Police kettle Montreal students, arresting 518

CBC:



Police in Montreal moved in on student protesters again Wednesday night, kettling them and making 518 arrests — the largest number in one night since the demonstrations began weeks ago.

There were also mass arrests at student protests in Quebec City and Sherbrooke.

The majority of those arrested in Montreal will face fines, police said. Some will be charged under the Criminal Code.

In Quebec City, police arrested 176 people under the provisions of Quebec's controversial new protest law, known as Bill 78.

The demonstration was declared illegal because protesters refused to give police their route in advance, one of the provisions of the new law.

Under Bill 78, those arrested can face a minimum fine of $1,000 for a first offence.

The students are marching against the Quebec government's plan to raise university tuition. For more than three hours Wednesday, a crowd of thousands walked peacefully through the streets, and then the situation changed quickly.

"This is the 30th night of the protest," one woman told CBC's Tom Parry. "Can you imagine what's going to happen when there's summer festivals? … We're going to keep marching. It's not going to stop. Negotiations have to happen."

The Quebec government has offered to return to the bargaining table, but it won't give in on the tuition hike or on another student demand that it scrap its controversial new emergency law that clamps down on protests.

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Occupy Wall Street shows solidarity with striking Quebec students: