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Council rejects academic plan as it stands, pushes by-election back a week
The Concordia Student Union Council meeting got a little hectic last night. Councillors and invited guests battled back and forth for over five hours until past midnight.
Issues of main contention were the proposed academic plan and the legitimacy of the Chief Electoral Officer.
Invited to defend the academic plan was Concordia’s Provost David Graham. He said that despite its imperfections the plan is crucial if Concordia wants to become an elite university. But council unanimously slashed it. Stating that there was not enough student consultation.
Also invited to speak at the meeting was CEO Bram Goldstein. He was surprised to find out that his appointment is under dispute due to council alledging that the former CEO has not officially stepped down. Council decided to push the upcoming By-elections a week later to November 29th to 31st to sort out the situation.
Council also voted in favour of allowing CUTV to propose a fee levy increase on the by-election ballot.
Unilingual causes a stir
The appointment of a unilingual Anglophone to the role of Canada’s Auditor General has been condemned by the Quebec National Assembly. Every MNA in the house supported the motion on Wednesday.
Michael Ferguson was named to replace federal Auditor General Sheila Fraser. The former Auditor General of New Brunswick was appointed due to Fraser’s retirement.
ADQ MNA Francois Bonnardel deposed the motion which was supported by all other parties.
Ferguson’s nomination must be approved in a parliamentary chamber resolution and by the senate.
Wanna Learn How To Produce?
Ever hear a pre-recorded radio piece and wonder how its done?
CJLO is pleased to be offering a series of workshops starting in the first week of November. They will happen once a week with a facilitator from CJLO's production team.
Workshops will include:
Intro to Recording:
In this workshop, we'll cover the first principles of studio recording and how to make a recording in Pro Tools. Learn how to approach the studio and general audio recording.
First workshop on November 7th at 6:00pm at CJLO
Intermediate Studio Recording: How To Mic Drums:
For those with some experience with home or studio recording, come learn fundamental techniques for recording drums. From microphone selection and placement and basic mixing techniques to how to deal with drummers, learn how to get a good drum sound.
First workshop on November 14th at 6:00pm at CJLO
Art vs. Science will be live on Grade A Explosives!
Is your Thursday afternoon in need of a serious injection of dance and general awesomeness? Then tune in this Thursday, October 27th to Grade A Explosives from 4-6PM for a very special episode featuring some fine Australian gents from the band Art Vs. Science. They'll be playing LIVE in studio and doing an interview, and in general causing involuntary foot motions. So tune in and get your weekend started early!
October 24th 2011
Produced By Melissa Mulligan
Read By Melissa Mulligan
Stories by Audrey Folliet, Esther Viragh and Gregory Wilson
October 26th, 2011
Read by Emily Brass
Produced by Nikita Smith
Stories by Sarah Moore, Emily brass, Lindsay Briscoe, Jacqueline Di Bartolomeo, Alexa Fay
Air Canada withdraws challenge of pension deal for service workers
Air Canada is withdrawing its court challenge of a pension deal for its service workers. The company announced its decision in a statement emailed on Tuesday. It wrote that it was more important to create a climate of stability for unions and employees than to challenge the deal.
The pension plan is part of a collective agreement reached over the summer with the Canadian Auto Workers union. Arbitrator Kevin Burkett’s ruling defined a pension plan for new hires in customer services that is part defined benefit and part defined contribution. Air Canada, however, wanted new hires to only have defined contributed plans, in a bid to cut costs.
The company has been trying to cut operating costs for years. It is faced with more competition, rising cost of fuel and an economic slump which all affect its bottom line.
As a result, Air Canada and its 23,000 employees have been on less than amicable terms. It heads into arbitrage with the union representing its 7,000 flight attendants on October 28.
Elite panel discusses evolution in conflict coverage
When Senator and former UN General Romeo Dallaire calls this period in history the crux of a revolutionary moment – people listen.
The Concordia-based Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies invited Dallaire to speak at a conference last Thursday and Friday on the media’s role in halting mass atrocities. Other panelists included former Prime Minister Paul Martin and Ric MacInnes Rae of the CBC radio program Dispatches.
Dallaire was one of the founders of the Responsibility to Protect – A program that advocates fast military action to prevent genocides like the one he witnessed in Rwanda.
He says that governments like Canada do not act fast enough when they are needed. He used the conference as a call to action.
“We need somebody or some people and I think it’s the youth of the nation to start saying where the hell are we going with all this and what do we want to do?”
The conference was organized to mark the tenth anniversary of R2P. Undeniably, the media plays a big role in generating awareness about major conflicts worldwide. For instance, millions of Facebook posts and Tweets hooked the public’s attention over the past year during the Arab Spring.
Panelist Mona Eltahawy understands the value of Twitter. With nearly sixty-five thousand followers due primarily to her coverage of the Arab Spring she knows the huge role that new media can play. But she gives the credit to the public, not the network.
“It is not a Twitter revolution, it is not a Facebook revolution, It’s a people’s revolution.”
Macinnis Rae agrees that traditional media is shifting and social networkers are helpful, but not the whole picture.
“Its can be part of it, but it isn’t the answer its one of the tools I think in resolving it.”
Instead, the panelists agreed that traditional media must evolve and keep up with the new media beat. And ideally shift the focus from protection to prevention of atrocities before they even happen.
October 25, 2011
Read by: Aisha Samu
Stories by: Niki Mohrdar, Michael Lemieux and Brandon Judd
Produced by: Carlo Spiridigliozzi
Montreal construction workers walk out
Construction workers across Quebec walked off the job yesterday. The move was a result of a dispute between the provincial government and construction unions.
The workers were protesting Bill 33. It was announced last month and goes in to parliamentary hearings this week. If passed it would take away the ability of unions to dictate the workers on job sites. Under the bill, contractors would be able to choose from a list of eligible employees.
Labour Minister Lise Therault has received personal threats as a result of the bill. She has said these threats only make her more determined to pass the bill though.
Construction union leaders say they are not involved in organizing the walk out. They say the move is a spontaneous decision by the workers. The walk out delayed public works such as the MUHC super hospital.
Meanwhile in city hall opposition party Projet Montreal proposed a controversial motion. The motion would allow the government to shut down any government projects given to construction companies suspected of corruption. The proposal was dismissed as unrealistic and unfair.
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