page_title: Bill 78
section_title: Criticism of Bill 78
hierarchical_section_title: Bill 78 / Reactions / Criticism of Bill 78
caption_attribution_description: English: Montreal citizens took to the streets with their pots and pans on Saturday, June 2, 2012 to protest the Charest government's Bill 78, the Charest government, and tuition hikes. Thousands of Montrealers of all ages braved the rain for several hours to participate in the festive march from Parc Jeanne-Mance at avenue du Parc and Mont-Royal to Parc Molson at Beaubien and Iberville.
context_page_description: Bill 78, officially titled An Act to enable students to receive instruction from the postsecondary institutions they attend, led to an emergency law passed on 18 May 2012 by the National Assembly of Quebec. The law was passed in response to a student strike opposing tuition increases, associated with large student protests, and states that its purpose is to ensure that no student be denied the right to receive education at the school they attend, and that no one may impede the school's ability to provide it. The law restricts protest or picketing on or near university grounds. The law further requires that organizers of a protest, consisting of 50 or more people in a public venue anywhere in Quebec, submit their proposed venue and/or route to the relevant police for approval. Bill 78 was drafted by members of the Quebec Liberal Party, introduced by Education Minister Michelle Courchesne, and passed with the support of the Coalition Avenir Québec party. The planned tuition increases were subsequently repealed in September 2012, by a decree from Pauline Marois's newly elected Parti Québécois government.
context_section_description: The Canadian Association of University Teachers has condemned the law for "violating fundamental freedoms of association, assembly, and expression", its president calling it "a terrible act of mass repression".
  The Quebec Human Rights Commission has also condemned the legislation.
  Louis Masson, head of the Bar of Quebec has questioned the constitutionality of the law, though the Canadian Press has stated that some members are upset with this position. A Laval law professor stated, "Read it. Stunned. Can't believe that a democratic government can adopt such a law." Professor Lucie Lemonde of Université de Montréal's law department stated the law was the second worst on record next to the War Measures Act.
  Student Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, co-spokesperson for the student association CLASSE (Coalition large de l'association pour une solidarite syndicale etudiante), has urged the population to consider disobeying the law. Université de Montréal philosophy professor Daniel Weinstock has stated that the bill is a scare tactic to frighten students and student leaders.
caption: Thousands of Montreal citizens protesting Bill 78, the Charest government, and tuition hikes on Saturday, 2 June 2012
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