The City of Montreal will allocate an envelope of $30 million to fund community projects targeting young people in order to prevent violence.
Among these initiatives, the “By and for young people” program will receive $2 million. This first “special youth” fund will make it possible to support complementary projects proposed by young people, in collaboration with community organizations, such as awareness campaigns or social, sports and cultural activities.
With this program, an amount of $7 million will also be made available to allow young people to carry out projects that are important to them in their neighborhood.
“To ensure security in Montreal and prevent violence, we must take strong action that improves the living conditions of young people at the source. […] It is essential to work upstream to give our young people every chance to succeed,” said the mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, in a press release Thursday.
A minimum of $5 million will also be injected to finance infrastructure that meets the needs of young people, such as green alleys, sports facilities or pump tracks.
“These initiatives will allow the entire population of Montreal, and in particular young people, to create a safer, more united city, where opportunities are accessible in all neighborhoods,” added the mayor.
However, the Official Opposition deplores the lack of proactivity of Valérie Plante.
“[…] The measures presented today have been recycled from an announcement made last March. They only offer young people the opportunity to contribute to specific projects without planning a real long-term vision, ”said Abdelhaq Sari, spokesperson for the Official Opposition in terms of public security.
“If the Plante administration had really wanted to listen to young people and offer them tools to have fun, it would have offered them the sports center it promised them in Montreal North and which they have been waiting for too long,” said he added.