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The first day of restarted negotiations between student leaders andQuebec's Liberal government ended with no resolution to theprovince's long-simmering student crisis, while thousands protestedin the streets and dozens were arrested. Neither side provided an update when talks broke off for the nightMonday at 10 p.m. ET in Quebec City. As student negotiators emerged from the meeting at a Quebec Cityoffice tower, 84 protesters outside who had been surrounded by riotpolice were handcuffed and arrested one by one. The demonstratorshad been protesting noisily but peacefully in the street, alongsidea couple of hundred others who dispersed and avoided arrest. Quebec police said those arrested would be charged with violating acity traffic bylaw and face a $634 fine. Discussions between the government and student leaders were toresume Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET. L o Bureau-Blouin, left, president of Quebec student group FECQ,tried unsuccessfully to hatch a deal between protesters and policeto let the demonstrators disperse without arrest. (CBC) Negotiators from four student associations sat down with EducationMinister Michelle Courchesne, Finance Minister Raymond Bachand andseveral government officials starting at about 2:15 p.m., breakingonly for dinner. Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, a spokesman for the more hardline CLASSEgroup, said as the talks began that the government must be willingto bargain over its planned tuition fee hike and Bill 78, itscontroversial legislation that restricts public demonstrations andthreatens steep fines for student groups that don't comply. If the government "refuses to address Bill 78 and tuition fees,it's certain that there'll be considerable doubt about how muchtime we'll spend at the negotiating table," Nadeau-Dubois said. Courchesne went into the meeting saying she was "very, verypositive" and "not closed to anything" that might come up indiscussions. But Bachand said the government cannot commit tospending any more taxpayer money on post-secondary education,though it is open to rejigging university and college finances topossibly keep down tuition fees if revenue and cost offsets can befound in other areas, such as infrastructure spending. Unwilling to give a specific time frame to talks, Courchesne saidthat all sides "have an obligation to reach a solution." The education minister refused to confirm reports she has a newtuition deal to offer students although Bachand said that hiscolleague has a "precise mandate" to "put some things on thetable." The ministers also said they expect student negotiators to take anytentative agreement they reach with the government and promote itto their members. That stance recalls the last round of talks,where both sides arrived at a preliminary resolution on May 5, onlyto see most students reject it in a required endorsement vote.Since then, students have staged 35 consecutive nights of protestsin Montreal and other communities. The government bears the brunt of public pressure in these newtalks, suggested Martine Desjardins, president of Quebec'suniversity students federation FEUQ. "All the students have their sessions suspended. Students are justwaiting for a resolution, and they can wait until the autumn," shesaid. "But the government, they have pressure from the chamber ofcommerce." Thousands march The rallies continued on Monday, kicked off by a 500-strong silentmarch of lawyers and jurists from the Montreal courthouse throughthe downtown east end. The legal professionals wore their courtroom robes and held aloftsigns denouncing Bill 78, before ending their demonstration at thepark that has served as the staging ground for Montreal's nightlystudent protests. About 500 lawyers marched in downtown Montreal against Bill 78,Quebec's student-crisis emergency law. (CBC) Lawyer Maryl ne Robitaille said the cause has become "much biggerthan the student protests." "We felt the need as jurists to show the population that we, too,are nervous about what s happening. We have a duty as lawyers torespect the law, but also a responsibility to contest it andcriticize it as necessary," she said. Robitaille said Bill 78 potentially makes many kinds of publicassemblies illegal, including Montreal's weekly summertime tam tamdrumming sessions, and poses grave a financial menace to studentassociations. Following the lawyers march, several thousand people took part inthe regular nightly protest through downtown Montreal from Place milie-Gamelin. Police declared the march illegal shortly after it began, becausethe demonstrators hadn't notified authorities of their route atleast eight hours in advance, as Bill 78 requires. But the MontrealPolice Service said it would allow the march to continue as long asit remained peaceful. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as SFP Transceiver Module , Optical Fiber Patch Cable, and more. For more , please visit Optical Fiber Splitter today!
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