“There was a gentleman who came to knock on my house, initially he told me that the petition was for the original reconstruction of the Bégin-Létourneau house,” says Hugo Ouellet, who lives not far from the house located on the corner of boulevard Père-Lelièvre and rue Labrecque.
The citizen had noticed this winter the “disappointing” state of the house. He therefore signed the paper, saying he “very much agreed” with the idea of rebuilding the building according to its initial configuration.
“After signing the petition, the gentleman gave me a sheet explaining the petition in detail, then he left,” explains Hugo Ouellet.
The petition distributed by the owners of the Bégin-Létourneau house. (Screenshot/The Sun)
To his surprise, he learned when reading the paper that the petition did not envisage the “original reconstruction” of the Bégin-Létourneau house, but rather its replacement by “an apartment building”.
Hugo Ouellet assures that the person who showed up at his door never mentioned the presence of an apartment building in the project. His immediate neighbor claims to have encountered the same “misleading” speech.
“It was clear to me that I was signing for the original and heritage reconstruction of the house, as the gentleman had told me. It was when I read the sheet that I realized that this was not at all the aim of the petition,” says Hugo Ouellet indignantly.
At his request, his name was then removed by the person who was going door to door, the latter still being on his street.
“A state that has become lamentable”
The petition distributed is addressed to the mayor of Quebec as well as the municipal council, and raises reasons for demolition such as “abandonment” and the “lamentable state” of the building which “harms the environment and even more to public safety.
The document asks the Quebec demolition committee to “consider the construction of a rental building during this critical period of the housing crisis.”
Despite the construction of a completely different building, the owners propose “the use of elements of the period architectural style, such as cladding and moldings.”
The Bégin-Létourneau house has been in this precarious state since January 2024.
(Caroline Grégoire/Archives Le Soleil)
They also plan the installation of “a memorial on the facade, with a commemorative text.”
The Bégin-Létourneau house has been in poor condition since the evening of January 23, when it was the victim of “a snow removal accident.” The Quebec City demolition committee refused the owners a permit to demolish the building.
His decision was motivated in particular by “the superior heritage value” of the house and “its remarkable formal and material authenticity”. The owner, for his part, maintained that the site was “too dangerous” for his employees to work there.
The owner of Alouette Construction and owner of the building, Alain Ouellet, did not respond to any of our calls.
