LIVE: Student strike updates

Students across Nova Scotia will be hitting the picket lines from March 15 to 21 as part of a province-wide post-secondary student strike fighting, among other things, for lower tuition rates and divestment.

Dalhousie University students voted in favour of a strike motion at a Dalhousie Student Union special general meeting on March 12. The motion passed with 62.4 per cent in favour of the strike, 145 votes in support to 81 votes against, marking the first successful student strike vote in DSU history.

The University of King’s College, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and Acadia University student unions are also participating in the strike. The Saint Mary’s University, St. Francis Xavier University, Mount Saint Vincent University and Cape Breton University student unions are not officially on strike.

The strike asks students not to attend classes or submit assignments this week, and while students are not mandated to strike, the DSU will support students who do. Rallies, teach-ins and on-campus picketing are planned throughout the week.

Strike efforts around the province will be coordinated by Nova Scotia Student Strike, an organization that identifies as anti-tuition, anti-war and pro-Indigenous sovereignty. This marks the beginning of their three-year plan, building to an indefinite strike in 2028.

The strike’s goals are a 20 per cent decrease in tuition at provincial universities, the end of higher tuition and visa caps for international students and divestment from entities involved with weapons manufacturing, fossil fuel extraction, genocide or the exploitation of sovereign Indigenous land.

The Dalhousie Gazette is reporting live on the Nova Scotia Student Strike and will update this page throughout the week.

BREAKING: Student strike ends, organizers plan the movement’s future

March 22, 1:53 a.m.

Good evening. I’m Dylan Follett, a reporter with the Dalhousie Gazette.

The province-wide student strike has ended.

“I’d say [the strike] went incredibly well,” said Aaron Abogado, a NSCAD student union representative and strike organizer. “For the first time in a long time, this week has made me actually feel hopeful for the future.”

At 2 p.m. in Dalhousie’s SUB, students from Dal, King’s, SMU and NSCAD discussed the future of the strike movement in an open general meeting.

Suggestions included clearer messaging and better coordination from the Nova Scotia Student Strike grassroots organization, which led the initiative this week. Students also discussed taking riskier actions for future strikes, such as hard picketing and class disruptions.

NSSS’s plan to build towards a two-week strike next year and an indefinite strike in 2028 remains unchanged. Strike organizers also discussed connecting this plan with other student strike movements, including national, Quebec, New Brunswick and Ontario movements.

The final event of the strike was an exhibition of art made for the strike in NSCAD’s Granville Mall at 8 p.m. Art included prints saying “no students no future,” and multiple illustrations of rats — NSCAD’s unofficial mascot and a symbol of the strike — holding boomboxes, spraypaint cans and AK-47’s.

Malcolm Mealey, a Dalhousie student strike organizer, said NSSS plans to hold events throughout the summer to continue building the movement’s momentum.

“No matter what other people say, I think it’s a win,” said Mealey.

BREAKING: Final student strike rally cancelled due to weather

March 21, 4:52 p.m.

Good afternoon. I’m Dylan Follett, a reporter with the Dalhousie Gazette.

The final rally of the student strike was cancelled due to heavy rain. It was set to take place at Dalhousie’s Studley Campus at 12 p.m.

The rally was replaced with a lecture from lawyer Asaf Rashid on students’ right to strike at noon, with a general meeting about the strike’s future taking place at 1:15 p.m. Both events were held in the SUB’s McInnes room.

The final event of the strike will be an exhibition of art made for the strike at NSCAD at 6 p.m.

More to come.

BREAKING: Protestors interrupt Dalhousie class with megaphone

March 20, 4:17 p.m.

Good afternoon. I’m Dylan Follett, a reporter with the Dalhousie Gazette.

Over 50 protesters marched from Robie Street and University Avenue to Dalhousie’s Henry Hicks building earlier today. The rally started at 12 p.m. and lasted just over an hour, ending outside of the Dal SUB.

