Several thousand people converged on Yonge-Dundas Square and marched to City Hall Saturday to rally against privatization and cuts to public services.

The demonstration, dubbed the “Rally for Respect,” was organized by a coalition of unions, community activists, environmental, and student groups that called on Mayor Rob Ford to halt any plans to privatize city services and public transit, sell off public housing, and impose user fees at recreation centre facilities.

John Cartwright, head of the Toronto and York Region Labour Council, told the gathering crowd across from the Eaton Centre, that the rally was not against any particular politician.

“It’s a rally to talk about the kind of city we want to live in together, build together, invest in together, and fight for together,” he said.

“This is the start of the people of Toronto coming out and saying we want a different direction from where the Ford administration is taking us,” Cartwright later told the Star in an interview.

But other speakers clearly singled out Ford, who campaigned on promises of tax cuts with no reductions in city services.

“I stand with you in opposition to an administration that wants to reduce taxes in Rosedale while imposing user fees to residents of Jane and Finch and Scarborough,” said Bob Kinnear, head of the union representing TTC workers, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 113.

It was a message that struck a nerve for Ashley Bouman, a student at George Brown College. “I don’t like anything Rob Ford stands for,” she said, marching along Queen St. to City Hall. “He looks out for his rich friends and that’s it.”

“No matter who you voted for in the municipal election, you didn’t vote to cut the jobs and agencies that deliver services to every community in the city,” Toronto Community Housing resident Kay Bisnath, told the demonstrators.

Ford recently cancelled a transit plan that would build light rail transit lines, in favour of expanding the subway system.

Deborah Mandell, a 34-year-old mental health counselor said she’s concerned about Ford’s plans for public transit and worries that charging user fees will make community recreation centres too expensive. “I want to make sure public services are really serving the needs of families and the people in the community who need them.”

The rally drew union members from other parts of southern Ontario.

“I believe what’s happened here will turn into a pattern and social services will be cut everywhere. We need people to stand up for the fabric of society that we believe is Canada,” said Steve Holmes, a bus driver from London, Ont.

City councilors Mary Fragedakis (Toronto-Danforth) and Adam Vaughan (Trinity-Spadina) attended the rally.

Last month, Ford gave the green light to a core service review, which will take an inventory of all city services, which Cartwright described at the rally as a “Trojan Horse” to privatize city services.

In mid-May, city council will vote on a proposal to privatize garbage collection west of Yonge St. Ford has also publicly mused about privatizing social housing.

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Ford’s cuts will affect those who are the most vulnerable and marginalized, including seniors, the disabled, and those living in low-income neighbourhoods, said organizer Winnie Ng, who is Ryerson University’s Gindin Chair of Social Justice and Democracy.

“This is the beginning of our campaign,” she told the crowd at City Hall. “We are going to take back our city. The next time we have a rally, we want to see 100,000 people here.”