Dozens arrested at Montreal meeting

MONTREAL – Police arrested dozens of protesters in Montreal Saturday, a day after violent clashes between officers and demonstrators denouncing a plan to develop northern Quebec.

Several hundred people had gathered around midday outside the Palais des Congres conference center, which is hosting a conference on Quebec Premier Jean Charest’s signature plan for mining in the north.

Police dispersed the protesters and then declared their protest illegal. Montreal police spokesman Daniel Lacoursiere said 90 people were arrested.

A major protest gathering environmentalists, students and opponents of the development plans is scheduled for Sunday.

Since mid-February, students have held protests denouncing the Charest government’s decision to increase tuition fees, in one of the biggest student uprisings in the history of the French-speaking province.

Violent clashes unfolded Friday between protesters and police near the Palais des Congres.