The central culprit behind accelerated gentrification in one of Canada’s poorest neighbourhoods is the new University of Montreal science complex, established on a former railway yard between Outremont, an affluent francophone neighbourhood, and Parc-Extension, an immigrant and working-class district where 61 percent of residents were born outside Canada.

The ideas raised at the recent Courage press conference urge government officials and journalists to consider the importance of essential workers and vulnerable communities, not only during the pandemic, but in Canada’s economic recovery. Only by taking stock of their concerns and demands will Canada be better prepared for future crises.

MeToo is attempting to redress a miscarriage of justice that stems from systemic inequity and a lack of recognition. Like any social movement, this mobilization should be viewed critically. However, it must also be viewed in the context of a failed justice system that is currently unable to restore justice and dignity to survivors of sexual violence.

Much is at stake in Legault’s ongoing refusals and denials. In espousing Québec exceptionalism, the premier fuels a disregard for the lives of Black, Indigenous, and racialized peoples. What is at stake in naming and addressing systemic racism in Québec is nothing less than life and death.

As the COVID-19 crisis has amplified existing inequalities and accentuated the asymmetry of political and economic power in Québec and Canada, it is of vital importance to ensure that it is not exploited by the ruling and corporate classes to further disenfranchise those already with little power.

As the coronavirus hit Québec in mid-March, detainees at Laval IHC held a hunger strike to appeal to the public and authorities to take action on their living conditions. The hunger strike ultimately brought attention not only to the conditions during the COVID-19 outbreak, but it has shown that the present crisis has exacerbated the unfair conditions that have long been the reality for many.

In this interview, former QS co-spokesperson André Frappier speaks with DSA National Political Committee member Megan Svoboda about the state of Québécois politics, the prospects for QS and the broader Québécois left, and the importance of international solidarity today.

The rise of the right and Islamophobia, both in Québec, where it gave rise two years ago to the tragic Québec City mosque shooting, and also at the international level, of which the mosque shootings in Christ Church, New Zealand last March are a fearful expression, shows us that exclusion only serves to fuel hatred. Solidarity must transcend cultural distances and national borders.

Is it time to declare “the party is over” and find ways to begin anew in building a broad anticapitalist left? Easier said than done. At present the Canadian left is fragmented and seems more inclined to focus on organizing and campaigning around particular issues rather than attempting to build a united radical left alternative.

In the last 40 years, rather than taking the lead in social struggles, the labour movement has been mostly on the defensive. One of the most critical challenges for QS is to generate enthusiasm, hope and active support for a renewed left political project among the union rank and file as well as all the other forces of social transformation, while avoiding the pitfalls of its own growing success – all this while mounting a fierce and compelling opposition to a right-wing government bent on sapping what remains of Québec’s social state after decades of neoliberal corrosion.