‘I'm following the strike very closely,' Valérie Plante says
On Wednesday, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante addressed reporters for the first time since the strike began.
The mayor was asked why she has said little about the strike, which affects one million Montrealers who rely on transit for their daily commuting habits. Up to Wednesday, she had issued very short statements on social media reminding Montrealers about the strike, with links to the STM's website.
'I'm in Montreal and I'm working on different subjects,' Plante said. 'I'm following the strike very closely, and it was very important for me to communicate the details about the strike to the public.'
Plante has famously invited Quebec transport ministers to take a ride on the métro to see what the public-transit situation is like in the Montreal region. However, she admitted on Wednesday she had not taken public transit since the strike began. She was chauffeured by car to Wednesday's news conference at city hall from her house in Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie.
'I used my bike twice last week and I took the métro once last week,' Plante said. 'But in the last three days, I didn't. On Monday and Tuesday, I was expected at two conferences at 7:30 in the morning, so it was difficult to wear my dress on my bike or the métro, and I wanted to be on time, so this is why I used my car.'
Plante said she didn't have to take the métro or bus in order to have an idea of what the situation is like during the strike.
'It's not because I'm working in my car that I am not connected to the situation in the métro,' Plante said. 'It has always been who I am as a mayor to be connected to public transit.'
Reached Wednesday afternoon, Philippe Jacques, a spokesperson for the lobby group Trajectoire Québec, said he didn't have a problem with the fact Plante didn't take the métro since the strike began, saying the mayor is engaged in the labour dispute. He said he was surprised by the lack of a statement by Quebec Transport Minister Geneviève Guilbault.
Ensemble Montréal Leader Soraya Martinez Ferrada has also not taken the bus since the strike began.
In a written statement, Martinez Ferrada, who lives in Montreal North, said because she doesn't live in the central part of the city, it is difficult for her to take public transit.
'There is a cruel lack of public transit service outside the central neighbourhoods,' she wrote. 'Citizens of the east and west of the island deserve much better transit service. With the current strike, it is even more difficult for people in the peripheral neighbourhoods to get around on public transit.'
Plante spokesperson Marikym Gaudreault said it's difficult for Plante to just take the métro because she has to be surrounded by armed guards, and often it causes inconveniences for commuters.
Among the three elected officials who were with the mayor for an announcement on the adoption of the city's urban plan, only Robert Beaudry had taken the métro to get to the conference. Executive committee member Sophie Mauzerolle, who is in charge of transportation, took a bike to get there. Luc Rabouin, who is the Plateau-Mont-Royal mayor and the Projet Montréal mayoral candidate, said he has taken the métro in recent days.
Éric Alan Caldwell, who is Plante's appointed chairperson of the STM's board, said he took two different lines of the métro to get to the news conference.
He said the situation is difficult for many Montrealers.
He added that many Montrealers have written to him to complain about the impact the strike is having on their lives.
'People don't have any other options and they are sad to see that service is not there,' he said. 'Listening to those people should make us realize how transit is important in our world.
Caldwell pleaded with frustrated commuters not to take their frustrations out on transit workers, who are doing the best they can during difficult circumstances.
Both Plante and Caldwell welcomed the fact that the STM and its maintenance union agreed on Wednesday to meet with a mediator in hopes of breaking the logjams in the negotiations.
