Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada has no intention of moving the Notre-Dame St. encampment during September\u2019s UCI Road World Championships, and isn\u2019t concerned about how it will look on the international stage.<\/p>\n
Asked about the issue during a news conference Thursday, Martinez Ferrada said she would welcome the encampment\u2019s presence during the cycling event sparking a conversation about homelessness.<\/p>\n
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Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada has no intention of moving the Notre-Dame St. encampment during September\u2019s UCI Road World Championships. \u201cThere isn\u2019t a single city in the world that isn\u2019t facing an affordability or housing crisis,\u201d the mayor said. \u201cIf it can raise awareness about what we need to do as a society, then all the better.\u201d
Dave Sidaway \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n
\u201cThere isn\u2019t a single city in the world that isn\u2019t facing an affordability or housing crisis,\u201d the mayor said. \u201cIf it can raise awareness about what we need to do as a society, then all the better.\u201d<\/p>\n
The encampment has swelled to nearly 100 tents this summer<\/a>, with about 150 people living next to the busy thoroughfare.<\/p>\n Scheduled for Sept. 20 to 27, the cycling championships will be the biggest sporting event Montreal has hosted since the 1976 Olympics. The event will see 1,000 cyclists from 80 countries compete in races through the city\u2019s streets \u2014 including on Notre-Dame St. \u2014 and communities in the Mont\u00e9r\u00e9gie.<\/p>\n Martinez Ferrada has said she views the championships as a way to showcase Montreal on the international stage and show the city is capable of hosting large-scale sporting events.<\/p>\n Asked Thursday if she\u2019s worried the encampment will be visible on the event\u2019s broadcast \u2014 and how that will reflect on Montreal \u2014 Martinez Ferrada said the city has nothing to be ashamed of.<\/p>\n \u201cI call it social diversity and cohabitation,\u201d the mayor said. \u201cI have no right to relocate or dismantle encampments; that\u2019s not the approach our administration has taken.\u201d<\/p>\n The City of Montreal has previously tried to dismantle the Notre-Dame St. encampment, but was blocked from doing so by the courts. Martinez Ferrada\u2019s administration has taken a more tolerant approach, adopting a protocol that states encampments should only be moved as a last resort<\/a>.<\/p>\n The mayor said Thursday her more immediate concern ahead of the championship is not the encampment, but rather the state of Notre-Dame St. itself<\/a>.<\/p>\n The street is in poor condition and home to some of the worst stretches of potholes in the city. The mayor herself had two flat tires while driving on it<\/a> in February.<\/p>\n The city has already announced plans to repave<\/a> the street before the championships.<\/p>\n