More than 100 arrests on 100th day of student strike

More than 100 people were arrested at the end of a long day of protests in Montreal with 150,000 marking the 100th day of a student movement against tuition hikes.

Carrying signs, chanting slogans and wearing the student movement's red felt square, most protesters followed a pre-approved route submitted to police, as required by Quebec's new protest law. But encouraged by the more hardline CLASSE student group, a minority of protesters broke off from the main crowd in a symbolic defiance of Bill 78.

Just after 11 p.m., police ordered protesters to disperse after fireworks were launched into the crowd and clashes ensued.

As well, a pedestrian suffered minor injuries as the victim of a hit and run, by a suspected drunk driver, in the middle of the protest.

Labour associations and moderate student leaders had earlier in the day called on members to obey the controversial law, Bill 78, passed last week. It stipulates that any protest group of more than 50 people must advise police eight hours in advance, but the radical CLASSE student group broke away from the main protest for an unannounced march in violation of the law.

A few protesters wore masks in defiance of a municipal bylaw meant to weaken the anarchist Black Bloc, a group accused of hijacking peaceful protests to cause riots. Others held signs that read “Bill 78 shame” and “resistance has become our duty.”

The rally earlier in the day was the largest to date in a protest movement that has morphed from student unrest to general dissatisfaction with Charest’s nine-year-old Liberal government.

More than 2,000 people have been arrested during the three-month strike, including more than 300 in the past four days since Charest’s government began legislating attempts to end the violence.

The Canadian Federation of Students and the Canadian Federation of University Teachers both denounced the special law but Quebec’s Public Security minister, Robert Dutil, says it is a legal measure.

“This approach is a common way in other countries,” Dutil told a news conference in Quebec City, adding that it was a “reasonable tool for police.”

About 30% of Quebec students have been on strike since Feb. 14, and the movement has garnered support from around the world.