This story was originally published June 11, 2025 at 3:31 PM.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Montreal Gazette
4 days ago
- Montreal Gazette
Opinion: New party aims to ‘shake up' Montreal election. It just might
With just over three months to go before Montrealers elect their new mayor, the race for the city's top job has taken a new turn with the arrival of a party promising to 'shake things up.' Independent city councillor Craig Sauvé has launched Transition Montréal, aiming to offer 'another choice for Montrealers, instead of the two older parties.' This could spell trouble for Sauvé's former party, Projet Montréal, which he represented from 2013 to 2021 before leaving following allegations of sexual misconduct dating back to 2012. With a progressive, unapologetically left-leaning platform, Transition Montréal risks splitting the vote, potentially hurting Luc Rabouin's chances of succeeding Valérie Plante as mayor — and of securing a majority at city hall this November. That could benefit Ensemble Montréal — Denis Coderre's former party, now led by ex-federal minister Soraya Martinez Ferrada. In tightly contested boroughs and districts, just a few dozen votes might be enough to swing the outcome. So instead of the two-way race many were expecting, Montrealers will now have a third option — and having more choice is usually a good thing in a democracy. While Ensemble Montréal currently faces little competition on the centre-right of the political spectrum, left-leaning voters will have not one but two parties to choose from. Depending on Transition Montréal's performance this fall, this could be a real game changer. That said, Sauvé is entering the race quite late. Building a party from scratch — including raising funds for the campaign, recruiting over 100 candidates to run in each of the city's boroughs, hiring a complete team of organizers, bringing in dozens of volunteers to help with canvassing and getting the vote out — is no small feat, especially in such a short time. It's an ambitious plan, to say the least, if not nearly impossible to achieve. Still, the party is putting forward ideas that could appeal to many of Projet Montréal's traditional supporters. One of its main promises is to further tax the city's so-called 'ultra-wealthy' — those who own a single-family home or luxury condo worth more than $3.5 million. Sauvé wants to use the resulting revenue to fund homelessness initiatives, saying it could double the current funding for such programs. Sauvé, who was first elected in the Sud-Ouest borough in 2013, also wants to make public transit more affordable for those who need it most. If elected, he plans to reduce fares for residents earning less than $45,000 a year. In short: Take more from the rich to give to the poor. Some kind of municipal Robin Hood, basically. This type of rhetoric is typical of the left — and it's likely to resonate with many Montrealers, particularly in areas where Projet Montréal enjoys strong support, such as Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, Rosemont, Ville-Marie, and Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. That's where Sauvé could do the most damage to his former party. Could there be surprises? Many will remember the 'Mélanie Joly effect' from the 2013 election. Though virtually unknown to the general public at the beginning of the campaign, she came close to defeating Coderre in the end — and even outperformed high-profile candidates like Richard Bergeron and Marcel Côté. Whether Sauvé can replicate that kind of momentum this fall remains to be seen. But one thing is certain: If neither of the two 'old parties' wins a majority and Transition Montréal manages to secure even just a few seats within city council, the new party could end up holding the balance of power — and the necessary leverage to significantly influence the next administration's agenda. And, who knows, maybe even negotiate with the new mayor to get a few seats on Montreal's executive committee — the municipal equivalent of a cabinet. Montreal's municipal marathon is just getting started. And all of a sudden, the race just got a lot more exciting.
Montreal Gazette
5 days ago
- Montreal Gazette
Transition Montréal proposes ‘social fares' for low-income transit users, unveils first candidates
Montreal Politics By Transition Montréal is vowing to slash public transit fares for people with low incomes as the new municipal party begins to unveil parts of its platform and its first candidates across the city. The proposed measure of a 'social fare system' specifically targets Montrealers who earn $45,000 or less per year, party leader Craig Sauvé explained at a campaign event Monday morning. Transport and mobility are both 'key for social justice,' he said. 'It's a big one because as we see cost of living is going up everywhere, families are feeling pressure, people of all ages and backgrounds are feeling pressure,' Sauvé said. It marks Transition Montréal's third election promise since it officially launched earlier this month. Sauvé, its leader, has said he wanted to 'shake this race up.' The party, which bills itself as a progressive option, has also promised to fight homelessness through a luxury property tax for the 'ultra rich' and create a municipal task force to handle public work projects 'in house,' to rely less on private contractors. Sauvé unveiled the party's first set of candidates Monday and all three of them live in the boroughs in which they hope to be elected. He said Transition Montréal is aiming for 'quality candidates that represent their neighbourhoods.' Luc Corbin, who hopes to become the next mayor of the Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie borough, is a manager in manufacturing and co-founded the non-profit Masson Village, which brings green spaces to the busy Promenade Masson. He said if he is elected, he wants to meet with constituents across the sprawling borough and address their needs. Mama Khan restaurant owner Abdul Raziq Khan is running for city councillor in the Parc-Extension district, where he has lived for his entire life. He has distributed free meals outside the Parc métro station and he is behind the Madinah Foundation, which fights food insecurity in Montreal. Khan is hoping to oust stalwart Mary Deros, saying 'it's time for change.' UQAM law student Marika Lalime, who has run for the federal New Democratic Party multiple times, is Transition Montréal's candidate for borough councillor in Outremont's Joseph-Beaubien district. She has worked with Indigenous youth and the unhoused community through legal workshops and clinics, experiences she said has inspired her to help the city's most vulnerable. When asked about how many districts Transition Montréal has filled with candidates so far, Sauvé declined to give a precise number but said he's 'waiting on responses from so many people.' He added full slates are 'really tough to come by' but the party plans to 'cover as much as we can of the ground and try to get people in every borough.'
