Concordia University

Concordia University discloses full $454 million investment portfolio

Local Journalism Initiative / The Link / September 30, 2025 / BlackRock, Concordia University, Elbit Systems, Investment, Maria Cholakova

Graphic Maria Cholakova

Maria Cholakova,
Local Journalism Initiative

Investments include BlackRock, Boeing and Murphy Oil

After two years of student pressure, Concordia University’s Inter-Generational Fund (CUiF) released its full public holdings.

Included in its large portfolio are investments in Boeing, BlackRock and Murphy Oil despite its aim transition to 100 per cent sustainability investment rating.

Boeing and BlackRock

The CUiF has $166,518 worth of investments in the American investment company BlackRock.

On a number of occasions, BlackRock has been accused of complicity in the Palestinian genocide. BlackRock holds major investments in Israel and in companies such as Lockheed Martin, RTX, Northrop Grumman, Boeing and General Dynamics. BlackRock is profiting from the war in Gaza and supporting Israel’s settler colonial project in Palestine, and owns US$7.9 billion of Lockheed Martin stock.

Apart from their investments in weapons, BlackRock manages a collection of exchange-traded funds and index mutual funds under the name iShares ETF.

One of the companies that iShares ETF invests in is Elbit Systems—a defence contractor known for manufacturing surveillance systems, drones and other military technology. It’s one of Israel’s leading weapons manufacturers and has supplied equipment used in Gaza’s genocide.

The CUiF has $149,820 worth of investments in Boeing.

Boeing is another company which has been accused of profiting from Gaza’s genocide. As one of the world’s biggest weapons manufacturers, Boeing produces a number of war jets and other military equipment, which Israel has used to attack the Palestinian territories.

Murphy Oil

The CUiF has $63,560 worth of investments in Murphy Oil.

Murphy Oil has been the subject of a number of scandals. Most prominently, a spill from one of the company’s oil storage tanks in Louisiana, USA, in 2008 led to a US$330 million settlement with plaintiffs. It was coined as the worst environmental disaster during Hurricane Katrina.

Additionally, according to Canada’s National Observer, Murphy Oil was fined $172,500 in 2017 following an Alberta pipeline spill that went undetected for 45 days.

Concordia’s investments and profits

Including the three above-listed companies, the university has investments in over 1,860 companies, including Airbnb, Nike, Nordstrom, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Apple and Tesla.

Based on CUiF’s 2023-2024 annual report, the university’s net assets in investments are worth over $454 million. According to the university’s website, the CUiF’s total value grew from $413 million to $454 million, a $41 million increase for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

According to Julie Fortier, the university plans to withdraw its investments from BlackRock, Boeing and Murphy Oil in order to transition to 100 per cent sustainable investing.

“As part of our commitment to be more transparent, we have been meeting with representatives of the Concordia Student Union in recent months to explain our investment strategy and had agreed to share the list of our internally-managed public holdings as it stood at the end of March – but the list will change on an ongoing basis,” Fortier said in an email to The Link.

Solidarity for Palestine’s Honour and Resistance (SPHR) Concordia celebrated the release of the document on their Instagram, calling it a victory for students and the pro-Palestine movement.

“We will continue to fight hard, this is one big step towards our bigger goal of divestment. We are nearly marking a year since the start of the historic McGill [University] encampment,” said a representative for SPHR who was granted anonymity for safety reasons.

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Call the question galore at CSU council meeting

Local Journalism Initiative / The Link / September 30, 2025 / Concordia University, CSU, Geneviève Sylvestre, Undergraduate Students

Councillors call the question nine times at latest council meeting. Photo Maria Cholakova

Geneviève Sylvestre,
Local Journalism Initiative

Calls to end debate and accusations of filibustering mark latest council meeting

The latest Concordia Student Union (CSU) regular council meeting (RCM) on April 9 saw councillors strenuously approve the consent agenda and reject all three motions on the agenda.

Throughout the evening, councillors successfully motioned to call the question—or end debate and move directly to a vote—a total of nine times, leading to accusations of filibustering.

When it came time to vote on approving the consent agenda—the set of committee minutes and executive reports for the month—at the start of the meeting, councillor Drew Sylver motioned to remove four items for further discussion. The items included were the External Committee minutes, the Policy Committee minutes, the Community Action Fund minutes, and the Clubs and Spaces Committee minutes.

Sylver called for sections of the External Committee, Community Action Fund, and Clubs and Spaces Committee minutes to be separated and voted on individually. All motions failed.

For each of the items taken out of the consent agenda, councillor Ali Salman successfully called the question during his speaking turn.

Almost 40 minutes into the meeting, as council was still approving the agenda, Sylver addressed the chairperson, saying that the constant calling of the question could be considered filibustering according to his interpretation of Robert’s Rules of Order.

In politics, a filibuster is a procedure used to prolong debate to delay or prevent a vote or decision.

The chairperson said this was not their interpretation of the rules and continued the meeting. All minutes were approved by council.

Following the approval of the consent agenda, three motions were presented to council. The first was brought forth by Lena Andres, a member of the cooperative CultivAction. Andres motioned to reallocate $25,000 from the CSU Loyola coordinator’s grant to CultivAction, to be divided between the Loyola Campus garden groups.

Andres claimed they made multiple attempts to communicate with the Loyola coordinator, Leen Al Hijjawi, and expressed dissatisfaction with the new grant. Al Hijjawi answered that they had been in communication and that she does not have a budget of $25,000.

After some discussion by council, Sylver called the question, clarifying he was doing so in a “non-‘filibustery’ way.” The motion failed.

Council moved on to discussing a motion put forth by Sylver to mandate that each councillor must disclose their affiliation with any CSU club in the name of transparency. As before, Salman successfully called the question, and Sylver’s motion failed.

Lastly, councillor Liora Hechel presented her motion to create a new CSU committee under the Student Life Committee to host food truck events on campus. Hechel proposed that $10,000 be allocated to this new committee per semester.

External affairs and mobilization coordinator Danna Ballantyne raised concerns about the logistics and costs associated with Hechel’s motion. Later, Hechel said that the CSU could hold fundraiser events, such as a LinkedIn photoshoot, to earn additional funds.

Once again, following additional discussion, Salman successfully called to end the debate and move to a vote.

Hechel’s motion failed, and the meeting was adjourned around 8:30 p.m.

Call the question galore at CSU council meeting Read More »

CSU judicial board appointment marked by legal letter

Local Journalism Initiative / The Link / September 28, 2025 / Concordia Student Union, Concordia University, Judicial Board, Maria Cholakova

Photo Caroline Marsh

Maria Cholakova,
Local Journalism Initiative

The letter alleges the CSU broke several bylaws related to hiring practices

On May 7, the Concordia Student Union (CSU) held a special council meeting (SCM) to interview and hire students to fill the CSU’s judicial board (JB). This is the second time the council has attempted to staff its JB this academic year.

Towards the start of the meeting, which began at 5:30 p.m., councillor Drew Sylver asked that a legal demand letter—issued by councillors Sylver, Anastasia Zorchinsky and Chana Leah Natanblut—to the members of the executives be read to council. The letter pertains to an alleged breach of the CSU’s bylaws regarding hiring practices.

Sylver alleged that the CSU broke section 4.3.1 of the Policy on Appointments, Appointments Committee, and Equitable Hiring Practices.

The legal letter was not read or presented to the council, as it was not part of the agenda, and the chair disagreed with the notion that the meeting was not held under proper procedure.

After Sylver’s attempt to ask executives to read the legal letter failed, he said, “If we move forward, then as the rest of council, or at least the names on that letter, do be prepared for further action in the future. I don’t want to take any.”

Following Sylver’s statement, the meeting was recessed until 6:30, the time which was set for the interviews.

Explaining the legal letter

A few minutes before the meeting started, StartUp Nation, a pro-Israel club on campus, posted the legal letter on their Instagram, claiming that the “CSU silences students, muzzles debates and nominates unqualified candidates.”

In the legal letter, the students alleged that the “CSU policy committee met and approved numerous modifications to the Policy on Clubs and the Policy on Executives, Councils, and Committees. It is important to note that these modifications have occurred without proper consultation or consideration.”

They also criticized the CSU’s executive decision to interview and nominate one candidate in particular. The letter claims that this candidate “actively engaged in illegal activities such as blocking access to universities and issuing threats against Jewish students.”

The letter did not outline specific incidents, apart from a picture of a student participating in a protest.

They demanded that the CSU immediately cease “undemocratic conduct, have any proposed changes to CSU Policies made in accordance with CSU Policies, and submit the same for proper democratic debate before the Legislative Council.”

They also further demanded that the accused candidate be withdrawn from consideration.

Candidate interviews and deliberation

The CSU had received seven applications for the JB. However, two candidates dropped out of the running before the interviews started. One of those candidates was the student named in the legal letter.

Of the five candidates still running, only one was not asked questions in front of the council as they did not attend the SCM.

During the meeting, councillors stated that Sylver’s sharing of the legal letter was meant to scare candidates away. Throughout the interview process, Sylver motioned to adjourn the meeting twice. Both instances failed.

After all interviews were complete, councillor Mohamad Abdullah successfully motioned to call to question, and the council proceeded to vote on whether or not to appoint the candidates to the JB in a closed session vote.

Only two candidates, Aya Saad and Ouswa Ben Rejeb, were selected to join the JB. They will join Suzana Ek, a student who was hired on Jan. 22.

For JB to function, a minimum of three member need to be active. With the hiring of the new candidates, the CSU will be able to reinstate its JB.

CSU judicial board appointment marked by legal letter Read More »

Stingers players honoured at Concordia Athletics banquet

Local Journalism Initiative / The Link / September 28, 2025 / Concordia University, Jared Lackman-Mincoff, Stinger Athlethes

Stingers women’s hockey forward Émilie Lussier was named Concordia’s Female Athlete of the Year. Photo Caroline Marsh

Jared Lackman-Mincoff,
Local Journalism Initiative

A dozen awards handed out to Concordia University athletes

Twelve Concordia University Stingers players took home awards at the annual Concordia Athletics banquet on April 10.

The ceremony recognizes Stingers athletes for their different accomplishments.

