André Lavallée has just passed away. Among his many legacies, we owe him the social development policy of 1992. This policy highlights the creation of multi-sectoral neighborhood tables financed by three donors: the City of Montreal, the Public Health Department and Centraide.
During the consultations that preceded the adoption of this policy, Montreal’s TROVEP had expressed strong reservations. We wanted neighborhood tables composed solely of autonomous community groups. This idea was widely supported by the community, but it was not adopted. We then feared too great an influence of institutions and foundations on local action.
Since then, we have seen how this policy has been structuring for Montreal community circles. As for our fears, as far as I know, they are still part of the debates that animate the neighborhood tables. However, from what I can see, there seems to be a majority of tables where community organizations stay focused on their missions.
In short, despite the doubts I had about this policy, I must admit that, in thirty years, this policy has transformed the landscape of community action. To know a little about the energy deployed by the boards of directors and the permanence of the neighborhood tables, we must recognize that André Lavallée, like the Bixi, succeeded in getting a lot of people pedaling.
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