An employee of the Montreal Fire Safety Service (SIM) was suspended and an investigation was opened to shed light on the intervention carried out by the authorities Friday evening to close four crowded terraces on Peel Street in the middle of the weekend. Formula 1 Grand Prix.
“We find that what happened is unacceptable,” admitted the president of the city’s executive committee, Luc Rabouin, after a meeting, Monday afternoon, with the restaurateurs targeted by the intervention of the SIM on Friday.
The elected official made a commitment to traders that measures would be put in place to allow them to continue their activities this summer without being bothered. A period of 24 hours was requested by the City to identify solutions.
During an administrative meeting held in the morning with the SIM, the city’s general management decided to conduct an internal investigation in order to shed light on the events. A SIM employee was also suspended.
Friday evening, SIM representatives went to Peel Street to order four restaurants to close their terraces. On social media, Ferreira Café operations director Sandra Ferreira vented her frustration. The Ville-Marie district had authorized the development of the terrace and the fixes requested by the SIM in the weeks preceding the Grand Prix had been carried out, she said.
The terraces were able to reopen on Saturday, but the disputed marquees had to be removed. On the X network, Valérie Plante claimed to have been shaken by the testimony of Mme Ferreira. She then attributed the dispute to a communication problem, promising that a post-mortem would be done in the wake of this event.
For its part, the opposition at city hall demanded from the SIM that it appear before the elected officials in plenary session during next week’s municipal council meeting in order to explain the circumstances surrounding its intervention on Friday . According to Ensemble Montréal, this “mess-up” has tarnished the image of the metropolis. “Montrealers deserve answers, but given the slow reaction [de l’administration Plante] “To this monumental mess, we strongly doubt its ability to shed light on it in a rigorous and transparent manner,” commented Ensemble Montréal advisor Julien Hénault-Ratelle.
Further details will follow.