Part 1: How the Quebec government ripped up the student's proposals and walked away from the negotiating table

This document reprints part one of an assessment and summary of the recent negotiations and has been widely circulated among students in Quebec. An important read also for students outside of Quebec, it shows the clash of ideas that is taking place at the negotiation table and major issues of the strike. Written the CLASSE negotiating committee and typed by Carl Oullette last night, the original text is available in French here and, again in French, in PDF here.  RY magazine apologizes for any errors in our rapid translation. The document has been edited and explanations added. We repeat again that this crisis has been created by the government's intransigence, which is shown in black and white in the comments of Quebec Premier Jean Charest below.  Part two is coming soon.

Student leaders from the three main student centrals speak to the press after negotiations
again broke down with the government yesterday following four days of talks in Quebec City.

Assessment and summary of the CLASSE after four days of negotiations.

by Carl Ouellette 
Thursday, 31 May

The CLASSE returns to Quebec for Round 4

For the fourth time, the CLASS was invited back to the negotiation table. On Thursday we recieved a call from Pierre Pilote to tell us that we would meet again after our Congress. On Sunday we had confirmation that the meeting will be held in Quebec City at 14:00. Monday morning we get on board the Justin-négo-mobile. Direction: Quebec City.

Student struggles in Canada

Excerpt from the 25th Central Convention documents of the Young Communist League of Canada on the struggle of high school and post-secondary students.

The primary contradiction in the struggle for increased access to education is: corporations want a trained workforce but they will not pay for it through corporate taxes, forcing the people to pay for education through wages, savings and especially debt. The working people want accessible, emancipatory education.

This class perspective is often obscured. The struggle for access is presented as a simply universal fight against the government. Right-social democratic ideas in the student movement deliberately avoid class perspectives and misrepresent the state as neutral. Yet the state’s decisions are, generally, in line with the banks and businesses. And the single largest group of youth impeded and excluded from post-secondary are youth from the working-class majority.