In a scene reminiscent of the nightly demonstrations that brought parts of downtown Montreal to a standstill last spring, students gathered in Parc Émelie-Gamelin and marched into the night with police keeping a close eye on their movements.
The march began peacefully, but was broken up by police about 10:15 p.m. after several acts of vandalism were committed by troublemakers who had infiltrated the boisterous crowd.
A masked vandal broke a window at a Scotiabank branch on René Lévesque Blvd. and University St. A short time later, several students booed as the same group of troublemakers smashed windows at a Desjardins branch on Viger St.
Four police cruisers were vandalized and the doors of the Sheraton Centre on René Lévesque Blvd. were smashed with pieces of concrete.
Ten protesters were arrested for criminal acts such as vandalism, armed assault and mischief.
One protester was taken to hospital after a sound bomb landed near his feet. Montreal police confirmed that one of their officers was taken to hospital with a minor eye injury after a flare or firework was launched in his direction. Another officer suffered minor damage to his face.
After warning students to disperse, police charged the crowd, sending two large groups of students running in opposite directions on Viger St.
Police then set off sound bombs and sprayed CS gas in the direction of students who refused to move quickly enough.
Many students left the demonstration covering their mouths with their coats. Montreal police said a large group of students made their way back to Parc Émelie-Gamelin.
But as the demonstration wound down and the police moved in to break up the crowd they detained 62 people at the corner of Ste. Catherine St. and Beaudry who refused to disperse. Those detained will be fined for illegal assembly.
With former premier Jean Charest now out of the picture, the students were turning their anger toward the Parti Québécois government, which had supported their campaign and promised to scrap the Liberal's tuition increases.
Marching behind a banner that said: "Social peace is behind us," the students chanted anti-capitalist slogans and mocked the police, who were closely monitoring the demonstration as it made its way through downtown.
Several students said they felt betrayed by Premier Pauline Marois, who campaigned on a promise to scrap the former Liberal government's tuition hike.
"She profited from the support of the students and she has betrayed us," said student Jean-François Nadon. Other students said they turned up because they support free tuition.
The protesters are livid with a PQ decision to increase tuition fees by about three per cent annually, roughly $70 a year. The increase will be indexed to the growth of disposable family income and was announced last week during the PQ's much-hyped Summit on Higher Education.
The PQ hoped the modest increase would bring social peace to Quebec and would take steam out of the protest movement that wreaked havoc on the streets for several months last year.
But student leaders claim they are not ready to throw in the towel just yet.
There is a lot of anger toward the Parti Québécois," said Jérémie Bédard-Wien, spokesperson for the Association pour un solidarité syndicate étudiante, the student group that boycotted the Summit on Higher Education because the PQ refused to consider rolling back tuition altogether.
Many of the students who protested Tuesday night belong to associations affiliated with the ASSÉ, which is not only campaigning for an end to the tuition hikes, but is now advocating for free university education for Quebec students.
Even after paying an additional $350 in fees over five years, Quebec university students will still be paying less than half of what students in Ontario pay for third-level education.
Bédard-Wien said it is too early to say what long-term strategy the students may adopt to fight the tuition hikes.
He said his group did not organize Tuesday night's demonstration, although it promoted it on its Facebook page.
"The students have taken it upon themselves to continue the movement," he said.
Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: Katherine Wilton
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