This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
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A protest against Quebec’s charter of values considerably melted on Thursday at Concordia after the charter’s main defendant declined to speak at the occasion in university premises. Parti Québécois minister, Bernard Drainville, had agreed to participate in a debate on the charter at Concordia’s De Sève Theatre, though he informed the authorities about his change of plans to participate at the last minute citing security concerns. Almost a dozen protesters were present outside the theatre at the time.
One of the organizers of the protest, Christina Xydous, alleged that “security is the easiest reason to cancel an appearance.” Xydous challenged that “we called for a peaceful protest, for a gathering outside the debate. If that’s somehow a threat for Bernard Drainville, then I don’t know how he can ever expect to make public appearances anywhere.” Xydous, along with many others, calmly made their point to a number of reporters gathered to attend the event inside the university’s library building, where ten Concordia security guards were also deployed to handle any unfortunate situation.
Concordia University is often praised for its multicultural student body, and as a natural consequence both of its student unions have repeatedly expressed serious concerns over the charter. One of the city’s most renowned and aggressive activists, Jaggi Singh, cautiously criticized the PQ minister. He stated that “I’m not saying Bernard Drainville is a bad person in his personal life,” but “I’m sure he’s a very cosmopolitan, sophisticated nice gentleman. But he is complicit in racism and complicit in xenophobia in order to gain votes.”
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