The opposition party at Montreal City Hall is back on the attack by urging the City of Montreal to buy the land from Ray-Mont Logistiques to prevent the realization of a freight transhipment platform project controversial in the east of the island. A request that the administration of Valérie Plante however considers “unrealistic”.
Last August, the former head of Ensemble Montreal, Denis Coderre, said that the City would enter into discussions with Ray-Mont Logistiques with a view to buying the land it owns near the Port of Montreal, north of the rue Notre-Dame and east of rue Viau, if the party were in power.
Since then, some preparatory work has taken place on this site, acquired in 2016 by the company and located near a residential area, where many citizens and elected officials have mobilized against this project in recent years. The consultations held in recent months to try to find mitigation measures for this intermodal platform project, which would involve a thousand truck passes per day on the site, have also led to mixed results.
“The scenario that citizens are facing right now is the worst for them,” notes the city councilor for the district of Tétreaultville and elected representative of Ensemble Montréal, Julien Hénault-Ratelle, while recalling that this project “ of great concern to citizens” in the sector for years.
The latter will thus present a motion Monday at the Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough council meeting to urge the City to assess the possibility of buying the land from Ray-Mont Logistiques. To do this, the City could “enter into negotiations” with Quebec and Ottawa in order to obtain from them “a financial contribution”, proposes the document.
Thus, the two main levels of government could “absorb a little the redemption bill” which, agrees Mr. Hénault-Ratelle, promises to be steep. Last summer, Projet Montréal estimated the cost of buying out this 232,0000 m2 fallow land at several hundred million dollars.
“Unrealistic”
In the office of Mayor Valérie Plante, the rejection of this motion was unequivocal on Friday.
“The acquisition of this land does not respect the City’s and Montrealers’ ability to pay. It’s completely unrealistic,” said one of his press officers, Marikym Gaudreault. “But it’s not over, we’re working hard to protect green spaces in the area and reduce nuisance as much as possible,” she added in writing.