Posted at 12:00 p.m.
Five months after the establishment of the crisis unit to deal with insecurity in downtown east, local merchants are seeing an increase in police presence, but add that the situation remains difficult.
The surroundings of Émilie Gamelin Park and the west of the village continue to look like a disaster area on the eve of the summer season. A large migrant population has settled there.
Cops: “There’s more. Gestures have been made, but that’s not enough,” said Nicolas Plante, manager of Bar Le Date. “There’s a beginning, there are things beginning, but it’s clearly going to take more than that. »
A few yards from the bar, a woman in rags stands bent over, in the middle of the intersection of Montcalm and Sainte-Catherine streets. A strong smell of urine hangs over several sections of the artery, and the entrances of abandoned shops serve as makeshift shelters for the homeless.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, PRESS ARCHIVE
Several businesses on Sainte-Catherine Street have been abandoned in recent years.
According to a community report released on Wednesday, 40 police officers have been assigned to the village sector and inspectors from the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) have increased their presence at the Berri-UQAM station. Dozens of drug dealers have been arrested and the Mobile Mediation and Social Intervention Team (EMMIS) has been reinforced in the region.
“It’s true that we’re seeing more teams,” admitted Olivier Bourit, who works at Grimard Optique but spoke on his own behalf. “But there are customers who complain [de la situation] all day. Xavier Twigg from Twigg Musique thinks that the situation has “calmed down a bit” in recent months. “It’s not that bad,” he added.
Others are less convinced. “We’ve lost a lot of clients,” denounced Chantal Morneau, who works at Saint-Laurent Coiffure and doesn’t find the situation has improved. “Last Thursday I injured my back because homeless people urinated in front of our business door all night. I was forced to mount kettles to clean everything. »
“An Electric Shock”
For her part, Valérie Plante was pleased to have given the district an “electroshock” since the beginning of the year to counteract the deterioration in the social and economic situation.
“We told you that we take this sector very seriously,” the mayor said at a press conference at Montreal City Hall. The “shock team” founded last February meets “often” to find solutions: These include the city, the health network, the police and the STM, among others.
“We have given this team a very clear mandate to come out with short-term results early in the summer to restore a sense of security, both for the people who work there, the traders, the people who live there, everyone who is in the stop the area,” said the mayor.
The increased police presence “allowed the SPVM to increase its visibility and the intensity of its interventions through more frequent patrols, door-to-door operations, and preventive and repressive measures to reduce rudeness,” states the City of Montreal. “Investigative teams have also implemented measures to reduce drug-related crime. »
Gabrielle Rondy of the Village Business Development Corporation acknowledged the Plante government’s efforts to address the sector’s problems but expressed impatience with its persistence.
These are issues that will take time to see concrete results, but it is certain that the village traders will find that they have been patient. The last three years have been extremely difficult.
Gabrielle Rondy of Village Business Development Corporation
“This is what discourages some of our members. »
The police are much more present, but the number of social workers is not enough, Ms Rondy said.
“We are beginning the beautiful season for the Village. Traders have a strong couple of months to fill their coffers,” she added.