The last tenant of a Montreal building located opposite Place Émilie-Gamelin, who faces eviction since the building will be razed, threatened legal action against the elected officials of the Ville-Marie borough council who issued the demolition permit two weeks ago.
” It’s revolting ! You should all be ashamed and some of you should resign! We are all going to end up in court with this,” shouted Carla White, who made an uproar Tuesday evening during the borough council meeting.
Mme White voiced her anger for several minutes to elected officials, who tried to calm her down, without success.
Carla White lives in a modest apartment in a building located at the corner of Saint-Hubert and Sainte-Catherine streets, behind the former Da Giovanni restaurant. The owner of the premises, the real estate developer Mondev, wants to demolish these buildings to build a 16-story residential tower with 176 housing units.
A demolition permit was requested by Mondev last year, but the City of Montreal refused to issue it until the developer reached an agreement with the last tenant so that she would vacate the premises in exchange for satisfactory compensation.
Mme White already turned down a check for $20,000 as well as a nicer apartment in the area for just $400 a month, according to the company.
Éric Michaud, coordinator of the Ville-Marie Housing Committee, who spoke calmly to the borough council after the resounding departure of Mme White, asked the elected officials how they were able to issue the demolition permit knowing that there was still no agreement between the owner and the tenant and that the latter risked ending up on the street.
According to the law, in the absence of an agreement, Carla White will only be entitled to compensation equivalent to three months’ rent as well as reimbursement of her moving expenses.
“By law, with the steps that have been taken and the proposals that have been made to Mr.me White, and which were communicated to us, we were under an administrative obligation to issue the demolition permit,” replied Robert Beaudry, municipal councilor for the sector. “But we still hope that there will be a resolution for the benefit of Mr.me White. »
“We were extremely sensitive from day one to M’s situation.me White, whose heartfelt cry we heard. But we have gone as far as the law and regulations allow us,” he added.
Mr. Michaud also deplored the fact that the Mondev project does not include social housing, while there is a serious housing crisis and the needs are dire in this part of the city center. »