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Table of Contents THE LINK 3 Volume 40, Issue 2: POWER p. 6 GENTRIFICATION: SMALL BUSINESSES ARE CLOSING DOWN p. 11 CONCORDIA’S ONLINE SEXUAL VIOLENCE TRAINING FACES CRITICSM p. 15 INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS PAY TOO MUCH FOR THEIR HEALTH PLANS p. 19 A LIFETIME OF FOLLOWING YOUR PASSION: LESLEY CHARTERS COTTON p.26 A SELECTION OF POEMS p. 29 ESPORTS: CONCORDIA’S BEST KEPT SECRET p. 32 ADAM VANCE’S FINAL STINGER DAYS p. 35 THE STRAIGHTS ARE JUST FINE p. 36 SEX ED(ITORIAL): GENDER AND FAKING ORGASMS OH MY! p. 39 PEOPLE’S HISTORY OF CANADA: THE ASBESTOS WORKERS’ STRIKE p. 43 COMICS! THE POWER ISSUE p. 46 WHAT HAS THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT DONE IN A YEAR p. 50 LAVENDER PROJECT: CHALLENGING TABOOS WITH POWER&POISE p. 52 WHO ARE THE PEOPLE ON THE SIGNS IN YOUR RIDING?? p. 55 THE ONLY ELECTIONS SURVIVAL GUIDE YOU’LL NEED OCTOBER 2018 “I brought my nipple tassels just in case,” since 1980 JANUARY 2019 Butter Chicken $13 $12 $13 $12 $7 $9 $11 $10 (2) $7 (2) $950 (Dine in or take out only) Chicken Wrap DELIVERY Order Online EDITORIAL 5 EDITORIAL: Politics Care About You Even If You Don’t Care About Them From the food you buy to the rent Since you’ll probably be alive much Elections Canada site. you pay, the work you do, the art you longer than them, and with millenni- All the information you could ever consume, and even where you party— als expected to overtake the boomers as need about the big scary world of the politics are everywhere. America’s largest generation this year, electoral process is readily available. All It’s impossible to live a life devoid of it’s in your best interest to cast your you have to do is know where to click. them and whether you’re overly politi- ballot and be heard. And no, abstaining But what about those who have already cal, apolitical, or anywhere in between, from voting because elections are “bour- been voted in? Or those who hold power you exist in a system where those in geois” isn’t a good excuse. but aren’t part of the democratic process? power dictate nearly every aspect of your Don’t actually know how to vote or Collective action and protesting is life. But, it’s important to remember who who to vote for? Tere are tools to help another way of exercising your demo- gives them power: us. you out with that. cratic rights. Power is an omnipresent Last October, François Legault’s Coali- Te act of voting, while instrumental part of everyone’s life—we shouldn’t tion Avenir Québec party won a majority to the proper functioning of a democ- treat the people in power as our benevo- government despite having only won racy, is a daunting task—especially for lent overlords. about 38 per cent of the popular vote. new voters or those without a traditional Te word power implies one group If the majority of the province wanted support system—be it parents, school dominating the other, and many in posi- someone else in power, how did this teachers, or anyone else that would help tions of power do not think twice about happen? Only about 66 per cent of you fgure out the complex process of using their status to dominate—and even registered voters took to the polling sta- casting a vote. subjugate others—either politically, eco- tions—about fve per cent less than the Out-of-province students and people nomically, or socially. last provincial election. who have just turned 18 might have Tat’s why it’s so important to hold Tree electoral divisions saw less than countless questions and nobody there to those in power accountable, so they 50 per cent of their voters exercise their answer them. Elections Canada’s web- don’t prevent us from getting the most fundamental right. Montreal averaged site is an extremely efective tool and out of this life. Part of Te Link and other a 58 per cent voter turnout, where the can serve as a mechanism to quell any journalistic publications’ mandates is just CAQ’s support is at its weakest. concerns you may have about the entire that, but we should all strive to make sure Voting is one way to directly partici- process. we do not remain complacent in the face pate in our democracy and—believe it or Everything from how to check your of power. not—your vote does make a diference. In electoral riding, where to go to cast your