There's something about Montreal

In 2010, the Ontario government passed a secret regulation to drastically expand police power to arrest, search and detain without any legislative vote or publication during the G20 summit; Ontarians hardly cared. In contrast, when the Quebec government passed an emergency law, Bill 78, to restrict any public demonstration over 50 people, the public in Quebec responded decisively.

The annual Earth Day in 2012 draws a quarter million Quebeckers to march for the environment and against climate change and the anti-science measures taken by the Harper government.  On May 22, 2012, tens of thousands of Montréalers again marched to mark the 100 days of student protest in Quebec and in defiance of the restrictions imposed by the recently passed (and very likely unconstitutional) Bill 78.

Even though a recent G20 report conducted by the Office of the Independent Police Review director condemned Toronto police and their use of kettling and various police aggressions during the G20 summit, the Ontario government as well as the Toronto Police Chief Officer both refuse to apologize for the way police exercised their power during the G20 summit.

When authorities deny any wrongdoings, it is so no wonder that history is repeating itself in Montreal.

The Montreal police used their newly legislated power to “kettle" thousands of protesters and bystanders and arrested 518 people this past Wednesday, May 24, 2012.

It’s not a surprise to learn that many people, especially those from the English speaking part of Canada, berated these protesters for their supposed sense of entitlements about a free public post secondary education, or that these young protesters are simply punks with no jobs. What I found surprising, however, is that Quebeckers actually take their politics and their distinct Quebec Charter of Human Rights (for a free public education) seriously, unlike their peers from the rest of Canada. Quebeckers stand up proudly to march for their freedom to assemble and free education night after night despite severe police aggressions that led to the largest ever mass arrest in Canada's history.

 

Canadians need to take inspiration from the students in Montreal  and assert our dignity, which is being eroded by the Charest government, as well as the Harper government as they continue to bully unemployed and unionized workers, dismiss scientists, and restrict the voices of young people who can’t find a decent employment due to the increasing disparity and inequality echoed by the Occupy Movement.

The people in Montreal believe that civil rights, and social democracy are not “just words on a piece of paper”, it is time the rest of Canada joined in and keep our country and our streets from becoming a police state.

Easy come, Easy go

I saw the writing on the wall. I knew that I was going to be terminated from my position very soon. It was expected because my contract was ending on April 30th. The only surprise was that I became unemployed sonner than I anticipated

Fate had it that March 28, 2012 would be my last day of work; after I finished work and went home, I received a call from the temp agency that I didn’t have to return for work tomorrow. This was the longest full time job I’ve ever hold, it lasted six months. I thought I would have the chance to say goodbye to my colleagues, and to clean up the desk that I became very familiar with. I tried everything I could to save myself from being laid off; I never missed a day of work nor have I been late and I did my best to be the most productive employee but none of that seem to be acknowledged, let alone appreciated.

My desk sits idle now; I wonder if all the paper and post it notes with my scribbles and thoughts were cleaned up immediately after I left for work? The management team never recognized the temp workers, we were the “invisible workers” (the irony is that most of us are visible minorities); after all, we are from the agency. In an “us versus them’ world, we are more than expandable, we are simply refugees with no nationality, we have never existed and we never will. Nevertheless, I made my presence known in the company. My desks were occupied with my workbooks, notepads, and water bottles. To my supervisor’s annoyance, I put up dozens of work sheets on the wall of my station like a teenager who covers her room with posters.

I imagine the management team working hard to delete all traces of myself off the company. The fact that I didn’t get to say goodbye to the people I saw everyday for the past six months was pretty brutal; on top of that, I was warned that I am forbidden to contact anyone from the company after I sent an email to my (now former) supervisor after my termination. Oh well, Easy come easy go, right? I want to be strong and keep my dignity but I can’t help but feel like a whore being kicked out of the church. Apparently, my ass belongs to the agency.

I naively thought that my perfect attendance and hard working ethics would have allowed me to at least work until the last day of my contract. I am unemployed and broke again. My temp work has allowed me to live with dignity for the past six months but I have to hustle for another job soon or I am going to fall further into credit card debts.

In this brave post Occupy world, I know I am not getting any bail out, and sadly, there might not even be light at the end of my tunnel. It’s not right but that’s okay because I am used to being wronged, my tranny badge of honor is my living proof. There’s nothing I can count on, but I am not ready to count myself out just yet, my short term goal is finding a job, my permanent goal is resistance thorough existence. “They” can certainly take away my livelihood and all personal belongings, but my dignity is my own.

The political isnt very personal

The longer I spend in the workforce, the more unfairness I’ve experienced. I used to be idealistic and I believe in unions (I still do), but I am no longer enthusaitic about unions and the idea of workers solidarity that entails. Even though I am still against conservatism and trickledown economics, the problem with both left wing and right wing ideologies does not accurately account for how people act in a real life setting. We hear a lot about income inequality and workplace exploitation, but I never hear politicians or social activists protest against cronyism, bullying which is the daily reality of today’s workplace. This is not a surprise since bullying starts at the very top; the Harper’s government in Canada is a good example of the effectiveness of bullying at the political level

As someone suffering with depression and doesn’t particularly enjoy social interaction because of my social anxiety, I continue to have a difficult time in the workplace and in other areas of my social life. I made myself a easy target for bullying because I don’t make friends easily with supervisors and managers; I simply can’t wait to find out the treatment I will receive from co workers and managers when/if they found out that I am a pre op transgender woman. That’s a whole can of worms I am not going to open for now.

I see co workers who work less than me, but are treated more leniently because they carry favors with the supervisor, while I am often being harassed for being lazy even though I am always taking initiative to find work where there is none to do. I am being misjudged simply because I like to sit at my own desk and close my eyes when I am on my break so I can reduce my anxiety (which in the long run increase my workplace productivity). I have to say my supervisor is not the most competent person, and I don’t understand why someone with little job knowledge should be given the job of supervising and (bullying) those with less power.

Despite the unions’ rhetoric on fairness, I do believe that seniority in unions can contribute to workplace unfairness and even bullying.

Why is it fair for people to have their jobs protected simply because they have been employed the longest and belong to a union? For those who never had the opportunity to belong to a union (including myself), we are the first to let go whenever there is any layoff; however, we are also asked to extend solidarity to workers by putting ourselves on the chopping block so we can protect those who‘ve been employed the longest, despite the fact that they might not have worked very hard to being with and they had only been employed because of cronyism or family connection, how is that fair to most of us who never had the privilege, social background or luck to join a union?