A day ahead of the Greek bailout referendum, many Montrealers are also urging Greeks to vote “no.”
A rally for solidarity with the Greek people was held Saturday afternoon in front of the Greek consulate in Montreal.
Nearly 300 people took part in the event.
“The no is not for Greece to leave the Euro, the no is we don't agree with your program,” explained Emmanuel Beinis, a Greek Montrealer.
The rally was organized by the Greek community, Quebec solidaire and the FTQ and CSN union confederations.
MNA Amir Khadir described the plan as unacceptable, saying there are other ways out of the crisis in Greece, due, he said, to the austerity policies imposed by the political and financial elites of Europe.
“People from the Greek community and other people in Montreal think that what is imposed on Greek people by the finance sectors of Europe is totally unjust,” he said.
The decision to hold a referendum is controversial, but many in Montreal said it's a show of democracy.
“I’m pro-choice, people need to have a choice; they need to have a voice. And I applaud (Greek Prime Minister Alexis) Tsipras for giving that to the people,” said another Greek Montrealer, Eugenia Geniatzelardonis.
Many have been talking to family members in Greece and say the last few years of austerity measures have made life difficult.
“We're losing our scientists, we're losing our doctors,” said Greek Montrealer Toula Drimonis. “People that can't make a living there are leaving and as a result of that we're losing the next generation of people who can actually help this country bounce back.”
Although initial polls suggested that the ‘no’ side would win in Sunday’s referendum, after the bank closures, it looks like it's going to be a much tighter race.
“People are afraid. They might veer to the ‘yes’ side even if they do want to vote ‘no,’” said Drimonis.