With that in mind, even if you don’t 2015, those aged between 65 and 75 years ballot, to how you register to vote, and care about politics, they care about you. old were the demographic with the high- what kinds of pieces of ID are allowed at After all, how can you be heard if you est participation rate. your polling centre are available on the don’t speak out? OCTOBER 2018 6 THE LINK Closed for Business How do threats to local commerce endanger the character of Montreal? MARCUS BANKUTI Photos Olivier Cadotte rank Servedio—the founded by his grandfather. “I thought I linked to empty storefronts and an infux owner of Clarke Café— was going to take over the business. Te of fashy businesses with the potential to tells people he became a last day, I didn’t even want to be around alienate longtime residents. Increasingly, manFF in Mile End. When he started at his the place. It was very upsetting for me.” some fear the very character of Montreal father’s sandwich shop over 15 years ago, His uncle sold the building to Danny is being upended. he encountered an ethnic and cultural mix Lavy and Stephen Shiller of Shiller Lavy As it stands, the commercial market is he says changed him as a person. “It really Realties, a frm whose blue signs can be virtually unimpeded by regulation. Te opened my eyes,” said the self-described seen in windows around Mile End. To city recently announced that its commit- “LaSalle kid.” facilitate the deal, the business was pur- tee on economic and urban development His afection for the eclectic commu- chased simultaneously to ensure his father and housing will study the situation sur- nity helped inspire his decision to spend also profted, said Servedio. Te bakery rounding commercial vacancies, with a the rest of his life at the family business. subsequently continued its operations report to come in December and public So where is Clarke Café? It’s not tucked as a diferent company on paper, so the consultations to follow. away amongst the clothing boutiques of business itself was still family-owned, he “Almost every iconic street in a neigh- Laurier Ave., nor nestled on the Clark St. explained. bourhood is its commercial street,” said for which it is named. Boulangerie Clarke continued to pay Craig Sauvé, a member of the ruling Projet It’s not in Mile End at all—it’s in Pointe- its previous rental rate for one year, after Montréal party and Sud-Ouest city coun- Saint-Charles, 40 minutes by transit from which, said Servedio, its monthly rent cillor for the district encompassing Clarke its predecessor, Boulangerie Clarke, which would have tripled. Café. “Some of the places we cherish the closed in 2015 after 35 successful years. Te booming provincial economy has most are those long-held ‘mom-and- “I thought I was going to be there for- hastened the transformation of Montreal’s pop’ joints.” ever,” Servedio said of the establishment commercial streets, inviting speculation Sauvé’s party promotes a vision for THELINKNEWSPAPER.CA CURRENT AFFAIRS 7 Closed for Business How do threats to local commerce endanger the character of Montreal? Photo Marcus Bankuti neighbourhoods it calls mixité, or mixity. Some neighbourhoods are particularly since its inception in 2007 and a former “We want different socio-economic, threatened by commercial speculation. employee of Pharmacie Esperanza, which ethnic, and religious cultures to live in “We’re not sheltered from that [in Sud- occupied the space previously. diferent neighbourhoods together and Ouest],” said Sauvé. “Mile End is probably “Te culture around Pharmacie Espe- to be able to blend together,” he said. the best example.” ranza and Le Cagibi contributed to the Tis requires a balance of businesses and Boulangerie Clarke on St-Viateur St. W. cachet that attracted the tech community services that fulfl the needs of the whole became a sushi restaurant, but the build- of Ubisoft and, in turn, attracted tourism community, something at risk in many ing again sits empty after that business and corporate real estate interests,” she areas of Montreal. closed in August. A block away, another said. “Cagibi came to represent the last “A lot of money is coming into the city, storefront has been vacant for over a year. holdout of a particular time and feeling in a lot of investment,” said Sauvé. “Tat Its interior is a husk.