A New Association in the Village

Picture acvmtl

Roger-Luc Chayer (Picture: Gay Globe)

On July 11th, a press conference was held in the offices of the Ville-Marie Borough (Montreal’s Gay Village) to officially announce the creation of this new citizens’ association for the Village of Montreal. The event was attended by members of the Board of Directors, Robert Beaudry, the elected official for Ville-Marie, and a large audience, including several journalists.

The Association was able to present its objectives, and Robert Beaudry explained why the borough welcomed the arrival of this association.

The spokesperson for the press conference, Mr. Benoît Eclache, delivered an excellent speech on the seriousness and intentions of the association, which took the opportunity to express numerous concerns to Robert Beaudry. The public was also able to share their opinions and question the elected official about the numerous consultations that have often, at least so far, failed to lead to any concrete solutions on the ground.

As we all know, Montreal’s Gay Village is experiencing an unprecedented crisis, and the breaking point was reached in 2023 with the threat of many businesses closing their terraces to protect their customers from criminalized, drug-addicted, or homeless individuals, who are present at record levels in the Village.

The communications officer for ACVMtl, Mr. Daniel Matte, gave a general presentation and led the very interesting question period, allowing several members of the public to question Councillor Robert Beaudry about the many failures in recent years with the programs implemented by the City to try to relieve the Village of the current crisis.

Mr. Matte took the opportunity to clearly state, while looking Councillor Robert Beaudry in the eyes, that the Association was independent and sovereign from the borough, notwithstanding the technical assistance the borough could occasionally provide. The message was understood by everyone, as indeed, in recent weeks, the public had often expressed concern about the organization’s independence. Things were clarified to the satisfaction of those present at the conference. Responding to a question from the public, Councillor Robert Beaudry took the opportunity to confirm that the neighborhood police station 22 of the Montreal Police Service (SPVM) would not close and that there was a moratorium on this issue. This news was met with great relief by many, including the representatives of the association.

In conclusion, the new citizens’ association seems to be well received by the Village population. Residents, business owners, and supporters are invited to join the association, which already has several hundred members. The borough, through Councillor Robert Beaudry, has committed to listening to the association’s recommendations and implementing the necessary measures so that concrete and visible results on the ground can start to appear.

Robert Beaudry also indicated that this association would allow him to make better representations to the Government of Quebec, mentioning that the more stakeholders there are, the better the chances of obtaining increased assistance from the State. To be continued…

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