Broke camp

Spending the summer sleeping outsideis a different kind of activism for CEGEP students worried about fee hikes

TENTS AGAINST TUITION: Léo Bureau-Blouin
Photo by SHARON DAVIES

With tuition rising fast in Quebec, you might have to forget about that second degree in pornographic cyber-feminism. Or you could follow the example of some determined CEGEP students from the Fédération étudiante collégiale du Québec (FECQ) who, after a year of protesting and petitioning for lower tuition, have decided to spend the summer camping outside the Minister of Edu­cation’s office.

Camper and current FECQ President Léo Bureau-Blouin says the issue is important to CEGEP students because they get hit the worst by the increase.

“In the last budget, the Minister of Finance said he wanted to see tuition increase by 75 per cent over the next five years. For those already in university, the increases are gradual. But we’ll feel them all at once,” he says. “When you increase tuition suddenly, there’s an automatic drop in students who come from regions that are far away, or from poor neighbourhoods or whose par­ents didn’t go to university.”

The group set up camp across the street from the Minister’s office at 600 Fullum, near the Jacques Cartier bridge, on May 20 and will remain there until the end of August. The campsite consists of three tents: one that’s used for meetings and preparing materials, another for supplies and a larger tent for those who stay the night. The site is decorated with flags of the association and banners demanding a tuition freeze. Despite being close to the highway, it boasts an impressive view of the bridge and the river, and the tempting outline of the rollercoasters across the water at La Ronde.

“It’s a different way to spend the summer as an activist,” says Bureau-Blouin. “A lot of people ask us, ‘How can you camp downtown in Montreal?’ Let’s just say it’s a different way to discover the city.”

The site also gets an unobstructed view of the fireworks festival, which the students take advantage of to promote their cause to passers-by. That helps them find an audience for their ideas, but it comes with its own problems.

“Everyone wants to use our portable toilet. But it can’t handle that many people and we maintain it ourselves, so we have to turn them away. Also, there’s a lot of poverty in this area. We sometimes get vis­its from people who are pretty drunk or we’ll wake up to find a homeless guy sleeping beside our tent.”

When the Minister isn’t around, the students entertain themselves with board games, sports and chatting with people who stop by the campsite. With that kind of agenda, it might be surprising that Line Beauchamp, whose full title is Minister of Education, Recreation and Sports, hasn’t been tempted to stop by herself.

“The employees have been nice to us. They’ve brought us coffee and come to chat sometimes. But for the moment the Minister has refused to meet us.”

Relentless student activism kept tuition fees in the province at $500 from 1966 to 1986. But the legacy of Quebec as the land of cheap tuition has been hard to hold on to since the Liberal govern­ment came into power in 2003.

“Tuition has increased dramatically,” says Bureau-Blouin. “When Charest took power it cost about $1,600 per year. Now we’re talking about $2,500 with plans to increase it to $4,500. We need a break. We need to find another way to finance education.”

For details about the FECQ’s campaigns go to fecq.org. To support the campers, head down to 600 Fullum. ■

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