13 Montreal organizations are facing eviction, but Ottawa just offered to save them
Federal government announced $15M investment for new building to house the groups
Thirteen community organizations are currently facing eviction in Montreal's Ahunstic-Cartierville borough, but on Saturday, the cards were reshuffled and those groups were offered a glimmer of hope.
Mélanie Joly, Canada's minister of foreign affairs, announced a $15 million investment to relocate the groups currently housed at the Ahunstic Community Centre.
The centre is located in Joly's riding. She's been an MP there since 2015 and plans to run again as a Liberal candidate in the federal election that was called on Sunday.
"There's been a call for help from the community sector here for a long time," she told reporters on Saturday.
The organizations will move to the Écoquartier Louvain, a new residential and ecological neighbourhood to be built in the same borough that's expected to include 1,000 affordable housing units.
For months, the 13 groups had been threatened with eviction by the Centre de services scolaires de Montréal (CSSDM), the province's largest school service centre and the owner of the building, which plans to transform the space they've occupied for about 20 years into a French-language learning centre.
The organizations were asked to pack up on Dec. 27, but refused to budge.
The news of the federal investment was a "relief" for Rémy Robitaille, director of Solidarité Ahutsic, a group that represents the 13 organizations in the building.
Although he says they need $25 million more to have the "perfect" project, they're not asking for money from the provincial government.
"We are asking them to tell the CSSDM to give us three years more here before we can move in the new community centre," said Robitaille, adding that he calls on Education Minister Bernard Drainville to step in.
"He has the power to do it."
In a written statement to CBC News, the Education Ministry said it recognized the importance of the organizations for the community, but ultimately the school service centre is the owner of the building.
"Therefore, the CSSDM is responsible for its use," the statement reads. The ministry also added that the CSSDM's primary responsibility is the education of children.
The CSSDM says it needs its building in a Ahuntsic to house its William-Hingston francization centre, which is located in a building that is need of work.
"The Centre de services scolaires de Montréal (CSSDM) rents out some surplus space to community organizations, considering the important role they play in the communities they serve," wrote CSSDM spokesperson Alain Perron in a statement sent to CBC News.
"However, the role played by these organizations cannot come at the expense of the CSSDM's schooling mission, which is already under heavy pressure in the city's northern sector."
Perron says to avoid a disruption in the services provided to students, the service centre has to "regain full possession of the building as soon as possible."
But Robitaille anticipates three years of work in the Écoquartier Louvain before the 13 groups can move into the new community centre.
Although the eviction case is before the courts, Joly said she would work with the Quebec government and the CSSDM to ensure that the organizations can continue to work at the centre until the new building is built.
Among the organizations at risk of being evicted is the Service de nutrition et d'action communautaire (SNAC), which offered food assistance to 1,970 households over the last year, feeding nearly 4,000 people from their location inside the centre.
The centre's offering is wide-ranging: it has a daycare, a youth advocacy group, services for seniors, assistance for people dealing with homelessness and addiction as well as a meals-on-wheels program.
There's even a francization centre already on site that's offering French-language classes.
In December, with the CSSDM's deadline hanging over their heads, the organizations reported that they had nowhere to relocate after struggling for months to find an affordable place.
Joly explained that it's "always a challenge" for the federal government to financially support community centres, as decisions are usually made at the municipal and provincials levels.
"But this project is also part of the creation of a new neighbourhood with several affordable housing units," said Joly.
"I think this will be a fantastic place where Montrealers will be able to thrive."
Written by Hénia Ould-Hammou, with files from Radio-Canada and CBC's Isaac Olson and Paula Dayan-Perez