Demos

A couple hundred people gathered yesterday evening at Place Valois in Hochelaga for the 20th annual edition of the Demonstration Against Police Brutality, organized by the Collective Opposed to Police Brutality (COBP). It was the day after the largest snowstorm of the year in Montreal, and the mounds of snow lining the streets meant obstacles for both demonstrators and the cops. Refusing the protest framework demanding less brutal police, we carried with us the memory of March fifteenths past and their legacy of anti-police revolt. Also, rocks. ...

Unexpectedly and for the first time in many years, far-right groups were able to march in Montreal. We didn’t think fascist groups could mobilize as they did, after the crushing defeats of the Pegida demos in 2015 where 4 or 5 lost aunts and uncles were countered by 500 protestors. The day started around 11am with a gathering of far-right groups at Place Émilie-Gamelin. Defending freedom of expression was their pretext for spewing their hatred of Muslims. The rally consisted of about 150 people, with numerous flags of “La Meute” [“The Pack”, as in “wolfpack”] as well as some Quebec flags. A small group of Maoists tried to block them from the start, but the cops quickly stepped in to push them away and clear the street for the fascists. ...

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From Toute détention est politique For the fifth consecutive year, a noise demo was held in front of the detention centers in Laval to wish prisoners a happy new year and show them our solidarity. The group of about 60 people accompanied by musical instruments and fireworks gathered in front of Leclerc penitentiary, the Immigration Center, the transitional residences B16 and the Federal Training Center (FTC). The rally was also an opportunity to remember Arash Aslani, a former detainee at the Immigration Detention Center who died this year. He began a hunger strike in 2005, which led to his release after almost a month. He since continued to be involved in struggles for migrants (To know more, click here ). The migrants’ detention conditions in Canada are particularly alarming, often being held for indefinite periods without charges or trials. It should also be mentioned that at least two migrants died during their detention in these centers this year. ...

We started our night off at the Niagara Detention Centre – an institution known for extreme overcrowding, inmate suicide, and hunger striking migrants. In the pouring rain, a crowd of 35 people gathered and marched along the perimeter of the prison. A full marching band in balaclavas played, while others set off fireworks and chanted. A handful of screws tried rushing us off the property but were met with insults and disregard as we finished our loop and left without incident. ...

After having participated in what was called as a demo against the police in Hochelaga on Thursday April 14th, we had the urge to share some reflections outside of our living rooms (towards yours perhaps?). First off, we were fucking excited to see a flyer circulate that was calling for a neighborhood demo in Hochelag’. We want to be able to participate in moments of struggle in the neighborhood and not only downtown and/or in demos called on Facebook. ...

For the 9th year in a row an autonomous coalition of anti-capitalists invade the streets of Montreal to celebrate people’s struggles.

A demonstration of around 30 masked people took the streets of Hochelaga on the night of Thursday, April 14. Police were attacked with fireworks and molotovs. There were no arrests.

Before and after these three demos, we were able to follow the unfolding of conversations - those that happened between friends as much as those we heard by chance in bars, living rooms and in the street - the furtive or noisy course of a feeling that seemed to be shared by many people: a feeling of emptiness. After the 200 person black bloc, after the broken windows, we heard “what else?” insistently. To the point where, when we asked friends if they were going to the third demo on December 18th, the majority answered that they had other things to do, like having dinner at a friend’s house. ...

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On the night of Wednesday December 9, a demonstration against austerity took the streets of Montreal, under the banner “Our Struggle Is Not Negotiable“. Québec’s public sector had held a general strike earlier the same day, and some union leaders have been supporting mobilizations on a scale not seen for decades in an effort to increase their bargaining power. The callout read: We won’t let ourselves be pacified by a sell-out agreement or by a special law. To the front: our struggle is non-negotiable, we won’t back down. The night of December 9th, let’s retake the street. Let’s warm the city with our footsteps and our shouts! ...