Coalition Pozé has a list of demands they hope Montreal’s mayoral candidates will take seriously to help improve the lives of the Black community.
They want more efforts made to get guns off the streets and increased funding to improve youth centres and programs.
“We want to see changes. We’re tired of promises, it’s time to make changes,” Beverley Jacques, Coalition Pozé co-founder, told Global News.
One candidate running for city council in the Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie borough for Projet Montréal says her party boasts more Black candidates running for municipal office than any other party.
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She says that will make a difference, if elected.
“Just to know that some people, some candidate can get elected and they’re coming from the communities and they understand those realities is really a plus,” Ericka Alneus told Global News.
According to Statistics Canada, the unemployment rate among the Black population dropped by 1.9 percentage points in September across Canada but at 8.9 per cent, it remains the highest among all visible minorities.
“The biggest issue is like the people of the Black community are, like, invisible,” Pierreson Vaval, a member of Coalition Pozé, told Global News.
Mouvement Montréal mayoral candidate Balarama Holness was unavailable for comment. Fellow mayoral candidate Denis Coderre, with Ensemble Montréal, insists his team is plugged in to the needs of the Black community.
“When there’s some needs for cultural purposes or sports, I will be there because it’s part of our prevention tool. It’s part of our vivre ensemble,” he said.
Members of Montreal’s Black community just hope promises made means promises kept once a mayor is elected.
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