Protestors chanted messages including “A free university in a free society,” and “Tim Houston thinks you’re a sucker, let’s defeat that motherf***er.” 

On their way to the Hicks, protestors attempted to disrupt a class in the Marion McCain building. Multiple protestors entered the Ondaatje Theatre — a lecture hall — with one protestor saying into a megaphone, “Dalhousie students, you are on a union-mandated strike. I implore you all to do an early dismissal of class.”

“You’re all sitting here while our university invests in war crimes,” the protestor said. 

One student in the lecture hall shouted back, “I just want to learn.” After laughter erupted from the class, the protester said, “Your learning is on the backs of Palestinian children dying,” to which another student responded, “I’m Arab, get out.”

“Shoo shoo,” said Serguei Iakovlev, the professor who was teaching the class. “You cannot just come in without my consent.” The protestors left, and no students followed them.

“It was kind of disrespectful to the teacher, disrespectful to the learning environment,” Andre Deseau, a first-year engineering student in the interrupted class, told the Gazette after class ended. 

“It’s their choice to strike, but it’s also my choice to go to my class. I feel I should have the right to go to class uninterrupted, and today I felt that was very disrespected.”

After the rally, some students picketed on Robie Street, while others went inside the SUB to distribute resources informing students about the strike. Another rally is scheduled at Dalhousie for tomorrow at noon, the official final day of the student strike.

More to come.

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article incorrectly stated that the professor whose class was interrupted was Peter Selinger, not Serguei Iakovlev. The Dalhousie Gazette has updated the article and apologizes for this error.

BREAKING: Student strike day 5 recap, SMU rally and sit-in at King’s

March 20, 1:54 a.m.

Good evening. I’m Dylan Follett, a reporter with the Dalhousie Gazette.

The fifth day of the provincial student strike ended without picketing at Dalhousie. Other events were held as scheduled.

Dr. Yipeng Ge, who worked as a medic in Gaza and currently works as a doctor in Ottawa, flew to Halifax to speak on a panel about healthcare injustices. 

“It’s really inspiring to see the collective power of students organizing something historic here in this province, but also to connect various struggles,” said Ge. “I hope a lot of other students take inspiration.”

An info session on environmental racism hosted by Divest Dal and the Ecology Action Centre was also held. NSCAD CUPE 3912 workers, who are also on strike, also held a rally.

King’s students held a sit-in outside a university board of governors meeting from 1 to 4 p.m. The sit-in was in support of the Foundation Year Program (FYP) instructors’ union, whose contract re-negotiation talks with the university failed to reach an agreement yesterday. 

The student strikers and instructors union have released mutual solidarity statements. One of the stated main goals for King’s strike organizers is to support the instructors’ union in their negotiation efforts. 

“We care very deeply about our students and want them to feel that they are being treated equitably in a safe environment that aligns with their values,” said Samuel Gillis Hogan, FYP instructor union president. “We feel humbled and grateful for the kindness and support that [students] have given, whether that’s been in written and documented support for our benefit and in board of governors meetings.”

Friday is the National Day of Action for Higher Education Advocacy. A provincial rally is scheduled at Dalhousie’s Studley Campus for 12 p.m., starting at University Avenue and Robie Street before marching to the Henry Hicks Building. 

More to come.

BREAKING: Over 40 people attend SMU strike rally

March 19, 3:59 p.m.

Good afternoon. I’m Dylan Follett, a reporter with the Dalhousie Gazette.

Over 40 student protestors gathered in the SMU quad at 10:20 a.m., following yesterday’s provincial rally. Students held signs reading “Halifax is a union town,” “Fight the fees,” and more.

Students gave speeches on academic ableism, divestment and links between student movements in Ontario and Nova Scotia. Neil Balan, a member of CUPE 3912 and a SMU part-time faculty member, spoke in support of students on behalf of his union. 

SMU students are not unionized. Their student association is supporting the strike, though they cannot mandate it. 

