Category: Quebec

Mediation News in Quebec

Quebec Spring Mediation Rejected

Government Rejects Quebec Spring Mediation Author: Stephen Alexander – Rejecting the idea of mediation to resolve the dispute with students in Quebec, Finance Minister Raymond Bachand said the only solution to the Quebec Spring is an election.

The minister told the French daily Le Monde that “the only possible exit from the crisis is by way of an election.” Saying that “The state budget is not managed through mediators,” the minister rejected the idea of using mediation to bridge the gap with the Quebec Spring.

Blaming the students, the minister said, “They don’t want to negotiate. There will be a discussion when they’re ready to accept the principle of the tuition hike.”

Allegedly in the past, the minster has called students names, such as “radicals,” “Marxists” and “Communists.” Previously in the Quebec Spring, students dressed in black t-shirts walked into the law school and forcibly ejected students ready to go back to school.

Mediation Request from Striking Students

Striking Students in Montreal Request a Mediator

Author: Stephen Alexander – Students from the College of General and Professional Education in Montreal, Quebec, requested the government begin the process of mediation in order to resolve the tuition fee dispute.

Currently, the response towards negotiations is cold, according to a press aide for Education Minister Michelle Courchesne. The aide, Kimberly Labar, said that the issue of grants to poor students has already been addressed.

President of the Federation etudiante collegiale du Quebec, Eliane Laberge, said that a using mediators “is the only means to end the strike.” She said that no one should be ashamed of the process.

She said that a team of three mediators would be beneficial to all the parties. They could help the negotiations and bring both sides of the dispute together. She recommended that the Quebec Bar or the Institut de Mediation et d’Arbitage du Quebec oversee the process.

As far as the strike is concerned, less than one hundred people attended.

Police Mediators Go Between Protesters

French royal symbol with police officer behind it.

Author: Stephen Alexander – A police mediator’s job in Canada is to calm tense situations before riots and chaos erupt. In recent weeks, student protesters have caused chaos, resulting in hundreds of arrests, vandalism, physical injuries.

Just as the summer tourism season begins in Montreal, Quebec, the nightly protests have improved with fewer arrests and waning vandalism. The protesters are now willing to change their random routes when a line of officers direct them.

In the past, the protestors were yelling to the police to “Get out!” Some credit can be given to the police mediators for calming the protests in Montreal.

The police mediators walked where few other officers were willing to venture. When they first arrived on the scene, they were taunted with words, such as “political police” and “billy club law,” and were targets of rocks and bottles from protesters.

Of course, a police mediator doesn’t venture into a mob wearing armored vests and helmets. The Montreal police mediators wear jeans and running shoes, with jackets that say Police – Mediation Cops.

As they go between the police and the student protesters, the Montreal police mediators provide information to the protesters in an attempt to disarm the tense situations. For example, they inform protesters about why police are blocking certain streets. This goodwill can pay off handsomely down the road when situations flare up once again.

Mediation – 8D Technologies – Bixi

Bixi Bikes

Author: Stephen Alexander – Legal disputes over software may end up in mediation if the Canadian company, 8D Technologies Inc., gets its way. 8D Technologies, a Montreal company, claims $26 million in damages from the Public Bike System Co. (PBSC) over the decision to exclude 8D from the new bike-sharing systems.

Public Bike System Co., a non-profit firm controlled by the city of Montreal, runs Bixi and is suing 8D for $2.5 million for alleged over-billing. 8D Technologies hopes to mediate with Public Bike System Co. “as soon as possible to resolve the dispute.”

Public Bike System Co. spokesperson, Michel Philiber says they offered to mediate with 8D in the past and that 8D has refused mediation requests. Public Bike System Co. would agree to mediation if 8D Technologies provides billing documentation at the heart of the dispute.

Public Bike System Co. uses Bixi, 8D Technologies’ software, for payments and for management and operation of Bixi’s older systems. The city of Montreal runs Bixi and through the Public Bike Sharing Co. sells bike-sharing systems around the world.

Recently, PBSC began utilizing new software developed by another company for bike-sharing systems it recently sold to the cities of Chattanooga, TN, New York and Chicago. Under the name Bike Chattanooga, the new software is reportedly problematic.

Bike Chattanooga was suppose to start operating on May 1, 2012. However, the starting day was canceled on April 30th after software problems were found. The start dates for the New York and Chicago operations are set to begin this summer.