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EDITORIAL: CONCORDIA’S IDENTITY COMPLEX P19
CONCORDIA’S INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1980
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volume 34, issue 1 • tuesday, august 27, 2013 • thelinknewspaper.ca
SCIENCE FOR SALE
All That Jazz
Remembering Montreal's
Most Iconic Jazz Club
P10-11
WHERE TO FIND THE LINK
THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS
Bikurious Montréal 1757 Amherst • Presse Café
3501 Ave. du Parc • Pita Pit 3575 Ave. du Parc •
Cinéma du Parc 3575 Ave. du Parc • Le Coin Grec
4903 Ave. du Parc • Frites Alors! 5235 Ave. du Parc
• Caffè in Gamba 5263 Ave. du Parc • New
Navarino Café 5563 Ave. • du Parc • Café l'Artère
7000 Ave. du Parc • Dépanneur Café 206 Bernard
O. • Drawn & Quarterly 211 Bernard O. • Sonorama
260 Bernard O. • Burritoville 2055 Bishop • Irish
Embassy 1234 Bishop • Comedy Works 1238
Bishop • Grumpsy's 1242 Bishop • Kafein 1429
Bishop • Smoke Poutinerie 2019 Bishop •
Madhatter's Pub 1208 Crescent • Brutopia 1219
Crescent • Ziggy's Pub 1470 Crescent • Boustan
2020 Crescent • Galerie Fokus 68 Duluth E. •
Maison du Tibet 129 Duluth E. • Utopia 159 Duluth
E. • Tienae Santé & Végétarienne 279 Duluth E. •
Café Grazie 58 Fairmount • Arts Café 201
Fairmount O. • La Maison de la Torréfaction 412
Gilford • Sushi Man 1435 Guy • Java U 1455 Guy •
Comptoir du Chef 2153 Guy • Kam Ho 1448
Mackay • Second Cup 2002 Mackay •
Eggspectation 1313 Maisonneuve O. • Caffe
Cuore 100 Marie-Anne O. • Paragraphe 2220
McGill College • Cheap Thrills 2044 Metcalfe •
Second Cup 5550 Monkland • George's Souvlaki
6995 Monkland • L'Echange 713 Mont-Royal E. •
Café Expressions 957 Mont-Royal E. • Café Art
Java 837 Mont-Royal E. • Centre des mets chinois
de Montréal 961 Mont-Royal E. • Restaurant Mont-
Royal Hot Dog 1001 Mont-Royal E. • Starbucks
1241 Mont-Royal E. • Freeson Rock 1477 Mont-
NEAR CONCORDIA
Royal E. • Dilallo Burger 2523 Notre-Dame O. •
Caffe Mariani 4450 Notre-Dame O. • Rustique
4615 Notre-Dame O. • Café St-Henri 3632 Notre-
Dame O. • Frites Alors! 433 Rachel E. • L'Oblique
4333 Rivard • Juliette et Chocolat 1615 Saint-
LE 2250
Denis • Frites Alors! 1710 Saint-Denis • Yuan
Vegetarian Restaurant 2115 Saint-Denis •
L'évidence 3619 Saint-Denis • Beatnick 3770
Saint-Denis • Eva B 2015 Saint-Laurent • Euro Deli
3619 Saint-Laurent • Bocadillo 3677 Saint-Laurent •
Coupe Bizarre 3770 Saint-Laurent • Liberia
Espagnola 3811 Saint-Laurent • Frappe St-
Laurent 3900 Saint-Laurent • Copacabanna Bar
3910 Saint-Laurent • Le Divan Orange 4234 Saint-
1 1/2 - 3 1/2 Laurent • Les Bobards 4328 Saint-Laurent • Om
Restaurant 4382 Saint-Laurent • Kg Délices 5206
Saint-Laurent • Snack'n Blues 5260 Saint-Laurent •
Café Santropol 3990 Saint-Urbain • Barros Lucos
view • Bright,
Exceptionalview
Exceptional
Exceptional view • Bright,
Bright,clean
cleanapts
clean apts
apts 5201 Saint-Urbain • La Panthère Verte 66 Saint-
Viateur O. • Batory Euro Deli 115 Saint-Viateur O. •
IndoorIndoor
Indoor •pool•• Dépanneur
Dépanneur
Dépanneur
poolpool • Sundeck
• Club Social 180 Saint-Viateur O. • Fats Billard
1635 Ste-Catherine O. • Buns Burgers 1855 Ste-
Sundeck
• Exercice
SecuritySundeck •• Security
Security
room • Saunas Catherine O. • Nilufar 1923 Ste-Catherine O. • Café
Ciné Express 1926 Ste-Catherine O. • Bull Pub
Exercice room • Saunas
Exercice room • Saunas 2170 Ste-Catherine O. • Shaika Café 5526
* SPECIAL OFFER Sherbrooke O. • Maz Bar 5617 Sherbrooke O. •
Heating, hot water, oven & fridge
* incl. D.A.D.'s Bagels 5732 Sherbrooke O. • Co-op La
Maison Verte 5785 Sherbrooke O. • Head and
Open 7 Guy
2250 days Hands 5833 Sherbrooke O. • Café 92º 6703
2250 Guy
2250 Guy Sherbrooke O. • Second Cup 7335 Sherbrooke O. •
Bistro Van Houtte 2020 Stanley • Mémé Tartine
(514)
(514) 932-4427
(514) 932-4427
932-4427 4601 Verdun • Maison de Thé Cha Noir 4646
Wellington
PAGE 03
THE FUTURE OF
THE HIVE RESEARCH THE LINK
ONLINE
Healthy options to come
to Loyola—but not for a
while. P6
COMMERCIALIZATION
MOVING TOWARDS
AT CONCORDIA FRINGE CALENDAR
Stay ahead of the curve in
MORE SUSTAINABLE In recent decades Canadian universities, including Concordia, have gained intellectual prop- Montreal’s underground
FOOD ON CAMPUS? erty rights over their researchers’ work and are attempting to capitalize from it. But returns with events around the city
are slim and costs are high, and the practice has raised ethical concerns. What really makes updated daily on our site.
