Fighting gun violence in Montreal | Quebec is injecting 2 million

(Montreal) With incidents involving firearms on the increase in Montreal, the Quebec government is investing two million dollars in projects aimed at taking specific action in prevention in seven boroughs of the metropolis.

In a press release on Thursday, the Deputy Premier and Minister of Public Security, Geneviève Guilbault, explained that this sum is in addition to the work of the Montreal Urban Security Strategic Committee (CoSSUM).

The two million dollars in 2022-2023 will be distributed among 12 projects in the boroughs of Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Anjou, Montréal-Nord, Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles, Saint-Léonard, Le Sud-Ouest and Villeray– Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension.

Some of the projects consist of modernizing sports or cultural facilities to make them more welcoming, but several boroughs will be able to take advantage of the amounts allocated to them to hire workers who will work with young people, in particular.

For example, the Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension borough was granted $267,400 to create navigator positions for the large secondary and elementary schools on its territory in order to establish “a net of safety among young people most affected by vulnerability factors”.

“Our young people are too often involved in events related to firearms,” ​​lamented the Minister responsible for the Metropolis and the Montreal region, Chantal Rouleau, who co-signed this announcement with Minister Guilbault and the Mayor of Montreal. , Valerie Plante.

“We must therefore act concretely, directly with them, in a preventive approach. With the spaces that will be put in place, our young people will have access to safe places where they can make choices other than violence,” added Ms.^me Roll.

Other projects covered by this announcement include the transformation of a skateboard court into a basketball court at Parc Pilon, in Montreal North, and the creation of spaces for young people in the Leonardo Da Vinci Centre, in Saint-Leonard.

The Office municipal d’habitation de Montréal will also have the mandate to manage the creation of two barbershops to bring young people together and provide them with employment income. Two project managers will be hired to support the young people.

“We must continue to work tirelessly to improve the quality of life in all neighborhoods and promote initiatives that strengthen the sense of belonging to the living environment of populations and young people at risk,” said Mayor Plante.

This announcement is part of the CENTAURE program, the government’s strategy to combat armed violence.