Chants included “Hey, f*** Tiny Tim, we are not scared of him,” referencing N.S. Premier Tim Houston and “Saint Mary’s you can’t hide, your committing genocide.”

The strike ended with students marching and picketing on sidewalks around SMU campus. 

More to come.

BREAKING: King’s students hold sit-in outside board of governors meeting

March 19, 3:12 p.m.

Good afternoon. I’m Dylan Follett, a reporter with the Dalhousie Gazette.

King’s students are currently gathered for a sit-in outside a board of governors meeting in the university’s Arts and Administration building. 

They’re set to sit outside the meeting — which has been moved mainly online — until it ends at 5 p.m., though King’s President Bill Lahey and Vice President Tim Currie are in person. Two security guards from the university are present outside the meeting room.

Between 12 and 20 students have been gathered since 1 p.m. to support the union of King’s Foundation Year Program (FYP) instructors, whose final round of contract negotiations with the university did not reach an agreement yesterday. Solidarity with the union is a core goal of the strike at King’s.

“The [instructor’s union] has expressed their appreciation for our strike movement,” said Isaac Shore McNab, a King’s strike organizer. “In return, especially given how they form the soul King’s and of FYP, we need to show how much we appreciate them and how much we care for our labourers getting a good deal.”

Students gathered are discussing the strike, writing signs and playing guitar and bag pipes. 

More to come.

BREAKING: No picketing at Dalhousie today, say strike organizers

March 19, 10:16 a.m.

Good morning. I am Charlotte Wood, a reporter with the Dalhousie Gazette.

Strike organizers confirmed to the Gazette that there will be no picketing on Dalhousie campus today, following picket lines yesterday with just four to six protestors at once.

As of 9:30 a.m., there is also no strike information table set up in the SUB. Both were scheduled to take place at 8:30 a.m. 

Strike organizers encouraged Dalhousie students to attend the rally happening at SMU at 10 a.m.

Other events at Dalhousie today will be taking place in the SUB. There is a panel on health injustice with Dr. Yipeng Ge, who worked as a humanitarian medical volunteer in Gaza, and K’jipuktuk Med 4 Palestine, a coalition of medical students and professionals at 12 p.m. 

Divest Dal and the Ecology Action Centre will be hosting an info session on environmental racism at 4 p.m.

More to come.

BREAKING: Student strike day 4 recap, main day of action ends with rally

March 19, 2:25 a.m.

Good evening. I’m Dylan Follett, a reporter with the Dalhousie Gazette.

On the strike’s main day of action, over 300 students from Dal, King’s, MSVU, NSCAD and SMU rallied outside the Henry Hicks building on Dal’s Studley Campus from 2 p.m. to around 4 p.m. 

“It’s heartwarming to see students coming together and standing up for things that are important,” said David Westwood, president of the Dalhousie Faculty Association. “[The DFA] is happy to be a part of this.”

Acadia students held their own rally at 12 p.m. in Wolfville, N.S., where approximately 75 students marched the streets around campus. 

Over 60 King’s students rallied at 1:30 p.m. on the university’s quad before marching to the provincial rally. 

One of King’s strike organizers main goals is solidarity with the university’s Foundation Year Program instructors union, as it negotiates a new contract with the school. An agreement wasn’t met in conciliation talks today. In response, students plan to hold a sit-in outside of a King’s board of governors meeting on Thursday at 1 p.m. 

A rally is scheduled at SMU at 10 a.m.

More to come.

BREAKING: Over 300 Nova Scotia students rally on Dal campus

March 18, 6:21 p.m.

Good evening. I’m Jonas May, the Dalhousie Gazette’s news editor.

Over 300 students from Dal, King’s, NSCAD, SMU and MSVU rallied in front of the Henry Hicks Building on Dalhousie’s Studley Campus earlier this afternoon. 

The rally lasted from 2 p.m. to approximately 3:30 p.m. Chants including “Shut it down” and “Hands off our labour rights,” rang out across the quad. Malcolm Mealey, a Dalhousie student strike organizer, led the protest. 

