Quebec paramedics on strike near Montreal’s Jacques-Cartier Bridge
Posted July 14, 2025 7:46 am.
Last Updated July 14, 2025 4:54 pm.
Paramedics from Montreal, Laval, and Montérégie held a morning of strike near the Jacques Cartier Bridge on both sides of the river on Monday.
“All the paramedics that are with the CSN union, our work contract has passed since more than two years,” said Mathieu Lacombe, vice-president of the Syndicat des paramédics et du préhospitalier de la Montérégie – CSN. “We’ve been negotiating with the government. It’s really hard. They’re offering us a pay decrease. They’re not taking our work seriously.
“We want the same pay as public workers. But we also want to make sure our pay scale represents the work that we’re doing. We want to make sure our people, our old paramedics can stop working with a decent pay. And we also want to make sure that our work schedules are being taken seriously. Because at the moment there’s a lot of overtime work, a lot of paramedics that can’t eat during their shift.”
The paramedics began their protest around 7 a.m.
“We want to make sure that the government will offer us some reasonable offer to make sure we can negotiate our work contract properly. At the moment, paramedics all around Quebec are really frustrated by this situation,” said Lacombe.
“People always tell me, ‘you’re important, we need you, why they are treating you like that.’ But I don’t have any answer for this.”
In addition to a salary increase, paramedics are asking for respect for work schedules and an enhancement of the pension plan.
Lacombe says the two parties are negotiating this week and next.