Discussions begin on the Concordia want to commercialize?
future of Concordia’s
food services. P7 “My job here is to invent new Over the past 13 years Concordia covery, they are required to detail it CONU STUDENT SUES
ideas,” Concordia engineering pro- has paid a total of $1.75 million to in a “declaration of invention.” MONTREAL POLICE
fessor Muthukumaran Packirisamy Valeo, a company that patents Con- From there, Concordia’s Office of
CONCORDIA’S told The Link in July, sitting in his cordia researchers’ inventions and Research can, with the inventor’s Since the beginning of the
BUDGET office in the EV building. licenses them out to third parties. permission, send the declaration to 2012 student strike, Katie
Packirisamy is known in the aca- During this time, revenues from li- Valeo, whose offices are located in Nelson has received over
But will it be the first of demic world for developing mi- censing have generated about downtown Montreal. Valeo then 30 tickets from Montreal
many this year? P8 crosensors used in medical diagnosis $595,000 for the university. But al- takes on the process of patenting the police—now she’s suing
and telecommunications. most all of these revenues were technology, and looks for companies them for allegedly target-
“It’s like giving a knife—you can made from the licensing of a single or organizations that will either pay ing her. She sits down with
ON YOUTH ISSUES use it for a million applications,” invention in 2006—an innovation to use it or fund its further develop- The Link later this week.
AND PUBLIC TRANSIT he said. of Packirisamy’s in the field of ment. If the technology generates
Packirisamy’s work has won him micro-electromechanical systems. revenue, the university and the in-
Montreal mayoral can- acclaim at Concordia. Not the least Though research commercial- ventor share the profits. DIPLOMAT STRIKE
didates square off in of his achievements, he was the first ization is not well known to the gen- But so far these profits have HALTS VISA
first election debate. P9 person at the university to success- eral public, it’s a fact of life in many been less than astounding. APPLICATIONS
fully commercialize an invention university departments. Whenever
through Valeo Management. a Concordia academic makes a dis- Continued on page 3. Canada’s foreign service
REMEMBERING THE officers are on strike,
GOLDEN DAYS bottlenecking visas and
OF JAZZ study permits for interna-
tional students. The Link
Legendary jazz promoter has the story; check online
Rouè-Doudou Boicel later this week.
looks back at his contri-
butions to the jazz scene
in Montreal. P10-11 EXPERIENCE
ORIENTATION
LET IN THE LIGHT Dada Life and Tommy
Trash were announced
German electronic pow- Monday as headliners for
erhouse group Moderat CSU Orientation this year.
embark on tour for their Find out online why it’s
new album II. P13 called “Experience.”
NEW CHIEF IN TOWN
Former Habs director of
hockey operations takes
over Concordia’s athlet-
ics department. P15
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Enough is enough: Con-
cordia needs a better food
service provider. P16
DVD KILLED THE VHS STAR
A documentary about eccentric VHS collectors screens in Montreal. P12
Race for City Hall: Meet Your Montreal Mayoral Candidates • Page 9
SCIENCE FOR SALE:
EXAMINING RESEARCH
COMMERCIALIZATION
AT CONCORDIA
Why Does Concordia Pay a Company to Patent and Sell its Research Results?
by Jane Gatensby @JaneGatensby Carr pointed out that because Valorisation Innovation Plus novitech Inc., a management and tive conduit for government
Valeo provides its services to mul- (later renamed Valeo Manage- consulting firm that would go on money, its commercialization
Continued from page 3. tiple universities at once—six ment) was one of these companies, to establish an aerospace research gains didn’t hold up to expecta-
schools in the Université du and Concordia was invited to take consortium using VRQ funds. tions. Documents from Concordia
Québec network are also partners part. After a closed-session discus- “Research-based innovation show that in 2000, it was hoped
in the company—it can do the sion at the university’s Board of originating in universities has the that VIP would achieve more than
work more cheaply than if Concor- Governors—VIP’s business plan potential to contribute much more 100 licences or marketed technol-
dia were to take on the costs itself. was kept confidential until after than it does now,” read Fortier’s re- ogy transfers, and create 50 spin-
According to an email from Valeo the meeting—Concordia joined the port, promising that commercializa- off companies in its first seven
to The Link, the company has project in November 2000. tion would “increase the return to years. However, a 2007 document
spent $1.2 million on Concordia’s The administration was optimistic. Canada on the investment in univer- states that Valeo had produced
patent expenses alone over the “The commercial success that is sity research made by taxpayers.” only eight licences and four spin-
years, which it says saves the uni- expected from commercializing the A clear message had been sent: offs for all of its university part-
When Valeo’s president and CEO, versity in human resources costs. work of our researchers will con- commercialization was a top pri- ners since its founding. Since then,
Anne-Marie Larose, was asked how But universities didn’t always tribute to the self-financing, at least ority for the Canadian govern- Valeo has produced 22 licences
she justified the gulf between what patent their researchers’ discoveries. in part, of Concordia University’s ment, and it should be everyone and nine spin-offs for all its part-
Concordia pays Valeo and what it Historically, academics have shared obligations once the initial five year else’s as well. ner universities.
makes from commercialization, research results freely, letting the start-up process is completed,” “Ever since then, there’s been a VRQ went defunct in 2006, but
she said that it was important to re- public use them as it wished. wrote Jack Lightstone, Concordia’s number of policies and programs Valeo is still very much in busi-
member that Valeo is a “relatively So why does Concordia want to then-Provost and Vice-Rector, Re- [...] to promote commercialization,” ness. The company is currently in
young” company and that “to have hold and protect intellectual prop- search, in a document recommend- said Claire Polster, a University of the process of merging with an-
revenues that compensate [for ex- erty rights over the innovations ing the partnership. Regina sociologist who specializes other société de valorisation,
penses], it takes time.” created in its labs? Lightstone’s hopes must have in higher education, in an interview McGill’s MSBiV. Although Valeo
“It’s utopic to think that, on a seemed natural at the time. American with The Link. “Some policies are has only obtained a handful of
short-term horizon, we can get to the universities had been patenting in- put into place, some offices are put patents for Concordia in recent
break-even point,” she said, men- ventions left and right since it became into place, and things then sort of years, one invention—an energy-
tioning that the University of British possible in 1980. In Canada, a 1991 just begin to transform.” efficient heat exchanger—has re-
Columbia took 17 years to break regulatory change under the Mul- Governments at both the cently been licensed to a local firm.
even on its commercialization activ- roney government transferred the in- provincial and federal level were It’s expected to generate revenue
ities. She also explained that Valeo tellectual property rights on federally eager for commercialization to be within two years.