Some students then marched to Robie Street, continuing to rally until approximately 4 p.m.

“There was a huge turnout from all the schools,” Mealey said. “The energy was amazing, the chanting was amazing, it really showed that students can gather together and voice our demands in power in a way that affects the people around us.” 

The Gazette went to Kim Brooks’ office to request comment on the strike, but was told by office staff she was out-of-office for the week.

DSU President Maren Mealey and DFA President David Westwood attended and participated in the rally.

“We hope it gets the message through that students are committed and that they’re in this,” said Maren.

Events will continue on the third floor in Dalhousie’s SUB from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m., including a game night and a film screening. 

Another rally will be held at SMU at 10 a.m. tomorrow. 

More to come.

BREAKING: Just 4 to 6 people on morning picket lines at Dal, province-wide rally starts at 2:00 p.m.

March 18, 1:53 p.m.

Good afternoon. I’m Dylan Follett, a reporter for the Dalhousie Gazette.

Picketing at the Dalhousie Studley Campus’s Robie Street entrance began at 8:30 a.m. this morning. On-site Gazette reporters saw four to six picketers at a time throughout the morning. 

Outside the Henry Hicks building, protestors wrote messages in chalk and spray paint about divestment, lower tuition rates, and to discourage students from attending class ahead of a province-wide student rally at 2:00 p.m. 

The protest is the main event of the week-long student strike. Confirmed speakers include Alexina St. Pierre-Farrow, the chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students Nova Scotia and Ziggy Kirsch, NSCAD student union president.

“The rally will be all schools gathering together, saying enough is enough, and telling the universities that we want change now,” said Malcolm Mealey, an organizer for the Dal strike. “People are fired up people want change, people are fighting for it.”

NSCAD and SMU students are on their way to the Studley Quad now. King’s strike organizers are holding their own rally at 1:30 p.m. in the King’s Quad before heading to Dal. Acadia organizers held their own rally in Wolfville, N.S., at noon today.

More to come.

BREAKING: Strike day 3 recap, picketing and province-wide rally happening tomorrow

March 17, 11:57 p.m.

Good evening. I’m Dylan Follett, a reporter with the Dalhousie Gazette. 

Today, the third day of the strike, picket lines were cancelled at Dalhousie and NSCAD due to intense wind and rain. Picketing is scheduled to begin tomorrow at Dalhousie, NSCAD, Acadia and SMU at 8:30 a.m. 

Today’s Dalhousie events included a divestment and organizing panel focused on building the strike as part of a national student movement. Student organizers, including Abdullah Al-Jabji from Ontario and Owen Skeen from Nova Scotia, spoke about labour organizing strategies.

Earlier today, students at Acadia held sit-ins outside school administration offices after the university laid off 31 employees last week, including the entire staff of the international students centre. 

King’s strike organizers have reversed a previous decision not to picket and are now picketing tomorrow outside of Foundation Year Program classes to direct students to the provincial rally. Protestors will not block students from attending class.

Tomorrow is the strike’s main day of action, with students from across the province rallying at 2:00 p.m. in Dalhousie’s Studley quad. A space in the SUB has been reserved in case of inclement weather.

There is also an event organized by Dalhousie No More Stolen Sisters, an advocacy group seeking justice for missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, scheduled in the SUB at 10 a.m.

More to come. 

BREAKING: Dal and King’s faculty associations support student strike

March 17, 7:32 p.m.

Good evening. I’m Jonas May, the Dalhousie Gazette’s news editor.

David Westwood, president of the Dalhousie Faculty Association, sent an email to union members this morning encouraging instructors to provide academic amnesty to students.

“I believe there is tremendous value in DFA members supporting the DSU in this strike,” said Westwood in the email.  “It meant a great deal to me that so many students stood with us during the lockout when we needed all the support we could get.”  

