Nearly sixty people gathered on Saturday in the borough of Mercier – Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, in Montreal, to oppose the Canoe condo project. The 900 new homes would contribute to the gentrification of the sector, estimate the organizers of the event. The City of Montreal says, however, that the project has not been approved.
Protesters gathered in front of the Maisonneuve market before marching to the corner of rue Hochelaga and avenue Bennett, where the Canoe project would be built.
The project provides for condo towers of 3 to 10 floors. The company promises that 205 units could be rented, of which 51 would be affordable.
PHOTO PASCAL RATTHÉ, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Canoe also ensures that 20% of new housing would be community type. This is an insufficient number, according to the Coalition against Poverty of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, since it corresponds to the minimum required by the By-law for a mixed metropolis of the City of Montreal.
The City says, however, that the current version of the project has been withdrawn. Canoe plans were refused when a registry was kept. The promoter therefore returned to the drawing board.
“These are projects that are intended for a wealthy class, and we, what we think is [que] it will speed up gentrification in the neighborhood. This will massively increase the prices of a neighborhood which is already on the rise, ”said a community organizer from the BAILS Hochelaga-Maisonneuve Committee, Marine Armengaud.