Harassment at Concordia, Town Hall Against Bill 21, Nibi's Water Song

Hosted by Erdene Batzorig

Stories by Erdene Batzorig

________________________________________________________________

LOCAL:

That was Lisa Komlos recounting her story about a reoccurring harassment she experienced on the Concordia campus.

Komlos said she was approached and followed by two different men on two different occasions. But both saying the same things to her.

She reported the incident to the campus security and filed a report with the Sexual Assault Resource Centre, and she took to social media to give a public service announcement on the incidents.

In response to her PSA, dozens of similar stories surfaced, claiming that this has been happening for months. Since then, Concordia has announced that they have beefed up security and they’re taking multiple measures to ensure the safety of its community members.

The school encouraged everyone to call security at 514-848-3717 option 1 if they ever felt unsafe.

LOCAL:

A town hall was held Sunday morning at Concordia for those affected by Bill 21.

The meeting was organized by Concordia’s Muslim Students Association and Conseil National des Musulmans Canadiens. The Facebook page urged everyone affected by Bill 21 to attend and to figure out the next steps together.

The meeting included a panel that informed attendees of the legal side, like how the prohibition can be challenged. There was also a portion dedicated to connecting attendees with resources and community partners.

Bill 21, introduced by the CAQ government on Thursday would ban public-sector employees in positions of authority — including teachers, police officers and judges — from wearing religious garbs in the workplace.

The bill does include a clause that allows current employees to keep their religious garbs.

NAT:

A new children’s book is calling attention to access to clean water for Indigenous communities.

Nibi’s Water Song, was written by Sunshine Tenasco, an Anishinaabe entrepreneur, activist and mother of four from Kitigan Zibi. She told CBC that seeing a drawing of an Indigenous child on a book cover prompted her to write her own children's story about the importance of clean water.

Tenasco has been advocated for clean water for her community for years, "Forty per cent of our community still doesn't have clean drinking water.” She founded Her Braids, an organization committed to bringing awareness and making for clean drinking water in Indigenous communities.

Nibi’s Water Song, tells the story of Nibi, a young girl in search of a clean water to drink when she can’t find any in her town. The book will be published this summer by Scholastic.