Dalhousie’s board of governors locked out the DFA from Aug. 20 to Sept. 17 over a collective bargaining dispute. The DSU council voted on Sept. 3 to support the union until an agreement was reached. 

He said that showing students support encourages them to stand up and take action for what they value and believe. 

The King’s teachers’ association released a letter expressing its support for students participating in the strike. 

“We believe it is incumbent upon us as an academic community to listen carefully and support those who are most vulnerable within our institutions and communities,” the letter reads. “We hope that this moment leads to thoughtful dialogue and constructive action and that it strengthens the ethical integrity of higher education at King’s and across the province.” 

More to come.

BREAKING: First day of Dal picketing cancelled due to weather 

March 17, 12:05 p.m.

Good morning. I’m Dylan Follett, a reporter with the Dalhousie Gazette.

Picketing was scheduled to start today at 8:30 a.m. at Dalhousie, but organizers told the Gazette they cancelled it due to intense wind and rain.

Members of the DSU and strike organizers are tabling in the SUB throughout the day.

Strike organizers have also been handing out materials and speaking to students around campus. Picketing at NSCAD and SMU was moved inside.

All other strike events today are set to continue as scheduled.

Picketing will start tomorrow at 8:30 a.m., and a provincial rally is scheduled at the Studley Quad at 2:00 p.m.

More to come.

BREAKING: Student strike day 2 recap, events planned for Tuesday

March 17, 12:05 a.m.

Good evening. I’m Dylan Follett, a reporter with the Dalhousie Gazette.

The second day of the student strike ended with a limited academic amnesty motion passing at Dal, and events and picketing across the province. 

Today at Dal, strike planners organized a panel on Dal’s $30 million agreement with the province to identify potential sites for onshore natural gas drilling. Panellists discussed the risks that Dal’s role in the drilling may have on the environment and the university’s reputation.

John Hutton, the 2015-16 DSU vice-president academic and external and former student strike organizer, held a talk on striking techniques, including how to organize hard pickets, indefinite strikes and mobilize faculty societies.

It’s unclear how forecasted heavy rains may affect the outside picket lines, which will begin tomorrow on campus at 8:30 a.m. SMU and NSCAD will also be picketing.

Tuesday’s events include a teach-in from Migrants Justice NS in the SUB at 10 a.m., a King’s divestment reading party at 11 a.m. in the Wardroom and an event about the history of The Turret Arts Space — an influential queer space in Halifax — hosted by the Nova Scotia Youth Project at the Turret at 12 p.m. 

In the SUB, there will be a sensory kit making workshop at 12 p.m. in the Council Chambers, a Just Peace Advocates Talk at 2:30 p.m. and a panel on student organizing at 4 p.m. 

More to come.

BREAKING: Dal senate passes DSU motion, providing academic protections to striking students

March 16, 6:17 p.m.

Good evening. I’m Jonas May, the Dalhousie Gazette’s news editor.  

Dalhousie’s senate passed the DSU’s limited amnesty motion Monday evening, providing students with academic protections for the remainder of the strike, from March 17 to 21.

The motion encourages instructors to grant academic amnesty for one class or assessment per course for the remaining duration of the strike, upon students’ request. 

“This is a clear encouragement from the university,” said DSU President Maren Mealey. “This lays out a framework that is incredibly helpful and hopefully translates directly to students.”

Students must request amnesty from their instructors via their university email address at least 24 hours in advance, where possible. Academic amnesty will be up to the instructor’s discretion. Students will not need to submit documentary proof of attendance at strike activities. 

The faculties of dentistry and medicine, as well as the college of pharmacy, are excluded from the amnesty motion because senate student absence policies don’t apply to them. 

Amnesty does not apply to final exams, final coursework, fieldwork, skill labs, practicums, work-integrated learning assignments and co-operative placements. 

Picketing will begin tomorrow at 8:30 a.m. in front of the SUB. Picketers will not block students from entering campus, but will discourage them from crossing the picket line. 

