More than ever, traders fear for the future of the Village in Montreal and regret the authorities’ inaction to save this festive and touristic district.
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“It’s like a rubber band. The more we stretch it, the more likely it is to break, and I think we’ve reached the point where it’s breaking, with the result that the neighborhood is being emptied of its essence,” summarizes Jamin Chtouki, owner of the Theater The Comedy of Montreal, on Boulevard Maisonneuve.
In 2016, the latter realized his dream of leaving Europe for a comedy show at the Village, which he chose for “its history, its dynamism and its diversity”. Today the district is no longer a shadow of itself, Mr Chtouki laments.
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He has a regular need to pick up feces and syringes at his facility and is increasingly aware of the concerns of his clients and his staff at a growing number of people in a situation of homelessness who are showing signs of health problems, mental illness or drug use in the vicinity.
The Montreal native is upset that his cries for help aren’t being heeded by the city.
“We’ve been sounding the alarm for three years, but nothing has been done with a capital R and nothing to date,” he protests.
“The world doesn’t want to come anymore”
“It’s getting worse and worse. Even my daughter doesn’t want to ride the subway at Beaudry station anymore because she’s faced with homeless people in a certain condition,” Mr. Chtouki laments.
“It’s worse than ever,” agrees Peter Sergakis, owner of the Sky complex on Sainte Catherine Street. After 6 p.m. people don’t want to come to the village anymore. You are scared. We don’t understand why the levels of government are not doing anything to help these people.”
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Pedro Medina, who owns the Cantine Emilia brand, among other things, doesn’t like what has become of Sainte Catherine Street since he decided to open a restaurant there a year and a half ago. .
“It’s never been this bad on this road right now,” said the man who grew up in Montreal. It’s still Sainte-Catherine!” adds the one who says he is “disappointed with the city’s inaction” to tackle the many abandoned buildings lining the main thoroughfare.
Closure of a “collection point”
If the closure of an Archambault store in this neighborhood has drawn much attention over the past two weeks, another store that went out of business on January 13 has sparked much talk in the Village: Tim Hortons on Sainte-Catherine Street on the Corner of Beaudry St.
While the company itself refused to explain its closure to the Journal, its motive is an open secret to other traders.
“We knew it had to close,” says Danny Jobin, owner of neighboring Date karaoke bars and District Video Lounge.
“I’ve been told homeless people used chairs to dry their things, there’s even one who took out his gas stove and made soup at Tim Hortons,” he continues. They really took over the place.”
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Since that closure, the homeless have been even more present around Mr Jobin’s facilities, he says, as they have lost their “gathering point”. “They’re everywhere. They’re warming up in our toilets,” he explains.
For its part, the Office of the Mayor of Montreal, who is also mayor of Ville-Marie, where the village is located, wants to “expand the network of assistance” on the territory of Montreal, in particular to reduce the concentration of resources in the city center.
“It is certain that the resources to support them are mainly concentrated there, because the need is there and is urgent,” explains Valérie Plante’s spokeswoman, Marikym Gaudreault. But we also know that we must be careful to reduce the pressure on the city center in terms of services for the most vulnerable, it is not sustainable for the traders and for the families who live in the sector.
A “village strategy” is to be announced shortly.
More Roamers, but fewer resources
There are not enough resources to keep up with the increasing number of homeless people in the Centre-Sud district, according to a community organization.
“Resources have not kept pace with the increase in the phenomenon in number, but also in the complexity of the problems faced by people affected by homelessness,” said Annie Savage, executive director of Montreal’s Network for Aid to Single People ( RAPSIM).
In recent years, it has been taken for granted by several organizations that the number of homeless people in Montreal has skyrocketed, pending official figures from the October census.
In late 2020, the mayor of Montreal indicated it had “doubled that number” since the pandemic.
“The cases are becoming more and more complex. People who need help have problems with mental health, drug use and housing problems. We feel the crisis is multi-level,” says Gabrielle Rondy, general manager of the Village’s Commercial Development Company (SDC).
“There is a really urgent and decisive need for action. It will take an interstate force and teams dedicated to the village,” she continues.
Stress that makes you uncomfortable
“It’s also the result of the housing crisis and COVID, but COVID has a broad back because problems were already there before COVID,” said Ms Savage, who also pointed to the rising cost of living.
She claims that there is a “serious lack of infrastructure to accommodate people 24/7 in spaces dedicated to their needs”.
As for the statements of concerned traders in the village [voir autre texte]Ms Savage acknowledges that witnessing the plight of these people can be “uncomfortable, even problematic”.
“We forget that these people have rights and can occupy public space,” she adds.
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