Q&A with Montreal mayoral candidate Balarama Holness
Posted May 27, 2021 6:00 am.
Last Updated May 26, 2021 6:08 pm.
MONTREAL (CityNews) — Balarama Holness is a jurist, an activist and a Grey Cup winner with the Alouettes in 2010. Now he’s running for mayor of Montreal in the Nov. 7 municipal election under his new party Mouvement Montréal.
CityNews sat down with Holness to learn why he’s running and what he believes he can get accomplished if elected.
Reporter Sacha Obas: There have been a lot of comparisons to Barack Obama.
Balarama Holness: The comparisons are that I cut my teeth as a community organizer and so did Obama. Those are the connections. We both pursued the legal route as well. So there are similarities. What’s different is that I am less of a politician and more of a community organizer. We are going to be speaking truthfully to Montrealers about their real needs and addressing their real needs in a poignant and targeted way. We are not going to be going and circumventing the tough issues. We’re going to be hitting them face on. I think that’s a big difference between Obama and I.
SO: You’re going to be expected to do a lot for the Black community. Do you think you are going to be able to?
BH: I am running for mayor to be mayor for all Montrealers. And there are Montrealers in boroughs on the periphery of the island that are marginalized, that are not listened to. Their voices are not heard. And those individuals are disproportionately visible minorities, immigrants, and they have never been tended to. And a Holness administration is going to ensure that those on the periphery of the island, that they are given attention, they are given support, that the budget, the $7 billion budget is properly allocated to all different boroughs.
SO: If we look at the situation with Nakuset fighting to keep the warming tent at Cabot Square. And saying that the city is not doing enough to help her. Do you have a plan to help the homeless in Montreal?
BH: So, we need an administration that doesn’t just care about a warming tent. It’s not just about a warming tent. It’s an issue of housing, it’s an issue of racial profiling, it’s an issue of social support. All these complex issues that are around this one particular instance seems like it’s in a silo but it’s not. It’s a systemic issue that requires more support. And we’ve seen the provincial and municipal government provide support to the Native Women’s shelter. So there have been advancements. But we need to do more.
SO: As of July, the STM, they are going to get constable powers. They won’t have weapons like guns, but they will have more authority. Can I get your thoughts on that?
BH: That’s something we are going to address. It was very interesting how the city administration recognized systemic discrimination, systemic racism but now adding police-like powers to the STM officials. There seems to be some challenges with that approach and July 1, Movement Montréal is going to have an official response in that regard and it is going to be very clear and we will be announcing candidates on that day to contest individuals who are at the forefront of this. Most notably the vice-president of the STM, who is an elected official in Little-Burgundy with Projet Montreal. We are going to ensure that individuals that are pushing for those policies have clear competition and clear lines drawn. Montrealers will make that decision. Do you want police-like powers at the STM or don’t you? And parties will have their clear line of what side they stand on. And Montrealers will decide who they want in office based on that and many other policies that we will be pushing to the forefront.
WATCH: Balarama Holness running for Mayor of Montreal (May 20, 2021)
