Matthews: Are the Quebec riots a manifestation of the global Occupy movement?
Executive director, Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies
Partly. While the student protestors only account for 30 per cent of Quebec’s entire post-secondary student body, they have been supported by three distinct groups: the Parti Quebecois, labour unions and the anti-globalization crowd. Each has their own distinct political agenda. Montreal has always had a large group of anti-globalization and pro-anarchy activists, who united in late 2011 under the auspices of the city’s contribution to the global Occupy movement. The links made last year have appeared to be sustainable and have found a common cause with the “red squares”.