"Casserole" demonstration set for Vancouver in support of Quebec protesters

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      The clanging of pots and pans is set to make its way to Vancouver this Wednesday evening as part of a series of country-wide protests being organized in support of student demonstrations in Quebec.

      The action is scheduled for 8 p.m. on May 30 at the Vancouver Art Gallery, and will coincide with protests in cities including Toronto, Victoria, Kamloops, and Kelowna.

      “On Wednesday, May 30, starting at 8pm, people from coast to coast to coast all over Canada are showing solidarity by banging pots and pans everywhere!” a Facebook page about the event reads.

      The "casserole" movement was prompted by nightly actions in Quebec that have seen activists take to the streets banging pots and pans.

      The loud protests arose after the Quebec government's introduction of an emergency bill aimed at curbing demonstrations. Students have been protesting planned tuition increases since February.

      Derrick O’Keefe, one of the organizers of the "Casseroles Night in Canada" action, said the goal of the protests is to send a message of opposition from across the country to the proposed Quebec law, and to what he called "anti-democratic legislation and measures" on a national level.

      “We’re not going to stay quiet because this law has just been passed in one province,” O’Keefe told the Straight by phone. “It’s an affront to the basic democratic freedoms that everyone in Canada wants to protect, and the right to have a protest."

      “If the Charest government succeeds in imposing this law… it would set a very bad precedent that other provinces or cities or the federal government could then jump in behind.”

      O’Keefe added he hopes the sustained demonstrations in Quebec will inspire students concerned about rising tuition costs in other provinces.

      “I think students across Canada should take Quebec as an example that if you want to keep education affordable or make it affordable, you really have to fight when the government increases tuition or tries to increase tuition,” he said.

      The event page for the "Casseroles Night in Canada" action has a list of more than 20 cities and towns that are planning demonstrations on May 30.

      A black and white video posted by videographer Jeremie Battaglia of the nightly casseroles protests in Montreal is being widely circulated through social media. Since it was posted late last week, the video has been viewed over 334,000 times.

      Comments

      15 Comments

      Tyler

      May 28, 2012 at 5:09pm

      Yes, instead of petitioning the government to lower tuition in our own cities and provinces, lets just bang a bunch of pots around for Quebec's sake. I'm sure they'd do the same for us. Because everyone knows that Canadian students have a ton of empathy for Quebec students. How ridiculous.

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      The Real Tyler

      May 28, 2012 at 9:55pm

      Name thief!!!

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      Andrew

      May 28, 2012 at 10:26pm

      The pots and pans protest already started on May 27th, with a demo in East Van. See video and photos at http://wp.me/p18o1P-1Up

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      hAYOKA

      May 28, 2012 at 10:44pm

      Get you head out of the sand Tyler , it sounds like you don't get out much . It's the government we are working to defeat . People supporting people is what we need to do whether marching or making noise etc. Maybe you should come out and meet and support some people who want positive change instead sitting at home with your petition .

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      scathie

      May 28, 2012 at 11:02pm

      This is ridiculous. If Quebec students don't pay their tuition, where do these people think the money to pay for their universities is going to come from? That's right... equalization payments from THEIR taxes.

      Chalk one up for the Quebec students, they've figured out how to pay as little as possible for their services, then complain about it, and get other people to support them and pay for it. Brilliant.

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      Birdy

      May 29, 2012 at 3:03am

      You know who really pays too much for university?
      People who aren't going to university.

      re: hAYOKA "It's the government we are working to defeat."
      No, you're trying to make the government stronger so you can get more free shit. If you're going to be a socialist, at least get your ambitions straight.

      re: "People supporting people is what we need to do whether marching or making noise etc."

      Instead of people supporting people by making annoying noises, you could go to a public library and fucking teach each other for free. Of course, that's based on an assumption that these "students" are actually interested in learning, as opposed to simply lusting after the promised entitlement that allegedly comes with a fanciful degree.

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      hAYOKA

      May 29, 2012 at 9:14am

      Birdy if you also would get out of you nest look around objectively and strip the labels away you would see this is what democracy is and always will be and teaching is happening already all over , although your comment lacks skill it is teaching as well . Don't be scared no one is taking anything away from you , it's just much needed change .

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      johnT

      May 29, 2012 at 9:19am

      Birdy, lets get rid of all education funding and then we don't have to worry about training and having doctors or surgeons or engineers or physicists. They are all useless to society. We can get buy with just everyone being gas station attendants and waiters just like you. Education is useless clearly and has no net-benefit for society. We should all just be uneducated that way we can save some tax dollars and our society will flourish.

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      Etvlan

      May 29, 2012 at 11:30am

      Thanks for your support Vancouver.
      Let it be known that the student protest is closely related to "Occupy Wall Street". It is now time to give less to corporate thugs and more to the people that are in needs.

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      Robert John de Pilkington

      May 29, 2012 at 1:16pm

      To Tyler, these pot and pan protests are no longer about tuition or students, they are about the civil liberties that have been attacked by a Canadian Provincial Government in response to the student protests, just as Lawyers are marching the streets of Montreal in what is illegal protest under Bill 78, so are the common family's with their pots n pans, under bill 78, the elderly have been pushed to the ground, press and film-makers have been attacked, arrested and fined as have bystanders in police 'kettle' tactics, is Canada to stand by when a part of our county turns to police state mentality? do we say nothing and let it happen next to us? I myself will be standing at the Art gallery on Wednesday with culinary tools in hand

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