Montreal’s most popular gay village is gradually giving way to an inclusive neighborhood that’s not unanimous in the LGBTQ+ community.
The gay flag is slowly disappearing from the village’s landscape, and the flags still flying on St-Catherine Street are discolored or torn. The village’s business development corporation has replaced the iconic rainbow that hung on the street for years with yellow signs reading “Village” and “Inclusive Neighborhood.” The word gay has also been removed from the Business Development Corporation (SDC) website. It is not unanimous.
On the street, a transgender man sells mini-flags for $2 a piece. They are all different colors. “It’s for non-binary people, it’s for lesbians,” she explained, reading the label on the package and adding, “It’s pansexual, but, even to me, if you’re wondering what that means, I don’t know,” she added. laughing
The village is trying to recover from the epidemic, but many homeless people have settled there and it is difficult to live together. The city has thus launched a consultation process to “transform” the village. In a video posted on Instagram, Mayor Valérie Plante emphasizes: “We love the village”.
However, one terrace’s gay patron is already angry. “The village is dying and I have the impression that the village is not working at town hall and they want to pressure us to put us on the other side of the bridge,” he said. He says we believe. Trying to submerge gay identity in the LGBTQ+ group. It should be remembered that the village was created by gays who fought against discrimination in the 80s.
On the city’s side, Councilor Sophie Manserol makes sure the gay community is at the heart of concerns. He recalled that Sainte-Catherine will undergo pipeline work, which will be completely destroyed by 2024, and that this is the perfect opportunity to think about the future of the village, to ensure that social diversity is preserved. As for the choice of words, he throws the ball back to the SDC, which consulted the people.
“This is SDC’s prerogative (…) we make sure that working with all stakeholders, there is no question that the existence of LGBTQ + communities is erasing history,” he explained.
Paul Haynes, 80, opened a bar in St. Catherine in 1982. He agrees. The village needs to be transformed, but it will take another 5 years, he thinks.
According to him, the gradual disappearance of the flag or the word “gay” has no consequences, it is a part of evolution.
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