Hydro-Québec intends to build an electrical transmission station on the land located at the corner of Berri and de Maisonneuve streets, in the extension of the Grande Bibliothèque, in place of one of the rare green spaces in this borough. Bibliothèque et Archives nationaux du Québec (BAnQ), which owns the land, would have concluded a sale agreement with Hydro-Québec for this purpose.
From November 2023, The Montreal Journal published two articles on the subject in quick succession, and gave the floor in turn to Ms. Lise Bissonnette and Ms. Phyllis Lambert, who denounced this project. Some information has since filtered out, as well as certain positions, notably in The duty. But no general mobilization has yet taken place.
It remains difficult to know exactly where this project has reached since all of the decisions allowing its development are hardly known in advance and the public consultations which were envisaged have not yet taken place, unless they have other aims than reporting a fait accompli. Thus, the City of Montreal adopted, on May 14, a resolution approving “a draft act by which the City renounces, for the benefit of Hydro-Québec, part of the right of way […] encumbering land located in front of rue Berri at the southwest corner of rue Ontario Est, in the borough of Ville-Marie […] for the sum of $490,000, plus applicable taxes where applicable, all subject to the prior acquisition of this land by Hydro-Québec.”
This project, which irreversibly deprives BAnQ of any possibility of expansion or any other cultural project, seems to us an aberration, as does the prospect of one of the rare green spaces in the heart of the Latin Quarter being disfigured by the erection of a transformer station of up to 30,000 square feet, whatever appearance it takes.
Beyond the statements made by the Hydro-Québec communications manager to the media who were interested in the question, many questions remain unanswered, including the possibility of relocation or burying of this station, the conformity of such a project with Montreal’s urban plan, its impact on the development of the borough, its social acceptability, etc.
A competent body which is not linked to the project must imperatively seize the urgency and the necessity of a public debate which makes it possible to measure the scope and the consequences of various orders of this project as well as its very foundations. .
The Permanent Commission on the Living Environment of the Culture Montréal organization seems ideal to us, as much by the multiple and complementary expertise of its members and the credibility of the bodies with which they are associated as by the reason for being of this commission, who “is interested in the multiple ways of planning the city”. This “documents and promotes the role of culture in urban development, both at the scale of neighborhoods and districts as well as those of the city and the metropolis and reflects on the contribution of urban planning to cultural development.
Its mandate is as follows: “Contribute to the reflection and development of solutions relating to issues related to town planning, development, conservation of urban heritage, architecture and design. Examine projects linked to the living environment and highlight their cultural consequences. »
* Also co-signed this letter: André Courchesne, associate professor, HEC Montréal; Diane Miljours, retired, former cultural worker (Canada Council for the Arts, Playwrights Centre, Canadian Cultural Centre); Paul Langlois, cultural manager; Diane Régimbald, writer; Alain Petel, former commissioner of the Culture Department of the City of Montreal; Jean-Luc Bastien, director and former director of the Théâtre Denise-Pelletier; Lise Vaillancourt, author; Michel Vaïs, theater critic, honorary secretary general, International Association of Theater Critics; Carmen Jolin, former artistic and general director of the Théâtre Prospero; Pierre Lavoie, general director of the Union of Quebec Writers (UNEQ) (1993-2010); Tessa Goulet, senior consultant in cultural management; Louise Fugère, cultural manager; Clermont Girard, painter; Dominik Parenteau-Leboeuf, playwright and screenwriter; Michel Larocque, retired, Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf; Alain Fugère, retired from Hydro-Québec; Robert Spickler, administrator of cultural organizations; Hélène Larivée, retired lawyer, cultural business manager; Lucie Ruelland, retired architect; Lamberto Tassinari, independent researcher; Marie-José Thériault, writer and translator; Michel Bélair, retired journalist, writer; Sylvie Roche, linguistic revision; Suzanne Lebeau, author, co-founder of the Le Carrousel theater company; Markita Boies, actress and retired drama teacher; Francine Pelletier, documentary filmmaker, journalism professor and author; Johanne Aubry, consultant, former programmer of the Théâtre de la Ville; Stéphane Lépine, professor; Jasmine Dubé, actress, writer, co-founder of Théâtre Bouches décousues; Elizabeth Bourget, dramaturgical advisor and professor at the National Theater School of Canada; Mireille Doyon, reviser; Paul Bélanger, writer; Danielle Blouin, Ph.D., art historian and artist; Louis Champagne, actor; Benoît Lemire, retired lawyer; Pierre Tremblay, cultural worker and former general director of Théâtres Unis Enfance Jeunesse; Gervais Gaudreault, director, co-founder of the Le Carrousel theater company; Danièle Simpson, writer, president of UNEQ 2010-2016; Jacques Lavallée, actor; Marc Deschamps, architect; Marie-Lise Hétu, teacher; Ghislaine Daoust, certified translator; Marie Laberge, writer; Marie-Ève Huot, artistic director, Le Carrousel, theater company; Josée La Bossière, translator, adapter; Louise Mallette, retired from the federal civil service; Louise Bonnier, retired from college teaching; Isabelle Harvey, retired, programming manager, Télé-Québec; Marc Béland, actor; Marc Labonté, organizational development consultant; Francine Nicoll, retired; Marc Pache, cultural worker, co-founder of the Théâtre Bouches décousues; Marie Gérin-Lajoie, psychologist; Martin Faucher, director and actor; Lise Nantel, artist and retired lecturer from the School of Visual and Media Arts at UQAM; Catherine Martin, filmmaker; Laurence Branchereau, psychologist; Danielle Dahan, retired computer scientist; Julie Vincent, actress, author, teacher; Ghyslain Filion, director, former coordinator and professor of the Professional Theater School at Collège Lionel-Groulx; Maurice Pelletier; Francine Dandurand, retired; Julie MacKay, organizational development consultant; Alain Filion, former manager at the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec; Diane Chevalier, retired, former director of public relations, Maison Théâtre; Christine Beaulieu, actress and author.