It's Back To School time and the strike has been ended since months, but the trials of the arrested strikers are just beginning... This article published in May by COBP is a report of the repression of the strike and calls for support for the people who now face charges in the courts.

We have just lived the largest general student strike in the history of Quebec, affecting more than 200 000 students. Some only wanted back the 103 million dollars cut on March 30, 2004 in bursaries, and others wanted the complete elimination of school fees. Between February 24th and April 14th, demonstrations, occupations and other actions took place almost everyday. The anti-riot squad were mobilized in response, getting overtime at double pay, to repress any action which exceeded the symbolic framework of the system, and which would disturb the economic or social order. The police force used almost all the means to subdue the most radical fringe of the movement: monitoring, intimidation, threats, blows from their billyclubs, shields, fists, feet, pepperspray, etc. This is COBP`s brief report on the police repression done during the strike. The repression of the student movement did not start with the strike of 2005. Briefly let`s remember that: the SQ wounded a student by firing teargas in his face before the Parliament in February 2004; two students were punched and stopped on October 14, 2004; 191 people were encircled and received tickets on November 19, 2004 during the congress of the Liberal Party of Quebec in Montreal; 6 students were arrested in Jonquière in January 2005; On February 15th 6 people were arrested in Ville Saguenay for occupying the office of Liberal MP Francoise Gauthier; the following day, the students were gased and received billyclub blows after having smashed the caucus door of the PLQ in Castle Montebello, the results: 7 arrested, 17 wounded students (one of them was even pushed through a window by the bodyguard of Charest!), as well as ten bodyguards.
The unlimited general strike started on February 24th. Two days later, the Minister of Education, Baker asked the students to return to school. We wont make you wonder what was their reply... On March 8th, strikers who occupied the office of Baker in Montreal were detained, i.d., then let go. The following day, 10 people were arrested for occupying the office of Baker in Châteauguay, as well as another 3 people in the support demo outside, and in front of the police station. They were charged with "mischief", "trespassing ", "obstruction"and "assault with a weapon" (for a snowball launched on Yannick, the police officer of Châteauguay who was on the show Love Story...). After this action (and its repression), Fournier broke off dialogue with the spokespeople of CASSEE under the pretext that they refused to dissociate from the "violent faction" of their members. (the government, of course, was never to dissociate from the violence done by the police officers...) During the night of the 10th to 11th of March, at the request of the administration, the anti-riot squad returned to UQAM and arrested 48 students in the student association building, including people who were there for an evening of improv, and even those who work at the coffee shop, Aquin Coffee! All were i.d’d, photographed and were charged with "mischief" and "illegal assembly" (the charges were withdrawn in May). On March 16th, Fournier proposed 40$ million for the students, a ridiculous offer which did not do anything to calm the situation. On March 17th, 4 people were arrested and the police force gave 84 tickets to St-Jerome CEGEP and highschool students demonstrating. On March 21st, the police brutally dispersed a strike picket in front of the CEGEP of St-Jerome, arresting a person, and leaving a score of casualties of violence. On March 18th, strikers blocked the Pont de la Concorde, which leads to the Casino, for several hours. The police tried to intimidate them (a police officer took out his pepperspray, made orders to disperse...), lying by saying that there was a sick woman who needed to get through, but the students ended up voluntarily leaving the bridge, more because of the cold than of the police force! On March 21st, CASSEE announced "an economic" disturbance campaign to pressure the government. The same day, the bridge of the Casino was again blocked for a few hours, and the strikers dispersed themselves. On March 22nd, the students blocked an entry of the Port of Montreal during several hours, then they went to the metro. The anti-riot squad continued to follow them and brutally arrested 5 people not far from the metro. March 23rd was a big day: 5 students are arrested in Sherbrooke and are charged with vandalizing the office of Gagnon-Tremblay; 3 people are arrested in Gatineau during a secondary school demonstration; a score of strikers are arrested while occupying the offices of the Council of Employers in Montreal, the anti-riot squad violently entered the crowd to release the door of entry, people are targeted and arrested by 12 police officers for support work in the demo. In the police car, he heard them say “we did the kidnapping, where do we deliver the package?