helps the university find grant financed research results from the a success, and invested heavily in In 2009, Canadian universities
money and corporate research fund- Crown to the research institutions Valeo in its early years. In addi- and research hospitals spent $56.7
ing directed towards maturing tech- themselves, allowing universities the tion to its universities’ yearly con- million on identifying, protecting,
nologies toward commercialization. option of commercialization. Tech- tributions and the $10.5 million in promoting and commercializing
Concordia’s administration The Push to Innovate nology transfer was seen as an excit- start-up funds it received from intellectual property, while in-
doesn’t seem concerned by the ing opportunity across the country, a VRQ, the company was granted a come from intellectual property
lack of returns. According to VP To answer that question, it’s useful chance to get ahead in the new $2-million repayable contribution came to $67.4 million. That makes
Research and Graduate Studies to go back to where Valeo’s story “knowledge-based economy.” from Canada Economic Develop- for a $10-million profit margin—
Graham Carr, profitability is “re- begins. In 1999, the Quebec gov- In 1999, the federal govern- ment in 2004. While it’s unclear but of course, not every university
ally not the issue” when it comes ernment launched Valorisation ment released a report entitled how all of these funds were used, benefits equally.
to commercialization. Recherche Québec, an organiza- “Public Investments in University Valeo was able to spend over And those numbers don’t take
“The reality for most universi- tion to which it gave $50 million to Research: Reaping the Benefits.” $530,000 to directly fund Concor- into account the millions that fed-
ties is that you invest in technol- expand research commercializa- It was authored by a panel of dia research projects with com- eral and provincial governments
ogy transfer but you’re not tion in the province’s universities. mainly businesspeople and mercial potential, mostly between spend every year to fund industry-
necessarily expecting to make a The money was used to establish chaired by Pierre Fortier, an ex- 2000-2007. This investment oriented university research. In re-
profit on it,” he said. “The goal is four sociétés de valorisation, com- MNA with strong corporate links. made Concordia researchers eligi- cent decades, federal funding
to help develop the larger innova- panies that patent researchers’ He’d been Robert Bourassa’s Min- ble for an additional $700,000 in councils like the National Science
tion capacity for Quebec universi- discoveries and find other compa- ister of Privatization and was at Quebec funding. and Engineering Research Council
ties and for Quebec as a whole.” nies to buy them. the time a senior advisor to In- Although Valeo proved a lucra- and Canadian Institutes of Health
the link • august 27, 2013
thelinknewspaper.ca/news 5 Current Affairs
“The reality for most “Not only are
universities is that [universities] often
you invest in losing money, but
technology transfer also they’re losing
but you’re not their capacity to be
necessarily expecting independent and
to make a profit on it. critical centers of
The goal is to help research,” since “the
develop the larger goal of the research
innovation capacity is not really to
for Quebec publicize the science,
universities and for it is to make a
Quebec as a whole.” profit.” Howard
Graham Carr, Woodhouse,
Concordia VP University of
Research and Saskatchewan
Graduate Studies education professor
Research, as well as Quebec fund- The partnership grant system is not knowledge that may have been help- cruit and retain professors and having an infrastructure in place
ing organizations, have dedicated without its critics, much like re- ful to other industries to develop students,” Sitahal continued, to facilitate corporate research
an increasing amount of grant search commercialization itself. themselves, it becomes inaccessi- quoting the Fortier report. contracts and commercialize the
money to “partnership research,” Making research serve the needs of ble,” she explained. “[Businesses] university’s research results.
awarding grants to academics only industry—and using government have to pay for it, if they want to use Governors and Goals When the board decided to join
if they collaborate with an outside dollars to do it—is a contentious it. That increases their cost, which VIP in 2000 only two members voted
company to develop an innovation issue in the academic community. can decrease their competitiveness.” against the plan; both were student
that will be useful on the market. Howard Woodhouse, a Univer- Polster also pointed out that representatives. Subsequent motions
In fact, the importance of part- sity of Saskatchewan education Canadian industry doesn’t invest on Valeo have always passed.
nership research may be one of the professor and author of Selling Out: very much in research and devel- What’s more, every time the
reasons that Concordia is so loyal to Academic Freedom and the Corpo- opment. “And why should it, if it board has been asked to make a
Valeo. In order for its researchers to rate Market, expressed his con- gets all this publicly-subsidized re- decision on Valeo, it has received
have access to partnership grants, cerns in an interview with The Link: search being done for it?” she said. briefings from research adminis-
Concordia needs contacts with cor- “The costs and the risks [of re- So if commercialization, in addi- trators who were favourable to the
porations who are willing to match search are] borne by the public, tion to being so expensive, has project, highlighting its benefits
government contributions, and and the gains and the profits are questionable benefits for both sci- and downplaying its cost. In his
Valeo provides these contacts. privatized,” he said. “The public ence and the economy, the question interview, Graham Carr said that
“We find partners,” Larose are paying for what they then have remains: why do we keep doing it? he “absolutely” wanted Concordia
said. “A company might not neces- to pay again for on the market.” Polster thinks that the reason to continue its partnership with
sarily want to take a licence today, Woodhouse argues that with commercialization still has so Valeo into the future.
but might still [want to] do collab- commercialization, “Not only are much support within universities Polster thinks that the rise of The goal, he says, is to “make
orative research.” [universities] often losing money, is that certain well-placed actors— commercialization cannot be better connections between what
Taking grant money and corpo- but they’re also losing their capacity businesses that want subsidized linked back to a single ideology or is happening on campus to what
rate research contracts into ac- to be independent and critical cen- research, administrators hoping entity, but that it’s “become a could be the transferrable benefit
count, “The gains [from Valeo] are ters of research,” since “the goal of for a windfall, governments look- process or a dynamic that’s ex- of those to society and to corpora-
much greater than just the rev- the research is not really to publicize ing to develop an innovative econ- panded and developed in all kinds tions and other groups.
enues from licensing,” Larose said. the science, it is to make a profit.” omy, academics who profit of complicated ways.” “Sociétés de valorisation like
“I find it reductive to just calculate Like Woodhouse, Polster is criti- personally—find or perceive an in- But, she says, “a lot of people Valeo, they perform that role.”
