OTTAWA — As Canada Day approaches and tourists throng Parliament Hill, it’s quieter than usual at the nearby National Gallery of Canada where a perimeter of red shoes snaking around the entrance holds some visitors back.
Many are refusing to step over this picket line — performance art comprised of hundreds of pairs of red shoes representing the 200 striking creative and technical staff.
The strike that began May 10 couldn’t come at a worse time for the gallery, an Ottawa landmark of towering plate-glass walls and roof that reflects Parliament Hill and the nearby Ottawa River.
Not only is summer a peak tourist season, but the dispute has dampened what was supposed to be a triumph for the art gallery — the recent opening of a major international retrospective of Austrian artist Gustav Klimt
Strikers have been picketing outside the national capital showpiece for two months, an action that will land them in court Thursday as the gallery alleges strikers breached an injunction barring pickets from visitor entrances.
The ongoing court battle is a sign of rising tension between the National Gallery and members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada, who have been without a contract for over a year.
