Montreal transit strike hits vulnerable residents; Sun Youth adjusts hours for food bank

Day four of the STM transit strike has begun to take a toll on the city’s most vulnerable residents. At Sun Youth, a local community organization, staff have noticed a 25 per cent drop in clients attending their food bank appointments.

In response, Sun Youth has extended its hours, opening an hour earlier and closing an hour later to help clients navigate the limited transit schedule.

“What we have encouraged our clients to do is to come earlier or later when the bus is in operation,” said Marina Boulos-Winton, executive director designate at Sun Youth.

Bus and metro service has been restricted to morning and late afternoon rush hours, with late-night service also affected.

“Because of the transit strike, they normally have to change their time and some would actually have to walk to our food services to get their food instead of taking the buses,” said Emmanuel Aboagye, food bank volunteer at Sun Youth.

“It’s really hard, especially when yesterday it was raining and when they leave here with all their bags and all that, it’s already heavy,” said Claude André Hébert, emergency agent at Sun Youth. “They have to wait outside like with the rain and all that, especially when the bus is supposed to show up and there’s no bus.”

“It is the citizen who pays, it is the citizen who is a hostage of the unions that are demanding 56 things,” said Jean Derome, Montrealer.

Sun Youth told CityNews in a statement: “With the STM strike underway, Sun Youth is putting measures in place to maintain access to its food assistance program. The organization will extend its appointment schedule by one hour in the morning and one hour in the afternoon, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., throughout the strike period to match the STM schedule.

‘Our staff and volunteers rely on public transportation as well, which limits what we can do — but we’re doing everything possible to ensure that no one is left behind.”

Sun Youth serves approximately 115 people daily at its food bank and reports that the strike has created additional challenges for clients, particularly those with children.

“During peak hours, they’re taking care also of their children, so if they can’t come during the day, they’re not able to feed their families,” said Boulos-Winton. “For the most part, our clientele do have young children.”

“I hope the new mayor is going to change something, all our hopes are on her,” said André Hébert. “I don’t know if she can do something.”

The strike, which involves 2,400 maintenance workers, is expected to continue until Nov. 28 due to an ongoing labor dispute with the STM.

The workers’ union told CityNews in a statement Tuesday that two meetings have taken place with senior management at the STM since Monday, but the transit authority was reportedly “rigid” in its stance and its positions were unchanged.

“We have taken steps to reach an agreement. It seems the STM is just stalling. They aren’t budging and still want to open the door wide to subcontracting,” union president Bruno Jeannotte said. “Clearly, the STM would rather see its services shut down than reach an agreement with us.

“Public transit users want to be able to count on reliable and safe public transportation. Entrusting critical tasks like the manufacturing and repair of parts to private companies will only increase costs and the number of breakdowns. That’s definitely not what the STM needs.

“The STM’s shutdown continues to hurt employees as well as the entire population experiencing the effects of the strike. It’s high time the new mayor and the government got involved so that we can finally reach a negotiated agreement.”