in terms of licences.” cal of commercialization. In fact, she terest in it, but “don’t understand who are at the top, the policymak-
In an email to The Link, Con- believes that universities shouldn’t the larger implications.” ers and the people who run the in-
cordia’s Communication Services be in the intellectual property busi- Concordia’s Office of Research, stitution and the powerful people
said that Valeo has “little to do with ness in the first place. however, sees things quite differently. within the institution, and indus-
our research partnerships with in- “The universities’ mission is to “Commercializing intellectual try [...] they’re perpetuating it.”
dustry.” However, Valeo lists the produce and disseminate knowl- property is vital to the continued The decision of whether or not
total dollar amount of “grants, fi- edge,” she said. “It’s kind of per- success and growth of Concordia’s to keep using Valeo’s services is
nancing and research contracts for verse, I would say, for universities research capacity and contributing vested with Concordia’s Board of
[Concordia] files managed by to be in the business of preventing to Canada’s economy and social Governors. And here might lie an-
Valeo” at $3.6 million. other people from using knowledge, systems,” wrote Shelly Sitahal, as- other reason why Concordia, de-
rather than making knowledge as sociate director of the Office’s Re- spite years of tight budgets, keeps
The Knowledge Debate freely available as possible.” search Partnerships and Innovation pursuing the project.
She argues that even from a Unit, in an email to The Link. A large percentage of Concor-
business perspective, the utility of “The protection and commer- dia’s current and former board
patenting research is dubious. If cialization of university intellec- members have come from Mon-
innovations were free to use, she tual property not only provides treal’s business community. These
said, “people could still use the universities the opportunity to governors—higher-ups at Power
knowledge, but the access would contribute to our nation’s eco- Corporation, SNC-Lavalin and
be less restricted [and] the bene- nomic growth, but also increases Hydro-Quebec, to name a few—
fits could be increased. their capacity to generate direct fi- could all conceivably see the ben-
“As the universities privatize nancial returns and ultimately re- efits for their companies from Graphics Graeme Shorten Adams
Current Affairs 6 the link • august 27, 2013
thelinknewspaper.ca/news
by Katie McGroarty @katiecmcg as one of the reasons for the delay. democratic model, but we’re existing
Once it’s up and running, how- within a context of turnover,” Prunty
At the end of last semester, the in- ever, Harrison says the Hive “is continued. “So there’s not a lot of in-
coming CSU wanted to have The supposed to be a healthy, cheap al- stitutional memory.”
Hive open by this September. ternative for students on campus. In choosing the solidarity
NO BUZZ
The café was to be their answer It won’t be fully functional, but it model, the CSU is aiming for a
to the lack of food choices for stu- will be more functional than [we sustainable structure. The solidar-
dents on the Loyola campus, and previously planned for].” ity model means, essentially, that
would have provided a cheaper and If all goes accordingly to plan, the it will draw its membership from
AT THIS
healthier alternative to the monop- final stage will see a full café open all workers, supporting members and
oly Chartwells has on campus. day long and offer full meals, as well user members in order to repre-
Originally, The Hive was going as feature a student-run bar serving sent diversity in the co-operative.
HIVE
to be opened in phases. organic beer and wine. “We will elect the board, but
It was to start off as a coffee “Ultimately, if we could prove to then they can kind of steer it yearly
and pre-made pastry café only, the school that a student-run café is and they can, of course, call an
then move on to a full-fledged capable of providing food to a large [annual general meeting] if they’re
cafeteria-type establishment. amount of students, us being incor- not comfortable with the way the
However, that’s no longer the case. porated into the meal plan would be organization is going.”
“We didn’t really see the point awesome,” Harrison said. Right now, the CSU is looking
Café Plans Stung by Reality in opening it halfway,” said VP
Loyola Crystal Harrison. “We’ve
Harrison added that she hopes
that food at The Hive could even-
to recruit a board of directors of a
least nine members. Currently un-
been figuring out how we want to tually be paid for with “flex dol- confirmed but potential board
operate and also how we want it to lars,” an ancillary package part of members include one faculty
look—which all takes a lot of time. residence students’ meal plans member, one student at large, one
“Fortunately, we’ve decided used to buy non-cafeteria food. graduate student and two CSU ex-
that it will be run by an independ- Currently, only locations operated ecutives. Looking for a board of di-
ent student group, and ultimately by Chartwells take flex dollars. rectors will be the first step in the
not by the CSU. It’s going to be- “It’s hard to say right now; a lot of co-operative side of things.
based on a solidarity co-operative stuff that we thought would be ac- The solidarity co-operative is a
model. It will be founded by stu- complished right now [isn’t]. There new form of co-operative, which is
dents, then there will be a board of has kind of been some backtracking called the “multi-stake holder co-
directors that will start and oper- going on, making sure that we’ve been operative” outside of Quebec.
ate the café.” covering all of the bases,” she said. Prunty said that it is unlikely
While the plan to work its way As of right now, the CSU is hoping that 50 per cent of the allocated
up gradually remains, the CSU also to open the first phase by January. $350,000 to be shared between
hopes to have more to offer stu- “But, it’s nerve-racking to say the renovation and reconstruction
dents when the café opens, as coffee that will be the opening,” said of Reggie’s and The Hive will be
and limited pastries are already Harrison. “You never know what used for the new Loyola café.
available at multiple Chartwells lo- will happen, but it helps us to have “We don’t have to spend [all of
cations nearby, according to Harri- that timeline.” the allocated money]—we’re not
son. trying to,” said Prunty. “It’s more
Chartwells is a subsidiary of A New Co-Operative like a cushion so that it’s available
Compass Group, the world’s if it’s absolutely necessary.”
largest cafeteria service operator How exactly The Hive would oper- Currently, the CSU is looking for
in the world. ate was unclear until it was decided community funding in order to
“Hopefully, there will be a lot of in early summer that it would be a cover assets and the salaries of work-
stuff that can be prepared behind “solidarity co-operative.” ers, as well as to ensure that taking
the counter—some salads, smooth- “We spent a lot of time educat- out loans would not be needed.
ies, lots of coffee variations as well ing ourselves and debating about “There’s a lot of things that we
as to-go items. Sandwiches would the proper governance,” said Ben- want to figure out but at this point
be ideal,” Harrison said. “A little jamin Prunty, VP Sustainability. what’s most important is getting
more complex than pastries and “Because it isn’t necessarily stan- the basics down so we can expand
bagels, but not a full-fledged café ei- dard or intuitive that we would go from there,” said Prunty.
ther,” she continued, noting the lack for the solidarity model. “If we can make this become a
of current access to kitchen facilities “Not only do we think it’s the most reality, I will be really happy.”
