We rolled into town late Thursday night and got settled in our Old Montreal home base. First thing Friday morning, we headed up to the corner of Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Denis, where we were greeted by two local TWU/STT representatives and two members of our street team. Straight out of the gate, Lou Lou and Laura were firing, and we received a very warm welcome from the locals. People had lots to say, and were very passionate about the cause. Around 11 a.m., the third and fourth members of our street team arrived, and by this stage we were making record breaking progress with the petition signing. Not only were our street team members working hard, but they were hugely enthusiastic about the campaign and really believed in making a change.

Shortly after noon, some folks from the CBC showed up to get some shots of the truck, and to interview TWU/STT’s Diane Pepin. They were working on a story about unemployment in Canada, and very interested to hear about the information pertaining to Canadian corporations sending Canadian jobs offshore and the Keep Jobs in Canada/Sauvons Nos Emplois campaign.

Towards the end of Friday, we start to experience some technical difficulties with our led counter and in a matter of seconds it is switched off and unable to power up. We head straight for Canadian Tire’s Auto Department, only to find out that the electronics/wiring guy has left for the weekend. Without much time, we default to Plan B, which is to purchase a generator to power the counter whilst our vehicle is stationary. We find what looks like a nice compact and quiet generator and take it out to the parking lot to test. No dice: it is about a quiet as a 747, and this is definitely not going to fly as a solution. Plan C? Yes, it was McGuyver time, and so back into Canadian Tire we marched for some supplies. With some fuses, wiring, snips, a marine battery, power inverter, jumper cables, zip ties, and of course some good ol’ duct tape, we were back on the way to the hotel. A little Google and a few phone calls later and we have a decent grasp of the task at hand, so it’s time to pop the hood and go for it. Success! and it’s only 2 a.m. 5 1/2 hours of tinkering has provided us with not just one, but two solutions. Finally, we rest easy.

Day Two we meet down at the Sun Life building with our all-star street team and some TWU Montreal members. It’s a tad quiet and so we move up to Sainte-Catherine to greet the Saturday morning crowds. Another media call has us divert our path, and the truck finds its way over to the CTV offices for some more camera time. On return to Sainte-Catherine, we find a nice little spot to park and the street team goes to work on the block. Passers by share stories with us about how they have been directly affected, and we offer them a little piece of hope that perhaps we can implement change if we get the support we need. Weather isn’t great, but spirits are high, and we manage to put in another solid day of awareness building and petition signing. And the counter is still working! In celebration of a successful two days, despite all the obstacles, we order a ridiculously large plate of smoked meat from the world famous Schwartz’s deli on Saint-Laurent.

Day Three, and it’s time to say goodbye to Montreal, but not before we hit another road block. This time, our computer, that holds the algorithm and stats that power our counter is offline, or rather dead. This time we head for the Source, where we are fortunate enough to find out that our charger is toast, but our computer is alive and well. We replace the charger and grab a few other spare parts, and we are back up and running. Toronto here we come.

Merci beaucoup Montreal!