Immersed in controversy since the broadcast of a report on TVA Nouvelles, the vice-president of labor relations for the Syndicat des cols bleus regroupés de Montréal, Gaétan Archambault, resigned only five days after his election to the executive.
He was in embarrassment due to a series of controversial and xenophobic posts he relayed on social media in 2019 and 2022.
Among the remarks made, he wrote “Islam is a fantasy of impotents and pedophiles. How can a self-respecting woman be part of this huge sewer back-up?
In this publication, we see a veiled woman where it is written “the HEC school in Montreal rolls out the carpet to fundamentalist Islam”.
In another publication, Archambault comments on an article on human trafficking in Afghanistan: “it’s them who immigrate to us, they don’t have our values and don’t want French.”
Archambault also retransmitted on social networks an article which reports an attack on an elderly woman and goes so far as to say that the assailant is a Syrian refugee whom Justin Trudeau brought to Canada.
Another post parodies a Disney tale with the same racist tone: “Unracialized Snow and the Seven Negative Growth Non-Binary Seniors,” followed by “Woke Disney.”
We informed CUPE on Friday of the existence of these publications. The big trade union center strongly denounces the situation.
“The (local) 301 executive now has an obligation to gain the trust of all the people it represents, regardless of their gender, cultural or religious affiliation,” jointly reacted the president of CUPE Quebec, Patrick Gloutney, and the general secretary of SCFP-Québec, Fréderic Brisson.
The new president of the union, elected last Thursday with the new executive, “condemns the remarks made” and indicates that Archambault should apologize for having embarrassed his colleagues in the executive.
“It’s zero tolerance at 301! Moreover, in a meeting this morning, the new executive council voted unanimously for the development of a policy against any form of racism or discrimination in our ranks. We must do more for inclusion!” said Jean-Pierre Lauzon.
Remember that last March, in front of City Hall, many blue-collar workers demonstrated to deplore the fact that blatant racist acts and injustices suffered by its members are still continuing in 2023.