Stingers women’s hockey forward Émilie Lussier won the Sally Kemp Award as Female Athlete of the Year. Lussier registered 18 goals and 31 points in 20 regular season games for the Stingers in 2024-25. She added three goals and seven points in six playoff games. Lussier’s honour follows her Rookie of the Year Award in 2024.

On the men’s side, men’s hockey defenceman Simon Lavigne was named Concordia’s Male Athlete of the Year. Lavigne scored 12 goals and 22 points in 24 regular season games for the Stingers, and helped the team to its first-ever Queen’s Cup championship and a U Sports silver medal. Lavigne also won Defenceman of the Year in the Ontario University Athletics conference and helped Team Canada to a gold medal at the Fédération internationale du sport universitaire Games in January.

Men’s hockey forward Julien Anctil took home the Comeback Player of the Year Award. Anctil only suited up for 12 games in 2023-24 due to injuries. However, he got into 18 games for the Stingers in 2024-25 and notched 15 points.

The Rookie of the Year Awards went to men’s basketball guard Yohan Leger and women’s rugby scrum-half Megan Allard. Leger averaged 6.7 points and 18 minutes per game for the Stingers. Allard suited up for all six of her team’s games and punched in a try.

Football defensive back Isaac Pépin and women’s hockey forward Jessymaude Drapeau won their respective leadership awards. The academic excellence awards went to track and field athlete Benjamin Merid-Moore and women’s basketball guard Dalyssa Fleurgin. They have both maintained GPAs above 4.0.

Finally, women’s soccer co-captain Dayne Lebans grabbed the Fittest Female Athlete Award and men’s basketball guard Junior Mercy took home the male counterpart.

The gala officially concludes the Stingers’ season. They will be back in action in late-August.

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A look behind the curtain of Concordia recruiting

Local Journalism Initiative / The Link / September 28, 2025 / Concordia University, Samuel Kayll, sports, Stingers

Concordia places emphasis on its connected, familial environment during its meetings with recruits. Photo Andrae Lerone Lewis

Samuel Kayll,
Local Journalism Initiative

Stingers coaches and administrators discuss the steps in the recruiting process

From the looks of the recruiting form on the Concordia University athletics website, anyone could put their name in the hat to become a Stinger.

On the surface, it seems simple: a multi-question document to gather basic information from a prospective recruit. But that form represents just the tip of the Stingers’ recruiting iceberg.

Behind it lies a lengthy process of film study, multiple visits to facilities and in-depth discussions about the future—repeated for every recruit the team chooses to pursue.

Concordia’s recruiting begins at the top. Before and during the season, athletic administrators meet with each program’s coaching staff to determine the best allocation of resources, providing a baseline for identifying each team’s needs.

D’Arcy Ryan, Concordia’s director of recreation and athletics, explains that the cost of recruiting varies based not only on team needs, but also on each program’s network of support outside the school: scouts, former players-turned-coaches, and external camps and showcases.

“We’ll have conversations with the coaches to see what the next year’s needs are going to be,” Ryan said. “This way, we know what our baseline level of support will look like.”

While Concordia scans rosters from across the country, they focus primarily on Montreal and its surrounding areas—a talent-rich pool that’s close to home.

“We’re lucky—we do a lot of recruiting in our own backyard,” Ryan said. “It helps keep the cost down because we have a great pool of talent at the CEGEP level, so we don’t have to go too far out.”

Once teams narrow their recruiting lists, they begin a deep dive into each individual player.

They study game tape, talk to their previous coaches and evaluate their cultural fit. From this process, each team creates its “wish list,” the recruits deemed the most valuable or compatible with the Stingers locker room.

While teams analyze skill and potential, they also look into players’ academic goals and individual personalities.

Brad Collinson emphasized the importance of creating meaningful relationships with recruits. The Stingers’ head football coach wants players to feel appreciated throughout their recruitment and to solidify the team’s connection to each prospect.

“We set up meetings—a Zoom or phone call to get to know them,” Collinson said. “We try to make it a more personable process than just, ‘Hey, we like you as a football player and we want to get you here.’”

Along with meetings and tape evaluation, programs pitch themselves through on-campus events. Whether through tours or games, each team aims to give its prospects an accurate depiction of life at Concordia.

Greg Sutton handles soccer operations for both the men’s and women’s teams at Concordia. He appreciates the connection brought by a face-to-face visit, as it provides a more personal touch to a meeting or interaction.

“We’ll have a number of players that will come this fall for the following season, to give them a sense of what the game-day atmosphere is like,” Sutton said. “And we have a lot of players that will hang out with some of our current players. We find that having them on campus is a big advantage for us when we’re trying to lock up a recruit.”

But athletics only covers a portion of a recruit’s experience at Concordia. Collinson also uses these meetings to highlight the school’s academic offerings, showcasing programs and opportunities that complement an athlete’s career both on and off the field.

“We look at the programs that we offer—we’re highly touted in engineering and business,” Collinson said. “And then you have your arts and science programs that no one else offers—I always give the example of the leisure studies program.”

Ryan prioritizes academics alongside the athletic benefits of attending Concordia. He takes recruiting visits as an opportunity to remind student-athletes of the many resources afforded to Stingers players, such as academic advising, access to athletic therapy and leadership workshops.

“We’re continuously reminding them of these services so they’re able to succeed academically and make it through their program with the support that they feel is necessary,” Ryan said.

But coaches want recruits to make their own decision to choose Concordia. Sutton prioritizes honesty throughout the process to keep expectations realistic and provide an unbiased and transparent view of the program and life as a Stinger.

“I don’t like to force the hand of the recruit. I think it’s a big step for them and a big decision for them,” Sutton said. “And we don’t want to fill their heads with false promises just to get them to commit to our school because in the end, that doesn’t end well most times.”

Collinson agreed, noting that the team’s honesty and clarity often dissuade decommitments by gaining the respect and trust of recruits.

“We’re never going to hold a kid here who doesn’t want to be here—I don’t think that’s right,” Collinson said. “But I think if you do your job properly and you create those personal relationships, those are few and far between.”

And through the prioritization of those relationships, Concordia’s recruiting has taken a turn for the better. Sutton noted the influx of new recruits from around the city through the team’s relationship with Quebec-born players.

“One of our biggest challenges is to recruit [Quebec-born] players to come to an English-speaking school. Over the last three or four years, we’ve had a lot of success,” Sutton said. “And when you do that, you attract others because the future recruits see that we’ve got a number of French-speaking players on our team.”

For each recruit, the journey differs. But regardless of the sport, Ryan lets every prospect know how Concordia prepares them for the future.

“I want them to understand that the three or four years that they’re here are going to be eventful,” Ryan said. “They’re going to be able to compete for a position from day one and graduate with a fantastic degree. Hopefully, they’ve enjoyed their student-athlete experience so that they graduate as a well-rounded contributing member to society.”

A look behind the curtain of Concordia recruiting Read More »

What happened last year at Concordia University

Local Journalism Initiative / The Link / September 28, 2025 / Concordia University, India Das-Brown, Palestine, Perceptage, SPVM

Student protesters gathered outside Concordia University’s downtown campus to strike in solidarity with Palestine on Nov. 21, 2024. Photo Andrae Lerone Lewis

India Das-Brown,
Local Journalism Initiative

A look back at protests, arrests and security at the university and how the administration responded

From September 2024 through spring 2025, Concordia University saw on-campus policing, arrests during two protests, the hiring of private security and advisory council resignations.

This retrospective traces the flashpoints, how decisions were justified, who was affected and what demonstrators can take into this year.

The flashpoints

Sept. 25, 2024 – Walkout and three arrests. A daytime Palestine solidarity walkout travelled from the Henry F. Hall Building through campus tunnels and out onto the street. SPVM officers arrested three people at the Guy-Concordia Metro station on allegations of mischief, assault and obstructing a police officer, according to police quoted at the time. The arrested students were aggressively handled by police officers, with one woman yelling that she couldn’t breathe as an officer kneeled on her back, according to eyewitnesses. Concordia later said Campus Safety and Prevention Services (CSPS) had alerted the SPVM in advance and that one CSPS agent was assaulted while intervening in response to vandalism in the tunnel.

Oct. 31, 2024 – Cops Off Campus and two arrests. A demonstration opposing police presence on campus ended with two student arrests. The SPVM and a university spokesperson said officers intervened after the students allegedly assaulted a CSPS agent. One protester alleged that one CSPS officer began chasing a student through the tunnels before the student was detained by SPVM officers in the LB building.

How Concordia’s art gallery entered the picture

The Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery was, perhaps unexpectedly, drawn into the year’s conflicts. In November 2024, a scheduled artists’ talk became a surprise silent protest against the arrests of students in the vicinity of the gallery and the dismissal of gallery director Pip Day. Artist Ésery Mondésir criticized the gallery’s use as a “detention centre” during an Oct. 31, 2024, protest and alleged that the community has reason to believe Day was fired because of her support for Palestine.

By January 2025, five of the gallery’s eight advisory council members resigned. In their public letter, they pointed to “disturbing events” during the previous semester, including the arrests and the director’s departure. They also argued that the university failed “to recognize the legitimate right of the entire Concordia community to peacefully and meaningfully express their solidarity with the Palestinian people.”

The university did not confirm any connection between the director’s dismissal and activism on campus.

More recently, on Aug. 18, artists scheduled for a gallery screening withdrew “in protest against the use of their work to artwash Concordia’s suppression of Palestine solidarity at the Gallery and on campus,” according to an Instagram post by Regards Palestiniens, Artists Against Artwashing, and Academics and Staff for Palestine Concordia.

How Concordia’s security strategy shifted

In November 2024, The Link reported that some students, particularly those from marginalized communities, said they felt surveilled and at times mistreated by campus security.

“You can see the shift,” said a former student union executive at the time. “Security has become more aggressive with students connected to pro-Palestinian activism.”

A Concordia spokesperson told The Link that she encourages students who feel targeted by security to file a complaint with the Office of Rights and Responsibilities.

For 14 days during the Fall 2024 semester, Concordia hired Perceptage International, an external firm founded by a former Israel Defense Forces soldier. According to university records obtained by The Link, the firm’s agents were issued CSPS logo patches and tasked with “crowd control and special intervention.”