The final plan for The Hive Café, pictured above, includes a student-run bar and an extensive menu. Photos by Benjamin Allard.
the link • august 27, 2013
thelinknewspaper.ca/news 7 Current Affairs
TOWARDS
STUDENTS IN
RESIDENCE
SUSTAINABLE, 6500
STUDENT-RUN Concordia Universty
University of Toronto
offers various meal
EATING OPTIONS?
meal plan costs between plans ranging from
$3927 and $4388. $850 and $1475 each
semester or $4260 for
a year.
Discussions Begin on the Future of McGill meal plan
costs between
$5050 and $5600.
University of
Calgary meal
Concordia’s Food Services Unused funds over
$50 carry over to a
Rollover Plan.
plan costs between
$2080 and $4640.
by Michael Wrobel According to Wujec, there are Winnipeg has a mixed model, with University of
@michael_wrobel feedback mechanisms in place both self-operated and contracted British Columbia
that allow concerns to be voiced to retail outlets on campus. meal plan costs
between $3663
A dialogue between students, fac- Chartwells, but a locally-operated Between 44 and 66 per cent of
and $4479.
ulty and administrators on the fu- food service would still be more its food is locally sourced, and stu- York University meal plplanan
ture of Concordia’s food system responsive to the needs of the dents enjoy a culturally diverse costs between $1600 and
and
$4000. They have 45 retail
rettail
began in earnest this summer. Concordia community. menu with many options for those
provider.
outlets run by their prov ider.
The university’s contract with “I think it’s extremely possible with dietary restrictions. The uni- University
More than the Universit itty
food service provider Chartwells is to have a food system that doesn’t versity’s food service also provides of Toronto.
set to expire in May 2015. With rely on one of the large food serv- training and employment to indi-
that in mind, a new group has ice providers,” she said, adding viduals who face barriers to mean-
been called together—the Food that Concordia already has many ingful work, Wujec said. University of
New Brunswick
Advisory Working Group—to eval- student-run food initiatives on And even if Concordia’s admin-
meal plan costs
uate Concordia’s food system and campus. It also has fewer students istration chooses to sign a contract between $2400
look at possible ways in which it living in residence—and thus with one of the large food service and $3900.
could be improved. fewer mouths to feed on a consis- providers once again, there are University of Ottawa
tent and daily basis—than other ways of making the university’s meal plan costs between
A More Sustainable Direction similarly sized universities. food offerings more environmen- $2900 and $3600.
Research conducted by the CFC tally friendly. Wujec said a lot of
The Concordia Food Coalition, a shows that Concordia can learn a other Canadian universities have
student group involved in the dis- lot from other universities that are included specific environmental 3000
cussions, hopes to improve or even lowering their environmental im- benchmarks in their contracts, re-
replace the university’s current food pacts through waste reduction, quiring, for instance, that their
system with affordable, sustainable composting and the use of locally food service provider buy produce
and student-run initiatives. grown produce. grown in campus gardens.
“We are trying to engage [the The University of British Co- “There’s been a great evolution
working group] in a broad discus- lumbia, for example, operates its in the sustainability of these com-
sion about what sustainability own food service, as opposed to panies,” she said, noting neverthe-
means to Concordia and what spe- having a contract with an indus- less that the large-scale industrial
cific actions we can take to get trial food provider. nature of these multinational cor-
there,” said Mikayla Wujec, a re- Around 45 per cent of its food is porations means that they’re still 2000
searcher at the CFC. sourced within 240 kilometres of “not necessarily the best solution.”
Wujec told The Link that the university, and only organic Chartwells is owned by Com-
there’s “clear dissatisfaction” with and fair-trade coffee is sold. Eater- pass Group PLC, a British multi-
the current food system among ies and cafeterias on campus also national that operates in over 50
S COLUMBIA
students, faculty and staff. A com- serve only non-endangered species countries worldwide. Its main
mon complaint, she said, is that of fish and seafood, adhering to the competitors include U.S.-based
BRUNSWICK
RUNSWICK
the food is too expensive and un- standards of the Ocean-Wise con- Aramark Corporation and France-
healthy. Many people also feel that servation program created by the based Sodexo.
Chartwells-operated retail outlets Vancouver Aquarium.
TORONTO
RONTO
ORONTO
A Y
SITY OF CALGARY
TAWA
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BRITISH
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aren’t open long enough. Meanwhile, the University of Infographic Clément Liu
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Concordia’s Proposal Timeline with a list of recommendations. électronique d’appels d’offres, the
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In winter and spring 2014, using Quebec government’s website for
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A document on Hospitality Concor- the working group’s recommenda- public procurement.
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dia’s website outlines the timeline that tions, Concordia’s administration Proposals received from food
CARLET
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the university will follow in the lead-up will develop its own list of criteria— service providers will then be eval-
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to the expiry of the Chartwells contract. in a document known as a request uated according to the criteria out-
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The Food Advisory Working for proposals—which will outline lined in the RFP document
U
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Group will meet regularly until De- how the university will judge the between mid-2014 and early 2015.
cember to share research on best different proposals that it will re- Finally, a contract will be NO MEAL PLANS OFFERED. STUDENTS LIVING IN RESIDENCE
practices in the food services industry ceive from food service providers. awarded to the company with the HAVE ACCESS TO KITCHEN.
with regards to nutrition and sustain- Once that is done, a formal re- winning bid, with the new food
ability. The group will then provide quest for proposals will be made service program beginning in the MEAL PLAN COSTS ARE BUILT INTO RESIDENCE RATES OR
Concordia’s vice-president of services public and posted on the Système summer or fall of 2015. ON A “FLEX” BASIS.
