Quebec campsites may be closed due to strike over long weekend

Parc de la Chute-Montmorency near Quebec City may be affected by a strike of SEPAQ unionized workers. (Wiki Commons)

Negotiations continue between unionized park workers and Quebec provincial park management to avoid a strike over the Fête Nationale long weekend.

On Thursday, the Société des établissements de plein air du Québec (SEPAQ) asked reservation holders not to cancel their stays, adding it will contact them with any updates.

SEPAQ confirmed it has received a fixed-term strike notice from its workers that would go into effect from Friday until Tuesday, should the parties fail to reach an agreement.

The strike would affect the following:

• Quebec national parks
• Aquarium du Québec
• Parc de la Chute-Montmorency
• Gîte du Mont Albert
• Auberge de montagne des Chic-Chocs
• Camping des Voltigeurs
• Centre touristique du Lac-Simon
• Centre touristique du Lac-Kénogami

Wildlife reserves, as well as other SEPAQ parks and the customer relations centre, are not affected by the strike.

“Discussions are ongoing with the union, and SEPAQ is hopeful that a satisfactory agreement for all parties can be reached before a walkout occurs,” the agency said in a news release. “SEPAQ will continue to make every effort to reach a settlement before this deadline in order to maintain stays and bookings.”

The union announced the strike, with disputes mainly centred around wages.

Syndicat de la fonction publique et parapublique du Québec (SFPQ) President Christian Daigle pointed out that many workers earn about $17 per hour, and the vast majority of them are seasonal workers.

The union says it wants a 17.4 per cent wage increase over five years, the same as all government employees.

“This has a major impact on the people we represent. When you only work four or five months a year, missing five days of work is a serious financial hit,” he said. “It’s not something they do lightly, but people are tired of being taken advantage of and not being offered a fair financial agreement by their employer and, especially, by the Quebec government.”

If a strike occurs, the establishments affected will be closed, and bookings will be cancelled and refunded.

However, SEPAQ said it will continue to offer the following activities:

• Seasonal campsites.
• Fishing stays at the Devlin cabins and Lac à l’Épaule lodge in Parc national de la Jacques-Cartier.
• Day fishing at Archambault, À l’Épaule, Lapointe, Nouvel and Ruban lakes, as well as at Rivière Sautauriski in Parc national de la Jacques-Cartier.

As for certain activities offered by park partners, SEPAQ recommends checking directly with them to find out whether or not their activities will take place in event of a walkout.

Bookings can be modified or cancelled here.