Anti-austerity protest marches from Jarry Park to Town of Mount Royal
A large crowd of protesters trekked from Jarry Park to the Town of Mount Royal Saturday in an anti-austerity march.
An organizing group called Coalition main rouge — the red hand coalition.
"Throughout the fall there have been major protests by public sector workers, community groups, feminists, parents and other defenders of public schools," said Véronique Laflamme, the spokesperson for the coalition.
"All these protests have been in opposition to austerity, the ransacking of public services and the worsening of social inequalities."
Symbolic geography
The protest route was not without significance, as it started from the Parc-Extension district, one of the city's poorest, and continued through the much more affluent adjacent municipality.
"To start from the one of the poorest areas in Canada and continue to the Town of Mount Royal, which is rather posh, is a route that allows us to pass on a message about social inequality," Laflamme said.
She said the protest appears well-timed, as the Couillard government recently hinted that it might reinvest in education.
"It shows us that we can make the government back down and that's encouraging," she said.
Québec Solidaire MNA Amir Khadir, who took part in the rally, said budgets can be balanced without slashing services.
"These protesters are saying that it is possible to balance the budget but not at the expense of social services. We can balance the budget by asking those who take profits from the economy to do their fair share," he said.
