Union coalition vows to fight Quebec City decision to remove pre-election posters

A union coalitionis vowing to fighta decision by the City of Quebec to remove posters urging voters not to choose the Quebec Liberals or the Coalition Avenir Qubec in the Oct. 1 provincial election.

Municipal employees in Quebec City were ordered to removetheelection-style posters displayinga split image of Liberal leader Philippe Couillard and CAQ leader Franois Legault.

The coalition, led by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, saythe Liberals have rolled back union gains, and electing the Legault's CAQ would be "more of the same."

"We're going to put back those posters because we have the right to do so," Marc Ranger, CUPE regional director for Quebec, told CBCNews.

City regulation does not apply

CUPE has sent a lawyer's letter to the City of Quebec, pointing out that the city regulation used to justify removal of the posters specifically says the bylaw "does not apply to an electoral sign."

CUPE plans to seek a court injunction, arguing that the city's action is an infringement on the union's rights of expression, rights guaranteedby both the Canadian and Quebec human rights charters.

Quebec's electoral law regulates political advertising during an election campaign, counting the cost of making and erecting posters as election expenses.

However, in a communiqu last week, Elections Qubecsaidthat the union posters do not contravene the provincial Elections Act, which only applies during an official election campaign.

This year the electoral period runs from Aug. 30 until Oct. 1.

In announcing its intention to remove the postersand bill the unions for the cost of doing so, the city said its regulation on urbanization "prohibits unauthorized signs in the public domain."

It's not the first time CUPE'sRanger has gone head to head with Quebec City Mayor RgisLabeaume.

Ranger was a high-profile leader of a union campaign against a Quebec bill to roll back benefits agreed to in collective agreements for municipal employees, including police officers, who protested the rollback by wearing camouflage pants and union caps.

Labeaume was among Quebec's most vocal mayors in support of the rollback, saying the cities could not afford to keep their commitments.

'We are the middle class'

Ranger said the Couillard Liberals argued they had the right to roll back the pensions because they won a majority in the National Assembly and believed the rollback wasinthe interests of Quebec's middle-class taxpayers.

"We will not wait for another government to come back with bad legislation and come after us," Ranger said.

"Enough is enough. We are the middle class."

Ranger said the CAQ also proposes an "austerity" approach, which will mean more cuts topublic servicesat the expense of unionized public service employees.

The first two ridings the unions targeted with the posters were Roberval, Couillard's seat, and Taschereau, the only Quebec City riding held by the Parti Qubcois.

The signs have also been put up in Pointe-aux-Trembles, on the eastern tip of the Island of Montreal, and Saint-Jrme, both held by the PQ.

More posters will be added inridings won by Liberal andCAQcandidates in the 2014 election, Ranger said.

So far, only Quebec City has removed the signs.

Ranger said the campaign, while urging voters not to choose the Liberals or the CAQ, does not favour any party.

"There's Qubec Solidaire, the Green Party.There's the Parti Qubcois," he said.

"We are saying to our members, and to the citizens, there are a lot of great candidates no matter what the party, who are progressives, who believe in defending the rights of workers.

"Choose a progressive candidate who will not put us back into austerity."

He did note, however, that PQ and QS Members of the National Assembly did support the unions' position, opposing the legislation to roll back pensions.

"Those voices, we need to hear them," Ranger said.

In addition to CUPE, better known in Quebec as the Syndicat canadien de la fonction publique (SCFP), the other unions in the coalition arethe United Steelworkers, the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, the Public Service Alliance of Canada and the Syndicat qubcois des employes et employs de services (SQEES).