(Democratic?) Quebec court upholds anti-students law

As protests continue in the province of Quebec against planned tuition hikes, a court of appeals has rejected students’ request for the suspension of parts of a controversial law that was passed to impede their protest rallies.

The decision came on Monday after a lower court rejected the petition submitted by the students, which had called for the suspension of two provisions of the law, passed in May in the wake of clashes between the police and the students protesting a potential 82-percent hike in tuition fees in the French-speaking province.

The so-called Special Law 78 obliges the organizers to inform the police about the timing and location of marches at least eight hours before they stage the protest move. It also allows imposing heavy fines on the protesters who fail to do so.

Critics believe the law breaches the rights of assembly and free expression. The police have arrested many people since the start of the protests more than several months ago.

University students and student unions have been protesting since mid-February to draw international attention to the government’s announced plans to raise tuition fees.

On Sunday, thousands of students and their supporters poured onto the streets of Montreal to protest against the government’s policies regarding the tuition hikes.

The participants in the rally, which had been organized by the powerful student group known as CLASSE, called on Quebec Premier Jean Charest to annul the decision to increase fees by USD 1,708 over the next seven years.