Quote of the week:

"This is not a question of free speech, but of our ability to ensure security." - Concordia vice-president Michael Di Grappa, on cancelling a planned appearance by former Israeli PM Ehud Barak, in Tuesday's Gazette.

McGill food fight

Like airline food, university cafeterias rarely have a strong and loyal following among the discerning gourmands they serve. And while McGill university students may not be looking for cordon bleu offerings on campus, they are looking for a little diversity. They fear that Chartwells, an international food services corporation, is taking up too much space on campus and squeezing out the smaller mom 'n' pop restaurants and cafés. And they have more grievances still, as outlined in a letter signed by over 20 student executives sent to McGill administration two weeks ago. The Coalition for Action on Food Services (CAFS) is giving McGill until Friday, Oct. 8 to meet with them to discuss, among other things promised last March, the creation of a food services committee.

If the administration doesn't meet with CAFS, says Celia Kutz, the coordinator of McGill's Organic Food Cooperative, "Things will escalate pretty quickly. There is a potential for campus mayhem."

That probably doesn't mean shattered windows and office occupations, but more likely petitions and free food giveaways like one held last March. "We fed over 3,000 students for free, and the action was supported by the Student Society of McGill University," Kutz says. She believes that the action resulted in a decrease in sales for Chartwells' cafeterias that day. But for all the bluster, she does hope the situation can be solved amicably.

McGill's director for ancillary services, which handles campus food issues, did not return calls for comment by presstime. » Patrick Lejtenyi

Thanksgiving with guilt

On Monday, October 11, the majority of Canadians will be sitting down with friends and family to gorge themselves on turkey and stuffing and gravy, not thinking much beyond their expanding waistlines. But over at the Frigo Vert, Concordia's non-profit food co-op, the emphasis will be on the origins of our autumn holiday, and specifically how European colonizers screwed First Nations out of their land, herded them onto reserves and screwed them some more for generations. To commemorate and observe this not-so-glorious aspect of North American history, they'll be screening Alcatraz Is Not an Island, a documentary about the 19-month-long occupation of the island starting in 1969 by members and families of the American Indian Movement, as part of the Frigo Vert's second annual Anti-Colonial Thanksgiving Celebration.

The film will accompany a vegan dinner, a guest speaker from Kanesatake and a discussion on the darker side of Canada's colonial past and present. The discussion will include references to modern-day resistance to government incursion into First Nation's sovereignty, with the Kanesatake experience centre stage. "It's important for us to mark this because Thanksgiving is a colonial holiday that marks the settlement by European colonizers and conquerors," says the Frigo Vert's Trish MacIntosh. She says being political is an important part of the Frigo Vert's mandate. "For us, food is connected to everything, including the ability to be self-determinate."

The event takes place on Thursday, Oct. 7, at 2149 Mackay, from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., free. » Patrick Lejtenyi

Rotrand threatens to quit

Montreal's longest-serving elected city official has threatened to walk if a slate-style electoral system that would untie councillors from specific electoral districts gets implemented at city hall. "I don't think I'd run in a situation where I'm going to be nobody's city councillor because I'm everybody's city councillor," says Marvin Rotrand, who has served on council since upsetting political legend Gerry Snyder in Snowdon 1982.

Rotrand, who has since regularly scored landslide victories in his district, says that having borough voters choose "five names off a list," rather than their own individual councillor, would make it harder for idealistic, less-well-funded candidates to get voted in. "It would seem that the scenario is set up for the big-money parties. The only city in Canada that has something equivalent is Vancouver. Experience shows that it favours the real estate industry. It's caused them all sorts of problems and they're having a referendum October 16 where it's widely believed that it's going to be scrapped in favour of a return to electoral districts."

Rotrand, who serves on the ruling city administration, says his party's fellow lefties, like Michel Prescott and Helen Fotopulos, are at odds with their own party on the proposal, which Mayor Gérald Tremblay says will go to free vote before the end of the year. Even if approved by council, the provincial government then has to green light it.

But Rotrand ain't pulling on his these-boots-are-made-for-walking footwear quite yet. "Once the message gets out about how this proposal will lessen democracy and public debate, it'll melt like snow in spring." » Kristian Gravenor

REAR-VIEW MIRROR

15 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK
Oct. 6–Oct. 12, 1989

On the cover: Parisian punk duo/travelling carnival Bérurier Noir, playing their farewell shows in Montreal. Guitarist Loran says the duo's approach to music was a conscious, deliberate break from the French pop industry. "We started playing in alternative places like squats, which helped launch the squatting movement," he says. "So people started opening squats to have places for shows. That encouraged a lot of young people to form groups, which allowed labels to get organized."

• The Page 3 photo shows three "former Overdale residents marking the anniversary of their homes' destruction." Heidi Hollinger took the picture.

• "I think a lot of ideas in my films refer to the way a painter performs," says British director Peter Greenaway, discussing his Drowning by Numbers. "I've always tried to get that more contemplative approach into cinema. I know that some people find it extremely boring and irritating, but it's important."

• The Mirror's Art Directory lists 59 galleries and museums, emphasizing those displaying "local, contemporary original art."

Angel >> More wind power The government of Quebec announced a deal on Monday that will generate enough power to supply electricity to 200,000 homes, all generated by wind. Total investment in the project is expected to be around $2-billion, with the bulk of it coming from private companies, including General Electric. GE will supply up to 660 turbines for eight projects across the province, although Premier Jean Charest says the award is not compensation for the almost-dead Suroît gas-fired power plant. Some experts have expressed reservations about using private interests to generate electricity - but this kind of large-scale investment is adding legitimacy to a clean power source that hasn't been developed enough.
Insect >> Canada's tolerance for abuse Amnesty International is spanking Canada with a new report issued this week, saying the country turns a blinkered eye towards the abuse or murder of native women. Based on interviews with relatives of dead or missing women and with law enforcement officials, and looking at Justice Department statistics, the report lists complaints by community members that police act too slowly to respond to crimes and do not do enough to protect native women and girls. Most of the complaints originate in the Western provinces, but country-wide, young native women are five times more likely to die from violence than non-native women, Amnesty says.