The imminent arrival of a new French-language school in Mount Royal continues to stir up excitement, while Mayor Peter Maloof still refuses to give citizens the truth. In the municipality, the persistent rumor that this new school will be built on park land worries many residents, who worry that they will lose an important “green lung” especially for the most vulnerable.
Published at 7:00 am.
“We need to protect all our green spaces. We cannot afford to lose such a large green space. No, we need to go back to the source of the demand and conduct a real study to identify the real needs,” said Maryam Kamali Nejad, independent councilor for District 2 in the City of Mount Royal.
For more than a year now, the municipality of 22,000 residents has been in discussions about a new French-language elementary school. The city, hit by a population boom that created a large number of French-speaking students, decided it needed a fourth elementary school to accommodate this young clientele.
A solution was launched from the start: build the school on land adjacent to Dunray Gardens School, an English-language primary school. The site was the property of the English-Montreal School Board (EMSB), although it was later abandoned. According to our sources, now Ernst-B.-Jubian Park is considered the most “suitable” place to host the new school.
Impatient citizens
A group of about 900 citizens filed a petition in recent weeks to oppose the construction of a school in Ernest-B.-Jubien Park, considered a “green lung.”
“The disappearance of this park will affect many people in the area, especially those who are more disadvantaged compared to other areas. The park is used by many people, such as the senior center, apartment dwellers, CHSLD, and it is a daily essential,” says Françoise Gray, a spokesperson for the petition signatories.
She and her team presented the administration with an “alternative solution”: 1000 Luzerne Road, the site of an old synagogue that was soon to be demolished.
It is already a zoned company. It is the best place at this time, it does not sacrifice a green space, and it does not lose freshness to the people of the islands in the context of the climate crisis.
Françoise Le Criss, spokesperson for the signatories of the petition opposing the construction of a school in Parc Ernest-B.-Jubien
Photo by Marco Campanosi, The Press
1000 Luzerne Rd
Mme Le Gris also lamented that the administration “kept people in the dark” about its intentions. In June, in the middle of a council meeting, Mayor Peter Maloof promised citizens he would have answers about the chosen location within a few weeks, which has yet to be done. “Behind the file is a management committee whose members or mandate are not even known. Everything is a blur. We are on very strange practices on both sides. The truth is that a school does not need residents,” he says.
A “highly political” choice
Maryam Kamali Nejad believes the administration’s approach is “too political”. “They want a simple and quick choice, and in the next election campaign they say they have offered the school. But you have to ask yourself a question: Is there demand from the surrounding areas like Côte-des-Neiges, Saint-Laurent? If so, imagine the traffic it will bring to our neighborhoods. Look,” she worries.
No decision has been “officially” made yet, however, Mayor Peter Maloof says he has read no fewer than “17 scenarios” at the Marguerite-Borgeoys School Service Center (CSSMB), a potential manager of the new school. “You have to work with the service center’s priorities for the type of site. It’s not something that can be easily determined. […] Me, I work on facts, not emotions,” says Mr. Maloof.
Photo by Philippe Bovin, La Presse Archives
Mount Royal Mayor, Peter Maloof, in November 2021
“We are focused on the welfare of the children. Right now, we have young people in trailers, they don’t even have a yard to go and play. We have to find a place for them, that’s the priority,” replies the mayor, who criticizes “activists” for “systematically attacking” his administration. .
Mr. Malouf says he read the file “top to bottom.” “We know how many kids will come from Mount Royal, how many kids will come from outside, and we look at all of that in depth. All our analysis will eventually be shared with the citizens,” he promises, without moving forward on a precise date. However, at the end of the interview he adds: “Don’t forget there is an election on October 3rd and we need to know who we are going to do business with. »
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