Once again, the same scenario played out: a house left abandoned for a period long enough for the irreparable to occur. The cleaver fell, or rather the excavator bucket hit the house. A final decision: the house must be demolished. We thought Quebec was done playing in this kind of horror movie. It would seem that the film is still in fashion, and even up to date.
The urgent demolition in the middle of the night of a house in Old Quebec raises many questions about the decision-making process and the undue delays that led to this disastrous operation.
The whole decision was based on the expert report of the City’s structural engineer, who came to the scene the same day following a request for intervention from civil security. We do not question the engineer’s report. But why weren’t other transitional solutions adopted in order to take the time to analyze the situation and see what would have been most appropriate in the circumstances for this emblematic place?
The speed of the gesture is disconcerting. Who were the parties involved in the final decision? The abandonment and the dilapidated state of the building have persisted for ten years due to the negligence of the owner. The case was known. Anyone who has passed it over the years has seen the situation and wondered how this could be tolerated in a residential, historic and heritage district.
A shame
Why the sudden urgency on a Friday evening, on the eve of a long weekend off? Why were curative interventions not required earlier by the City? Over the past ten years, the City has had plenty of time to act. It would have been possible to intervene, to force the owner to do the necessary work to save the building instead of ending up with a gaping hole. In a desire expressed on several occasions to attract new residents to the district, the ancestral building, which was quite large, could have housed families a long time ago.
The building is located in the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage Site; has this feature been taken into account? Were heritage specialists consulted? Have the criteria provided for in the draft Regulations relating to the demolition of buildings been taken into account?
The Citizens’ Committee of Old Quebec has made the municipal authorities aware of the fate of this house on several occasions in recent years. And he did it again recently. Why was the new Building Occupancy and Maintenance By-law, in effect since December 8, 2022, not applied to this building? Yet this was a blatant case where he could have been.
It is incredible that such a gesture with so many consequences is still possible today! It’s a shame ! Since Friday evening, residents have been hurting their Old Quebec. They are outraged and they are disillusioned: it is difficult to believe, noting the fate reserved for this building, that practices can change. However, the day of exchanges between local and international experts, organized by the City last September to rethink Old Quebec, on the theme “Quebec, a learning city”, had raised a lot of hope. Citizens are now demanding accountability, even if the damage is done.