A video posted on Nov. 22, 2024, on the Solidarity for Palestine’s Honour and Resistance (SPHR) Instagram page, appeared to show the extent of security officers’ intervention in student activism. In the video taken during the student strikes for Palestine, Perceptage and other CSPS officers appear to be aggressively pushing students away from picketing actions and into the stairway of the Hall building, while students shouted: “Don’t touch them, don’t shove them, these are Concordia students.”

Concordia’s deputy spokesperson claimed the Perceptage agents were Canadian Armed Forces veterans and said supplemental staffing was added after reports of “aggressive behaviour, assault and vandalism” at demonstrations. Student organizers criticized the optics and reported rough handling during pickets.

Concordia also publicized protest “behaviour guidelines” at the start of the 2024 Fall semester, outlining existing rules for picketing, encampments and classroom access, and noting that breaches can trigger investigations and sanctions.

How student leaders responded

Following the September and October 2024 arrests, the Concordia Student Union (CSU) held a press conference with allied groups, alleging police brutality and racial discrimination at the university, while demanding that police be kept off campus.

On Jan. 29, 2025, over 800 undergraduates voted to mandate the CSU to adopt two Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions motions for “financial investments which are currently held in funds complicit in or which benefit from militarized violence, war, colonialism, apartheid, and genocide.” Concordia president Graham Carr released a statement the next day saying that such boycott campaigns run “contrary to the value of academic freedom.”

A week later, Concordia opened an investigation into how the special general meeting was conducted and suspended the CSU’s ability to book campus spaces, citing alleged policy breaches, pending the outcome. After the CSU sent a legal demand and sought relief in court, Concordia temporarily restored limited booking rights so elections could proceed.

Can you still protest safely?

Knowing Concordia’s protest guidelines can be helpful. Being aware of the limits—such as restrictions on blockades or classroom access—can help participants anticipate when police might be called.

Documentation is one of the strongest forms of protection. Protesters who record events through video, photography or even audio recordings create a public record that can later be used to clarify disputed accounts. It is also helpful to plan exits in advance and identify safe meeting points should a demonstration be dispersed.

In practice, protests on campus may not be risk-free―but no protest is without risk. How 2025-26 feels on campus remains to be seen.

What happened last year at Concordia University Read More »

ConU 101: A must-read guide

Local Journalism Initiative / The Link / September 28, 2025 / Academic Term 2025, Concordia University, India Das-Brown

The Di-Octo sculpture outside Concordia University’s downtown campus. Photo Caroline Marsh

India Das-Brown,
Local Journalism Initiative

If you’re new to Concordia or just trying to find your footing again, here are some things you should know

Whether you’re a new arrival at Concordia University this fall or rediscovering campus life, figuring out where to go for help can feel overwhelming.

Here’s a primer on what to know, where to go, and which free meal you should never say no to.

Academic affairs

Start with the Birks Student Service Centre (LB-185, SGW Campus or Vanier Library, Loyola Campus). It’s the “Who do I even ask?” desk, handling ID cards, policy and tuition questions, and general triage. Phone them at 514-848-2424 ext. 2668 or email them at students@concordia.ca. Walk-ins are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays at SGW, or by appointment at Loyola.

If you have money questions, the Financial Aid and Awards Office (GM-230) handles loans, bursaries and scholarships. Walk-ins are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays.

For accommodations, the Access Centre for Students with Disabilities supports exam accommodations, note-taking and more—register once and you’re set for your time at Concordia. To access final exam accommodations for the Fall 2025 term, you must submit all required documentation to acsd.intake@concordia.ca by Oct. 17.

Are you an international student? The International Students Office (GM-330; ext. 3515; iso@concordia.ca) answers questions on immigration documents, study permits, health insurance and settling-in.

Two other hubs worth knowing are the Otsenhákta Student Centre (H-653; ext. 7327) and the Black Perspectives Office (blackperspectives@concordia.ca). The former is for First Nations, Inuit and Métis students, offering social events, academic support and career advice. The latter is for support, advocacy and mentoring for Black students and those involved in Black-centred research.

For studying, the Webster (SGW) and Vanier (Loyola) libraries run extended hours, including 24/7 study access during the fall and winter terms (don’t forget to bring your ID for overnight access).

The Student Success Centre (H-745 at SGW; AD-103 at Loyola; ext. 3921/7345) offers writing help, tutoring, study workshops and career advising.

Know your rights

In the case of an academic dust-up like plagiarism accusations, grade appeals or the general policy maze, there are two lifelines: the Student Advocacy Office (which offers confidential guidance) and the CSU Student Advocacy Centre (which is student-run and equally discreet). You can contact them at studentadvocates@concordia.ca and advocacy@csu.qc.ca, respectively.

For conflicts beyond the classroom, the Ombuds Office provides independent, informal mediation (ombuds@concordia.ca; ext. 8658).

Dining on a student budget

The People’s Potato continues to ladle free vegan meals from Monday to Thursday, 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. on the seventh floor of the Hall building; arrive early with a container. Meals are paid for by donation, though most give nothing but gratitude and tupperware. Emergency food baskets are also available, which is worth remembering the next time your rent is due.

The People’s Potato are also always looking for more volunteers. Those interested can attend their volunteer orientation on Sept. 4 at 3:30 p.m. in their kitchen (seventh floor, Hall building).

Over at Loyola, the Hive Free Lunch hands out free vegan breakfasts and lunches on weekdays, 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. Located at SC 200, they offer nut-free, mostly gluten‑free options—bring your own container unless you’re willing to shell out 25 cents for a compostable one.

To volunteer, email hivefreelunch@gmail.com. Volunteers “develop kitchen skills, skip the lunch line, get free coffee and endless gratitude, and make friends,” says the CSU website.

The Hive Café Solidarity Co‑op (both SGW and Loyola campuses) invites you to become a member for $10. In return, you’ll earn a 10 per cent discount on food and a vote in its democratic governance. Located in Hall H‑Mezzanine (SGW) and SC‑200 (Loyola), it serves healthy, affordable plant-based fare, run cooperatively by students, for students.

Meanwhile, Le Frigo Vert, down on 1440 Mackay St., markets itself as an anti‑capitalist, anti‑colonial, anti‑oppression grocery space. It is open Monday to Thursday, noon to 6 p.m., and is a cosy spot to grab a bite and study. Membership, funded automatically for Concordia students through a fee levy, gives you access to discounted groceries, herbs and seeds, workshops, and a vote in their annual general meeting. They also accept volunteers!

On the matter of mind and body

Health Services is the university’s on-campus clinic (GM-200 at SGW; AD-131 at Loyola; ext. 3565/3575) offering medical care, nursing and referrals. Walk-ins are available downtown.

For mental health services (GM-300), start with the mental-health intake—first-come, first-served assessments that connect you to counselling, groups and other supports.

The Sexual Assault Resource Centre provides confidential support and services for anyone affected by sexual violence (LB-720; sarcinfo@concordia.ca; ext. 5972).

For prayer and quiet, the Multi-faith and Spirituality Centre hosts drop-ins, community activities and maintains prayer and meditation spaces at H-746 (SGW) and SC-032 (Loyola).

The Centre for Gender Advocacy (2110 Mackay; ext. 7431) is student-funded, independent, and is mandated to promote gender equality and empowerment, particularly as it relates to marginalized communities.

Getting around (and under)

The campus shuttle runs weekdays between SGW (outside the Hall building) and Loyola (on Sherbrooke St.). It’s free with your Concordia ID and takes around 30 minutes to shuttle you between campuses. Check the schedule and arrive on time.

If you’re on the STM, a single one-trip fare is currently $3.75; for reduced fares, set up your student OPUS card through the Student Hub account online.

When winter bites, use the tunnels linking Guy-Concordia Metro to the EV, MB, GM, LB and Hall buildings.

’Til debt do us part

Miss a tuition payment, and you may be introduced to the university’s subsidiary late-fee collection. Consider this your reminder to keep things on time. (For billing questions, contact the Birks Student Service Centre at ext. 2668.)

With that, have a wonderful start to the semester―and may your year be lighter than your fees!

ConU 101: A must-read guide Read More »

Concordia, McGill see enrolments drop, deficits continue

Local Journalism Initiative / The Suburban / August 4, 2025 / Concordia University, Dan Laxer, McGill

By Dan Laxer
The Suburban

Concordia University has seen a concerning decrease in winter registrations, even as it deals with financial woes not unlike those at McGill.

McGill discussed its budgetary problems with the student body in a virtual town hall in which it mentioned other Canadian universities, Concordia included, that are dealing with large deficits.

In an email to The Suburban, Concordia spokesperson Vannina Maestracci says the university has been faced with deficits since the spring of 2023 (when they posted a deficit of $15 million). “The approved deficit for 2024-2025,” she said, “is $34.5 million, and we have been focused on reducing costs and stabilizing enrolment so that we can return to a balanced budget in 2028-2029.”

The drop in applications is worrying since Concordia has been working on recruiting 1,000 new students for the next academic year, specifically to deal with declining enrolment.

Like McGill, Concordia is striving to balance its budget by 2028. Both schools are working with Quebec’s Ministry of Higher Education on a recovery plan. And, like McGill, part of the problem is Quebec’s restrictions on international students, leading to a drop in applications for winter, summer, and fall 2025. New registrations are down five percent for January of this year. This follows some 10-20% application drops last fall.

Student enrolment does account for the bulk of the university’s revenue – 85 percent. But Maestracci points out that enrolment tends to be lower in the winter than in the fall, so it’s hard to say, at this point, how things will turn out in the coming months. But in an budget update in December Provost Anne Whitelaw did point out that the loss from the drop in enrolment affects the three years those students would have spent at Concordia.

Cuts to expenses were inevitable. Some of the measures include adjusting the temperatures in some buildings depending on the hours of operation – turning off heat or air conditioning, and other measures. Last month, while covering a story at Concordia, some journalists from The Suburban noted the “freezing” temperatures in some administration buildings.

And, again, like McGill, Concordia is also in a hiring freeze. Some positions have been closed, and several others have not been filled.

