Montreal residents are now prohibited from parking their vehicles in the front drive of their homes under a 50-year-old statute. Other municipal regulations have already led to unusual situations, but have now been reviewed. Here are some examples.
• Also read: The city bans cars in its driveways
The story made headlines when a woman was arrested at Montmorency Metro station in Laval for refusing to hold an escalator ramp in 2009.
The reason? A pictogram placed in the station indicates this “duty”.
Ten years later, the Supreme Court had finally ruled that it was more a call for caution than an order.
Citizens of Drummondville, in the Center-du-Québec region, got quite a surprise in 2012 when they learned that they were not allowed to grow their fruit and vegetables outside their home.
When the towns were merged into Drummondville in 2004, only the township of Saint-Charles-de-Drummond allowed front yard vegetable gardens.
However, the city reversed that rule later that same year by approving vegetable gardens in front of lots.
Several municipalities require their residents’ lands to be tended, some even going so far as to dictate a precise length of grass that will regrow.
This is particularly the case in Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, which prohibits “allowing tall grass or grass to grow more than 20 centimeters in height”.
However, some places are beginning to retrace their steps, as in the case of the Verdun district of Montreal, where consideration has been given to leaving naturalized areas.