A farewell bash for Villeray support group

The Villeray citizens’ group, which lobbied hard in favour of the relocation of Nunavik House to their borough, has decided to disband.

The group, which collected 654 names on a petition to renovate an empty hospital into a new patient residence for Nunavimmiut, sent out its last email update to more than 200 active supporters on Sept. 15.

The email explained the final developments in the project, which saw Nunavik’s regional board of health and social service decide to back away from the move to Villeray, and had some notes from those who were involved in the citizens’ group in favour of the move.

It also extended an invitation to everyone to participate in a borough cultural party on Sept. 18. The party takes place in Jarry Villeray Park at the corner of Jarry and Christophe Colombe from 1:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.. For the party, the Association of Montreal Inuit has arranged to bring in two throatsingers who will perform at 3 p.m..

In a separate email, Joey Flowers, a McGill law school student who is originally from Kuujjuaq, extended his” heartfelt thank-you to all the citizens of Villeray who took the time to support this project for people whom they had never even met before.”

“It assured many Nunavimmiut that many Villeraymiut are warm and welcoming people, even to those strangers from far away, and it reminded us of the potential for human kindness. Even as we suffered through the racism, discrimination, and indignity of this ordeal, by showing your support, you showed the better side of Villeray specifically, and of humanity in general,” Flowers said.

The citizens’ group also thanked the various local groups which had supported its efforts:

· Association Québec solidaire locale de Laurier-Dorion

· Projet Montréal par son porte-parole Richard Bergeron

· Justin Trudeau, MP for Papineau

· Conseil communautaire Solidarité Villeray

· Maison des grands-parents de Villeray

· Association des locataires de Villeray