Current Affairs 8 the link • august 27, 2013
thelinknewspaper.ca/news
CONCORDIA’S REVENUE PROJECTIONS
BUDGET, 2013-2014
2013-2014
BRIEFS
TAKE ONE
by Corey Pool and Erin Sparks
@coreyriver @sparkserin
(Proposed Budget) The Lowy Loan or “How Not
Funding Gap Leaves ConU to Sell a Condo”
OTHER* INSTITUTIONAL CONTIGENCY FUND Remember way back in 2011 when
CFO Looking For Cuts $25.3OTHER*
million INSTITUTIONAL
$6 million CONTIGENCY FUND Concordia bought our then-dear
old president Frederick Lowy that
nice new condo?
by Colin Harris @colinnharris per cent of Concordia’s revenue, up Six months after its due date, the
from 63 per cent last year. $1.4-million loan given to Lowy in-
In a climate of uncertain govern- The current budget sees a 2.5 per terest-free for the purchase of his
ment funding, Concordia is work- cent ($5.7 million) cut to the aca- 2,600-square-foot crib on Doctor
ing to balance the books following demic sector, and a 6.81 per cent Penfield Ave. is still outstanding.
cuts and cancelled tuition hikes. ($7.49 million) cut to all others, in- The loan was given to Lowy as
At the last Board of Governors cluding the services portfolio, which a perk for taking on the job of
meeting before summer break, Con- oversees facilities management and TUITION president after the untimely de-
cordia Chief Financial Officer Patrick human resources. Concordia’s aca- TUITION parture of his predecessor, Judith
$115.7 million
Kelley presented the budget for this demic sector makes up more than Woodsworth, who left the univer-
academic year. But if this year is any- two-thirds of the university’s budget. sity with over $700,000 in sever-
thing like last year, it may only be the For students, these cuts mean ance pay. The understanding was
first of many he’ll need to prepare. a reduced number of courses that the condo would be resold
Due to changing information and fewer courses available in $$ FROM QUEBEC and Lowy would repay it when, he
from the provincial government last multiple semesters. $$ FROM QUEBEC too, left the university.
year, Concordia’s 2012-2013 budget “Every area of the university will $247.7 million But times are tough in Mon-
needed to be revised four times. feel something—you can’t go through treal. The market isn’t competi-
“We can’t include numbers that what we’ve gone through in the last tive, and the luxury condo that
come from a press release,” said year and a half and not have an im- Concordia paid for sits empty.
Kelley at the June 7 meeting, refer- pact,” Concordia President Alan Condo party, anyone?
ring to the Parti Québécois’ public Shepard told The Link last spring.
statements pledging to narrow At the Summit on Higher Edu- Concordia Student Suing
what Quebec university adminis- cation in February, the provincial SPVM for Harassment
trators say is a funding gap.
When the PQ formed a minority
government after defeating Jean
government announced tuition
would no longer be frozen, and in-
stead indexed to the rise in aver-
2014-2015
2014-2015 Concordia philosophy student
Katie Nelson is currently facing
Charest’s Liberals last year, party age household disposable income. $6,500 in fines, but she has no in-
leader Pauline Marois pledged to This amounts to a 2.6 per cent
(Projected Budget) tention of paying them. Nelson
cancel the 80 per cent increase in
tuition for students stretched over
increase in tuition this year,
which translates to about $1.1
(Projected Budget) racked up the fines, which range
from participating in an illegal
seven years before she was even million for Concordia. OTHER* protest to cursing in public, during
sworn in. The announcement While Concordia has a high the 2012 student protests.
meant a loss of an estimated $4 number of international students, $26.2 OTHER*
million Constitutional lawyer Julius
million in revenue for Concordia who bring in far more tuition than Grey, who is seeking $24,000 in
for the 2012-2013 school year. Quebec residents, that money is damages, will represent Nelson in
Then, in December, with most of redistributed to other post-sec- court. Nelson sees her case as one
the academic year behind them, ondary institutions in the province. of political profiling, something
Quebec universities faced an unex- In his presentation to the Board that Montreal police Cmdr. Ian
pected $124-million cut in grant of Governors, Kelley said that this Lafrenière has denied the SPVM
money, resulting in a $13.2-million year $45 million of tuition from in- engages in.
loss for Concordia. ternational and non-Quebec stu- TUITION There is a chance that many of
This left Concordia’s Board with dents goes through this process, TUITION the charges Nelson currently
little choice but to approve a deficit with Concordia expected to get 10
$118 million faces may be dropped; a Ville-
of up to $7.5 million—the third- to 11 per cent back. Marie bylaw specifically states
highest in Concordia’s history— It was suggested at the meeting that many of the articles within
when a surplus of $600,000 had that tuition be lowered at Concor- the city’s rules against loitering
been predicted for the 2012-2013 dia to attract more international are invalid within the borough, an
$$ FROM QUEBEC
academic year. and out-of-province students, but area where Nelson was ticketed
$$ FROM QUEBEC
Kelley cautioned that things Kelley said “discounting tuition to $253.2 million numerous times.
could change when presenting the siphon students from other univer- In total, Nelson has been tick-
budget for the 2013-2014 year, and sities is a slippery slope,” in that it eted over 30 times.
that budget reduction targets were can lead to even less revenue for Check online at thelinknewpa-
on the assumption that there would Quebec universities as a whole. per.ca later this week for an inter-
be no further cuts to their operating view with the Concordia student
*Donations,
*Donations, research,
research, etc.
etc.
grant, which will make up 76.33 Infographic Julia Wolfe and activist.
the link • august 27, 2013
thelinknewspaper.ca/news 9 Current Affairs
RUSSELL
COPEMAN ENTERS
MUNICIPAL
ELECTION RACE
Concordia’s Associate VP
External Affairs Running for
Borough Mayor of
C.D.N.—N.D.G. Photo Olivier Archambault Bouffard.
by Michael Wrobel officials at all levels of government, encourage people to get involved.” the government-owned site of the a tramway along Côte-des-Neiges
@michael_wrobel working under the direction of When asked what he thought former Montreal Hippodrome, and Rd., but said money that would go
Bram Freedman, the university’s about the open-data movement the other in the triangle formed by towards the new tramway line
Concordia’s associate vice-presi- Secretary General and VP Devel- calling upon governments to dis- Jean-Talon Blvd., De la Savane St. could perhaps be better invested
dent for external affairs will run opment and External Relations. close more information to the and the Décarie Expressway—are in other ways.
for borough mayor of Côte-des- Copeman will go on an unpaid public, Copeman said he believes offering the borough an opportu- “Tramways are pretty expen-
Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce in leave of absence from his position there are some types of informa- nity to build a model community sive,” Copeman said. “I wouldn’t say
the Nov. 3 municipal election. as associate vice-president for ex- tion that shouldn’t be made pub- with residents’ input. they should be completely disre-
Russell Copeman announced ternal affairs in September. lic—such as certain data on “When I say a model community, garded, but I think we should really
his candidacy on Aug. 19, joining Copeman says the job has given personnel—but that on the whole, I mean one with a mix of housing— try to optimize the public investment
Montreal mayoral candidate Mar- him a deeper understanding of the Montreal’s administration can be social housing, low-income housing, we can make in these areas and
cel Côté’s coalition. importance of municipal government. much more accessible. single-family dwellings,” he said. move the greatest number of people.