CBC
25-07-2025
- CBC
Iraqi Embassy's plans for vacant lot in Lowertown worries neighbours
Near the end of a quiet Lowertown street lined with townhomes and low-rise apartment buildings lies a large empty lot that takes up nearly half a block. For decades, local residents, dog walkers and students at a nearby high school have used the vacant property as a convenient shortcut between Bruyère and St. Patrick streets, many believing it was public land. In fact, the lot belongs to the Republic of Iraq, which bought it for $1 in 1982. The property has remained largely untouched since, save for an occasional grass cutting in the summertime, according to neighbours. That was until two weeks ago, when contractors knocked on doors to tell some residents that a fence will soon go up and they would need to move cars, sheds and decks to avoid being blocked in. Neighbours hoping for resolution The proposed fence would also cut off access to a shared laneway that has been used by generations of residents to access their properties and park their cars, according to satellite images from a City of Ottawa database. Local homeowners Ana-Maria Barbu and Daniel Gheorghita say neighbours have reached out multiple times to the Iraqi Embassy on Laurier Avenue E. over the past few months to negotiate some kind of agreement, but never heard back. "All we want is to have that contact, to see what exactly they are looking for, if there's mutual interest, and if we can find a solution together," said Barbu. Gheorghita said a company showed up last week without warning and started digging, hitting a gas line that forced the evacuation of the block. Tenant Sebastien Millette said that incident "really scared" him and made him feel uneasy about what will happen next, as the fence would be built about a foot from the emergency exit of his basement suite. "We're probably going to have to find a new place, because I don't know how we, our two dogs and our baby are going to pass through that if there ever was a fire," Millette said. His upstairs neighbour Richie Madan is also concerned by the Iraqi Embassy's plans for the property. "There's no contesting it, it is their land, they have the right to use it as they see fit," he said. "But it should not come at the cost of changing the ways people have been doing things forever." Councillor calls for transparency Rideau-Vanier Coun. Stéphanie Plante said she has also tried to reach out to the Iraqi Embassy, to no avail. "It's very frustrating," Plante said. "We have to work with our federal partners to make sure they understand these are not exclusive embassy zones … that they need to be good neighbours while fulfilling their diplomatic missions." She said the Iraqi Embassy has submitted none of the paperwork needed for a building permit, so it appears the owner is just fencing off the property for now. "There's a lot of embassies that are growing … they have larger diasporas, they just need more space. It's not surprising they are considering developing this area," Plante said. In the 1982 sales agreement for the property, the lawyer for the Republic of Iraq stated the land was being "acquired for use for embassy and other embassy purposes; for ambassador and other representatives of the Republic of Iraq." CBC News has spoken with representatives of the Iraqi Embassy, but they declined to provide comment. The embassy's lawyer has not responded to multiple requests for information. In a statement, Global Affairs Canada said it does not comment on private property disputes. Barbu and Gheorghita said residents have hired their own lawyer to explore a claim for a prescriptive easement under Ontario law, and are urging city officials to investigate whether municipal bylaws are being followed.
