There’s a storm approaching

Before we start, please note that this is the English version. Click here for the French one.

This one is for my fellow Quebecers, more specifically people in the Montreal region.

There is a storm approaching us and we have to take action. Today is the date for the vote that will determine whether there’ll be a strike at Collège Lionel-Groulx (in Sainte-Thérèse, north shore). Many people, selfish in my opinion, want you to believe that this is a bad thing, but this vote is decisive: it will determine if there will be a strike to force our government to pay internships in fields such as nursing, SET and more. The hardworking students have mandatory internships to obtain their diplomas, including their regular classes, and often have to sacrifice working hours (where they make money!) to go to in workplaces such as hospitals, schools, nursing homes, etc. for many days without compensation. This is unacceptable and this has to change! As a St-Jérôme student wrote on a Facebook status (sorry, I lost the source), “if they could at least pay for [their] transportation, it would be a start”, but our government isn’t doing anything, but force the students to work for free, though not described this way, but more like “you gain experience”. Let’s be honest: I do not totally disagree with that, experience is priceless, but those students work hard and get nothing in return. They are often taken advantage of by their “employers” (though we can’t even call them that, as they do not pay the interns!) and the students don’t even receive some type of reward for the work they accomplished.

Now, I’d like to take a second to overview the opposite clan’s arguments (i.e. the “no” clan).

Those who don’t want to go on strike pretty much always say the same thing: “We will have two more weeks of school”, or “Our semester will be canceled”. There are other arguments but those two are the ones that come out most often. One is true, while the other can’t happen. Yes, we probably will have two more weeks of school if the strike happens, but so what? Stop thinking about yourselves for one second and think about the students who want a better life. Two weeks don’t sound too bad now, do they? As for the second argument, it’s not like the strike had started at the beginning of the semester. There is no way it will be canceled when there are only 40-ish days left.

Please, stop thinking about yourselves for one second and help those who, one day, might take care of you, your children or a family member in a hospital, school, nursing home or many other places that you wouldn’t think of. To finish on a good note, I will leave you with two Facebook posts that, hopefully, will open your eyes to a sad but true reality. Sorry, they’re both in French!

Post #1: (Please note that this is just a portion of it, feel free to click here to see the full post)

Post #2: This is a copy-paste. Please click here for the original author’s post!

“Tant qu’à voir autant de personne partager des arguments contre la grève, autant faire un statut avec les arguments POUR!

1) Oui la grève ça touche pas tout le monde, mais on est supposé être au-dessus de ça. Tes supposé être capable de voir plus loin que ta personne et d’être CAPABLE de te mettre dans la peau de tous ceux et celles que ça concerne pour de vrai.
2) C’est un MYTHE que tu vas perdre ta session ou qu’elle va être annulé. Le principe d’une grève illimitée est justement qu’une assemblée aura lieu à chaque semaine pour décider si on repart en grève, à CHAQUE semaine.
3) Si t’allais voter CONTRE parce que tu penses que les grèves concernent pas beaucoup de personnes, ben détrompes-toi. C’est plus de 300 000 personnes que ça concerne, notamment les domaines des soins infirmiers, éducation à l’enfance, éducation spécialisée, travail social, arts, journalisme, pratique sage-femme… 
4) En ce qui a trait à tous ceux et celles qui font la technique en soins infirmier et qui défendent le contre… étiez-vous au courant que si vous continuez votre Bac alors que vous aurez atteint votre statut d’infirmière et passz votre examen de l’ordre, vous ne serez PAS rémunéré lors de vos stages à l’uni..?
5) Grève particulièrement féministe, parce que comme par hasard c’est en grande majorité des métiers réalisés par des femmes qui sont touchés par cette INJUSTICE. 
6) À toi qui dit que la grève aura aucun impact sur le gouvernement, tes au courant que les enseignants ont récemment acquis la rémunération de leur dernier stage à prise en charge complète? 
7) Finalement, à TOI qui refuse catégoriquement de faire 2 semaines de plus à ta session, parce que ta un voyage de booker, sorry bro mais il est définitivement temps « de t’EXTRAIRE de tes intérêts personnels afin d’essayer de penser un peu plus loin que ta propre petite personne et d’ouvrir les yeux sur l’intérêt COLLECTIF. » (Iulia Anescu)” – Ann-Frérérique Bourgault