Looks like the transit workers finally caught on that it isn’t making their strike too popular with the public when they force people off a bus mid-route:
The Montreal Transit Corp. and its striking maintenance workers’ union promised yesterday not to leave passengers in the lurch during rush hour.
The strike has reduced bus and métro service to weekdays only, from 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m., 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.
To the chagrin of commuters, some buses stop running early to return to MTC garages by the designated cutoff times.
Prodded by the Quebec Essential Services Council, the two sides agreed to ensure commuters can board buses and métro trains right up until 9 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. and go to the end of the route.
Still doesn’t make me any more sympathetic to them.
segacs's world i know turns 1!
Blogging may not always be steady… it may not always be even interesting… but I’ve made it to the one-year milestone and am still going. I happen to think that’s a pretty cool accomplishment.
I’d like to thank the Academy… no, seriously, to my wonderful readers (all three of you), I couldn’t have done it without you. (Tear).
A year is an awfully long time. It’s weird to pause and reflect about everything that has happened and changed since last year. This time last year, Iraq was led by Saddam Hussein, the Concordia Student Union was led by rioting extremists, and Canada was led by Jean Chretien… well, ok, two out of three ain’t bad.
It’s also a bit discouraging to reflect on how little has changed. The Israeli-Palestinian situation is no closer to a peaceful resolution than it was last year – if anything, it’s further. Terrorism and antisemitism are both still on the rise. But then, there are some small signs of hope – however fleeting – and Rome wasn’t built in a day.
If you’re interested in reviewing the last year’s worth of posts, feel free to check out the hall of fame posts or some of the archives.
The Canadian Grand Prix will be coming to Montreal after all… after Labatt Breweries made a sponsorship deal to fill the financial void left by the ban on tobacco advertising:
The deal announced on Tuesday by race promoter Normand Legault will see 29 million Canadian dollars (22 million US) paid to Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone in compensation for the lost cigarette sponsorship.
The contribution from Legault himself, the Labatt brewer and other sponsors will raise 17 million Canadian dollars with the Canadian and Quebec governments each chipping in six million Canadian dollars.
“We still have work to do but this support gives us a lot of encouragement. We’re confident we’ll be able to raise that money,” said Legault.
“We are happy to have reached such a conclusion when, in August, we estimated our chances to have Formula One with us again to be rather slim.” Legault said that the payment of 17 million Canadian dollars assured the future of the race for at least the next three years and he predicted the Grand Prix would be on the Formula One calendar “for years to come”.
This is good news for race fans, people in the tourist industries, and fans of cool cars and celebrity-sightings. But I can’t help but wonder at the double-standard.
Don’t get me wrong – I love beer ads. And I don’t think that tobacco should be allowed to advertise. But it does make me question myself on that one. I mean, both are bad for you, both are legal, and one can advertise but the other can’t. Of course, beer isn’t as harmful as tobacco in moderation… but doesn’t it seem a little strange?
This time he’s really leaving… finally!
Prime Minister Jean Chretien announced he will leave office on December 12, allowing prime minister-designate Paul Martin to ascend to the office.
“We have agreed the 12th of December will be the date when … the new government will be sworn in.
“On the 12th, he (Martin) will be the prime minister,” Chretien said in a jam-packed press conference.
Paul Martin, 65, was elected late Friday by nearly 94 percent of Liberal Party delegates to be the party’s leader, who automatically becomes the next prime minister.
Chretien, 69, initially said he would retire in February 2004, but when the party’s organizing committee — which was packed with Martin supporters — decided to hold the leadership convention in November it created an usual period in which one leader was elected while another had not yet left office.
Finally, the period in which we have one lame duck Prime Minister and one PM-in-waiting will be over. And not a moment too soon.
Does anyone else suspect that, if not for the personal feud between Chretien and Martin, this would have happened a long time ago?
Gay marriage in Massachusetts?
The highest court in Massachusetts ruled on Tuesday that the state cannot bar gays and lesbians from marrying, but it stopped short of ordering the state to start issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
In a 4-3 ruling that could make Massachusetts the first state to legalize gay marriage, the Supreme Judicial Court said the state may not deny the rights conferred by civil marriage to two individuals of the same sex who wish to marry.
“We declare that barring an individual from the protections, benefits, and obligations of civil marriage solely because that person would marry a person of the same sex violates the Massachusetts Constitution,” the court said in its ruling.
When the Canadian Supreme Court issued a similar ruling, world war three nearly erupted here. And this is Canada. Something tells me the American controversy will be even bigger.
Jake posted his take on the transit strike:
Transit strikes target the working poor. There is a reason why some people take the bus/metro while some drive: not everyone can afford a car. The working poor most often use public transit and are the most reliant on it. They cannot simply avail themselves of the services of the nearest competitor — there is none. Most people have enough to deal with without shifting their schedules to fit the new hours of operation transit workers are shoving down their throats.
I agree with Jake. It’s all very well and easy for me to roll my eyes at the strike, but I have a choice – I can and do drive. But not everyone has that choice.
Strikes that affect the public tend to be much more unpopular. When teachers, nurses, transit workers, or public sector workers go on strike, it affects the daily lives of the people who aren’t involved in the debate.
Maybe it’s unfair to say that people who work in factories – and whose strikes only affect management – are entitled to the right to strike, while public workers aren’t. But to be honest, I think the whole union system is screwed up. Most of the time, the employees are as annoyed as the employers, and the only people who come out ahead are the union leaders who use the publicity to advance their political careers at the expense of everyone’s welfare.
Unions were once very necessary – before them, working conditions were awful in many places and people were treated like machines. But today, too often, union negotiations serve the interests of nobody. Because by definition, unions rely on the adversarial system to constantly “fight” with management. Rather than assuming common interests can and do exist, the two are constantly at odds with each other. And in the end, nobody’s happy.
We can and should do better. I’m not suggesting abolishing unions or the right to strike – far from it. But I think that the system needs reform. When the lives of employees and of the general public start to suffer, then the system is messed up, no question.
If they’re so eager for us to give up our cars and rely on public transit, they’ve gotta stop going on strike:
About 2,000 workers are off the job in a legal strike, but weekday rush hour services are being provided on the city’s buses and subway system.
Under a plan approved by the province’s Essential Services Council last week, the transit system will operate on weekdays between 5:30 a.m. and 9 a.m., 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., and 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. There will be no service on weekends.
Some people were caught off guard and found themselves scrambling to get around after the system stopped Monday morning.
The assistant manager of one downtown music store says business is already down.
He also points out the impact of the strike will be worse on the weekends when there is no transit service at all.
The rush hour service is really only convenient for people who need to get around at specific hours. Even a bus that stops running at 6:30 will leave thousands of 9-to-5 people stranded; they will hop on the metro but will likely miss the last bus to take them home from there.
Public transit in this city is affordable and great… if you live in the downtown area, travel at peak hours only, and never have to deal with an odd schedule. For anyone else, it’s nothing but a pain. And even for the downtown folks, between strikes and breakdowns, it’s becoming less and less of an option.
You want to complain about cars? Fine. But get a reliable, realistic alternative in place. Then convince us to give them up. No sooner.
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