UQAM to beef up measures to permit access to classes, as austerity protests keep Montreal police on their toes

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The Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) will take all measures necessary to permit full access to its classes announced the university late Monday after a rocky day on campus.

In a letter sent to the students UQAM denounced the blocking of the university’s entrances and the intimidation directed at students trying to get to their classes.

“The University executive will do everything in its power so the blocking of classes, inside or outside of the university won’t happen again. All appropriate steps will be taken so the campus, including classrooms, remain accessible at all times.”

Three protests against the provincial government’s plan for austerity measures kept police busy in Montreal on Monday.

The first protest, at UQAM, also involved the planned expulsion of nine students from the university.

Police officers kept an eye on the dozens of protesters who were blocking access to staff and students.

Students have been steadily protesting against the government’s austerity measures since the provincial budget was tabled on March 26.

About 60,000 students across the province launched a two-week strike to protest against several of the Couillard government’s measures, including its budget cuts and proposed quotas for doctors.

The protest at UQAM ended at around 2 p.m. without any arrests being made by Montreal police, said Montreal police spokesperson Const. Jean-Pierre Brabant.

Jenny Desrochers, a spokesperson for the university, said about a hundred protesters in all blocked access to several of the pavilions that are part of the school’s downtown campus. Besides preventing students and staff from attending or teaching classes the protesters also blocked off access to the university for employees of Héma-Québec who were supposed to organize a blood drive scheduled for Monday morning. In all, about one-third of UQAM’s 30 pavilions were closed due to the protests themselves or as a security measure, Desrochers wrote in an email.

“These type of disruptions are unacceptable in all circumstances,” she added while calling on all protest groups to make sure “these pressure tactics take place peacefully and in a way that guarantees the free circulation and safety of all people.”

Late Monday in a statement issued to the school community, UQAM said it will take all necessary steps to allow free access to its classrooms.

The man behind the budget tabled last week, Quebec Finance Minister Carlos Leitão, witnessed a series of small protests that set back his scheduled speech to Montreal’s Board of Trade, at the Bonaventure Hotel on de la Gauchetière St. W., on Monday. The protests were made up of small groups also denouncing the Quebec government’s austerity measures.

The first demonstration, organized by the Coalition opposée à la tarification et à la privatisation des services publics, took place outside the hotel where Leitão was presenting his traditional post-budget presentation conference at the Board of Trade of Metropolitan Montreal.

Protesters said they were opposed to the multi-million dollar cuts in health care and education announced in the proposed budget on March 26.

A second group of a dozen people carrying Stop Couillard signs managed to make their way inside the hotel to the floor where Leitão was giving his speech. The hotel’s security guards kept the protesters from entering the room.

A third group, however, had already managed to infiltrate the room incognito and loudly sang slogans against the Couillard government. Premier Philippe Couillard and Health Minister Gaétan Barrette were subject to similar surprise protests during their own presentations at the board of trade.

All of the protests took place before Leitão took to the podium. His speech had to be delayed by a few minutes.

Finally, three incognito protesters who were inside the room managed to interrupt the minister as he launched into his presentation. They were promptly escorted out of the hotel.

At a press conference following his speech, Leitão said he was conscious that his proposed budget is difficult but also said it is a “mandatory passage” to balance out public finances and reinvest based on “our” means.

Last night, hundreds of protesters gathered outside Place Émilie-Gamelin at 8 p.m. and waited until their numbers grew before setting off on a march through the streets of Montreal as they did frequently during spring 2012.

Police officers in riot gear, on horseback and on bicycles gathered as well.

The police issued several warnings that the march would have to follow the direction of traffic, and not go against it, or it would be stopped. Police also warned that anyone wearing a mask or goggles would be arrested.

The group’s numbers quickly grew to several hundred as it marched peacefully northward up St-Laurent Blvd. as officers on horseback followed the group.

People in the protest chanted things like: “One, two, three, four, this is f—–g class war!” They also chanted, in French, “On a rien volé,” borrowing the same slogan disgruntled city employees have used for months to voice their opposition to cuts in pension plans.

After travelling several ‎blocks, the group turned west on Laurier Ave. before heading south on Parc Ave.

Presse Canadienne contributed to this report