2012 Canadian Grand Prix Thread

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Originally Posted by Robinho

if we've got violent responses to peaceful legal protests, then should we campaigning for the GP to be taken away the same as we did for Bahrain?

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Not even comparable Robinho. Don't go there. :laugh:

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Originally Posted by Bagwan

Up until recently , the protests , which consisted of thousands of people peacefully walking along main arteries of the city , whilst shouting slogans and waving banners and signs , were legal .
Now , at least a portion of the protesting is against that fact that the spontaneous protests are now illegal .

It should have been no surprise that the public would react in this way , given that the students are thousands of sons and daughters of mostly Canadian , many French/Canadian families , who are to foot the bill for the increases .
To not seemed to have listened to the group during protesting that has gone on for over a month , and then to suppress the collective voice has landed the government in a mess .

It is , indeed , sad that a great weekend in a world-class city may be spoiled to an extent , but I think there's perhaps more to it than what's on the surface .

Some in Montreal are now so cynical as to the government stance in all of this , that it is believed that there was no plan to settle the dispute , but rather , to paint the protestors in a bad light by running them into a few of the summer events .

So , yes it sucks , but we are talking about the oppression of free speech .
Blaming the students is a bit too simple .

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I still think that there are much better ways of making a political stance then spoiling the fun of other people, who, I repeat, are giving their hard earned cash for that one weekend. And unlike the Bahraini, they are not kings and queens..

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Originally Posted by schmenke

Um, no Baggie, there has been nothing peaceful about the recent protests in Québec, but I do agree that the students are not to blame.

The protesters’ spokesman, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, is the leader of the high-profile radical provincial student body CLASSE.

At the prompting of Nadeau-Dubois, the protesters have caused public damage from day one, and continue to do so. They demonstrate no sympathy to the local merchants or citizens whose property they destroy.

Protesters show up donned in balaclavas looking for provocation then accuse the police of harassment when arrest attempts are made.

They have recently filed their planned routes in advance with the local authorities only to end up marching in a completely different direction, fluanting the regulations to which they agreed, further instigating confrontation.

Nadeau-Dubois has actively organized picket lines in front of university campuses physically barring students from entering classes.

The government’s proposed tuition increases, the catalyst for the recent “student” protests, are meager. The average tuition increase amounts to less than $265 per year for the next five years.
Please consider that university tuitions in Quebec are the lowest in North America, even with the proposed increases.
I find ironic when I see many protesters taking video footage with their smart phones which cost more than the proposed tuition increases.

The government has increasingly tried to negotiate with the student body in good faith but the leaders of CLASSE continue to reject or ignore any proposed discussions.
No one is “suppressing the collective voice” Baggie. This is utter nonsense. The marches are permitted to continue, however the government has had to pass emergency legislation to try to regulate the activities in attempt to minimize further public damage.
The idea of "suppression of free speech", as you put it Baggie, in the most liberal province in one of the most democratically free countries in the world is laughable.

It's interesting to note that Nadeau-Dubois, who attended private school as a child, received a scholarship grant from the provincial government in 2008 for $20,000 for his university studies. When questioned by the press of the potential contradiction between the receipt of this grant and his recent protests of tuition costs, he declined to comment.

I graduated from university in Quebec and at the time students were well aware, and grateful, for the low tuitions funded by taxpayers. I remember a tuition increase mid-way through my curriculum and although a few grumblings were heard by students, we never thought of protesting with violence in the streets. I’m sure the vast majority of students feel this way today.


Apologies the rant and taking this thread off topic.

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You never had to deal the kind of increases that these kids are seeing , but still saw grumblings about increases regardless .
And , by the look of it , the vast majority are protesting non-violently .

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Originally Posted by F1boat

Ioan, you can't seriously compare cyber bullies with people, who were send to concentration camps, I sincerely hope. Besides, you surely realize that the commies were betrayed from within but the modern "capitalists" in Eastern Europe. However, this is a topic for the Chit Chat forum.

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I'm pretty sure that you are not fully understanding what happened in your country 22 years ago.
It was all about asking for rights and standing up for those rights. This is pretty much the same principle, just applied to another case.

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Originally Posted by F1boat

I still think that there are much better ways of making a political stance then spoiling the fun of other people, who, I repeat, are giving their hard earned cash for that one weekend.

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C'mon, is this for real?!
How dare people with social request dare to spoil the fun for those who can afford to pay hundreds of dollars for a handful of hours of 'fun'. :s
I'm lost for words when I am trying to express how important is this 'fun' for the future of humanity! :rolleyes:

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Originally Posted by schmenke

The government’s proposed tuition increases, the catalyst for the recent “student” protests, are meager. The average tuition increase amounts to less than $265 per year for the next five years.
Please consider that university tuitions in Quebec are the lowest in North America, even with the proposed increases.
I find ironic when I see many protesters taking video footage with their smart phones which cost more than the proposed tuition increases.

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University tuition in Europe are for mostly for free! Compared to that 265$ more / year , especially when you don't have that money, might be the difference between make or brake for a young person.

I'll tell you what, I will always support students standing up for their rights because history proves them right and their requests changed the world into a better place. Just think about 1968!

Umm. I don't think it is advisable to start concentrating on political issues here.

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Originally Posted by jens

Umm. I don't think it is advisable to start concentrating on political issues here.

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Agreed. Again, my apologies.
I'd be happy to debate further via pm or a separate thread in the CC forum.

Well, my view is the same as with Bahrain. It's got nothing to do with F1 so keep politics out of it.

Looking at the race, it should be a real hum-dinger. Friday looks cold an wet, Saturday a little better and Sunday dry, cloudy and warm. Good luck getting a setup perfected with that lot. Even if the tyres were as predictible as they could be, teams are still going to struggle.

Could be a classic :)

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Originally Posted by Malbec

Errr thats exactly how the whole process started, with legal peaceful protests. Bagwan can correct me on this but it is the government's violent response that has caused an escalation.

Bagwan, is it true that it isn't just students now involved in the movement but people from other walks of life too? Whats the level of local support?

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There are at least four different student federations involved here , and the most radical is CLASSE .
It is this group that has most of the headlines .

There is a war of words going on right now in the headlines , with some student groups saying the intention is not to disrupt the festivals and events , and the government defiant , not really hearing them , insisting that there will be consequence to disruption .

Even CLASSE has put out word that the only intention is to inform the visitors of thier plight .

And , yes , Bill 78 has caused a lot of ruckus , making the traditional pots and pans clanging by the general population a part of this issue .


These protests have been regularly seeing tens of thousands of people participating .
Add those numbers with the Grand Prix visitors and you have a hell of a logistic problem moving people .

It will be a hell of a sea of people , and I expect , at the very least , to see a lot of red squares , the symbol of the movement , in the crowd .
At worst , the crowd may smell teargas rather than tire smoke .

I am sorry if this is deemed too political , but the reality of this is that it will affect the race , and I expect it to be rather harder to hide the politics of it than it was in Bahrain .