Copeman told The Link it was “I learned a great deal about urban “The general rule ought to be: According to Copeman, a major “My own view is that […] the
the recent scandals at city hall— planning and how institutions can ‘Make information available to the challenge in the borough is afford- city of Montreal needs to work on
from the resignation of mayor have an impact on urban planning public,’” he said. “And the excep- able, quality housing. repairing and consolidating its ex-
Gérald Tremblay to the arrest of and urban development,” he said. tions ought to be just that—excep- “Today, when you look at the isting municipal infrastructure be-
interim mayor Michael Apple- tions—and [they] should be few housing market, whether it’s rental fore launching huge, new projects
baum on 14 charges including On Transparency and far in between.” or purchasing, it is almost prohib- which are going to require massive
fraud and breach of trust—that led Copeman added that some- itively expensive for young people amounts of investment from the
him to decide to run. Copeman’s campaign has prom- thing as simple as explaining on- and young families to purchase a public purse.”
“If people with experience and who ised integrity, transparency and line how the borough selects roads home—and that’s why we’re seeing A feasibility study made public
feel they have something to offer don’t accountability if he is elected bor- for repaving, for example, would so many young families establish in April found that the proposed
[step] up to the plate […] then the sit- ough mayor this fall. go a long way towards demystify- themselves off the island of Mon- tramway line would improve resi-
uation will never improve,” he said. “If information is not easily ing how the city works and restor- treal,” he said. “We’ve got to find dents’ quality of life, but would
This is not the first time Cope- available to the public—and in a ing residents’ confidence in the ways of reversing the trend.” also cost an estimate $1 billion.
man has run for public office. Be- useable form—then the informa- municipal government. Copeman wouldn’t commit to Richard Bergeron, the leader of
fore working at Concordia, he tion might as well not exist,” he any specific proposals just yet, but rival municipal political party Pro-
represented the electoral district told The Link. “I think one of the On Public Transit and said he would consider offering jet Montréal, is a long-time propo-
of NDG in the Quebec National ways in which we could reduce the Affordable Housing first-time buyers and young fami- nent of tramways.
Assembly from 1994 to 2008. level of cynicism [about] politics is lies property tax breaks. C.D.N.—N.D.G. is Montreal’s
Since 2008, Copeman has acted to make the process more trans- Copeman said two major residen- As for public transit, Copeman most populous borough, with
as a liaison between Concordia and parent, which I think will in turn tial development projects—one on didn’t dismiss the idea of building 165,000 residents.
MAYORAL HOPEFULS LOOK TO WIN OVER YOUTH VOTE
Candidates Debate Public Transit, Youth Involvement
by Michael Wrobel university professor, took part in for residents to engage with their new residents to the downtown east and west of the city with an
@michael_wrobel the debate organized by the Institut municipal administration online. population by 2025. express bus network.
du Nouveau Monde. Bergeron said only his Projet Joly, who is running as an inde- Coté, the leader of a loose coali-
Half of the first debate between Coderre, the leader of munici- Montréal party—the smallest of pendent, said Bergeron’s plans tion of candidates running for city
Montreal’s mayoral candidates re- pal political party Équipe Denis the parties currently represented would greatly increase the city’s council, promised to make all full-
volved around youth issues in Coderre pour Montréal, said that in city council—could make “an debt. “The reality is that our time students, regardless of age, eli-
front of a student-heavy audience the mobilization of students absolute guarantee of integrity.” [young] generation is already gible for reduced-fare monthly
on Aug. 16. around the issue of university tu- Of the 65 candidates it has already going to inherit a huge bill from transit passes. Currently, only stu-
Denis Coderre, the longtime ition fees in the spring of 2012 re- nominated for city and borough other generations,” Joly said of dents under the age of 25 have access
Liberal Member of Parliament for vealed the need “to canalize this council positions throughout the Bergeron’s plan to create a $1-bil- to the reduced fare of $45, with older
Montreal’s Bourassa electoral dis- energy and ensure that our youth city of Montreal, Bergeron said 19 lion tramway network. “Every students paying the full price of $77.
trict; Marcel Coté, an economist can feel they’re part of the deci- are less than 35 years old. Berg- time you have a project, you create The city—and not public transit cor-
and founding partner at consulting sion-making,” despite many dis- eron also outlined an ambitious a debt for our children.” She said poration Société de transport de
firm Secor; Mélanie Joly, a 34-year- agreeing with the protesters’ program of urban renewal, prom- she will turn Montreal into an “in- Montréal—would cover the $9-mil-
old lawyer and communications ex- demands. Coderre promised to en- ising to revitalize the downtown novative, entrepreneurial and effi- lion cost of making the change.
pert; and Richard Bergeron, an sure that young people are hired core by eliminating street-level cient” city, and promised to create Elections will take place in all of
urban planning expert and former by the city, and to create new ways parking lots and adding 50,000 a rapid transit system uniting the Quebec’s municipalities on Nov. 3.
Fringe Arts It’s Better to Burn Out than to Fade Away: Documenting the Tragedy of VHS • Page 12 THE BEATING HEART OF MONTREAL JAZZ Looking Back at the Rising Sun Club and Legendary Jazz Promoter Rouè-Doudou Boicel
the link • august 27, 2013
thelinknewspaper.ca/fringe 11 Fringe Arts
by Jesse Feith @jessefeith Quebec, and thought the same type old filing cabinet, all of them ac-
of scene could thrive in Montreal. knowledging his contributions to
“His club was like Paris in the ‘30s, New On a smotheringly hot mid-1950s “The Rising Sun opened at the the culture of Montreal.
