But its decision to build a five-kilometre (three-mile) chain-link fence sealing off the centre of the old city of Quebec created an unfortunate symbol of exclusion.
Union leaders have said there are still major divisions between them and the government over three key proposals - to raise the pension age, to increase workers' contributions and to link pension values to the generally lower consumer prices index (CPI) rather than the retail prices index (RPI).
So three years ago she started a San Francisco-based nonprofit called Samasource, which serves as a work link between tech companies in the U.S. and poor people overseas.