This was planned in the famous “strategic plan” put in place by the City and announced with great fanfare on June 22, 2023 by the mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante. A year later, the Citizen Association of the Village of Montreal (ACVM) is taking shape. If you live in the Village, you are invited to the general constitutional meeting which will take place on June 15 at the Center St-Pierre, in the Marcel-Pepin room, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Of course, we will talk about the problems experienced by the people who live in the Village (insecurity, unsanitary conditions, consumption, homelessness, etc.). But we also want to propose solutions, consider ways to resolve various problematic situations and be able to begin a real dialogue with the different parties concerned.
A few days after the mayor’s statements, more than 300 people participated in the I love my Village demonstration, it was July 4, 2023, to denounce the situation in which the sector found itself. There were many people who live in the neighborhood, but also activists.
For almost five months now, several people have been meeting, thinking and preparing for this important meeting in June. A coordination committee was set up and held discussions with the Ville-Marie borough, with the police, with the Village Commercial Development Corporation (SDC), as well as with the Center Community Development Corporation. -South (CDCCS). Resulting from this strategy for the sector, the City has granted a sum of $3,000 for the implementation of this citizen association.
“We are very open to discussions with the Village SDC. We want to encourage local commerce and find solutions to the problems experienced by both residents and merchants, because it is beneficial for everyone. We have common interests here. We also have contacts with the Community Development Corporation, which opens the doors to community groups in the area. […] », Indicates Daniel Matte, a retired press officer (who represented the author Michel Tremblay, among others) and who has lived in the Village for five years now. “The SDC is a privileged partner of this association,” emphasizes Gabrielle Rondy, the general director of the SDC du Village. This civic association is a “must” for the neighborhood, we want citizens to get involved. We can’t wait for the association to be launched and for us to be able to set up joint projects with the SDC and with the district, so that we can all work together. And that, for their part, too, they can make projects that we can support. At first, there was a sense of urgency to take action, but first we needed to understand the complex ecosystem we currently live in. […] »
“People think they’re all alone, but when we’re all together and we talk, when 30 people talk and say there’s a problem and together we call the City, I think that It makes sense and the City can act, explains Maxime Plante, who is part of the coordination committee. During last year’s consultation, there were 500 people who said they were ready to be part of an association. So, there are a certain number of people who can act. The group becomes stronger together. If 400 people say that cleanliness is important for the area, that we talk about it and help each other, then I think that the City will act to make the neighborhood cleaner. […]» “We’re talking about the City, but it’s not just that, there are certain problems for which we have to go see the federal and provincial deputies,” adds Benoît Eclache, an organizational development consultant and resident in the Village. since 2010. If we speak on behalf of the association, it has much more impact than if we leave alone to meet them. There is strength in numbers here again. »
“For me, it was important to get involved in the neighborhood since last year’s consultation, to participate in something that will be positive for the Village and to add my voice to those of others here,” he said. add Jérôme Vidry, a web developer who has lived in the Village since 2013. “I joined the committee to provide a little helping hand so that this association can function, so that I can help the neighborhood […] “, says Alain Demers, retired, who has lived in the neighborhood for 32 years. Another person, Tanner Tallon, also joined this coordinating committee. “The initial idea of [mon implication] and for the association was that lots of people are not represented, there must be something to speak on behalf of the residents, so that we can be heard”,
said Maxime Plante.
Many problems
Of course, there are so many of them that this new committee has no illusions. But that doesn’t mean that there is nothing to do or that we won’t try to improve certain things. “We talked a lot about safety here,” says Sylvain Côté, a union advisor who has lived in the Village for 12 years. We know there is a mediation team to deal with issues of homelessness, addiction, etc. That’s good, but how long will this team be available? Is she only there for certain months? This team must also be a complement to the police, but must also be available to citizens. These are, among other things, elements that the association wants to address and discuss with the police. […] » “I would like to see more police officers, for them to be more visible,” adds Daniel Matte. May there be more sympathy towards the residents who sometimes experience the consequences of the various problems that exist in the Village. »
“Of course, we discuss the issues a lot, but we also think about possible solutions,” continues Benoît Eclache. We take stock of the situation, we don’t just talk about security and cleanliness, we also discuss the City’s works (the aqueducts) which are coming soon, traffic, heritage, etc. And here everyone can contribute in their own way.[…]» It is pleasant to hear that we are looking at heritage in the coordinating committee of this group of citizens. Obviously, we know that we will not resolve the issues of homelessness, social housing or drug addiction, among others. But do they have the impression that they can act on certain elements, and quickly? “Yes, for example cleanliness, if people realize that it is important, that we create a feeling of belonging to the neighborhood by getting involved in the association and by discussing [et en faisant des représentations auprès de la Ville]we can change things relatively quickly,” believes Maxime Plante.
In a tour carried out in the area on April 22, accompanied by the director of the SPVM (Police Service of the City of Montreal), Fady Dagher, Mayor Valérie Plante said that the Village was “doing better”. That thanks to the crisis unit created last year and which brought together the City, the police, the health network and traders, the Village was now “on the right track”, as mentioned by La Presse. Of course, this stung a lot of people. “Basically, I thank Ms. Plante because her words woke people up, they woke me up too so that I could get even more involved and take care of what was happening here,” says Daniel Matte. We have many questions to ask the City about security. This is a major problem for
residents. This has to change, it can’t continue like this indefinitely. We are in a sector where there are a lot of media, we should go talk to them and make this situation even more known.[…]» But people still need to feel sufficiently challenged to move. “We invite all our fellow citizens to come to the general assembly, to join us, to take the Village to heart so that we can work together to improve it,” concluded Alain Demers.
INFO | Reminder: General meeting, Saturday, June 15, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., at the Center St-Pierre, 1212, rue Panet, Montréal, Salle Marcel-Pepin.
For all information: [email protected] or www.acvmtl.ca (site under construction)
Association membership form: https://association-citoyenne-du-village-de-montreal.s1.yapla.com/fr/adh-sion-acvmtl-983
