The mayoress of Montreal, Valérie Plante, refuses to criticize the work of the civil servants of the borough of Ville-Marie who have given in the last years permits of transformation for buildings containing dwellings which are not safe. However, it ensures that a “blitz” is underway with the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ) to check the safety of certain key buildings in Ville-Marie.
Last week, The duty revealed that transformation permits have been issued by the borough of Ville-Marie to at least four buildings in Old Montreal where several dwellings do not meet basic safety standards. Among these is the Hygie Hotel, located in a basement, whose rooms have no windows giving access to the outside in the event of a fire, while these rooms are not equipped with sprinklers or heating. an emergency exit, which contravenes provincial regulations.
The borough also issued two transformation permits in 2009 and 2010 to the building in Old Montreal which burned down on March 16, killing seven people. The building had at least one windowless bedroom, according to a 911 call made during the tragedy.
“All the processes in place are followed by the borough and the City”, reacted Mme Plant on Wednesday as part of a press briefing where she was questioned by several media on the subject. The mayor thus refused to criticize the work of the officials of the Ville-Marie borough, arguing that they complied with the rules in force. In particular, these rules ensure that the City does not, in many cases, validate the compliance with the Building Code of the plans submitted in the context of applications for transformation permits, relying on the good judgment of the architects who carried them out. .
“Are there things that need to be reviewed? We are ready to lift every stone. But I really want to mention that the process is followed to the letter, that’s for sure and certain, ”assured Ms. Plante. The latter also welcomed in passing the decision of Quebec to launch a public inquiry into the fire in Old Montreal, in which the City and the borough of Ville-Marie intend to fully cooperate.
A security issue
The Ville-Marie Housing Committee is for its part alarmed to note that the City approves transformation permits on the basis of plans which show the presence of rooms without windows or emergency exits, which poses an issue in terms of fire prevention. . “I find it very problematic. We are putting the safety of tenants at risk,” worries coordinator Éric Michaud.
“One of the problems that I think it raises is that the borough is offloading onto the architects, who are working on behalf of the owners. […] Is parallel borough not harming the work of the Fire Department? “, continues Mr. Michaud.
The party’s spokesperson for public security for the Ensemble Montréal party, Abdelhaq Sari, wonders whether the cases reported in the investigation of the Duty represent only “the tip of the iceberg” of unsafe housing that has been the subject of permits issued by the City. “The initial trigger for the problem was that someone went to the permit counter, presented plans to alter a building in a certain way, and was given the required permits,” notes Mr. Sari.
The latter thus claims that the Office of the auditor general of the City of Montreal looks into the process of issuing transformation permits in the borough of Ville-Marie. “From there, we can start thinking about possible solutions,” said the opposition politician.
A “blitz” of inspections
As for the inspection work that is carried out to ensure that the buildings of the metropolis are safe for their occupants, this is a “responsibility” shared with the RBQ, argued Valérie Plante.
“We decided to do a blitz with the Régie du bâtiment in anticipation of the summer season that has just started to ensure the verification of buildings. We want to give priority to heritage buildings with a rental vocation and it will be concentrated a lot in Ville-Marie, including Old Montreal, “said Ms. Plante. To carry out this exercise “very quickly”, the City hopes to “increase the number of inspectors” at its disposal, she noted.
The mayoress, however, was not able to specify how many inspections will be carried out as part of this initiative, which is already underway, but she indicated that the most touristy sectors in the heart of Montreal will be prioritized in anticipation of summer time. “We want to make sure we’re ready for the summer. »
In reaction mode
“What you have to understand is that the City of Montreal is working in response to a problematic situation that was known, but for which there had been no remedial actions taken,” reacted to the Duty the vice-president of the Association of building inspectors of Quebec, Danny McNicoll. Thus, while he welcomes the City’s decision to inspect several buildings in Ville-Marie, he believes that this measure could have been taken much earlier.
Valérie Plante also recalled that the City is working on its future “responsible owner” certification, which should be gradually implemented in the coming years. This aims to allow the City to issue hefty fines to owners of buildings with eight or more dwellings that present health or safety issues. “We want to catch those who do not respect the law and do not do their job” so that it is “safe to live in a building in Montreal”, declared Ms. Plante.