Montreal politician throws support behind Inuit

The leader of a municipal party called Projet Montréal supports moving ahead with the patient residence proposed for Nunavimmiut in Villeray. (FILE PHOTO)

The leader of a municipal party called Projet Montréal has thrown his support behind the patient residence proposed for Nunavimmiut in Villeray.

Richard Bergeron, a city councillor for Jeanne-Mance, said the Villeray-Saint-Michel-Park-Extension borough’s handling of the project has been “insulting” to Inuit.

“The Inuit are at home everywhere across Quebec, either in their northern communities or in the heart of Montreal,” Bergeron said in a news release earlier this week. “I welcome them in Villeray.”

Bergeron criticized borough mayor Anie Samson’s defensive approach to the project, saying her council’s decision to put a moratorium on the project a “shift towards ethnic and social profiling.”

Bergeron urged the borough to lift the moratorium that has been in place since May, when officials moved to freeze all zoning changes in the area.

Its council insists they want to see an impact study and consultation around the St. Denis Street site before the patient residence project moves forward, admitting this is the first time they have used such a measure to stop the development of a project.

But Bergeron says concerns about traffic and parking are unwarranted.

“Saint-Denis can accommodate these vehicles,” he said. “There is no reason to fear this project.”

Bergeron urged stakeholders to stop delaying the project. The party leader adds his voice to a growing number of residents who support the Inuit residence moving to the neighbourhood.

An online petition has collected almost 300 signatures from those who welcome plans for a 150-bed patient boarding home.

A neighbourhood group plans to present the petition to their borough council in September.