(Lacolle) Striking federal civil servants organized a demonstration on Thursday morning near the Lacolle border crossing, in Montérégie, on the ninth day of their work stoppage.
A few buses carrying dozens of these protesters arrived at this border crossing between Lacolle, Canada, and Champlain in New York State in the United States, usually one of the busiest in the country.
Several police officers from the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) are also on the scene. Television images showed them lined up to form a human barrier limiting the movement of protesters.
Around 9 a.m., no confrontation seemed to have broken out.
Meanwhile, other demonstrators from the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) marched through the streets of Quebec to show their discontent.
The PSAC, which represents the approximately 155,000 public servants on strike, is calling for a 13.5% salary increase over three years and wants flexibility in terms of telework.
PSAC National President Chris Aylward said Ottawa signaled Tuesday night that it would stand by its 9% proposal.
Mr. Aylward has maintained that the PSAC has offered compromises on his salary demand, but he has so far refused to specify them.
On Wednesday, Treasury Board President Mona Fortier said she was frustrated with what she described as a stall in negotiations with federal officials. She said she received unaffordable and unreasonable union proposals.
