Tensions in Outremont around school buses

Photo Camille Garnier
The resident of Outremont Ginette Chartré wore a yellow square at the city council on Monday to denounce the traffic slowdowns that would cause in the neighbourhood of the school buses used by the hasidic community.

Camille Garnier

Thursday, 8 march, 2018 01:00

UPDATE
Thursday, 8 march, 2018 01:00

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The problems in Outremont by the school bus of the hasidic community are real, judge the people of the district who believe, however, that the port of the yellow square in protest was a mistake.

“Me, I’m in for that you change the yellow square to something else if it can defuse the debate,” says a resident of the montreal borough have displayed this symbol during the city council last Monday, in a sign of protest against the traffic problems that would cause the school bus to the hasidic community.

This resident of Outremont, who wishes to remain anonymous, as the climate is tense, and explains that this symbol has been chosen awkwardly in reference to the colour of the bus and in no case to remember the star of David that were to be the jews under the nazi regime, as interpreted by many people.

“This is bullshit, replied the spokesman of the Coalition of organizations hasidic Outremont, Alex Werzberger. These people knew very well what they were doing, and it is anti-semitism pure. “

Mr. Werzberger think that the slowing of traffic due to the school bus of hasidic music is only a pretext used to target their community and refuse to open a debate on this issue.

Screen Capture YouTube

Ginette Chartré

Traffic

The problems caused by these vehicles are very real, according to several residents of Outremont interviewed by The Newspaper, who were all required to remain anonymous in order not to be accused of xenophobia.

“They have buses for each of the five or six schools in the district and, in addition, the different buses for girls and boys,” says an inhabitant of Ducharme avenue. This is that often one sees three large buses to half-empty follow in the same street and block. “

To cut the debate

A resident of the avenue Querbes, who says he is inconvenienced by the noise and the smell of gasoline, deplores the fact that, unlike the bus of the public schools, those of the hasidic community do not pick up students at the corner of the street, but stop at each door.

“They can make 5 or 6 stops in the same street. If they are several, you can stay gotten a good quarter of an hour “, she explains.

Among the residents interviewed by the Journal, many feel that the accusation of anti-semitism is a way for the hasidic community to cut short the debate, without dealing with the problem.

“It’s difficult because nobody wants to be called a racist, then people are silent,” says a resident.

Three solutions to residents

• Take the students to the corner of the streets and not to each door
• Use a bus for several schools
• Use buses less noisy and polluting