Maskey leads Montreal May Day March
Crowning a highly successful visit to Montreal, Sinn Fein Assembly member Alex Maskey walked with Quebec trade union leaders at the front of a 6,000-strong May Day march. Maskey's visit began with a trip to Ottawa to meet with a Canadian government representative from External Affairs and with the Irish ambassador.
Back in Montreal, he met with Gilles Duceppe, the leader of the Bloc Quebecois party, which holds 44 seats in the Canadian parliament and with Marlene Jennings, an MP for the governing Liberal Party. Maskey also met with the the international affairs committee of the Parti Quebecois, which currently holds power in Quebec and with Jean Charest, the leader of the opposition Quebec Liberal Party. On Saturday 29 April, Maskey was the keynote speaker at a well attended Easter Rising Commemoration organised by the Montreal Coalition for Peace in Ireland.
There, he met with Warren Allmand, the president of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development. On Monday, 1 May, Maskey met with Marc Laviolette, president of the 235,000 member Confederation of National Trade Unions(CSN) before attending the traditional May Day march.
His visit also included meeting four Montreal City councillors and newspaper, radio, and television interviews. Maskey was very encouraged by the widespread awareness of and concern for the Irish Peace Process shown by everyone he met.
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