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The National Assembly is debating a new bill introduced by the Liberals in an effort to end the tuition fee strikes.

According to the Montreal Gazette, Bill 78 imposes heavy fines to student groups and labour federations who prevent a student from attending class. The fines range from one thousand to one-hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars.

The Bill states that fourteen CEGEPs and eleven universities will have their winter semester suspended unless the strike ends before it becomes law. Classes will resume on August seventeenth at the latest and August first at the earliest. It also states that protestors who plan a march must give the planned route, time, duration, venue and their means of transportation to the police eight hours in advance.

The institutions affected by this bill have until June first to plan their August schedules while students have until June fifteenth to announce of they plan to return.

Bill 78 is expected to become law by Friday evening at the earliest.

Flickr Photo by: Jezz

This past May 3rd, Sala Rossa was darker than usual (or it certainly seemed that way) and the room was half-empty (or half-full, depending on your outlook). The show was slow to start - although once it did, the crowd inexplicably maintained a consistent 5 foot distance from the stage. Whether it was because they were curious to watch the projections on the white screen at the back of the stage, or because they were afraid of getting their eardrums blown out, I can't say for sure.

The opening act was Exitmusic. Hailing from Brooklyn, the duo's repertoire was moody and captivating. They opened with "The Sea" off of their 2011 release From Silence. They also performed "Passage" from the eponymous album, which surprisingly sounded better live than the recording. Otherwise, the show was a no-frills, all-black affair. There was minimal banter and interaction with the audience other than the usual interspersed thank-you's. The performance went smoothl but felt like it ended too soon.

School of Seven Bells supplemented their show with flashing LED lights as well as drums and keyboard accompaniment during their set. Alejandra Deheza sparkled and shimmered (or blinded if you were standing in the wrong spot) on stage, her neck and wrists dripping in gold and jewellery. Unfortunately due to the sound, the lyrics were barely audible for most of the show, which, as has been previously mentioned, is supposedly the most important part of the creative method for them. Or rather, it was described as the starting point for the band’s song-writing process. So much for that. The set list included "Bye Bye Bye," and "I L U" from Disconnect from Desire, "White Elephant Coat" from Alpinisms, as well as "The Night" from their 2011 album, Ghostory. The music managed to inspire some rhythmic swaying from the audience but not much else, which, to be fair, is generally what happens during shows at Sala anyway. But despite the sparse crowd there was still cheering for an encore. After a rather brief round of applause, the group swiftly returned, and played a few songs to which the response turned out to be livelier than those of the set itself. The band also seemed much more excited during those last few songs. Draw your own conclusions, but I think perhaps SVIIB might be eagerly anticipating the end of their tour in the coming months.

In parting, Benjamin Curtis confessed “I usually like to thank Exitmusic but I'm embarrassed ‘cause they’re right in front of us," a sentiment which I thought fit nicely within the breadth of the restrained and self-effacing (to the point of blandness) atmosphere of the evening.

-Maryana V. hosts Cheap Trills every Monday from 3-4pm

The Athens Stock Exchange plunged to a twenty-two year low Tuesday.

According to the CBC depositors removed 700 million euros from Greece’s banks amid the country’s latest political stalemate.  Talks to form a governing coalition have failed following the inclusive results of last week’s election.  Greeks are expected to go back to the polls mid June.

The Conservative PASOK party and left wing SYRIZA party are said to be running neck and neck.  PASOK wants to adhere to strict austerity measures while SYRIZA wants to scrap or renegotiate the entire bailout.

Depositors are thought to be moving their savings elsewhere fearing a devalued currency if Greece leaves the Eurozone.

Flickr photo by: EnvironmentBlog

Talks to form a governing coalition in Greece have failed once again.

CBC News reports that the inability to form a unity government one week after indecisive national elections has brought Greece closer to new elections and its presence in the euro-zone in serious doubt.

Talks are expected to continue on Monday evening with the heads of the three parties, however, the mmeeting is in serious doubt after the head of the radical left wing party said he would not attend.

The Syriza party have claimed that they cannot join a government that will continue implenting Greece's international bailout.

The other parties have confirmed that Syriza must be included in any power-sharing deal.

Flickr Photo by: Samuel T