Calèche drivers in Quebec City have been on strike since last Wednesday. They say they’ll keep picketing until their employer agrees to better working conditions for themselves and the horses.
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“The message really that we’re trying to get across is that we are the main line of defence for the horses’ conditions,” said Vincent Boissonneault, a United Food and Commercial Workers union delegate.
Quebec City rules say a horse cannot work longer than nine hours a day, but the 14 drivers employed by Calèches Quebec voluntarily cut their hours down to seven because the horses work every day. They say they’re trying to spare the horses from overwork and injury “with the result that we just can’t make a living, basically,” Boissonneault said.
“The main thing we’re asking for is more horses so each horse can have more breaks,” he explained.
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With two horses per driver, he or she could work a 14-hour shift, earn a decent wage, and ensure the welfare of the animals, the union said. Boissonneault said the union is going back to the negotiating table on Wednesday.
Calèches Québec said it was not speaking to media at this time, saying they “believed it would only escalate the conflict.”
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The treatment of calèche horses has been a hot debate. Montreal recently banned them beginning in 2020 because of concerns of animal cruelty.
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Driver Stéphanie Pagé said that’s one of the reasons going on strike is important.
“If we want to make this industry survive and continue,” Pagé said, “we must take care of all our employees, on two or four legs.”
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As for people who say horse carriages should be banned in Quebec City, she said, “they’ve always been there since the city was built, so I think the cars and buses need to give space to the carriages.”
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