Concordia’s overall operating budget is $665 million. n

Concordia, McGill see enrolments drop, deficits continue Read More »

Historic areas for student activism at Concordia

Local Journalism Initiative / The Link / April 1, 2025 / Concordia University, Geneviève Sylvestre

Demonstrators flooding the Hall building during the Netanyahu riot. Photo Steve Faguy

Geneviève Sylvestre,
Local Journalism Initiative

The legacy of student activism is embedded in the university’s walls

The walls of Concordia University have bore witness to countless student activism movements throughout the years.

Student activists have organized strikes, walkouts and sit-ins, occupied areas across campus and the city to fight for their cause. Here is a list of historical gathering spaces at Concordia and in Montreal for student activism.

Ninth-floor computer lounge

In 1969, Concordia University—then called Sir George Williams University—was home to the largest student protest in Canadian history, often referred to as the Computer Riot.

In 1968, around a dozen Caribbean and Black students accused their biology professor, Perry Anderson, of systematically and unfairly awarding them low or failing grades due to racial bias.

A complaint was filed to the dean of students, but after students were dissatisfied with the handling of the complaint, they asked Concordia to establish a hearing committee.

The committee was established, but the administration did not allow students to sign off on committee members and ignored students’ concerns about three members’ abilities to remain impartial.

Following a hearing on Jan. 26, 1969, over 400 students walked out in protest and occupied the ninth-floor computer lounge. Protestors also occupied the faculty lounge on the seventh floor, nine days later.

After 14 days, a negotiation agreement was seemingly reached and most protesters went home, but negotiations fell apart. On Feb.11, the university called the police to remove the remaining protesters.

Demonstrators threw computers out of the window in protest and a fire broke out in the computer lab. Police officers unleashed violence on protesters and 97 students were arrested.

Eighteen-year-old Coralee Hutchison suffered head trauma inflicted by the police on Feb. 11 and died shortly after of a brain aneurysm. Her parents believe it was due to police violence.

Concordia only apologized for the handling of these events in 2022 and did not comment on Hutchison’s death.

Henry F. Hall building

Concordia students have a long history of Palestinian activism, with the ground floor of the Hall building being used as a space of demonstration for decades.

In November 2000, hundreds of students gathered in the Hall building’s auditorium for a Concordia Student Union (CSU) general assembly. They discussed a motion in support of withdrawing armed Israeli forces from the occupied territories and to call for a Canadian boycott of Israel. Despite not meeting their quorum, the CSU agreed to bring the question to referendum during the next election, and it passed with 54 per cent of the votes.

On Sept. 9, 2002, the Hall became grounds for another riot: the Netanyahu Riot. Students gathered in front of the Hall building to protest Hillel Concordia’s invitation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak at the university.

A confrontation between both sides escalated, two windows were smashed and the university called the police, who sprayed pepper gas into the crowd to disperse protesters.

Since the events of Oct. 7, 2023, the movement for Palestinian solidarity at Concordia has grown with existing organizations like Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights Concordia spearheading the movement.

Classrooms across campuses

Tuition hikes are a highly controversial topic in Montreal, with student protesters going to extreme means to contest tuition raises.

Most notably, the 2012 protests—now known as Maple Spring—lasted over 100 days with thousands of students taking to the streets to protest Jean Charest’s proposed plan to raise tuition by $325 a year over five years, amounting to a 61 per cent increase.

Students across Quebec started mobilizing, and Concordia was no exception: student groups were striking, blocking classrooms and even blocking all entrances to the Hall building on the first day of exams to protest tuition hikes.

This past year saw a renewal in tuition hike demonstrations to protest Quebec premier François Legault’s plan to raise tuition for out-of-province and international students. In March 2024, over 20,000 students were on strike and picketers arranged demonstrations and blocked classrooms in protest of the hikes.

This article originally appeared in Volume 45, Issue 1, published September 3, 2024.

Historic areas for student activism at Concordia Read More »

Out-of-province student faces tuition increase and no support

Local Journalism Initiative / The Link / April 1, 2025 / Concordia University, Geneviève Sylvestre, Tuition Hikes

Alison Prissinotti’s tuition increased significantly after she changed programs. Photo Alice Martin

Geneviève Sylvestre,
Local Journalism Initiative

Lack of clear communication from the administration leaves out-of-province student in the dark

Alison Prissinotti was accepted to Concordia University to pursue a Bachelor of Arts in anthropology for the 2023-24 academic year.

As a student from British Columbia, she was part of the last cohort of out-of-province students accepted before the implementation of the Quebec government’s tuition hikes in September 2024.

At the start of the Fall 2024 semester, the tuition for out-of-province students at English universities in the province increased from $8,992 to $12,000, with some exceptions given to students attending Bishop’s University.

Students like Prissinotti did not have to pay the increased rate as they were accepted into their program before the implementation of the tuition hikes.

However, out-of-province students choosing to pursue a degree transfer are subject to the tuition increase.

When Prissinotti sought to change her degree from anthropology to print media, it had not yet been officially confirmed that changing programs would increase her tuition. When she got accepted into the program in May 2024, she had not yet received a clear answer from the university and decided to accept her admission offer.

“I did [accept] because they still hadn’t said anything and I figured by the time it’s summer and people have already received admission to certain universities that they wouldn’t be changing any tuition that late-notice,” Prissinotti said.

Over the Winter 2024 semester, she sent emails to departments such as academic advising and the Birks Student Service Centre looking for answers for whether she could change her program without her tuition increasing.

She was informed that a change in program may affect her tuition, but that the government had not yet clarified with Concordia all the details of the tuition increase. At the start of June, the Birks centre told Prissinotti to keep an eye out on the Concordia website for any changes.

According to web archives, information clarifying that students pursuing a degree transfer would be subject to a tuition increase was not made public on the Concordia website before Aug. 18, 2024, at the earliest. This update was only published two weeks before the start of the fall semester.

“We regret the confusion that some out-of-province students have had to face due to the new tuition policy,” Concordia spokesperson Julie Fortier said in an email to The Link. “The government unfortunately only confirmed details concerning students switching programs on August 2, 2024.”

Fortier added that, due to lack of clear government directives, Concordia warned students that changing programs may result in higher tuition fees as soon as the new measures were announced.

Prissinotti is financially responsible for her education and relies on student loans from the government to cover the cost of her tuition. As such, she claims she was not given a clear answer from the university about the tuition increase before receiving a much higher amount in student loans than she usually does.

“I was not notified by anybody, I never received any email about it,” Prissinotti said. “I was notified by my student loans, which was ridiculous and I feel like I deserved better.”

She said she asked to go back into her old program but was informed that her tuition would increase no matter what.

“I couldn’t afford the tuition to begin with before it was increased, never mind now,” Prissinotti said. “And so, if I can’t get enough external funding for next year, I’m gonna have to leave school and I don’t want to do that.”

Prissinotti said she felt angry and abandoned, and like the university was not listening to her needs.

“I feel like I’ve actually built a community here in Montreal and I love my life here and I love being in school. Truly all I want to do is be in school and do this program,” Prissinotti said. “It felt like something I’d worked really hard for […] had been taken away from me.”

After the tuition hikes were announced, Concordia implemented funding opportunities for out-of-province students to help lessen the financial strain of the increase in tuition fees.

As it was too late for her to apply to any other universities, Prissinotti chose to stay at Concordia and try to apply for awards and bursaries to help her pay for tuition. Since her tuition increased, she said she is spending hours every week emailing people and applying to different grants and bursaries.

“It’s kind of a part-time job, honestly,” Prissinotti said. “My break from doing homework is researching bursaries.”

She had an in-person meeting at the Ombuds Office in September 2024 for help on applying to scholarships and awards. On Sept. 15, she received confirmation from an ombudsperson that they will be looking into her file.

“I will look into the scholarships available through Financial Aid for new students and see what I can find out regarding eligibility for people in your situation,” the ombudsperson said in the email.

Prissinotti exchanged a few more emails with the Ombuds Office and, on Jan. 20, 2025, she asked if it would be possible to provide an estimated end date to the investigation as the results will determine whether or not she needs to start applying to other universities.

She was told that the Ombuds Office cannot provide a date but that they are hoping the investigation will be completed soon. She only received a notice of conclusion of her file on March 5, 2025.

The office informed her she was not eligible for any out-of-province student awards as she is neither a student applying to Concordia from high school or a student transferring from an external Canadian university or college, which are the listed requirements for these awards.

“We therefore see no unfairness and we have no recommendations,” the decision reads.

The office also told Prissinotti that Concordia is planning on developing regular communications with program directors so that students can be advised appropriately on tuition increases.

After months of unsuccessful communication, Prissinotti says she feels she has received next to no support from the university.

“It’s just a cycle of getting the same email,” she said. “They’d tell me to talk to this person and that person and everyone had the same answer, which was to look at the financial aid website for awards and bursaries of which—even if I got all the ones that I was eligible for—would not cover half of the cost.”

Prissinotti is not the only student feeling frustrated. Ella Rutera, a journalism student with a minor in education from Saskatchewan, said she wanted to switch to a communication major but couldn’t due to the cost.

Rutera also said she feels pressure to graduate before the end of the grace period in summer 2029, after which she would need to pay the new tuition rate.

“I had to declare a minor for my program, and with my specific minor, [the classes] are always full and I can never take any,” Rutera said. “I definitely feel pressure that I have to graduate on time.”

Prissinotti said she feels that the university has no support system for students in her situation.

“I think that the university should have been more organized on that front of letting people know when this was going to be happening, even if they didn’t know,” Prissinotti said. “They should have prioritized supporting students who this was happening to.”

Looking to the future, as the date has passed for Prissinotti to apply to other universities, she is hoping to find a way to secure enough funding to finish her degree.

This article originally appeared in Volume 45, Issue 11, published March 18, 2025.

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Tuition hikes threaten student services

Local Journalism Initiative / The Link / April 1, 2025 / CAQ, Concordia University, Geneviève Sylvestre, Tuition Hikes

Geneviève Sylvestre,
Local Journalism Initiative

Concordia’s precarious financial situation can be felt in every corner of the school

Concordia University is facing what is being referred to as “extraordinarily challenging times” in the budget updates for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, leading to a drop in student services.

The Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) tuition hikes at English-language universities increased the tuition for out-of-province students to $12,000 and of international students to a minimum of $20,000. International students from France and francophones from Belgium pay out-of-province student fees.

Angelica Antonakopoulos is the Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA)’s academic coordinator. She says the government has made the Quebec education system inaccessible.

“Our institutions, especially English institutions in the province of Quebec, have now been priced out of the game,” Antonakopoulos said.

Concordia is experiencing the largest drop in enrollment in its history, with a projected drop of 1,200 students for 2024-2025. Registration for out-of-province students has declined by 28 per cent and for international students by 11 per cent.

Concordia student groups and student unions are all funded by a fee-levy collected from each student’s tuition based on the number of credits they are taking. A decline in the student population leads to a decrease in funding for these groups.

According to Danna Ballantyne, the external and mobilization coordinator for the Concordia Student Union (CSU), the decrease in funding is already being felt by the CSU.

“We’ve had to forecast a decrease in budget because of a drop in enrollment,” Ballantyne said, “and that’s affecting the CSU in basically every facet.”

Concordia’s goal is to reach a deficit of $34.5 million for the 2024-2025 school year, down from the original projection of a $78.9 million deficit, requiring $35.8 million in budget cuts.

According to CSU Campaigns research, students can expect to see fewer course offerings, larger class sizes and a loss in funding to programs deemed inefficient.

Adam Sermergian is ASFA’s mobilization coordinator. He says that students are unhappy about some of the university’s budget cuts, mainly regarding the reduction of the shuttle bus service.

“ASFA [is] really trying to promote that we, as students, should have a say on what gets cut and what does not get cut,” Sermergian said.

The government’s new tuition framework makes it so a bigger percentage of tuition fees is clawed back from universities in Quebec to be added to a government pool split between the whole university network.

Before the new tuition framework, the tuition fees for international students were deregulated, with universities in Quebec setting the tuition fee for international students and keeping all of the revenue.

The government pool has increased 54 per cent since last year, from $259 million to $400 million. English institutions account for 50 per cent of the clawback, but will only be receiving 20 per cent in return.

Penelope Higgins, CSU’s campaigns researcher, has been working on two reports that will be published shortly regarding the history and impact of the tuition hikes on the Concordia student population. She believes this clawback is a way for the government to avoid investing in universities.

“It is a way of cutting public funding for them. They take more money from student fees, […] that gives the government more money to spend on universities that doesn’t have to come from public funding,” Higgins said. “So it’s a way of privatizing the source of funding for higher education.”

Higgins says that, regardless of tuition framework, international students are expected to pay for everyone.

“This is a larger and a longer fight for international students to be treated with justice, and to not be exploited as a source of funding to keep what are supposed to be state-funded public services in Canada alive,” she said.

Antonakopoulos says it’s important for students to care about tuition hikes because it is an issue that affects the entire student body.

“It’s really important for students to be incentivized to care,” Antonakopoulos said. “Because, even though they are not being affected personally at their bottom line, it is their education that will ultimately be affected.”

This article originally appeared in Volume 45, Issue 1, published September 3, 2024.

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Silent protest at Concordia art gallery following student arrests and director’s dismissal

Local Journalism Initiative / The Link / March 26, 2025 / Alice Martin, Concordia University, Cops Off Campus, Ésery Mondésir, India Das-Brown, Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery, Palestine, Pip Day

Ésery Mondésir (front) and members of the Concordia community sit in the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery to demonstrate against recent student arrests and the firing of Pip Day. Photo Alice Martin

India Das-Brown,
Local Journalism Initiative

Artists and members of Concordia’s community protested the university’s recent actions at the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery

On the evening of Nov. 21, Concordia University’s Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery hosted a conversation between artists Miryam Charles and Ésery Mondésir in the J.W. McConnell Building.

A few minutes into the event, it became clear that the artists would not be talking about their work, but rather holding a silent protest against the university.

“We are not here to talk about our work. There are things that are really, really more important,” Mondésir said, addressing the crowd of roughly 55 people in the small gallery space. “Not too long ago they transformed this place right here into a detention center. I have pictures of students who are arrested in handcuffs looking at my work, [that] is talking about liberation.”

On Oct. 31, two Concordia students were arrested at a “Cops Off Campus” demonstration and detained by SPVM officers inside the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery. This was one of multiple incidents criticized by Mondésir and Charles in their protest.

Charles, a Haitian-Canadian filmmaker from Montreal, learned of the arrests only a couple of hours before the silent protest when Mondésir showed her the pictures.

“I’m sad and frustrated about the fact that it happened,” Charles said. “I think that there is other ways to engage in dialogue with protesters, and arresting them is not the solution.”

On Nov. 18, The Link received confirmation that Concordia terminated Pip Day’s employment as director of the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery. Beginning her mandate in June of this year, the ex-director retained her position for less than six months.

According to Mondésir, the community has reason to believe Day was fired because of her support for Palestine.

“The director is not here. We should ask the university, ‘Why isn’t Pip here?’” asked Mondésir, addressing the crowd.

When asked about the motivations behind Day’s firing, Concordia spokesperson Vannina Maestracci told The Link, “We don’t discuss employee matters. Concordia always respects its employees’ freedom of expression, as is quite evident from the diversity of views and stances regularly expressed by members of the community.”

On Oct. 11, the ex-director of the gallery had planned to host a screening of the documentary Resistance, Why? at Concordia’s J.A. DeSève Cinema. On the evening of Oct. 10, the university’s Campus Safety and Prevention Services sent Day a “postponement notice” for the screening, due to “additional information regarding the event in question which necessitates further review.”

The screening was organized as a pay-what-you-can fundraising event, followed by a discussion moderated by members of Regards palestiniens, a Montreal-based collective that organizes Palestinian film screenings.

“Why did they not have the screening that was scheduled to happen here?” asked Mondésir, before inviting the crowd to join him and Charles in silent protest at the gallery.

According to Regards palestiniens, the event had been pre-approved almost a week before Oct. 11.

“That’s one reason we consider this censorship,” said a member of the collective, granted anonymity due to fear of occupational repercussions. “Another reason we consider this censorship is because the university considered that it’s a problem with the event being a one-sided fundraiser.”

Regards palestiniens questioned why the university had allegedly had an issue with one-sided fundraising for Palestine, while the university’s website lists a donation link to the Ukrainian army.

As an act of protest, the collective projected the film onto the wall of Concordia’s Henry F. Hall Building at the corner of Mackay St. and De Maisonneuve Blvd. W. There, they were surrounded by nine cop cars, including a cop van, and more cops than people, according to the collective.

“All fundraising efforts are, by nature, ‘one-sided.’ It would be unconscionable to attempt to make this effort ‘two-sided’ by supporting the continuation of this genocide,” wrote the collective on the morning of Oct. 11, in an email that was forwarded to three members of Concordia’s administration. “To do so would be to engage in dangerous complicity, in contempt of the ICJ’s (International Court of Justice) ruling—an issue that, unfortunately, both the Canadian government and Concordia University have failed to confront with the seriousness it requires.”

The silent protest at the Leonard & Bina Ellen Art Gallery welcomed people to break the silence with poems or songs in the spirit of protest.

Alexis O’Hara, a Canadian transdisciplinary performer and friend of Day, shared a poem Day had sent her, titled “Revolutionary Letter #25,” by Beat poet Diane di Prima.

“These institutions are revealed to be far more Zionist than we thought,” O’Hara told The Link. “The sooner we can all wake up and join the resistance, the better off we’ll be.”

Miguel Soriano, a recent master’s graduate in media studies and communication at Concordia, came to the gallery in expectation of attending a talk between Mondésir and Charles. However, he was far from disappointed with the surprise protest.

“In history, student radicalism is what leads to change,” Soriano said. “It’s really nice to see artists and people come in to talk at the university or [those who are] not directly affiliated also take a stand. And I think that shows so much; it shows their solidarity with people who are actually actively protesting or getting arrested.”

Mondésir said the silent protest was held in solidarity with the student strikes for Palestine, which had taken place earlier that day.

“It would be very hypocritical of me to come here and have my little talk and talk about whatever and not take a stance,” said Mondésir, who is also an assistant professor at the Ontario College of Art & Design University in Toronto. For him, the arrests made in the gallery space on Oct. 31 are sacrilegious.

“It should be the space where I know that I can express myself and have the freedom to do so, and not having to think about what will happen if somebody doesn’t like what I say,” Mondésir said. “So by them doing this here, I think it was outrageous. It was sacrilege. It was a desecration of this place.”

According to Mondésir, the university’s termination of Day’s employment was an attempt to silence protest, which he and Charles responded to with silent protest.

“I just cannot sit with that,” Mondésir said. “If you look at the work that I do, it would be very hypocritical of me.”

Silent protest at Concordia art gallery following student arrests and director’s dismissal Read More »

Concordia president’s base salary exceeds $500,000

Local Journalism Initiative / The Link / January 2, 2025 / Concordia University, Geneviève Sylvestre, Graham Carr, Senior administration

Graphic Maria Cholakova

Geneviève Sylvestre,
Local Journalism Initiative

A breakdown of Concordia University senior administration salaries in 2023-2024

In the 2023-2024 academic year, Concordia University President Graham Carr received a $33,352 salary increase, up 6.84 per cent from the year prior. Carr’s salary totalled $520,829 including other taxable amounts for the year.

Concordia’s financial statements and statements of salaries for the year ending on April 30, 2024 were completed in October and released on the Assemblée nationale du Québec’s website on Nov. 29.

The other highest-paid members of Concordia’s senior administration include VP of Services and Sustainability Michael Di Grappa, Provost and VP of Academic Anne Whitelaw and VP of Research and Graduate Studies Dominique Bérubé. They received salary increases of $10,133, $10,626 and $10,901 respectively.

Salary increases for university senior administration in Quebec must be made in accordance with the rules and regulations from the Quebec government, laid out in article 5.11 of the Règles budgétaires et calcul des subventions de fonctionnement aux universités du Québec.

According to Concordia spokesperson Julie Fortier, the salary increases for senior administration were equal or equivalent to those given to other “unions and associations” at the university.

