Anti-austerity protest marches from Jarry Park to Town of Mount Royal

A large crowd of protesters trekked from Jarry Park to the Town of Mount Royal Saturday in ananti-austeritymarch.

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"Throughout the fallthere havebeen major protests by public sectorworkers, community groups, feminists, parents and other defenders of public schools," saidVronique Laflamme, the spokesperson for the coalition.

"All these protests have been in opposition toausterity, the ransacking of public services and the worsening of social inequalities."

Symbolic geography

The protest route was not without significance, as it started from theParc-Extensiondistrict, one of the city's poorest, and continued through the much more affluent adjacentmunicipality.

"To startfrom the one of the poorest areas in Canada and continue totheTown ofMountRoyal, which is rather posh, is a route thatallows us to pass on a message about social inequality," Laflamme said.

She said the protest appears well-timed, astheCouillardgovernment recently hinted that it might reinvestin education.

"It shows us that we can make the government back down and that's encouraging," she said.

QubecSolidaire MNA Amir Khadir, who tookpart in the rally,said budgets can be balanced without slashingservices.

"Theseprotestersare saying that it is possible to balance the budget but not at the expense of social services. We can balance the budget by asking those who take profits from the economy to do their fair share," he said.