There will be picketing at Studley Campus on Tuesday and Wednesday, and Carleton Campus on Thursday. 

More to come. 

BREAKING: Picketing begins across the province, but not at Dal or King’s

March 16, 11:32 a.m.

Good morning. I’m Dylan Follett, a reporter with the Dalhousie Gazette.

Picketing started at 8:30 a.m. today at NSCAD and SMU in Halifax, with sit-ins outside Acadia University administration offices in Wolfville, N.S.

Picketing will not be organized at Dalhousie until Tuesday, pending the senate vote on the DSU’s proposed amnesty motion at 4 p.m. 

There is no picketing planned at King’s during the strike, though organizers will be tabling throughout the week. MSVU will also not be picketing this week.

Strike organizers have set up an information table in the Dal SUB for the duration of the day. 

Planned events today include a Tatreez Palestinian Cross-stitching event at 12 p.m. in the SUB, a student strike-organizing workshop at 2 p.m. in the SUB and a panel and discussion on divestment organized by Dal strike organizers in the King’s Wardroom at 6 p.m.

More to come.

BREAKING: Dal will begin picketing on Tuesday, day one of strike ends

March 15, 8:00 p.m.

Picketing will not be organized at Dalhousie until Tuesday due to the pending senate vote on the DSU’s proposed amnesty motion. 

An information table will be set up by strike organizers in the Dalhousie Student Union Building at 8:30 a.m. for the majority of the day.

The amnesty motion will be brought to a senate vote tomorrow afternoon. If passed, students who participate in strike activities from March 17 to 21 will be provided with limited academic protections. 

The first rally of the province-wide student strike concluded earlier today. Aaron Abogado, lead organizer for Nova Scotia Student Strike, addressed the crowd of around 150 protestors at the rally.

“We are standing here today because of our strength, our future,” he said. “Enough is enough.”

DSU president Maren Mealey, who attended the rally, told the Gazette that strike events will be organized as the week continues.

“There will be more information shared in the coming days about specific Dal programming,” she said.

Today was the first official day of the student strike, with students expected to boycott their academic responsibilities tomorrow throughout the week. 

Outside of Dalhousie, picketing will begin at 8:30 a.m. on campuses across the province from Monday to Friday. A rally will be held in the quad on Dalhousie’s Studley Campus at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

More to come.

BREAKING: Students rally downtown Halifax, marking day one of student strike

March 15, 1:31 p.m.

Good afternoon. I’m Claire Kelly, the Dalhousie Gazette’s assistant news editor.

We are reporting live from the scene of the first Halifax rally of the Nova Scotia Student Strike, which started in front of the old Memorial Library this afternoon.

About 150 protestors are in attendance, marching through the streets of downtown Halifax to the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design’s Duke Street campus. 

Protestors are chanting “The people united will never be defeated,” while carrying signs that read “Free education now,” and “Fight the fees.” 

Maren Mealey, DSU president, says that students are demanding affordable tuition and divestment in “any way necessary.”

“I think it’s huge that people are here. I think it’s huge that student unions across the province voted in favour of striking,” she said.

More to come.

BREAKING: Amnesty motion to be presented to Dalhousie Senate Monday

March 15, 9:22 a.m.

Good morning. I’m Jonas May, the Dalhousie Gazette’s news editor.

A limited amnesty motion was presented by the Dalhousie Student Union and passed by the Dalhousie Senate Planning and Governance Committee on Friday.

Five of the committee’s eight members voted in favour of passing the motion, which will now be brought forward to an emergency senate meeting on Monday. If passed, the motion will be in effect for Dalhousie University students from March 17 to 21.

The motion will provide limited academic protections to students who choose to participate in the strike. 

The DSU still encourages students who plan to participate in the strike to reach out to their instructors to seek academic flexibility and clarity before the strike. 

There will be a rally at the old Memorial Library today at 12 p.m. to launch the province-wide strike. 

More to come.