She also claimed that the president and other senior administration members donated the amount of their salary increase for 2023-2024 to the university.

The increases come as Concordia is facing what it refers to as “extraordinarily challenging times” following the Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ)’s tuition hikes for English-language universities.

Arts and Science Federation of Associations (ASFA) academic coordinator Angelica Antonakopoulos said that the recent cuts have resulted in ASFA executive members being spread too thin as they attempt to mobilize against different austerity measures.

“We’re sitting in these meetings with university administrators over and over and over and the response that we get almost ad nauseam is there’s just not enough money,” Antonakopoulos said, adding that she finds it hypocritical for senior administration to raise their salaries as they cut and reduce student services.

“I’m very disappointed, evidently, but I’m also not surprised,” she said. “I kind of expected to see this coming.”

Antonakopoulos added that, even if administration members have given away the amount of their salary increase, she is nonetheless left wondering why they accepted the increase in the first place.

“I think this just underscores the fact that Concordia acts in bad faith financially,” said Antonakopoulos. “There have been calls for both divestment and anti-austerity measures yet the university can’t even manage financial austerity.”

In the budget updates for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, Concordia outlined that it implemented cuts of 7.8 per cent to reach its goal of ending the year with a $34.5 million deficit, down from the original projection of $78.9 million.

Cuts have included reducing the shuttle bus service, maintaining the hiring freeze implemented in the 2023-2024 school year, cutting courses with low enrolment, and the closing of the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies.

Concordia president’s base salary exceeds $500,000 Read More »

Domestic terrorists take over Concordia building

Local Journalism Initiative / The Suburban / December 25, 2024 / Concordia University, Editor, Joel Goldenberg, protests

By Joel Goldenberg and Beryl Wajsman, Editor
The Suburban

Anti-Israel protests at Concordia University last Thursday in which there were words and actions reminiscent of the Nazis has sparked an outcry in Montreal, across Canada and around the world. The protests took place as part of a two-day strike by hundreds of students from Concordia and McGill Universities, and Dawson College. Dawson and Concordia’s Hall Building closed for the day citing safety concerns.

At one point, the entire Hall Building at Concordia had been broken into and occupied by a mob and video clips showed the protesters breaking down doors, breaking lights and glass and spraying graffiti on walls and lockers. Concordia security tried to stop the protesters, but they flooded the main floor of the Hall building, where they overturned garbage cans and flooded in. Police are looking into an alleged assault on a security guard and alleged acts of mischief.

One protester, Mai Abdulhadi, a franchisee owner/operator of the Second Cup location at the Jewish General Hospital, was videoed saying “the final solution is coming your way,” to pro-Israel counter protesters, and giving the Nazi salute with several others. After the evidence of her actions came to light, Second Cup terminated her franchisee agreement. Second Cup stated that it “has zero tolerance for hate speech. In coordination with the hospital, we shut down the franchisee’s café and are terminating their franchise agreement. This franchisee’s actions are not only a breach of our franchise agreement, they also violate the values of inclusion and community we stand for at Second Cup.”

Quebec Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry stated, “..it is unacceptable that institutions feel forced to close their doors. Students should be able to access their classes safely; it is their right. Now, what we are asking is for the demonstrations to take place calmly and without excesses. Quebecers do not want us to import the conflict here.”

Federation CJA and CIJA issued a joint statement saying they are “horrified by the violence that unfolded today across university campuses. To be clear, today was not a ‘strike’, but an aggressive and unacceptable campaign of intimidation. While we recognize university administrators sought to protect students today, more must be done to ensure the shameful episode never reoccurs.

“Hate, intimidation and harassment of a targeted student population gone unchecked for 14 months resulted in today’s unacceptable so-called ‘strike’. We also reiterate our disappointment that Dawson College chose to preemptively cave into the mob and close its doors. We are in contact with administrators, law enforcement, and other security personnel and will use every tool at our disposal to ensure student safety. Jewish students, like all others, have the right to learn in a safe and secure academic environment and today they were not able to do so.”

B’nai Brith Canada stated, “the growing trend of student strikes raise serious concerns not just about safety at our schools and campuses, but also the broader impact on students trying to focus on their studies. The rise of ideological conformity amongst students has weaponized principles like diversity and inclusion to foster a mob mentality and silence dissent. This trend jeopardizes both community safety and the integrity of educational institutions.”

Deborah Lyons, Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism, said, “…Nazi-style salutes. Shouts of ‘stupid Zionist btch’ and ‘the final solution is coming your way’, attempts to break down doors. This is not peaceful. This is not free expression. The tools to deal with incitement and harassment exist — we expect administrations and municipalities to use them.”

Michal Cotler-Wunsh, Israel’s Special Envoy for Combatting Antisemitism, posted, “THIS is the product of YEARS of silence, false moral equivalence, impunity…for systematic weaponization of human rights to intimidate, bully, harass ANY voices identified with Israel, mainstreaming a modern, lethal strain of antisemitism, which also enables the targeting of a former Minister of Justice and human rights warrior in Montreal (her father Irwin Cotler), even as the Canadian PM aligns with the Orwellian International Criminal Court citing ‘the Canadian way’.”

U.S. pro-Israel activist Eyal Yakoby, who has appeared on American cable networks, posted, “..these are domestic terrorists. There is no other way to describe them.” n

Domestic terrorists take over Concordia building Read More »

Students sue Concordia and its President to enforce anti-hate rules

Local Journalism Initiative / The Suburban / November 26, 2024 / Concordia University, Graham Carr, injunction, Joel Goldenberg

By Joel Goldenberg and Beryl Wajsman, Editor
The Suburban

Concordia University and its president Graham Carr were served Friday with a mis-en-demeure filed in Quebec Superior Court that seeks a permanent injunction demanding that the university enforce its rules against hate and intimidation, in light of events that took place following the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attack against Israel. The university is also accused of being in breach of contract. Concordia officials told The Suburban the university does not comment on pending legal proceedings.

“Since Oct. 7, 2023, conditions at Concordia have worsened to the point that, for plaintiffs and others, Concordia has become a bastion of Jew-hatred and antisemitism,” the document says. “Concordia permits students and non-students to advocate for, without consequence, the murder of Jews and the destruction of the State of Israel on campus.” The case was prepared by Spiegel Sohmer senior partner Neil Oberman and Michael Hollander of Choueke Hollander.

Student plaintiffs in legal actions against local universities in the past year have been mostly anonymous, but this time Concordia students Anastasia Zorchinsky, Michael Eshayek, Drew Sylver and Diana Levitin have come forward publicly. Other plaintiffs are Hillel Concordia and the student activist group Startup Nation, headed by Zorchinsky and Eshayek. Sylver and Levitin are members of the Concordia Student Union.

The 109-page action states that it, “arises from a need to ensure safety and protection of the plaintiffs who have been subjected to discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and violence based on their ethnicity, religion, and beliefs by other students, faculty members, staff, or administrators of the university.They share a common interest in seeking justice and accountability from the university and Graham Carr personally for their failure to protect them and to uphold its own values and policies.”

The suit states that while Concordia claims to be committed “to creating an environment of respect and inclusiveness” and to fostering “a culture of prevention, reporting, and response” to address issues of sexual violence, racism, and discrimination,” “these claims are contradicted by the reality faced by the student plaintiffs at Concordia.These students have suffered physical, psychological, and academic harm because of Graham Carr’s and the university’s negligence, breach of contract, and violation of their fundamental rights.”

The plaintiffs also state that Concordia has “violated its contractual duties to the students by not ensuring a secure, respectful, and fair learning environment, by neglecting to prevent, properly investigate, and address incidents of harm and hate; and by failing to adhere to its own policies and procedures as well as relevant laws and regulations.”

Examples include chants at rallies, signs and graffiti stating “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” “globalize the Intifada,” and “all Zionists are terrorists”; celebrations by Concordia students of the Oct. 7 attack on Oct. 8, including distributing candies around the campus; the Nov. 8 riot against pro-Israel students at the Hall building, which included assaults; an occupation of a university building in late November, during which plaintiff Eshayek was asked “how many babies did you kill today?”; and many other incidents, including the March 4 blockade at Federation CJA of a pro-Israel event that was supposed to take place at Concordia but was cancelled by the same administration that had allowed anti-Israel events to take place.

The students add that the university has “violated their right to equality, dignity, access to education and security, under the Quebec Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms by allowing and condoning a climate of discrimination, harassment, intimidation, and violence within the university. Graham Carr, in his capacity as president and vice-chancellor of Concordia, was under the obligation to ensure the safety and security of the plaintiffs on campus. His inaction, neglect, indifference, and dereliction of duties to have allowed intimidating, offensive, demeaning, threatening, disruptive, unwelcome, and unwanted conduct to flourish on campus.”

The university is specifically accused of, since Oct. 7, a “repeated and repetitive failure to investigate incidents of antisemitism and acts that are targeted at Plaintiffs on campus, provide proper trainings or methodologies to its staff and representatives in dealing with the verbal assaults, harassment, and/or bullying matters on campus, provide students at Concordia with resources and proper education on the issue of antisemitism, assaults, bullying and zero-tolerance policies; adequately document, and discipline or sanction students and student organizations involved in antisemitism, assaults, harassment, and/or bullying on and off campus.”

The university and Carr are also accused of a failure to “take the appropriate steps to adequately investigate the activities of students involved in antisemitism, assaults, harassment, and/or bullying on and off campus; take the appropriate steps to denounce and reject antisemitic movements at Concordia, including, but not limited to, any organization for the BDS movement, and any organization that promote hatred towards Jewish persons; take the appropriate steps to sanction students and student groups from supporting antisemitic movements on campus, including, but not limited to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement; properly identify, counsel and assist Jewish students, including plaintiffs, once they became harassed and assaulted by persons on campus; take the appropriate steps to address the antisemitic behaviour and rhetoric on campus using its own internal policies, regulations and guidelines in a timely manner; take the appropriate steps to terminate its agreement with students and student groups for breach of internal policies, regulations and guidelines, particularly those relating to the dissemination of violence, hate propaganda and hate speech; and to enforce policies such as wearing masks or covering your face while on campus; and enforce policies in view of preventing general disorderly conduct and lawlessness on campus.” n

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Students set up indefinite encampment for Palestine at McGill

Local Journalism Initiative / The Link / October 6, 2024 / Concordia University, divestment, Hannah-Scott Talib, McGill Encampment, Palestine

Photo Hannah-Scott Talib

Hannah-Scott Talib,
Local Journalism Initiative

Hundreds of students demand that McGill and Concordia divest their funds supporting Israel

Starting at 1:30 pm on April 27, students from McGill and Concordia University banded together to create an indefinite encampment by the Roddick Gates on McGill’s main campus.

