Ivan Baron

Protesters contest possible privatization of adapted transport in Montreal

Local Journalism Initiative / The Link / February 26, 2025 / Brendan Schwartz, Ivan Baron, Privitization, public transit, STM

Hundreds gathered to protest the potential privatization of the STM’s paratransit minibus service on Feb. 17. Photo Ivan Baron

Brendan Schwartz,
Local Journalism Initiative

Residents express concern about the STM’s new balanced budget plan for 2025

Hundreds of people gathered outside Montreal City Hall on Feb. 17 during a municipal meeting to protest the privatization of the Société de transport de Montréal’s (STM) paratransit minibus service.

Protesters waved union flags and played loud music throughout the evening, while some provided others with hand warmers to help against the cold temperatures, strong winds and snow.

The protest came in response to the STM’s decision to privatize its paratransit service. The move is part of the STM’s strategy to cut costs and have a balanced budget in 2025, its first balanced budget since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the STM, the quality of service and the cost of paratransit will remain the same. However, the president of the Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique (SCFP) Frédéric Therrien argues that such a move is impossible.

“The mayor of Montreal says that she doesn’t have money, but she made [public transit] free for seniors, which costs the city $40 million per year, but the [paratransit service] costs only $15 million,” he said. “Ultimately, if it becomes private, it’s going to be the population that will get the bill. There’s no working for free.”

As a paratransit user for over 15 years, Sylvia Martin said she’s concerned about how the quality of service will be affected if the paratransit service becomes privatized.

“These drivers are not just ordinary people,” Martin said. “They help you get in the bus, get out and help you with your seatbelt. They do everything for you and I don’t know how a private company can hire somebody just as special as them for little to no cost.”

Protester William Ayotte said he’d like to see everybody working together to help solve the problem and find solutions for the community, but that instead, things seem to be moving backwards.

“Whenever we see new policies for public transport, it always comes with a reduction of services, and it’s time that we stop this,” Ayotte said.

Therrien is calling on the City of Montreal to provide more funding for public transport, which he said is a necessity in today’s society.

“It’s up to the population to stand up and tell the mayor, tell the government to invest heavily in public transport,” Therrien said. “It’s time to take things into our own hands.”

Meanwhile, Martin said she plans to contact the STM to get her voice heard if the paratransit service begins charging a fee.

“I’m a senior and I can pay a couple dollars, but certainly not a taxi fare,” Martin said. “Somebody has to pay them, but I can’t afford that.”

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Montreal community unites to show solidarity with Sudan

Local Journalism Initiative / The Link / October 6, 2024 / Ivan Baron, Shayam Ragavan, Sudan fundraiser, Sudan Solidarity Collective, Zoleh Curations

The ‘Dine for Sudan’ fundraiser on Aug. 29 saw guests gather for a night of food and activism. Photo Ivan Baron

Shayam Ragavan,
Local Journalism Initiative

Fundraiser dinner raises awareness about the ongoing humanitarian crisis

On Aug. 29, activists and community members came together for the Dine for Sudan fundraiser dinner at Café La Place Commune.

The event was organized by Zoleh Curations, a community initiative dedicated to organizing third space events and experiences.

All proceeds went to the Sudan Solidarity Collective, a volunteer collective formed by the Sudanese community at the University of Toronto. The collective seeks to launch a Sudan Solidarity Fund and to challenge the barriers people are facing due to war-related loss and trauma.

Café La Place Commune, a non-profit solidarity cooperative in Parc-Extension, volunteered to help cook traditional Sudanese cuisine for the event.

Sarah Khalid, one of the lead organizers of the event, grew up eating the food that was served at the event.

“We wanted to make sure that we were highlighting the main ingredients and flavours that represented the country,” Khalid said.

One of the ingredients showcased at the dinner was ‘Shamar,’ a ground fennel used in almost every single Sudanese dish. Another dish was ‘Fuul,’ which consisted of fava beans cooked in onions and tomatoes.

Aug. 27 marked 500 days since intense conflict broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Sudan is facing a dire humanitarian crisis.To date, at least 15,500 people have been killed and over 12 million people have been forced to leave their homes, with children representing around half of the people displaced.

Duha Elmardi, an organizer from the Sudan Solidarity Collective, said her parents in Khartoum are heavily impacted.

“We have a responsibility to make sure that we are doing what we can from this part of the world [to] ensure that our governments here are not supporting [the war],” Elmardi said.

Dr. Khalid Mustafa Medani, associate professor of political science and Islamic studies at McGill University and speaker at the event, said that the war has displaced everyone in the country.

“None of us sitting here who are Sudanese have any houses left to call our own,” Medani said. “There is not one single Sudanese family whose home has not been taken over by militias.”

The conflict started due to the 2018-2019 Sudanese revolution. In Dec. 2018, millions took up a nonviolent revolution to overthrow an authoritarian regime.

“I think that no Sudanese [person] had expected this kind of expansion—a revolution and popular mobilization across ethnic groups, classes and regions,” Medani said.

This revolution overthrew the regime of the National Congress Party, which was involved in killing over a million Sudanese nationals. The military attempted to use their power to restore their authoritarian rule in Sudan, but protests continued, resulting in over a hundred deaths.

According to Medani, the conflict in Sudan is not a civil war as it is not supported by any Sudanese—it is against both civilians and the revolution.

“There is no support because [the SAF and RSF] for 20 years had allied together to kill as many Sudanese as they could in the context of putting down an insurgency in Darfur,” Medani said. “Both of them combined their forces to put down the revolution. [Leader of the RSF] General Hamdan Dagalo was financed by the army he’s fighting against right now.”

According to Elmardi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is responsible for funding the conflict.

“There’s a lot of documentation out there to support that the RSF is funded by the UAE,” she said. “The UAE gets a lot of its gold from Sudan, [often] gold that gets smuggled from the gold mines in Sudan run by the RSF.”

Medani added that other governments are involved too.

“Egypt monopolizes the Nile waters that come from Sudan, Russia has signed an agreement to have a logistical base on the Red Sea, and the US is deeply concerned about the Red Sea region because of the war in Gaza and the West Bank,” he said.

Sarah Elobaid, another organizer from the Sudan Solidarity Collective, said she believes that creating awareness about the situation in Sudan is important.

“[You can help by] attending such events, giving Sudanese people visibility at a time where our suffering is rendered invisible and is purposely not spoken about because it benefits so many imperial powers,” Elobaid said.

Upcoming events and fundraisers for Sudan can be found on the Sudan Solidarity Collective’s website.

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