Housing Standards, Montreal Safety and Revitalization of Montreal Become Source of Worry for Official Opposition

During the latest municipal council meeting, the official Opposition brought up many issues that they thought the Plante administration should prioritize to meet the needs of Montrealers.

Luis Miranda, city councillor and mayor of Anjou, addressed Alain Vaillancourt, Miinister of Public Safety, by asking about the issue of cadets. Due to Montreal's lack of staff on the police force and the issue of safety in Montreal becoming more and more of a problem, Miranda insisted that the SPVM should focus on training more cadets for its summer program and to employ more police officers.

Vaillancourt answered that more police officers had been employed, and that the city was currently employing over 280 cadets, which is the same number as last year, and will cover the entirety of the Montreal territory.

Another issue brought up by the official Opposition was the matter of housing safety standards. Many apartment units are in basements and do not have windows which is illegal. Additionally, some of them also do not have sprinklers in case of a fire. Landlords are often granted permits for renovations and modifications without follow-ups. The official Opposition recommended that the city does more extensive work regarding handing out permits.

Recently, the city of Montreal presented its development plan for the Bridge- Bonaventure sector. Julien Hénault-Ratelle, the city councilor of Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, insisted that the Plante Administration put more effort into the project as the revitalizing of the Bridge-Bonaventure sector has long been awaited by Montrealers. He also criticized the administration on the lack of details provided during the presentation.

Robert Beaudry, the minister of urbanism, and the person who made the presentation on the revitalizing of the sector, said that the development plan was very detailed and was created with partners. he insisted that a lot of effort was put into the plan as this project is the complete creation of a neighborhood that focuses on Montreal's heritage.