Montreal, March 19, 2007 - On March 3, the Black History Month Roundtable recognized the efforts of the Société de transport

Equity and Access to Employment Equality
The Société de transport de Montréal (STM)
Receives an Award

Montreal, March 19, 2007 - On March 3, the Black History Month Roundtable recognized the efforts of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) in the field of equal access.

In awarding this prize, the Roundtable wanted to highlight the efforts of STM management and staff in promoting the employment of members of the Black community and of the cultural communities over the years – thereby contributing to the development and renewal of Quebec society, as well as the full integration of members of Quebec's Black community.

The award was accepted on behalf of the Corporation by Mrs. Brenda Paris, Transit Users' Representative on the STM Board of Directors and President of the Committee on Social and Ethnic Diversity, as well as Mr. Serge Fortin, head of the STM's staffing section.

“This recognition of our efforts will continue to encourage the Corporation's management as well as those responsible for the Equal Access Programme to continue their work in this area,” said Ms. Paris, who also took advantage of the occasion to invite people to put their names forward for the various positions offered by the STM.

Given the STM's great expertise in this area, and the results it has attained over the last several years, it is clear that the STM is a leader in equal access to employment. At the end of 2006, women made up 21.7% of our overall number of employees, with 12% of total employees coming from diverse cultural communities.

In order to achieve these results, the Corporation has established partnership agreements with employment agencies and school boards. We also hold regular meetings with various cultural communities and organizations to promote job opportunities, as well as work-study internships.

This is not the first time the STM's Equal Access Programme has been recognized. It won the 2004 Maurice Pollack Award, given by the Quebec Ministry of Immigration and Cultural Communities, and the 2006 Corporate Exceptional Performance / Outstanding Achievement Award from the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA).

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