According to several traders, Montreal is making “unprecedented efforts” to ease the sense of insecurity that has been worsening in the east of the village since the summer began. Cases of vandalism and problems related to homelessness exacerbate the situation in this sector, where many are even considering closing their terraces.
Posted at 12:21 p.m.
“We are extremely sensitive to the vitality and social climate in the village sector and are currently making unprecedented efforts together with the SPVM, the CIUSSS and the community partners in this sector to improve the situation and the sense of security,” said the board, Josefina Blanco, Head of the Department of Social Inclusion and Homelessness, on Sunday.
Previously, La Presse reported that several restaurant and bar owners are demanding more police and community resources from the city of Montreal. “Customers aren’t coming, they’re scared. We’ve gone from having a full bar every Friday and Saturday to serving four or five people,” explained Expose cabaret manager Martin Barrette, for example.
Nearby, on the Rue Sainte-Catherine, the Le Cocktail bar is also complaining about a significant drop in customers. Its owner, Luc Généreux, is planning to close his patio, costing him more than it is bringing in. “There are often people on the street who are screaming, who are disabled, who are arguing. People drink up and leave,” he says.
They do drugs, they drink alcohol. The police walk past them and do nothing.
Luc Généreux, owner of the bar Le Cocktail
On Sunday morning, another 18-year-old man was stabbed to death in the area on the corner of Sainte-Catherine and Saint-Hubert streets after a conflict had erupted. Montreal police have launched an investigation, but no suspects have been arrested yet.
More police and EMMIS
The city claims it has recently deployed “increased police forces” to the east of the village. About 40 additional resources were recently deployed there. “We also look to strengthen the tools offered to traders at all levels,” says Ms. Blanco.
“We also made sure to establish a direct connection between dealers and EMMIS [Équipe mobile de médiation et d’intervention sociale] for rapid intervention in conflict situations in public spaces, issues of social coexistence or for an appropriate response to situations of increased risk for the homeless,” insists the elected municipal official.
PHOTO DOMINICK GRAVEL, THE PRESS
Montreal claims it has recently deployed “increased police forces” to the east of the village. In our photo, the manager of the Expose cabaret, Martin Barrette.
She reiterated that the city “remains aware that the need is significant.” “We aim to continue making all necessary efforts to invest to help the most vulnerable and the traders to improve the situation in the village,” she continues in this direction.
The city is also making sure it is in “close communication” with the village’s Commercial Development Company (SDC). “We communicated proactively [samedi] with a trader in the sector, offering him a quick meeting to coordinate with him and respond to the problems observed,” explains Ms. Blanco in passing.
Fewer people on the street
At the provincial level, Sainte-Marie-Saint-Jacques MP Manon Massé says she understands traders are “shocked and concerned”. “Governments have been neglected for years. The solution cannot be to close all the terraces in the village, these are important places,” she notes.
“Acts of violence need to be contained, but the plight of the village is a complex issue that I have been working on with community organizations in the neighborhood for years. Unfortunately, these organizations continue to face reduced funding: this means fewer workers are working on the streets and supervised consumption centers are being closed more often,” stresses Ms. Massé, saying she is “impatiently” awaiting government pledges and an action plan from the city.
The Société de Transport de Montréal (STM) plans to add “around twenty” special police officers to its network by November. From autumn everything will be implemented “step by step”.
These agents could inter alia be deployed near Beaudry train station, in Le Village, as well as at Berri-UQAM or elsewhere. In addition, around twenty “safety ambassadors” will be hired, able to identify conflict situations without intervening, as well as another twenty additional staff for station maintenance.
With Lea Carrier, La Presse