The coalition of students that organized the encampment contained members of Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) groups from both universities as well as participants of the McGill Hunger Strike. It was also co-organized by both Concordia and McGill chapters of the Independent Jewish Voices group. At the time of the start of the encampment, around one hundred students were within and picketing around the space. The number drastically increased by the end of the afternoon as passers-by and marchers from a nearby protest led by the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) joined in.

This encampment comes at a time when student demonstrations to liberate Palestine are at a high at universities around the globe. This week marks the second week of this spike in student protest movements, with students at New York’s Columbia University being some of the kickstarters of the student revolution for Palestine.

“We are here to follow the revolutionary student movement and demand divestment at McGill and Concordia — it’s the demand of pretty much all the students in North America,” said Ali Salman, spokesperson for the student encampment movement at McGill. “We’re here indefinitely, we’re here until our demands are met, so let’s hope that the community can not only sustain it but also defend it.”

Salman added that the encampment will not end until the students’ demands for McGill and Concordia to divest from funds contributing to the genocide in Gaza are met by the universities.

In a statement released by McGill University on April 29, it was acknowledged that the amount of protesters within the encampment has tripled since it was first set up. The statement equally included a claim that “video evidence of some people using unequivocally antisemitic language and intimidating behaviour” had been seen, and also states that the encampment violates both the “right to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly”. McGill administration representatives were eventually sent to the field to make a ‘final warning’ asking for the encampment protesters to leave. The speech was drowned out by the demonstrators.

Police presence increased on April 29, but were effectively prevented from entering the encampment.

The PYM Montreal march that coincided with the encampment’s first day began at 2 p.m. at the Guy-Concordia metro station. Protesters made their way up Sherbrooke Street towards McGill University, reaching the encampment at around 3:30 p.m.

Upon reaching the area, marchers joined the picket line around the encampment, shouting chants such as “Until schools divest, we will not stop, we will not rest” and “listen to the (International Court of Justice) ICJ, genocide is not okay.”

Kanien’kehá:ka activist, artist and filmmaker Ellen Gabriel gave a guest speech at the encampment.

“We are here to say that all human rights are universal, all human rights are applied to each and every one of us equally, not because we belong to a certain sect or to a certain race, but because we are all human beings and for that, what you are doing today is important,” said Gabriel, addressing the students within the encampment and the crowd gathered around it.
On the picket line, protesters held up banners that read “Ceasefire”, “Free gaza now”, “Jews against genocide” and more.

“The warmongers are listening to you right now — they see you, they’re scared of you. Don’t be scared of them, because fear is what they feed off of. Fear is what they want you to feel,” said Gabriel. “What you are doing today is for humanity and what you are doing today is not just for Palestinians but for all people.”

Outreach for the encampment attracted a crowd beyond just McGill and Concordia students as well.

“I got the news on social media,” said one protester who was granted anonymity for safety reasons. “In the first few hours I think it’s very important to show our support and say that [this cause] is serious, [and] to support legitimate demands.”

The student added that they felt it was heart-warming to be a part of the ongoing global student revolution and seeing the increase in action to push for divestments and a permanent ceasefire in Palestine across North America this week.

“[The fact] that students can possibly have the time or the capacity to be somewhere — to be at this encampment, to always show up to protests […] I think it’s amazing,” said one Concordia student protester. “Everyone should be doing it but I think students [in particular]. We’re at university to learn, to share ideas, to think critically about situations, and it doesn’t take much critical thinking to see what’s going on is just genocide.”

The encampment is accepting donations of tents, batteries, blankets and more from the general public. Updates on the needs of the protesters can be found on Instagram at the accounts @pymmontreal, @sphrconu and @sphrmcgill.

Following the publication of this article, The Link was made aware that the Concordia and McGill Independent Jewish Voices chapters also participated in the organizing of the encampment. The article has been modified to reflect this information.

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Concordia creates new task force to tackle racism on campus

Local Journalism Initiative / The Link / October 6, 2024 / Concordia University, Maria Cholakov, Matthew Daldalian, Standing Together against Racism and Identity-based Violence, STRIVE, task force

Due to rise of racism on campus, Concordia has created a new task force which promises to create a safe campus space. Photo Matthew Daldalian

Maria Cholakova,
Local Journalism Initiative

The university promises to create a safe campus for students of diverse backgrounds

On April 3, Concordia President Graham Carr informed students by email that a new task force called Standing Together against Racism and Identity-based Violence (STRIVE) has been formed.

The creation of the task force comes after months of increasing tension on campus. On Nov. 8, 2023, a confrontation in the Henry F. Hall building between Israeli and Palestinian students turned violent. More recently, on March 13, a few students from the Muslim Student Association (MSA) expressed that they do not feel safe on campus, due to claims of Zionist students verbally harassing them on a regular basis. Several members of MSA accused students of calling them terrorists, pro-Hamas supporters and MSA terrorists.

According to Carr, since October 2023, there has been an increase in “manifestations of hate, acts of intimidation and other instances of identity-based violence.” In his statement, Carr said these incidents are unacceptable.

The university created STRIVE as a result of increasing identity-based violence on campus. According to the university’s website, the task force will aim to address identity-based violence, strengthen anti-discrimination efforts and develop new policies and initiatives to combat discrimination at Concordia.

The task force will consist of one overseeing body and six subcommittees. Each subcommittee will consist of one lead and three members representing staff, students and faculty. The subcommittees will tackle key issues, including antisemitism, anti-Arab racism, Islamophobia, anti-Asian racism, transphobia, as well as campus climate and campus engagement.

For each subcommittee, the university will examine existing campus policies and systems in place for complaints. The university will also evaluate the community’s access to campus services and speak to the relevant Concordia and Montreal communities to deduce what measures are needed.

According to Concordia’s website, the committees are seeking participants to join the task force.

This isn’t the first time the university has created a task force. Concordia currently has one task force, the Task Force on anti-Black Racism. Alongside the task force, Concordia also created a committee on Sexual Misconduct and Sexual Violence in 2018—the latter of which has been heavily criticized by students. These criticisms involve being non-student-centric and unable to adequately deal with cases or listening to student complaints.

Carr promises to notify the student body of any advancements or progress made by STRIVE.

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Concordia hosts its third annual powwow

Local Journalism Initiative / The Link / October 6, 2024 / Concordia University, Indigenous, Joy Benyamin, Otsenhákta Student Centre, Powwow

Elder Delbert Sampson dressed in regalia waiting for the opening ceremony to begin. Photo Joy Benyamin

Joy Benyamin,
Local Journalism Initiative

The event celebrates Indigenous students at Concordia

On Sept. 13, Concordia University hosted its third annual powwow at the Loyola Campus, a celebration honouring Indigenous cultures.

Organized by the Otsenhákta Student Centre, the event highlights the success of First Nations, Inuit and Métis students via a showcase of tradition, music and dance. It aimed to highlight Indigenous voices and teach attendees about Indigenous culture.

The diversity of Indigenous cultures was represented through traditional songs and dances such as hoop dancing, a Métis jig and a smoke dance demonstration. Throughout the afternoon, the crowd was given the opportunity to participate in the powwow by joining several performances.

A dozen tables were also set up for the event with local Indigenous vendors selling a variety of goods, accessories and artworks such as beadwork, bags and pendants. In collaboration with the powwow, the Hive Free Lunch program served various Indigenous dishes, such as Three Sisters Soup and bannock biscuits.

The powwow ended at around 4 p.m. with a closing ceremony.

Local indigenous vendors, such as Cree Stones Jewelry, set up tables around Loyola Campus selling various goods. Photo Joy Benyamin

Performers, staff and attendees mingled throughout the Pow Wow event. Photo Joy Benyamin

Powwow staff member Savannah Matteinu-Gabriel is helping a performer secure a feather in their hair. Photo Joy Benyamin

Attendees watching performers demonstrating a traditional dance during the powwow. Photo Joy Benyamin

The powwow ended around 4 p.m. after the closing ceremony. Photo Joy Benyamin

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Student group says Concordia lies on fighting antisemitism

Local Journalism Initiative / The Suburban / February 28, 2024 / antisemitism, Concordia University, Jewish students, Joel Goldenberg, Neil Oberma, StartUp Nation

By Joel Goldenberg

The recent response by Canadian universities to MPs that calling for the genocide of Jews violates Codes of Conduct and other issues does not match the reality on the ground, specifically at Concordia University, says the group StartUp Nation. Concordia denies this is the case. The university has received legal demand letters from attorney Neil Oberman, senior partner at Spiegel Sohmer, on behalf of Jewish students who accuse the university of allowing rampant antisemitism by pro-Hamas students that have included physical attacks on Jews.

Legal action has been launched against Concordia and other universities, calling for action against hate on campus.The group StartUp Nation organized last November’s pro-Israel rally at Concordia University, which took place after pro-Israel students were assaulted verbally and phsyically by pro-Hamas individuals.

The StartUp Nation letter, addressed to MPs Anthony Housefather, Ben Carr, Marco Mendicino, Anna Gainey and outgoing MP David Lametti, pointed out that “tensions on university campuses have skyrocketed since the brutal terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel on Oct. 7, and we congratulate you for reaching out to university leadership across Canada to gain a better understanding of the steps they are taking to fight hatred and racism and ensure students feel safe on their campuses.

“More needs to be done, and we are looking to elected officials like you to show leadership and to speak out,” wrote StartUp Nation founder Anastasia Zorchinsky and Vice President, External Affairs Michael Eshayek.

