About 250 blue-collar workers at Jean-Drapeau Park are on strike for the day Monday, following a decision by the Quebec Labour Tribunal that they are not required to maintain essential services during a strike. The Société du parc Jean-Drapeau had asked the Administrative Labour Tribunal to require the blue-collar workers to maintain essential services in the event of a strike, as they would be if they worked for a public service or municipality. On Sunday, however, the tribunal rejected the employer’s request. “Despite the employer’s contrary claim, it is inaccurate to say that the nature of its services is intended to meet ‘essential needs’ or ‘needs of general interest.’ Cultural, recreational and tourism activities, although they may be enjoyable for citizens, in no way meet an essential need. These activities are obviously optional in the daily lives of Quebec’s population,” administrative judge Michel Maranda concluded. Monday’s strike, which runs from midnight to 11:59 p.m., can therefore proceed as planned. The Société du parc Jean-Drapeau argued that public safety was at stake because blue-collar workers can find syringes while carrying out cleanup work. It also raised the issue of the world road cycling championships, since blue-collar workers help put safety measures in place on Île Notre-Dame. But the tribunal concluded that “if the employer or event organizers choose to maintain certain scheduled activities or allow access to buildings or facilities located on Île Notre-Dame and Île Sainte-Hélène despite the blue-collar workers’ strike, they can easily raise their concerns with the city and its police service. The same applies to any risk of offences or malicious behaviour that could occur in green spaces or other facilities located in this territory.” The dispute The Jean-Drapeau Park Blue-Collar Workers Union is affiliated with the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which is part of the FTQ, as is the Syndicat des cols bleus regroupés de Montréal, whose members are set to begin their own strike Tuesday. In mid-September, Jean-Drapeau Park’s blue-collar workers rejected the employer’s offer, with 95.9 per cent voting against it. “First, the final offer proposed by the Société du parc Jean-Drapeau provided for a wage freeze for the park’s blue-collar workers, even though current inflation is already weakening their purchasing power.” “Second, the agreement also included a process that would have led to reduced access to the group insurance plan. Accepting such an agreement would have deprived some of the most precarious employees of their group insurance coverage,” the union said in a statement. The Société du parc Jean-Drapeau had not commented by the time of publication after being contacted by email. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 21, 2026. Lia Lévesque
