Protest forces cancellation of Quebec labour minister's speech in Montreal

CBC News

· Posted: Mar 14, 2025 7:11 PM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

A code by Quebec's labour curate to the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal was cancelled connected Friday aft much than 1,000 unionized workers gathered successful protestation over a arguable measure tabled by the curate past month. 

Quebec Labour Minister Jean Boulet was acceptable to talk astatine the Plaza Centre-Ville, but the situation extracurricular got retired of hand, according to Montreal police, who accidental a edifice model was smashed and an serviceman was assaulted, but not injured.

Boulet left the lawsuit connected proposal of Quebec provincial police, earlier helium had the accidental to speak. 

In February, the curate tabled a measure that, if adopted, would springiness much powerfulness to the provincial authorities to limit the duration of strikes and lockouts. Bill 89 would besides let Quebec to measurement successful to debar disruption of services successful schools and municipalities.

This drew the ire of galore national organizations, 9 of which organized the large workers' rally downtown connected Friday afternoon. 

"First of all, it's important to accent that I afloat enactment the close to demonstrate. However, it indispensable beryllium exercised with respect for nationalist order, and without resorting to violence," work a connection sent from Boulet's bureau pursuing the event. 

He added that the extremity of Bill 89 is to springiness "greater information to the needs of the nationalist successful the lawsuit of a onslaught oregon lockout, peculiarly those of susceptible people." 

Boulet explained that Quebec does not mean connected taking distant workers' close to strike.

But Caroline Senneville, head of the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN) union, sees it differently. 

"We deliberation it's amerciable and we're gonna contention this in beforehand of the tribunals, but the happening is, erstwhile you bash that, it takes clip and harm volition beryllium done," she said.  

"The Supreme Court has been truly clear: we person a close to signifier unions, we person a close to negociate successful bully religion and we person the close to onslaught if we request to and what the authorities is doing close now, what the Quebec authorities is doing, is infringing connected these rights." 

Senneville says Bill 89 could interaction workers' leverage to amended their moving conditions.

Michel Leblanc, CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, says he's disappointed that the workers' actions resulted successful the event being cancelled, though helium says helium supports their close to protest. 

"In 16 years, it's the archetypal clip we cancel an lawsuit due to the fact that protesters decided to bash immoderate they privation ... to halt an speech with a curate connected his intentions and existent time issues," said Leblanc.