The Tribune
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24 2026 | VOL. 45 | ISSUE 20
Published by the SPT, a student society of McGill University
OFF THE BOARD
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Against reducing, reusing, and recycling
Bad Bunny’s Puerto Rican pride combats hateful rhetoric PG. 7
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FEATURE
American gladiators PGS. 8-9
PG. 11
SPORTS
Olympic champions Valérie Maltais and Steven Dubois carry the Canadian flag for the closing ceremony. (Lilly Guilbeault / The Tribune)
Sport and politics are inseparable at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics
The chaotic state of international politics looms large at this year’s Olympic Games
Ferrada’s austerity must not threaten accessibility The Tribune Editorial Board
M
ayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada’s 2026 budget implemented a 90 per cent reduction in funding for Montreal’s universal mobility program, an initiative dedicated to making public spaces accessible for individuals with reduced mobility. Ferrada’s administration allocated $354,000 CAD in funding for 2026 and has planned $0 CAD for 2027, severely compromising accessibility. Ferrada’s minuscule budget allocation for mobility notably pales in comparison to the $3 million CAD the Plante administration had dedicated annually to the program. This funding has been critical in developing accessible infrastructure to support individuals with disabilities and injuries, the elderly, and parents with strollers. The Ferrada government has eradicated funding for mobility efforts in a blatant violation of equality rights as enshrined in the
EDITORIAL
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. These policies—mirrored by the failure of public institutions such as the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) and McGill University to offer sufficient programming for physical accessibility—reveal a broad neglect for the principle of universal mobility and must be rectified immediately. Universal mobility entails access to one’s place of work and schooling, as well as to recreational third spaces. Under this fundamental standard, governments and institutions, public and private, are legally obligated to ensure dignity for those with reduced mobility. The Accessible Canada Act mandates the identification and removal of barriers to accessibility, as well as the prevention of new barriers. When physical barriers to mobility persist, they bear compounding repercussions on one’s ability to seek employment, receive medical care, obtain an education, or even access public transporPG. 5 tation.
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McGill community discusses anti-unionization efforts amidst $45 million CAD budget slash NEWS
Faculty of Science reports unprecedented wage increase for management staff
Rebecca Votier Staff Writer
F
ollowing the Quebec government’s decision to maintain a tuition hike for outof-province students, alongside McGill’s faculty and staff unionization efforts, the university is implementing a $45 million CAD budget cut for the 2025-2026 fiscal year (FY2025-26). This measure coincides with the administration’s intensified anti-union stance: McGill has spent over $1 million CAD in the past five years alone fighting unions. Despite having its own in-house legal counsel, McGill has retained an external legal counsel for negotiations with faculty unions. Documents obtained by The Rover indicate
that Borden Ladner Gervais (BLG), the external law firm McGill employs in discussions with unions, costs the university approximately $400,000 CAD annually. In an interview with The Tribune, Barry Eidlin, associate professor in the Department of Sociology and second vice-president (VP) of the Association of McGill Professors of the Faculty of Arts (AMPFA), explained that McGill’s retention of BLG sends a strong signal to the faculty unions at the bargaining table. “This [legal] counsel suggests that they are taking a very hard-nosed approach,” Eidlin said. “The reason that they’re going to outside counsel is precisely because they want the special expertise in avoidance. Or at least, if not avoidPG. 2 ance, mitigation.”