will be, but we will work as hard as we can,” concluded Bureau-Blouin.
In the meantime, the federations are counting on the fact that this law doesn’t prohibit organizing protests if they are declared ahead of time.
Translated from the original French by Translating the printemps érable.
*Translating the printemps érable is a volunteer collective attempting to balance the English media’s extremely poor coverage of the student conflict in Québec by translating media that has been published in French into English. These are amateur translations; we have done our best to translate these pieces fairly and coherently, but the final texts may still leave something to be desired. If you find any important errors in any of these texts, we would be very grateful if you would share them with us at translatingtheprintempsderable@gmail.com. Please read and distribute these texts in the spirit in which they were intended; that of solidarity and the sharing of information.
