James William Awad, the organizer of a turbulent trip to Cancún, will have to pay nearly $ 4,000 for the illegal logging of a “mini-forest” of 26 trees in Bois-des-Filion. The City will send it “at least” six other tickets in the coming days for a series of work done without a permit on its properties.
Posted at 8:50 p.m.
Mr. Awad, who says he made his fortune by creating new methods of programming websites, has bought nearly 17.5 million in real estate since 2018. Six of his properties are on the same end of the street in Bois-des -Filion, in the north crown of Montreal.
The 28-year-old man is building a real small estate there, where the police have had to intervene on several occasions for too noisy parties. Extension work is underway on one of the properties – a replica of a castle with turrets purchased for 1.65 million.
Mr. Awad has applied for a permit for this site, but not for the other work carried out in parallel on its adjacent houses, said in an interview Gilles Blanchette, the mayor of Bois-des-Filion. City inspectors noted several of these violations last month.
PHOTO DAVID BOILY, THE PRESS
One of the residences owned by James William Awad, which is undergoing an expansion.
“We were able to go to the properties, without necessarily going inside, and there we see things,” explains the elected official. We are in the process of taking actions that are legally permitted at the municipal level, we are going to work on these files in order to ensure a certain peace of mind for our citizens. ”
“Mini forest” destroyed
“At least” six tickets of $ 800 to $ 2,000 will be sent to Mr. Awad within a few days. The neighboring city of Terrebonne, which adjoins the land of the founder of the “111 Private Club”, could also impose fines. “Several exchanges are taking place between the two municipalities regarding the remedies that can be undertaken in this case,” confirmed spokesperson Marie-Eve Courchesne.
The report for the illegal felling of 26 trees was sent to James William Amad last November, confirms the City of Bois-des-Filion, which describes the razed area as a “mini-forest”. The expected fine is $ 3,875.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF BOIS-DES-FILION
Aerial view of the wooded lot belonging to James William Awad, before the illegal cutting of 26 trees for which the City of Bois-des-Filion gave him a statement of offense of nearly $ 4,000.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE CITY OF BOIS-DES-FILION
The land after the trees were cut, according to images provided by the city of 10,045 residents.
Another statement of offense was sent to Awad in November for the deposit of rubbish, waste, furniture and other objects in the public domain. The City also imposes a fine on him for the construction of embankments without a permit, with a view to installing a geothermal system. A report for excessive noise was also submitted.
Awad “loves nature”
In a series of messages exchanged on Twitter, James William Awad – who was called Kevin before his official change of name in 2019 – defends himself from the actions with which he is accused.
He first said he “never cut” 26 trees and said he loved nature. When asked about the photos that prove deforestation, he argued that this situation was “between the contractor and the tree company”. He adds that “the contractor will pay the invoice”.
As for the fine imposed for the illegal dumping of waste, Mr. Awad attributes the responsibility to a party held at his home. “I brought a cleaning crew,” he says.
The man finally explains about the photos published Tuesday by The Journal of Montreal, provided by a citizen. They show in particular statues that he had installed on his domain. Awad assures us that they are not in his image.
“I’m not a narcissist as people think,” he says. It’s just statues that signify the function of the house, like for example for the studio, there is a statue with someone with a microphone. ”
The daily also published a photo of a plaque installed in front of one of its properties, which evokes the threat of “sudden death” for anyone who dares to venture there. Awad says it was a “video game style” joke.
The mayor of Bois-des-Filion does not seem to be enjoying this situation at all. The recent controversy, triggered last December 30 after a party organized by Awad which slipped on a Sunwing Montreal-Cancun flight, constitutes “negative publicity” for his “hometown” of 10,045 inhabitants, he said.
“Me, I cannot prevent a citizen from buying the entire street if he wants to do so, I can just restrict the use that is made. It remains a residential area and for us, it must remain as peaceful as possible. ”