Still no clear guidelines for student strike process

Questions over irregularities in how students vote to boycott classes have renewed calls for a clearer voting process.

UQAMrector RobertProulxhas called on the provincial government to set clear guidelines for strike votesgiven the violence at the schoolthis week.

Students atCGEPduVieuxMontralarevoting for a fourth timethis week on continuing their strike after three earlier votes with varying results.

Many student votes, including the ones atCGEPduVieuxMontral, are done by a show of hands.

There are worries that students are intimidated into voting for a strike by the open vote.

FormerPartiQubcoiscabinet minister SergeMnardmade recommendations on how students should vote in his 2014 report on the student strikes of 2012.

Among the recommendations, the government should recognize students' right to strike following a secret ballot, by clarifying the law of certification and financing for student associations.

"(If) the right of strike is recognized in a law, there should be these conditions attached to it,"Mnardtold CBC Daybreak.

"An open and free discussion where all students are called to come and is followed by a secret vote that must be available to all students."
Mnardsaysclarifying the laws would work in the students' favour.

"I'm sure the majority of students would want that their strikeis clearly democratic so that the objectives of their strike are well understood by the public."

Education Minister FranoisBlaissaid he would not address the issues of the rightto education or the rightto strike, but he repeatedthe government does not "recognize the right of certain people, even as part of a democratic process, to prevent other people from going to class."

Mnardbelieves the Liberal government has not acted on his recommendations because of partisan, political reasons.