The Montreal administration must review its priorities and ensure that buildings on its territory are safe in the event of fire in order to save lives, rather than sending its inspectors to measure the height of plants or the size of terraces, denounces the opposition to the municipal council, after the fire which cost the lives of a French tourist and her 7-year-old daughter last Friday.
“Their priority should be human life,” protested opposition spokesperson for public security, Abdelhaq Sari, in an interview on Monday.
“If the administration thinks that the size of plants is more dangerous than a room without windows, I invite them to prioritize their actions. Especially since we are talking about a building belonging to an owner who has already had an arson attack in another building. »
Mr. Sari refers to the warning received by a bar owner in the Village because the plants on his terrace were taller than municipal bylaws allow, as well as to the scandal over the closure of non-compliant terraces on the street Peel during the Canadian Grand Prix.
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The opposition is calling for a public coroner’s inquiry into last Friday’s fatal fire in Old Montreal, which housed a youth hostel. If the police take charge of the investigation to arrest the arsonist responsible for the tragedy, Mr. Sari would like us to also look at the security of all accommodation places in this sector.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
Abdelhaq Sari
The same request was made after the arson in March 2023 which caused the death of seven people, in the Place d’Youville building belonging to Émile Benamor, also owner of the building at 402, rue Notre-Dame Est which burned last Friday.
Abdelhaq Sari emphasizes that both were heritage buildings, where short-term accommodation was provided, in the same district which granted them permits. In addition, both buildings had rooms or apartments without windows.
“We asked for a public inquiry to shed light on these situations, to see if there were errors in the past, but the City refused. They simply told us that they were going to do a blitz of inspections, deplores Mr. Sari. We would like to reassure the population and tourists who come to Montreal and sleep in such places, since there are several in the neighborhood. We could have identified the problems and seen how we were going to correct them. »
Coroner’s inquest on hold
A public coroner’s inquest has been requested into the fire at the Place d’Youville building in 2023. However, it has not yet started.
“The coroner’s investigation is put on hold until the end of the criminal investigation and/or the possible legal process, if applicable,” indicates the Police Department of the City of Montreal, on its website.
On Saturday, the Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, said he was considering merging the public inquiry into the fire at 402, rue Notre-Dame with that of Place d’Youville.
It is the coroner’s office which will decide whether the two tragedies should be the subject of a joint investigation. However, it will not be able to start until the police investigation is concluded.
But according to Abdelhaq Sari, this should not prevent the City of Montreal from doing more to enforce its regulations which aim to ensure the safety of the population and visitors.
He recalls that hotels are required to have 24-hour surveillance.
However, numerous customer testimonials on reservation platforms mention that there was no employee at night at the Le 402 youth hostel, which was destroyed by fire last Friday.
At Mayor Valérie Plante’s office, press secretary Béatrice Saulnier-Yelle claims that municipal employees had checked, in March 2024, the presence of an employee at reception.
Lack of windows
Several customers also report having been accommodated in a room without windows.
However, the municipal regulation on the maintenance and sanitation of housing stipulates that each habitable space must be provided with a window. The Quebec Building Code also requires that each bedroom have a window to the outside, unless the room is protected by sprinklers.
The Montreal Fire Safety Service (SIM), however, emphasized last Friday that it did not consider windows to be emergency exits. Following an inspection carried out in May 2024, the building was deemed safe by the SIM.
“The SIM has given the certificate of conformity, if he is comfortable with that, I can say that I would not spend the night in a room without a window, and I do not encourage any tourist or any Montrealer to this meaning,” concludes Abdelhaq Sari.