(Montreal) Restaurant terraces were emptied of their customers Friday evening by the Montreal fire safety service (SIM) while the Grand Prix was in full swing and customers were flocking.
What there is to know
- Four terraces were closed by the Montreal fire safety service (SIM) because the installations there did not meet safety standards.
- The director of operations at Café Ferreira, Sandra Ferreira, posted a video on her social networks in which she is seen devastated following the closure of her terrace which was full of customers.
- This procedure took place as part of Operation Sentinel, which aims to ensure the compliance of establishments which welcome the public. This operation takes place four times a year, during important festivities.
This is what happened Friday evening at the Ferreira Café located on Peel Street. In a video published on social networks, the establishment’s operations director, Sandra Ferreira, recounts the ordeal she experienced after a “dozen firefighters” asked her to empty the terrace of her restaurant, even though full of customers.
“The firefighters came to tell us that the terrace is not compliant,” explains Sandra Ferreira in her video. They wait until the Friday of the Grand Prix to come, even though we have a full restaurant. And in front of everyone, they ask us to evacuate the terrace.”
The terrace of her establishment nevertheless received permission from the City to open, despite some adjustments that were necessary to its installation, she said. In total, the owner would have spent more than $40,000 to welcome her customers to her terrace this year.
“I ask them what happens if I don’t do it [évacuer la terrasse] and they tell me it’s the terrace or it’s the restaurant,” she said. I find it so cruel that you waited to tell us this [de faire] a scene in front of lots of people, with me bursting into tears. »
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
The Ferreira Café terrace
The fine she allegedly received mentions that she “did not take all necessary measures to remove a dangerous condition.” »
“ [Pour] all the restaurants on Peel Street, it was months of relentless relentlessness [pour avoir les terrasses], adds Sandra Ferreira. This weekend, I’m ashamed for my city, I’m ashamed that this is happening in front of our customers […] Everyone arrives and the disappointment is that nothing happens on the street [Peel]. »
The event sparked the reaction of many people, including elected officials from the metropolis.
“Besides the question of bad timing, I question the lack of leadership in the Ville-Marie district led by Valérie Plante, writes on X the spokesperson for the Official Opposition in matters of public security, Abdelhaq Sari. Where is the consultation with all the stakeholders that the mayor is talking about? »
The office of the mayor of the City of Montreal, Valérie Plante, said it was “shaken” by the testimony of Sandra Ferreira. He assures that the SIM teams have “confirmed the conformity of the terraces on Rue Peel” and they will all be able to reopen today.
“The SIM must ensure constant dialogue and continue the search for solutions to ensure the safety and vitality of the businesses that we all love,” adds the mayor’s office.
The owners had been warned
The SIM explains that it closed four terraces on Friday evening which were not compliant. This procedure took place as part of Operation Sentinel, which aims to ensure the compliance of establishments which welcome the public. This operation takes place four times a year during important festivities.
The SIM communications division head, Guy Lapointe, assures that the firefighters had been meeting the traders well before the Grand Prix.
“We met the owners a week and a half ago to tell them that it is not the terrace, but the awning which must be three meters away,” explains the SIM communications division head, Guy Lapointe. We asked them to move it, but we noticed [hier soir] that they had not followed the instructions. »
He refutes accusations from the operations director of Café Ferreira that the firefighters came without warning. Guy Lapointe explains that Operation Sentinel also aims to verify that traffic limits are respected, which is why they intervened in the presence of customers.
The general manager of the Montreal Center-ville commercial development company, Glenn Castanheira, expressed his “deep concern” about the measures taken by the SIM with regard to the terraces.
“This approach, initiated on the first day of the festivities, during a period of high tourist influx, raises serious concerns about its consequences on the economic vitality of certain merchants in our city center,” declares Glenn Castanheira.
The Montreal Firefighters Association reacts
The Montreal Firefighters Association reacted immediately to the accusations against its members. She “irritated and deeply disappointed” to see her members “wrongly and intensely taken advantage of” by several restaurateurs whose terrace was closed by the SIM.
She said that the firefighters “had nothing to do with these interventions by the Montreal Fire Safety Service, the SIM. »
“The confusion comes from the fact that this spectacular operation, called Sentinel, was carried out by prevention agents, civilian employees, who, unfortunately, wear a uniform similar to that of firefighters,” declared the president of the Firefighters Association. , Chris Ross.
A cumbersome presence of morality
Marie-Pierre Burelle is the manager of the Ryu restaurant on Peel Street. His establishment is the only one not to have installed a marquee on its terrace this year.
And yet, two agents from the morality squad stood in front of the doors of his establishment for almost half an hour while customers were present.
“Customers were wondering what was going on […] why would they come in if there are two police officers in front of the doors [du restaurant], explains Marie-Pierre Burelle. It emptied the terraces. »