Immigrants et immigrantes, travailleurs et travailleuses, meme combat!

MONTREAL -- Several hundred demonstrators marched along Jean-Talon Boulevard this past Saturday, May 5, 2007, as part of a Pan-Canadian Day of Action for immigrant justice demanding: STATUS FOR ALL!

The protest, organized by Solidarity Across Borders,marched east into Villeray and Rosemont, and west to the busy Jean-Talon market-area until finally crossing into the mostly immigrant Parc Extension neighborhood. Many demonstrators covered their faces in a symbolic gesture of solidarity with the hundreds of thousands people who live without status in Canada. The day ended with a Community Festival in Athena Park in the heart of Parc X, with dancing, music, food and speakers. Montreal’s May 5 demonstration – under the theme “Immigrant rights are workers’ rights” – was the culmination of several Mayday activities supported by the Solidarity Across Borders network, including the Mayworks Festival, and the “Contingent Précaires” on Mayday. As well, the demonstration was undertaken in solidarity with immigrant justice mobilizations in the United States. There was a specific emphasis on the immigrant worker traditions of Mayday, dating back to they Haymarket martyrs of 1886.

Photos by Tatiana Gomez, Cristina Roldan, JBS, PatCad, and others.