The two added that “unfortunately, there is a significant discrepancy between the answers provided and our on the ground reality. “To be clear, the administration is failing to implement its own policies. While we welcome the administration stating that ‘calling for genocide against the Jewish people . . . constitute a violation of Concordia’s University’s Code of Rights and Responsibilities,’ until now this policy has not been enforced. For example, posters have appeared on campus declaring ‘Free Palestine! Intifada Until Victory!’ At the November demonstration in the Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Integrated Complex (EV Building) an enormous map appeared as a backdrop where Israel has been removed. Demonstrators frequently chant ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ and call upon, among other things, for the university to ‘cease exchange programs with Israeli institutions and cut ties with current and future Zionist donors.’”

Zorchinsky and Eshayek wrote that Concordia’s Code of Rights and Responsibilities “forbids demonstrators from hiding their faces by wearing masks. “Once again, this policy is not being enforced. We in fact fear that a good number of the instigators of the demonstrations on campus are not even Concordia students….To date, the administration has not launched proceedings against the instigators of recent demonstrations. We have for example indicated that Bara Iyad Abuhamed, a part-time student at Concordia since 2016, has broken our conduct code and is on campus in order to agitate. Mr. Abuhamed has been caught on film threatening and indeed attacking students and staff on campus. His posts on social media also call for violence against Jews. Yet the administration is turning a blind eye to his activities, and he has not been disciplined.”

StartUp Nation also argues that Concordia has not disciplined the Concordia Student Union and Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights in terms of a hostile environment on campus.

“They refer to Israel as an apartheid state, and together they have led anti-Israel activities, including a walk-out on campus. Leaders of the CSU are members of the SPHR and have been videotaped shunting at pro-Palestinian demonstrations. Contrary to its policies, the CSU has never consulted with Jewish and Israeli students and student groups like ours on the statements it has issued on the war in recent months and their impact on our community. The CSU has set a narrative on campus which makes Jewish and Israeli students unsafe, and the administration has not intervened.”

Asked for a response, Vannina Maestracci of Concordia’s media office referred us to the university’s response to the MPs and its Jan. 22 response to The Suburban, that “the university has taken several measures on campus to ensure our community’s safety, including increased monitoring of events and demonstrations as well as adding supplemental personnel when appropriate; meetings with student groups; the creation of a committee with expertise in mediation and conflict resolution; increased workshops on anti-discrimination for our community; launch of an active listening initiative to help community members address distressing events.

“I also want to reiterate that complaints and processes under the Code of Rights are confidential and, contrary to what is stated in the letter you refer to, we can confirm that the university is acting on complaints made following recent events. Also, regarding student associations, they are funded by student fee levies and are independent of Concordia University. In Quebec, the independence of student associations is enshrined in the Act respecting the accreditation and financing of students’ associations. However, Concordia University students and members are subject to the provisions of the Code of Rights and Responsibilities. Since Oct. 7, the university administration has held several meetings with members of student groups to ensure that any activities and demonstrations take place with respect for all members of the community and in contexts that are safe for all.” n

Student group says Concordia lies on fighting antisemitism Read More »

Concordia cancels speech by Oct. 7 massacre glorifier

Local Journalism Initiative / The Suburban / February 28, 2024 / Concordia University, Hamas, Joel Goldenberg, Sami Hamdi, speech

By Joel Goldenberg

Concordia University has cancelled a scheduled speech by Sami Hamdi, a British commentator who, on video, celebrated the Oct. 7 terrorist attack by Hamas in which 1,400 people in Israel were brutally murdered and more than 200 kidnapped. As The Suburban has reported, Concordia has received legal demand letters over the past month from attorney Neil Oberman, senior partner at Spiegel Sohmer, on behalf of Jewish students who accuse the university of allowing rampant antisemitism by pro-Hamas students that have included physical attacks on Jews.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs stated that both Concordia and Carleton had cancelled the speech, and welcomed the decision. “Our assessment revealed that this individual has made remarks that include celebrating violence,” Fiona Downey, a spokesperson for Concordia University said. “Based on this assessment we concluded that this event would create a climate of intimidation which we will not allow.”

Hamdi said in a speech 10 days after the massacre, “Allah has shown the world that no normalization can erase the Palestinian cause. When everybody thought it was finished, it is roaring. How many of you felt it in your hearts when you got the news that it happened? How many of you felt the euphoria? Allahu Akbari!” Hamdi also denied reports Hamas’s female victims were raped.

The commentator denies he celebrated Oct. 7. Hamdi has already spoken at Western University in London, Ontario.

Judy Zelikovitz, CIJA’s Vice-President of University and Local Partner Services, had posted Feb. 8 that “it’s outrageous that Sami Hamdi, an individual who has publicly and unabashedly celebrated the atrocious terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas against Jews on October 7, is being brought in by campus groups to speak at Canadian universities in Ontario and Quebec.

“By platforming Hamdi, these clubs are endorsing his beliefs and helping to spread hate on our campuses. Inviting Hamdi makes the clubs’ motives clear: it’s not about opposing war or supporting Palestinians, but rather celebrating harm to Jews. We’ve heard from students that they are overwhelmed with fear that a supporter of terrorism will be speaking on their campus at a time when Jewish students, faculty, and staff are the targets of increased hate. Freedom of speech and academic freedom are fundamental principles of Canadian society, but a reasonable limit should exist when it comes to celebrating terrorism.”

She added that “Jewish students, faculty, and staff have a right to feel safe on their campus. We call on the provincial governments to work with university administrators to ensure hate speech is not tolerated on Canadian campuses.” n

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CFC’s fight against food insecurity

Local Journalism Initiative / The Link / February 24, 2024 / Concordia University, food security

Photo Lana Brady

Solène de Bar
Local Journalism Initiative

As students face barriers to accessing affordable meals, organizations like the Concordia Food Coalition (CFC) aim to help students and provide essential support in the fight against food insecurity on campus.

“When we table on the mezzanine level of the Hall building, the common questions we receive from students are where to get access to free food on campus or how they can get involved in the food system,” said Maggie Morrison, education and food group development coordinator at CFC.

The CFC is worried about the economic, ecological, and social implications of the food system at Concordia. Its main goal is to build a community-centered food system at the university and with the surrounding communities. They achieve this through various initiatives including Concordia Farmer’s Market, and collaborating with programs such as the People’s Potato, the Hive Free Lunch and the Frigo Vert. CFC is working closely with them, from helping out where needed to organizing events, such as the Loyola Food Fair in the shared space with Hive Free Lunch.

The coalition is hosting numerous events during the winter 2024 semester. One of those events is a new series called Organizing Food Sovereignty, which collaborates with different campus food groups on a monthly basis, to bring students together around food-related events and activities. January marked the debut of Dinner and Documentaries, uniting students over food and community-themed films. The event, featuring the film “Gather,” was held on Feb. 21 at Frigo Vert, offering free vegetarian meals.

In addition, a new program partnership with Improove, a local food program in Montreal offers $15 anti-waste baskets to students with fresh fruits and vegetables. Students can pick up the baskets on Wednesday afternoon at the Frigo Vert or Thursday afternoon from the Hive Free Lunch space.

“The Concordia Food Coalition’s initiatives are seriously shaking things up for us students. They’re not just handing out food; they’re giving us a way to dive into important food-related subjects with other students. It’s nice to see these impactful changes happening right on our campuses,” said Jules Vaucelle, a film studies student who regularly comes by the Hive Free Lunch.

With the current food crisis and increasing grocery prices, the CFC finds it crucial to spearhead these new initiatives as students are struggling to afford three meals a day. According to CFC, events that are being held have proven to be very helpful to students. “Our events where food is available are the most popular ones,” said Morrison. “Our Fall Equinox Party at the Loyola campus with the farmer’s market and food groups was very popular, indicating that students do want to connect and eat together.”

Viktoriya Gritsayeva maintains a $50 food budget to help balance her expenses for both her apartment and tuition. “A lot of times I won’t even eat. I just have a cup of coffee and some nuts and then that’s it,” said Gritsayeva, a science foundation certificate student who was initially unfamiliar with the Hive Free Lunch at Loyola campus.

Gritsayeva isn’t the only one facing this situation. According to a study by Meal Exchange, 49.5 per cent of the respondents reported that they had to sacrifice buying food in order to pay for essential expenses such as rent, tuition and textbooks.

For students seeking to play an active role, CFC encourages students to volunteer by participating in campus food groups or attending educational events like the upcoming Organizing Food Sovereignty series.

“Food connects us all,” said Morrison. “If you’re interested in learning more about the food system, no matter what stage you’re at in terms of knowledge, get involved and know how it functions, and what your role is in it.”

CFC’s fight against food insecurity Read More »

Concordia and McGill to sue Quebec over tuition hikes

Local Journalism Initiative / The Link / February 24, 2024 / Concordia University, lawsuit, McGill University, Quebec government

Photo Alice Martin

Maria Cholakova
Local Journalism Initiative

On Feb. 23, Concordia President Graham Carr announced that the university is set to take legal action against the province after months of discussions with the government.

According to Carr’s statement, the decision to pursue legal action comes after months of unsuccessful talks with the government and Coalition Avenir Québec’s (CAQ) rejection of Concordia’s French language program proposal.

The CAQ has reduced the increase for out-of-province students from $17,000 to $12,000. However, despite the change, Carr wrote that the provincial government “never worked with us in any substantive way to hear, let alone address, our wide-ranging concerns.”

Concordia is already feeling the effects of the hikes, with the university seeing a 27 per cent decrease in out-of-province student applications. In addition, the university is already in financial trouble, with a current deficit of $35 million, on top of the $362 million of total debt.

Due to these challenges, Concordia is ready to take legal action, stating that they “have no choice but to pursue a just outcome.”

Concordia’s main reasons for the action are its financial troubles, the belief that “diversity is a critical driver of excellence,” the need for accessible education for all, and the importance of “equality among francophone and anglophone linguistic groups and the protection of Quebec’s minority English-language community.”

Concordia isn’t the only English university taking legal action. McGill has also pursued a similar lawsuit, although completely separate from Concordia’s.

Apart from the Concordia administration’s efforts to put an end to the tuition hikes, student groups around campus have continued their mobilization efforts. Twelve student associations went on strike from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, and many are set to strike again from March 11 to March 15.

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