Luckily for the Rest of Canada (ROC), there are many quirky and quétaine cultural things that eventually find their way out of the province of Quebec.
This week, banging on casseroles in solidarity against the government might be added to that list alongside Celine Dion and squeaky cheese.
#Casserolesencours officially started May 19 but really took off on the 100th day of the Quebec student strikes over increasing tuition May 22, as the pan pandemonium followed an enormous (and totally peaceful) downtown demo that saw estimates of 250-400,000 people take to the streets.
Quebeckers have been clanging nightly ever since, many in defiance of the controversial Bill 78, which the provincial Liberal government passed to quell spontaneous demonstrations, and which ostensibly imposes steep fines for assemblies in the streets of more than 50 people.
Inspired by the “cacerolazo” and similar protests in Chile and Argentina, the casserole action has gotten a ton of attention outside of Quebec, as there were similar pot-clanging happenings confirmed in Paris, Ottawa, Toronto, Vancouver and New York City on May 27.
Perhaps you’ve even already seen the video that also went viral at lightening speed. There’s also a casserole app for that.
For the ROC the country-wide kitchenware revolution — dubbed Casseroles Night in Canada — is set to start May 30. According to the organizers, it will be “the first of many casseroles nights across Canada.”
It’ll be interesting to see how it pans out in other provinces (see what I did there?), as the noisy movement has been known to bring together all kinds of life and politics to city streets.
Stay tuned, and find a pot and wooden spoon.
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