CASA-led Protest Against Austerity Measures

Hundred-strong march quickly declared illegal, ends without arrests

NewsJayde Norström — Published April 19, 2014

Together Against Austerity, organized by the Comité d’action solidaire contre l’austerité (CASA), began in St. Louis Square on St. Denis St. shortly after 6 p.m. with speeches from activists and organizations such as the Centre des travailleurs et travailleuses immigrants.

“For the last five years, since the financial crisis of 2008, Charest, Harper, Couillard, used that movement as an excuse to say everything that people have struggled for, every public service, from education to healthcare, to employment insurance will simply just be gutted and privatized,” said one of the speakers. “At every level they can make these cuts, they can increase their profits because it hasn’t been a crisis for them because we haven’t built the kind of movement that we need to.”

The march was declared illegal by Montreal police as soon as the speeches ended. Police presence was heavy throughout the protest, although no arrests were made.

The march began by heading south on St. Denis St. before going east on Ste. Catherine St. and turning around at Frontenac to continue back west on Ontario St.

With a peak of around 300 protesters, the crowd had dwindled to about 100 when it came to a stop at the Cégep du Vieux Montréal shortly after 8 p.m. After a brief standoff with police, the crowd was dispersed for blocking traffic.