Protesters make their way through the hall of a Montreal university to disrupt classes Wednesday, May 16, 2012 in Montreal. Carrying a list of scheduled classes, about 100 hard-core protesters marched through pavilions at the Universite du Quebec a Montreal. The student unrest has lasted 14 weeks. Only one-third of Quebec students are actually on declared strikes, but the conflict has created considerable social disorder. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson)
Protesters make their way through the hall of a Montreal university to disrupt classes Wednesday, May 16, 2012 in Montreal. Carrying a list of scheduled classes, about 100 hard-core protesters marched through pavilions at the Universite du Quebec a Montreal. The student unrest has lasted 14 weeks. Only one-third of Quebec students are actually on declared strikes, but the conflict has created considerable social disorder. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson)
Police on horseback charge into a crowd of students protesting against tuition hikes in Montreal, Tuesday, May 15, 2012. A recent court injunction ordered the reopening of College Lionel-Groulx near Montreal. After several days of student pickets, which included some parents and teachers who wanted to support the declared strikers, riot police used chemical irritants to clear a path into the school today. Some students, along with faculty, eventually entered. Hours later, after staff meetings, the college issued a statement: Lionel-Groulx will remain closed for two more days(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)
Quebec Provincial Police use tear gas to disperse students protesting against tuition hikes at the Lionel Groulx college Tuesday, May 15, 2012 in Ste. Therese, Quebec, Canada. About one-third of post-secondary students in Quebec are boycotting classes in a protest against tuition hikes that has lasted more than three months. What started as a battle over a $325-a-year fee hike appears to have morphed into a broader struggle over the role of the state, the legitimacy of protest tactics, and the boundaries of authority. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)
Students protesting against tuition hikes battle with Quebec Provincial Police at the Lionel Groulx college Tuesday, May 15, 2012 in Ste. Therese, Quebec, Canada. About one-third of post-secondary students in Quebec are boycotting classes in a protest against tuition hikes that has lasted more than three months. What started as a battle over a $325-a-year fee hike appears to have morphed into a broader struggle over the role of the state, the legitimacy of protest tactics, and the boundaries of authority. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)
Students protesting against tuition hikes kneel in front of a line of Quebec Provincial Police at the Lionel Groulx college Tuesday, May 15, 2012 in Ste. Therese, Quebec, Canada. About one-third of post-secondary students in Quebec are boycotting classes in a protest against tuition hikes that has lasted more than three months. What started as a battle over a $325-a-year fee hike appears to have morphed into a broader struggle over the role of the state, the legitimacy of protest tactics, and the boundaries of authority. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Ryan Remiorz)
MONTREAL (AP) ? Facing the most sustained student protest in Canadian history, Quebec's provincial government weighed emergency legislation Thursday aimed at ending rallies and demonstrations against rising tuition costs.
Authorities said 122 were arrested late Wednesday as thousands of demonstrators spilled into the streets of Montreal, with some smashing bank windows and hurling objects at police. Protests have been going on for three months.
Quebec Premier Jean Charest said the proposed legislation would not roll back the tuition hikes. Rather, it would temporarily halt the spring semester at faculties paralyzed by walkouts and push up the summer holidays. Classes would resume earlier in August.
The government also suggested it could include some harsh measures ? like stiff financial penalties for anyone preventing classrooms from opening.
"We have the conviction this decision is important not only for our youths but for the future of the Quebec people," said Quebec Premier Jean Charest in the provincial legislature Thursday.
The Quebec national assembly is being convened Thursday evening for a debate expected to last through the night into Friday.
Dozens of protesters on Wednesday stormed into a Montreal university, breaking up classes. Tensions continued Thursday in Gatineau, Quebec, the site of previous protests against the hike that resulted in hundreds of arrests, where three junior colleges were evacuated after a bomb threat. Courses resumed later in the day.
The government has pointed out that a majority of students in Quebec have quietly finished their semester and aren't striking.
But many remain angry over the proposed tuition hikes.
The three-month conflict has caused considerable social upheaval in the French speaking province known for having more contentious protests than elsewhere in Canada.
There have been numerous injuries, countless traffic jams, a few smashed windows, subway evacuations, clashes with law enforcement and disruptions to the academic calendar.
The protests have at times mushroomed beyond the cause of cheap tuition, attracting a wide swath of other participants who dislike the provincial Liberal government or represent a variety of disparate causes ranging from environmentalism, to Quebec independence and anarchy.
Charest said he would table emergency legislation aimed at ending the disorder, while sticking to the planned tuition hikes.
"It's time for calm to be restored," Charest said Wednesday. He added, "The current situation has lasted too long. ... Quebecers have a right to live in security."
Charest's re-election prospects have been placed further in doubt, raising the prospect that the pro-independence Parti Quebecois could gain power in an election expected later this year or next. Parti Quebecois leader Pauline Marois opposes any legislated crackdown on the protests and has been wearing the red square of the protest movement.
She blames Charest and his government for mismanaging the crisis.
"The premier is the first person responsible for the mess we're in," Marois said Thursday.
Marie Desjardins, President of Quebec Federation of University of Students, called on Charest to sit down with students and negotiate.
"Quebecers are holding their breath," Desjardins said.
Under the latest version of its tuition plan, the government would increase fees by $254 per year over seven years.
Quebec has the lowest tuition rates in Canada. The provincial government bought ads in Thursday's newspapers explaining how it has already made several adjustments to its tuition plans to soften the impact on the poorest students.
The dispute has claimed the province's education minister, who announced her resignation from politics earlier this week
Antonia Maioni, a political science professor at Montreal's McGill University, said while there were large student protests in the mid-1990s in Quebec over fee hikes, and then again in 2005, the current Quebec protests are notable for their longevity and the number of arrests.
"I don't think student protests have ever lasted for months like this before," she said.
Those in favor of the tuition increases say they will improve the quality of universities, devolve more personal responsibility to students and ease the burden on taxpayers.
Opponents argue higher fees will undercut universal access to education.
In addition the city of Montreal will be looking into a bylaw that would regulate wearing masks during protests when council convenes on Friday. Officials say people wearing masks have been causing the most problems. A similar measure was being considered in Quebec CIty, where fewer protests have taken place. Rights groups have protested this limits their democratic right to demonstrate.
With some degenerating into violence the U.S. consulate in Montreal issued an alert last month warning visitors and U.S. expats to be wary of demonstrations and exercise caution.
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Associated Press Writers Phil Couvrette, Rob Gillies and Charmaine Noronha contributed to this report.
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