Reading Shaw Coneybeare’s scathing review of the Canadian Federation of Students (CFS) Day of Action, I kept asking myself one question: Did students upset with the Day of Action expect a revolution to rise out of a peaceful demonstration on Nov. 2, or did they simply conflate the meanings of terms “revolution” and “demonstration”?
For the sake of clarity, a demonstration usually occurs when people gather for a political cause—many times, they come together to protest an event, policy, or situation. On the other hand, a revolution is a sudden change in power structures, usually accompanied by acts of violence.
The National Day of Action cannot be dismissed because students hoped for immediate, revolutionary changes.
One of Coneybeare’s criticisms was the vast range of issues brought to the forefront in the rally, and how they didn’t have “much to do with the lowering of student tuition rates.” However, these ideas are indeed related.
I was the speaker Coneybeare noted as talking about “Indigenous reconciliation,” except this was not the topic I addressed at all. In fact, I was speaking about the need for the Canadian government to fulfill its promises to increase funding for Indigenous students in post-secondary institutions. Despite it being a treaty right for many, not every Indigenous student gets the proper funding to go to school. Through this, I explained why and how education is a right.
Furthermore, in international law the United Nations Declaration of Human Rights sets out the obligation of states to develop equitable access to higher education. In this respect, education is a right. For all criticisms that accompany international law, the Declaration of Human Rights is still the normative standard around, which many states use to fashion their constitutions. While the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms does not yet include higher education as a right, we as students feel that it ought to. The Day of Action was intended to express this sentiment.
Students who want to dismiss the Day of Action because we didn’t receive instantaneous results should realize that rarely in any instance has a protest created immediate change. The same goes for revolutions. The French Revolution was one of the most influential in Western history, but it was deemed a failure in 1799 and entirely written off by 1815. A more recent example that hits closer to home is Idle No More. As quickly as the movement appeared in 2012, it dissipated and many dismissed it outright. However, the way Indigenous issues are discussed, viewed, and portrayed throughout Canada has changed drastically since the movement began. To dismiss the Day of Action as ineffective because we can’t see the effects of it now is premature and lacks foresight.
As for the CFS, I can’t say I subscribe to everything it aligns with, but I agree that lowering tuition fees is extremely important. Criticisms of the federation are legitimate and should be addressed by its members, but it is currently the most visible organization fighting against the rising tuition fees. This does not absolve the CFS of its flaws, but as long as we are members, we should continue to support its efforts on this particular issue.
The Day of Action is not the French Revolution nor is it Idle No More, and that is the point. It is pedantic to dismiss the Day of Action because it lacks revolutionary measures, or because of the yellow safety jackets worn by student leaders trying to “buff up their résumés.” I don’t give one damn how my résumé looks—I’m trying to make changes for my people and the students I represent. Dismissing the protest for these reasons misses the point of the demonstration entirely.
