Quebec: Growing opposition to Liberals’ class war agenda (massive protest)

[Karmadillo]

As far as I can tell, this isn't exactly getting saturation coverage in the US. I guess they don't want us lackeys getting ideas.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=post&forum=104

Hundreds of thousands of Quebecers, from all parts of the province—hospital workers, civil servants, municipal workers, construction and aluminum industry workers, teachers, and day care workers, as well as the parents of thousands of day care children—participated in demonstrations, study sessions, and information picket lines last Thursday to protest against the Quebec Liberal government’s assault on public and social services and worker rights.

The “national day of disturbance” was initially called by the Confederation of National Trade Unions (CNTU/CSN), but ultimately was joined by most unions representing workers in Quebec’s public sector and many industrial unions. The 450,000-member Quebec Federation of Labour (QFL/FTQ), the province’s largest, stayed largely aloof from the protests. But it did organize mass picketing at the province’s four principal ports—Montreal, Quebec City, Trois-Rivières and Bécancour—shutting them down for the day.

Seven highways were also fully or partially blockaded, and traffic on several in outlying industrial regions continued to be disrupted into Friday. Fifteen workers were arrested and one hospitalized, early Friday morning when 135 members of the Quebec Provincial Police riot squad brutally attacked those blockading Quebec’s Highway 175, near Saguenay.

Fifteen-hundred workers at an Alcan aluminum plant in the Saguenay region walked off the job for four hours, and workers at several nearby plants reportedly had to be convinced by union officials to remain on the job.

In Montreal, 40,000 people marched through rain and bitter cold to the office of Premier Jean Charest. The demonstration was called by the province’s non-profit daycares. The parent-controlled boards of directors of more than half of the province’s 1,000 Centres de petite enfance (government-funded, non-profit daycares) voted to close them for the day to support the anti-Liberal protests. In flagrant violation of their election commitments, the Liberals have announced plans to slash the funding for public daycares, while increasing the amount parents have to pay by $520 per year per child.

more...

[denverbill]

1. This is the 'liberals' doing this in Quebec?

WTF?

[Screaming Lord Byron]

2. The Quebec Provincial Liberals, not the Federal Canadian Liberals.

[frogfromthenorth2]

3. It's only gonna get worse....but actually I approve

Of Charests Policy.

[PatrickS]

4. As someone who lives in Quebec

I have to say that this is 100% political. Most unions here in Quebec are seperatists. They're in the Parti Quebecois's pockets. So the timing of these protests is more political than anything else. Charest made a blunder but these protests didn't exist when the PQ were in power, even thought they too made cuts to the social safety net.

As for the daycare thing, well, I've heard tons of horror stories (I know two women who run daycares) and the amount of abuse to the system is incredible. Parents who are at home, not working, drop their kids in daycare because they don't want the kids around the house. People pay $5 and voila, instant cheap babysitters for the entire day.

[frogfromthenorth2]

5. Bonjour Patrick!

Nice to see another poster from Quebec. I am from Montreal. And I absolutly agree with you. It's a political war.

[PatrickS]

6. Salut Frog

The timing of these protests is so calculated, it makes me angry.

[frogfromthenorth2]

7. Charest is so not afraid of these union leaders who got to "comfy" with

the PQ who had no choice to please them. People will get tired of these demonstrations which will gain in violence or stupidity (remember hte Children's Hospital demontration?!)

[Flightful]

8. Same old, same old

The unions here in Ontario threw the same tantrums when our government implemented similar reforms in the 90s. They even went so far as providing funding for a terrorist group here but most people just ignored them.

[Screaming Lord Byron]

9. Terrorist Group? any details?

[Flightful]

10. CAW paid them

John Clarke, the province's most successful poverty pimp, set up a group called the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty that was getting $50k per year from the Canadian Auto Workers to conduct a campaign of violence beginning in the late 1990s. In addition to inciting several riots, they were also behind several acts of vandalism on private property and also conducted home-invasion-style raids on the offices of elected officials, assaulting employees and destroying property. Clarke is very adept at trashing stuff but never did a damn thing to help the poor. Even the CAW stopped giving him money after their membership caught wind of his hijinks.