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Student leaders were undeterred by the minister's refusal toinclude Bill 78 in future negotiations. "What we want is to discuss everything to find a compromise," saidL o Bureau-Blouin, spokesman for Quebec's C GEP collegestudents association (FECQ). "We hope that they are open minded we hope that [Tuesday's]protest and the fact that the special bill isn't accepted very wellby Quebecers is going to have [an impact] on Liberal strategists." Martine Desjardins, leader of Quebec's university studentsassociation (FEUQ), says it's "a matter of days, a matter of hours,but we'll be again at the table of negotiations. This is acondition to solve the crisis." Bill 78 Talks between student leaders and the Liberal government peteredlast week, shortly after Courchesne took over the educationportfolio, following Line Beauchamp's resignation. Montreal police arrest protesters during Tuesday's demonstrationagainst the tuition fee hike. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press) That meeting saw both sides put their proposals on the table, butdidn't lead to formal negotiations as Courchesne suggested studentgroups were hardening their position. Three days later, the government introduced the controversial Bill78, which student leaders described as a "declaration of war." Political reaction Parti Qu b cois Leader Pauline Marois is blaming the Liberalgovernment for this crisis that doesn t seem to end. Quebec Premier Jean Charest is himself responsible for thetuition conflict, and should take the reigns and sit down withstudents himself, she said. Coalition Avenir Qu bec Leader Fran ois Legault called onstudents to meet the government half way. The student, since the beginning, haven t accepted one dollar intuition free increases, he said Wednesday. They also have tomake some compromises. Amir Khadir called on the government to resume talks but wants to see student obey the rule of law. We promote civil obedience, said Khadir, the sole Qu becsolidaire MNA at Quebec s legislature. We need negotiations, we need to give the government theopportunity to save their face, sit down and solve the problem. Gilles Duceppe took part in Tuesday's march. (Marc Appolonio/CBC) Former Bloc Qu b cois Leader Gilles Duceppe was among tens ofthousands of protesters out for Tuesday s 100th day march. But Duceppe, a former student union leader in the 1960s, is notwearing the movement s iconic red square. In an interview with CBC News , he said it s not fair for students to make demands on thegovernment to freeze tuition, without being prepared to givesomething in return. Young people in the movement should be celebrated for speaking out,Duceppe said, adding that Quebec political leaders have a duty toown up to their role in the conflict. The government, they re not in their twenties, they arecompletely irresponsible not asking people to sit and negotiate.This is the only way out of the crisis. Civil disobedience has its place, Duceppe noted, citing the formerapartheid regime in South Africa but said it isn t the rightpath in Quebec. Police response Protesters and police have faced off in near-daily clashes asdemonstrations are declared illegal and riot squads move in to movecrowds. Montreal police have faced criticism, however, by some who accuseofficers of being overly aggressive toward demonstrators or tooquick to deploy crowd dispersal equipment like chemical irritants. The toll taken by the 101-day-old student strike provincewide wasaddressed by Montreal police Chief Marc Parent at a conference inMontreal on Wednesday. He stressed that Montreal officers will use Bill 78 to targetlaw-defying organizers, and not peaceful protesters. We are using it very carefully for now, but we have to understandthat it s not for demonstrators, this law, Parent told anaudience of police officers gathered from across Quebec. Parent told the crowd that citizens should be proud of theirservice, which has been strained by the massive daily protests. Videos of the protests posted to social media show teams ofofficers taking down demonstrators with seemingly severe physicalforce and spraying what appear to be passive groups with irritants.Other footage shows protesters launching objects at the officers. Parent said a team is reviewing those videos to ensure policeresponded appropriately. He told reporters that despite the physical and psychologicaldemands the officers are facing, they're performing professionally. He acknowledged the protests have ramped up since Bill 78 becamelaw, but said the Montreal police have yet to lay charges under itsprovisions. Bus union says drivers have a right to say no Montreal s public bus drivers union meanwhile has issued anedict to its member, encouraging them to refuse to drive Montrealpolice or detainees during demonstrations, as is customary in thecity. Last week, a bus driver found himself in a situation where he wasdriving a tactical squad through a protest, and he was told to gothrough, said STM driver union spokesman Tom Moutheros. Drivers should have the right to refuse involvement in potentiallytense standoffs. Moutheros called Bill 78 a law fit for a totalitarian state, said and it s not right. Manifs aux casseroles spread across Montreal A noisy but peaceful form of protest against Bill 78 has taken holdin some Montreal neighbourhoods since the weekend. A pots and pans protest inspired by decades-old events in Chile hasspread to Montreal. (Thomas Daigle/CBC) It's a nightly ritual known as les manifs aux casseroles , that sees hundreds of people step out of their homes, armed withpots and pans. At the stroke of 8 p.m., they start to bang on their kitchenware. The casserole call is modelled on a popular form of grassrootsprotest in South America. It began as a way for average citizens toshow their displeasure with Chile's repressive regime in the 1970s. Bets accepted in Quebec crisis A sports gambling website has begun taking bets on potentialoutcomes of the Quebec student strike and the array of bettingscenarios ranges from funny to frightening. The site sets odds for when the strike will end; whether there willbe a referendum on tuition hikes; how many fines will be leviedagainst the most hardline student group; and whether the governmentwill back down. It even sets odds on whether martial law will be declared in Quebecby the end of 2012 a suggestion that has so far been limited tointernet chat boards and never come up in mainstream politicaldiscussion. With files from the Canadian Press. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as Coaster Minibus Manufacturer , Sesame Seed Processing Manufacturer for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Peanut Peeling Machine.
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