13 Montreal organizations in Ahuntsic-Cartierville refusing eviction order
CBC
Thirteen community organizations in Montreal's Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough had until 5 p.m. Friday to vacate their long-time home, but they refuse to pack up.
Instead, they're fighting the eviction, which was ordered by the building's owner, the Centre de services scolaires de Montréal (CSSDM). The school service centre has been renting the space to the organizations for about 20 years, but now plans to use the property for a French-language learning centre
Among the groups being evicted is Service de nutrition et d'action communautaire (SNAC), which offered food assistance to 1,970 households over the last year, feeding nearly 4,000 people from their location in the Centre communautaire d'Ahuntsic on Laverdure Street.
There is also an organization that supports people dealing with addiction, homelessness and mental health issues. There's a daycare and Rue Action Prévention Jeunesse, a youth advocacy group, as well. There's even a francisation centre already on site, offering French-language classes.
There are services for seniors, a meals-on-wheels program and educational services, too, said Rémy Robitaille, head of Solidarité Ahuntsic, the council representing the groups getting evicted.
"We won't move from here, even if they told us to move at 5 p.m. tonight," he said, noting the community groups are challenging the eviction in court.
The organizations say they have nowhere to relocate after months of struggling to find something affordable.
The landlord, the CSSDM, said in a statement Friday that it is facing a sustained increase in educational needs in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville sector, particularly for francisation programs offered in adult education.
At the same time, the Complexe William-Hingston, which houses the CSSDM's current francisation centre, is being renovated and the the programming there needs to be relocated to the Centre communautaire d'Ahuntsic, the statement said.
"To fulfil our primary mission of providing education and to avoid a service disruption in the absence of any other facility capable of accommodating all our students, we are compelled to reclaim full possession of the building," it said.
Given Solidarité Ahuntsic's repeated refusals, since 2018, to sign a lease with the CSSDM, the organizations are currently occupying the premises under a month-to-month tolerance lease, the statement added. The eviction is a lawful step, the CSSDM said, and legal proceedings are ongoing.
The council has refused rent increases for six years while the school service centre continues to pay electricity, heat and maintenance, it said.
Several politicians have condemned the decision to force the groups out, including Québec solidaire MNA Haroun Bouazzi, who represents the Maurice-Richard riding, which includes parts of Ahuntsic-Cartierville and Montréal-Nord.
Bouazzi has called the eviction a disaster for the neighbourhood's social and community safety net, noting that 25,000 people rely on the organizations' services each year.
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