I love to tell you little stories of nothing at all. Especially when they contain overzealous bureaucracy and a healthy dose of aberration.
Posted at 5:00 a.m.
This story takes place in Pointe-Claire and begins in May 2021 when Peter Ducree, a 75-year-old resident, had the idea of building a tree house on land belonging to the federal government and which had been unoccupied for sixty years. This land, which overlooks his yard, is known as the Boisé Ponner.
An excellent handyman, Peter Ducree devoted a good part of his summer to building a dream cabin so that the children of his neighborhood could come and have fun during the many free times offered to them by the pandemic. The result is quite spectacular. This hut looks straight out of the movie The Hanging Fortress or a novel from the Club of Five (I betray my age).
The playhouse, which is about 1.5m by 2.5m, has become a very popular place with local children, especially for a small group that lives nearby.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Peter Ducree
Before embarking on this project, in which he invested no less than $4,000, Peter Ducree inquired with the City of Pointe-Claire to find out if he needed a building permit. He was told no.
The author of this project clearly saw that City employees had come a few times during the construction work. “I think there is a neighbor who has multiplied the complaints,” Peter Ducree told me. This is undoubtedly what alerted the City. »
The house had been finished for months when employees, who took their role very seriously, came to calculate the distance between the tree (now equipped with the cabin) and the street. Result: 30% of the base of the tree is on City land.
Peter Ducree claims the tree was originally planted on federal land and over time its trunk spread across the strip owned by the City. We are talking about a few centimeters here.
The City of Pointe-Claire then decided to act. On December 15, Peter Ducree was told that he had to dismantle the house by January 21, otherwise he would have to pay a fine.
The City fears that accidents will occur and that it will be held responsible. The staircase leading to the maisonette is about one meter above the ground. It is surprising that security officials in Pointe-Claire, those who have seen this cabin grow in recent months, have not been challenged by this aspect before today.
I went to see the little house. I can tell you that it is extremely robust. It has nothing to do with the one I built when I was young with three boards and six nails.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Not very used to handling social networks, Peter Ducree still wanted to put groups of Pointe-Claire citizens up to date on this absurd affair. This came to the ears of journalists from Montreal Gazette and CTV.
Since then, the City of Pointe-Claire has been walking on eggshells. I tried to reach Valois District Councilor Kelly Thorstad-Cullen on Thursday, but there was no sign of her. As for Mayor Tim Thomas, he indicated that he would be ready to answer my questions on Friday. “I was told that the City was about to ask me to demolish my cabin within a ‘reasonable time’, told me Peter Ducree. But what does that mean? »
Parents of children who have become accustomed to coming to play in this cabin simply cannot believe the decision of the municipal administration. Some are very happy to see their offspring leave the screens in front of which they are riveted for hours to go play in the tree with their friends.
It is interesting to see that this affair broke out at a time when the Quebec Institute of Statistics was publishing disturbing data on migratory exchanges between the regions of the province.
The Montreal metropolitan area is the only one of the six census metropolitan areas to have seen its population decrease. For several years, we have been witnessing an exodus of families to regions adjacent to Montreal and further afield.
It is not with such decisions that we will convince families to stay or to come and settle in the greater Montreal area.
Let’s hope that the elected officials of Pointe-Claire find a solution to this impasse. Because when we talk about escape and mental health in this extremely difficult time, it is exactly about that: being able to laugh with your friends in a cabin where you feel alone in the world.