Publisac deliverers | “What will happen to us? »

The ground shook under the feet of street vendors in mid-April when the City of Montreal announced that the Publisac would be distributed only to those who request it, starting in May 2023. The Press spent a morning with delivery people who live in uncertainty about keeping their jobs.

Emilie Bilodeau
The Press

“It hurt me when Plante announced that,” says Steve Arsenault, patting his heart. With the other hand, he firmly holds about thirty bags of advertising flyers. “It’s been my job for 15 years, I’ve worked with other street vendors and we all need that to live. What will happen to us? I do not know. »

The Mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, announced on April 11 that residents who wish to receive the Publisac will have to obtain a sticker from the City. In Mirabel, the first municipality to adopt such a by-law, Transcontinental declared at the end of April that it was stopping distributing advertising bags altogether, for lack of profitability. Montreal argues that the Publisac represents 10% of the materials processed at the Lachine recycling plant.

“However, she doesn’t complain about Amazon, which produces pollution,” says Steve Arsenault, the sound of his voice mingling with the sound of his metal trolley. “If you walk around on recycling day and look at the bins, it’s not true that Publisacs represent 10% of the content. Amazon’s boxes take up a lot more space. »

Steve Arsenault started delivering the Publisac 15 years ago, and he became a distributor over the years. He hired about fifteen street vendors to cover the areas of Rosemont, Villeray, Westmount and Montreal North, in particular.

The vending machine has seen many students and retirees, but also the homeless, ex-prisoners, illiterate people and immigrants.

“If the person is intoxicated, but they’re nice and on their own, I give them a chance. Our society is sicker than we think,” says Steve Arsenault, himself an ex-alcoholic.

To work outside

A little further down Côte-des-Neiges, Yves Perron walks up and down each of the steps on Mountain Sights Avenue at a brisk pace. “I’m a country boy! I like working outdoors,” says the man who started delivering the Publisac at the age of 20. He now has 55. “But sometimes I stopped big ends. »

The man takes a break and opens up about his drinking problem. “I was brought up in a family of alcoholics. My father is an alcoholic. My sisters are alcoholics. My uncles are alcoholics. I was brought up there and I did like them, ”he explains.

The hawker has also managed to get out of homelessness, last January. He found a one-room apartment on the Plateau Mont-Royal and the first three months of his rental were paid for thanks to a social reintegration program. 1^er May, he will have to pay his first rent himself.

Yves Perron was not surprised by the announcement of Valérie Plante who wants to limit the distribution of Publisac. “She had been talking about it for a long time,” he says. If I lose my job, I will find another job. Preferably outdoors. »

But he fears for other comrades like J.-F. who also left the street three months ago. “He is in danger of falling,” he worries.

Closing the end of the month

Chantale Santerre does not digest well, either, the announcement of the system of voluntary registration at the Publisac. “When I heard that, I said to myself: ‘I have to find another job.’ »

The 53-year-old woman already works as a bartender and in customer service at an A&W. She started delivering the Publisac in October to help her make ends meet. For 1000 Publisac distributed, she earns $200. She shares the sum with her boyfriend who gives him a hand.

“If you’re fast, it can take two or three hours,” she says. But in some neighborhoods, it can also take seven hours, she adds.

Chantale Santerre loves the freedom that her job as a street vendor gives her. She starts at the time she wants, takes the breaks she wants. When she thinks about the idea that she might lose her job, her language colors. “Wait for the next elections, you! I’m not a girl who usually goes to vote, but this time I’m going to go,” she said emphatically.

But in the next elections, however, it may be too late.