The first is from former Montreal
day in French Guiana, a teenage same time that jazz music was dis-
York in the ‘40s.” Rouè-Doudou Boicel paces impa- appearing from the musical scene, mayor Gérald Tremblay, followed
tiently, waiting for his mother to but I knew it wasn’t dead,” he says. by others from former Quebec pre-
Taj Mahal, Blues legend leave the house. She had recently He was right, and within a few mier Jean Charest, former governor
come home with a Luis Mariano years of its opening, the tiny club general Michaëlle Jean and Prime
vinyl record, intended to be hid- was regularly packing more than Minister Stephen Harper.
den away and eventually offered as 300 people into a space made to As he opens a fifth letter, he
a birthday gift to his stepfather. hold no more than half of that for bursts into a loud, raspy laugh.
Once alone, Boicel brings the gift shows by some of the era’s greatest “This girl, I tell you,” he says
to the local record shop and ex- jazz and blues performers. with a smile draped across his
changes it for his favourite jazz Boicel made it a point to pro- face, the same one seen in all of
album, Dizzy Gillespie’s The Champ. mote black culture within the city, the pictures from so long ago.
“Dizzy’s music spoke to me like and it wasn’t long before his repu- It’s a letter from 1995, penned
nothing else before,” he says look- tation as one of the only black pro- by Jazz singer Nina Simone and
ing back today. “I loved that album moters around helped him land containing about as much charac-
more than anything.” some of the period’s biggest names. ter as any one-page letter can hold.
Nearly three decades later, In the summer of 1978, two In it, she jokingly asks Boicel
Gillespie had become a regular years before the inaugural Mon- for $10,000 of royalties to be sent
performer at Boicel’s Rising Sun treal International Jazz Festival, to her address in France “for every
Celebrity Jazz Club in Montreal, a he founded a festival of his own month until you die.”
bar and music joint he opened on called the Rising Sun Festijazz, “‘A queen like me is very expen-
Ste. Catherine St. in 1975. featuring a set by acclaimed gui- sive, I’ll hunt you down,’” Boicel
“After so many years, Dizzy was tarist B.B. King. reads from the letter, breaking out
playing for me, in my club. That When King returned to Mon- into a chuckle.
beats everything,” says Boicel. treal and played at Place des Arts “She called me after that letter
Now 75 years old, Boicel is sit- the following year, he spent the and we laughed for hours,” he says.
ting in the living room of one of his rest of the night across the street In 2003, eight years after that let-
NDG residences, surrounded by at the Rising Sun. ter was sent, Simone died in her sleep
scrapbooks overflowing with pic- “He came here afterwards, took after a long battle with breast cancer.
tures from his promoter days. off all his fancy clothes and played “It hurts, it really hurts,” he
On one page Boicel is shaking until five in the morning,” recalls Boi- says, no longer laughing. “All these
hands with Ray Charles; on an- cel. “And the fans that followed, they artists I’ve lost, I really loved them.
other he’s posing with Muhammad would be here, ripping their jackets We were all part of the interna-
Ali. In what he calls one of his off and swinging their ties in the air.” tional jazz family.”
favourite pictures, he’s flanked by Year by year, the Rising Sun The original Rising Sun burned
blues greats John Lee Hooker, started harvesting a reputation as down in March of 1990. At the
Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon— a must-play place. time, the closest fire station was
all four men bursting with laughter. “His club was like Paris in the nearly 20 minutes away on Ontario
Boicel and Jazz legend Ray Charles “What we had during those ‘30s, New York in the ‘40s,” blues St., and in the time it took the fire-
Opposite: Boicel and Dizzy Gillespie days will never be repeated in legend Taj Mahal says over the men to respond to the call, nearly
Montreal,” says Boicel, nostalgia phone from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. everything was gone. The stage
visibly building as he flips through “It was a crossroads of all kinds had been destroyed and hundreds
the pages of one of the books. of music. The atmosphere was so of concert recordings were lost.
The Rising Sun’s family-like at- good because he attracted a very Boicel tried twice to reopen the
mosphere set it apart from other ven- musically excited audience—poets, club at different locations, but
ues in the city at the time, and that singers, dancers,” he says. could never quite regain the feel-
atmosphere stemmed from its owner. Dave Turner, who teaches at ing and atmosphere of the origi-
“Doudou ran music in Montreal Concordia and has been a main- nal. The third incarnation closed
for many years,” says Jim West, stay of the Montreal jazz scene only a year and a half after open-
president of Montreal’s Justin since the early ‘70s, sat in with Art ing and left him $100,000 in debt.
Time Records, which later released Blakey and the Jazz Messengers a Since then, Boicel has focused
a series of recordings from the club. few times at the Rising Sun. his time on writing and painting—
“He knew everybody, he be- “It was a life-changing experi- the recent student protests inspir-
friended them all, and it’s pretty ence to play there,” he says. ing both—as he prepares to release
unique to have a character like that.” “You can’t really know if you’re his third book this summer, a col-
Boicel’s passion for music at that level until you play with peo- lection of poetry and essays.
started at an early age, playing ple like that. And Boicel was a big in- Two days after the incident
bass and the helicon in his pre- spiration to a lot of people for being that ruined the original Rising
teenage years before later picking able to bring those acts to the city.” Sun, he tried to salvage anything
up the trumpet and conga. Boicel himself had become some- he could from the wreckage. In
Before moving to Montreal in what of a public figure in Montreal. what he now calls a miracle, he
1970, he worked a variety of jobs— “People would come to see both was able to save a few concert
as a grave keeper, as an electrician, the artists and him,” says his son recordings that had been stored
a short stint in the Cayenne mili- Alex, now a promoter in his own away in an old defunct freezer.
tary—travelling across Europe and right based in Harlem. For Boicel, those recordings,
eventually to North America. “He would dress like an African his pictures and his many memo-
His arrival in Montreal wasn’t king and it became part of the mys- ries are all that are left of the Ris-
supposed to be anything more than tery for people,” he says. “As his ing Sun today.
another stop along the way, but son at the time, it wasn’t always so “I would do it all again like this,”
Boicel quickly fell in love with the easy to deal with him. For me, it he says, snapping his fingers to-
city’s free spirit in the early ‘70s and was not only the Rising Sun, but it gether, a smile inching back across
Buddy Guy feeling tha funk outside Rising Sun Celebrity Jazz Club. decided to stay. He had witnessed was also Doudou who was rising.” his face as he revisits those days
Photos courtesy of Rouè-Doudou Boicel the jazz and blues scene present in Later, in his home office, Boicel that loom so large in his memory.
Harlem during his last stop before starts pulling out letters from an “Of course I would.”You can also read
