Quebec students anti-tuition hikes protests enter 130th day

The student demonstrations in Quebec have entered their 130th day, as protesters took to the streets to shout against the proposed tuition fee hikes and denounce a controversial anti-protest law.

Students in Canada’s French-speaking province once again poured onto the streets on Thursday against the provincial government’s plan to increase tuition fees by about 80 percent in five years. The protesters also voiced their opposition to the recently passed Bill 78, which puts limits on protests.

Under the new legislation, which apparently restricts freedom of assembly, for any demonstration of 50 or more people, police should be informed eight hours in advance and told of the route of the demonstration.

Meanwhile, a UN special rapporteur, Maina Kiai, slammed the controversial law at the United Nations on Thursday, describing it as being “particularly harsh.”

While presenting his annual report to the UN Human Rights Council, Kiai criticized the way the Quebec government has been dealing with student protests, and that the anti-protest law was violating the freedoms of peaceful assembly.

Kiai’s remarks were the latest in a string of condemnations directed at the Quebec government in recent weeks. Earlier this week, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay called the law “alarming.”

While student protesters welcomed Pillay’s comments, Quebec Premier Jean Charest fired back by saying that Quebec has a right to decide its legislations.

The ongoing protests and the government’s failure to quell them have also undermined the province’s reputation as a safe place to invest.

It certainly transmits a negative image of social unrest,” Benoit Lalonde from Laurentian Bank of Canada said. “There’s been a bit of a shying away from Quebec bonds. We’ve seen over the past couple of months some repositioning out of Quebec.”