Montreal firefighters paint trucks black in protest against Bill 3
Firefighters angry about Quebec’s pension reform bill painted 150 fire trucks in black watercolour paint
Montreal’s fire trucks have a new look.
Firefighters upset about Bill 3 — Quebec's proposed municipal pension reform plan — have painted most of the city's trucks black.
The first black truck appeared during Wednesday’s provincewide one-day strike held by more than 5,000 municipal workers. Now the trucks have shown up all over the city.
- Quebec municipal workers in 1-day strike to protest pension reform plan
- Quebec aims to reform pension plans of municipal workers
Denis Doucet, the assistant director of the Montreal fire department, said 150 of the city’s 200 trucks have been covered bumper to bumper in black watercolour paint.
He said the department has asked the firefighters’ union to wash it off, but has not yet received a response.
"If they don't wash the fire trucks we will do what we have to do, and we make the invoice to the firefighters union," Doucet said, adding that the black fire trucks look unprofessional, could confuse motorists and slow response times.
Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said he’s not happy either, and he warned firefighters that they won’t win over any public support with this tactic.
“You have the right to gather, you have the right to [protest], you don't even have to like me. But you have to respect your function, and you have to respect the equipment," Coderre said.
No one from the firefighters' union was available to comment.