My ability to get to work and earn those dollars that my wife and I want to put aside for our kids' education is being directly threatened by the constant ebb and flow of student protests in Montreal. Some businesses downtown have laid off staff, cut back hours and simply don't pay employees who can't get to work because of a protest.

Protesters claim the new emergency law, Bill 78, is an infringement on their right of free assembly. Nonsense. I was involved in a series of marches a number of years ago in downtown Montreal, in which the organizers worked with police weeks in advance. This was out of concern for those who would be affected by these marches. These boycotters do not care what harm they cause others. Their attitude is "You have to respect my rights, but I don't have to respect yours."

Thousands of people marched through the streets of Montreal with renewed urgency on Thursday night following the breakdown of negotiation...