Montreal mayoral candidate Soraya Martinez Ferrada calls for demolition of building near Saint-Laurent metro

Soraya Martinez Ferrada, the Opposition leader of Ensemble Montréal and mayoral candidate, was joined by downtown merchants on Wednesday at a fenced-off building near the Saint-Laurent metro station.

She says the building is dangerous and in a dilapidated state.

“Citizens, merchants live in fear of this crumbling down and actually maybe killing someone,” said Martinez Ferrada.

Most of the abandoned residential building collapsed after a fire on April 7.

Martinez Ferrada says her party is demanding the immediate demolition of the building. They say there are squatters who regularly take refuge there, as well as obvious signs of disrepair.

“We have employees that are from Saint Laurent just here, scared to come to the shop,” said Hillary McLellan, manager of the vintage clothing store Eva B, just a couple of doors down from the collapsing building. “We’ve been surrounded by fencing that we have clients coming back who can’t find the store. My fears have continued if nothing is done with demolishing the building to make the area better. There’s people’s jobs at risk.”

Three fires have occurred in the past 18 months in the area, and workers there say they feel unsafe in the neighbourhood.

“That wall over there, the brick wall, the fireman just told me, ‘This wall will fall,'” said Josée Côté, manager of Familiprix David St-Jean Gagnon, a pharmacy just across the street from the building. “We don’t know when, but it’s gonna happen. And imagine children on the street walking, a little baby like that, and the wall just fall. Imagine what could happen.”

Alia Hassan Cournol, city councillor of Montreal’s Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and member of Projet Montréal, said in a French statement to CityNews, “Our administration has made safety in the city centre a priority, and while we will always be open to proposals, the ideas put forward today by the candidate have already been implemented.”

She said the city has taken the concerns of the residents and shopkeepers who attended Wednesday’s council meeting “very seriously and wholeheartedly,” and that they “should be reassured that all the work is underway to ensure a safe and dynamic city centre.”

“Saint-Laurent St. is the focus of special attention from the borough, and we are rolling out a number of initiatives, in collaboration with our partners, to increase the feeling of safety and make it easier to live together in the town centre,” said the statement.

Hassan Cournol said the initiatives include new contributions of nearly $1 million for new social brigades in the greater downtown area, including one specifically for the Quartier des spectacles and Chinatown; redeployment of staff from neighbourhood stations 21-22 to increase the presence on foot of patrol officers and inspectors; and more than 30 additional police officers deployed on foot to patrol the streets of the city centre.

She went on to state that the building in question was demolished immediately after the event, nine inspections were carried out in the neighbouring building and two infringement notices were issued to the owner. She said a new inspection report is currently being analyzed and the teams will issue an immediate demolition notice if an imminent risk is identified.

“While the opposition candidate shares our desire to prioritise safety in the town centre, we invite her to propose additional actions rather than mentioning measures that are already underway,” said Hassan Cournol.

Martinez Ferrada called for a revitalization plan and the establishment of a dedicated police team for the neighbourhood, which she says is in alarming deterioration.

Police spokeswoman Mélanie Bergeron said in an email that, since last year, special patrols have been set up in the general downtown area.

“The team acts to prevent misconduct, resolve conflicts in public spaces, support vulnerable populations and combat emerging crime. Patrols aim to coordinate the efforts of local players, ensure effective management of social cohabitation issues and promote a safe, harmonious environment for all citizens in the Ville-Marie borough,” Bergeron said.

Martinez Ferrada repeatedly called for more attention to the area near the Saint-Laurent metro station, and for the city to demolish the falling building there immediately.

“I think the city needs to be sure that that’s being done,” she said.