Montréal, February 4th, 2011
Mayor Gérald Tremblay
Hôtel de Ville de Montréal
275 Notre-Dame Est
Montréal QC H2Y 1C6
Dear Mayor Tremblay,
Following the City of Montréal property evaluations of 2011, we find it necessary to
communicate our concerns.
The residents of the Mile End in the Plateau Mont Royal, uniting under the name “Le Mile End pour tous et toutes” – “The Mile End for All” – were stunned by the recent property evaluations that represent a dramatic hike in the value of their property: from an average of 35% for residents of the Plateau, up to as much as 51% for many of us.
On January 13, we met with Alan De Sousa, head of finances for the City of Montréal. He generously explained the rationale behind the City’s calculation of the attendant property taxes. He did not, however, allay our fears. The increase in property values, combined with the tax rate adopted for 2011, results in an exorbitant tax increase that simply cannot be absorbed by the income of the average property owner in the Plateau.
Indeed, may of us are now wondering if we will be able to stay in our homes and our
neighbourhood. Not only do our incomes not follow this upward trend, but many of us are workers in the culture sector, an insecure income at best, or are retirees with fixed incomes. As well, it goes without saying that this tax increase affects both owners and tenants, the latter of whom will also bear this burden.
This tax hike flies in the face of the strengths and intrinsic value of our neighbourhood, namely its cultural, social and economic diversity. The City of Montréal went so far as to highlight this diversity in its public consultation of 2004 and endorsed it in the final 2008 document (http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/pls/portal/docs/page/plan_urbanisme_fr/media/documents/080526_chapitre_11.pdf). It is also one of the main reasons that led us, the undersigned, to make the Plateau neighbourhood our home.
We note with concern:
• that the Plateau Mont Royal bears a heavier share of property taxes than other
boroughs: 6.8% vs an average of 4.4%;
• that the residents of the Plateau are called upon to shoulder this increased tax burden while the City budget allocation for the Plateau remains unchanged at 3%;
• that this year, unlike previous years, the City has no plans to offset increases in property values with a sufficiently lower tax rate;
• that, regardless of the ability of its citizens to shoulder its tax burden, the City has chosen to increase its revenues rather than control its expenses;
• that the recommendations of the Report of the Working Group in Taxation (June 7, 2004, Annex 1), led by Michel Prescott, does not appear to have been followed;
• that the Plateau, in addition to its 100,000 residents, hosts 100,000 visitors daily (including those who come to work and play) who benefit from its infrastructure, enjoy its quality of life, and use its services;
• that despite the image of the highly publicized “trendy” Plateau Mont Royal, statistics recently released by the City of Montréal and Santé Publique Montréal confirms the strong presence of low income residents. Throughout the borough, 74% of households are renters, with two in five already spending (in 2006) over 30% of their incomes on rent;
• that the elderly, many of whom are of immigrant communities who nurtured the Mile End and St Louis neighbourhoods during the long years of collapsed housing values, have worked their entire lives to pay for their properties but are now being asked to pay a tax burden equivalent to a rent or mortgage;
• that, despite the recent and accelerated gentrification of the Plateau, the Mile End is still populated by artists with insecure incomes whose contribution to the reputation of the City as a cultural metropolis is invaluable. Their presence is now directly threatened by these tax increases.
The rich vitality of the Mile End, and the Plateau in general, is directly related to its social and economic diversity. This tax increase will have a long term effect: to cause the departure of the less affluent among us, and to intensify the migration of families to the suburbs. We are not alone in our concern. Another citizens group, under the name Vivre sur le Plateau, is circulating a petition to express their dissatisfaction with the recent increase in property evaluations and taxes.
Mr Mayor, how can these tax increases be justified in an economic climate where the rate of inflation sits at 2 to 3%, the pension increase is at 1%, and the income increase of the average citizen is even lower still?
Therefore, we are asking:
• that, to better reflect the affordability of the residents of the Plateau Mont Royal, the rate of increase in property taxes does not exceed the inflation rate;
• that the new measures of assessment, taxation and compensation, as recommended by
the Working Group on Taxation (June 7, 2004) to limit the impact of large increases in property assessment, be adopted; and that the City show leadership on this issue by undertaking negotiations with the Government of Québec for that purpose.
Sending you our sincerest regards, Mr Mayor, we look forward to hearing from you soon.
The Mile-End for All represented by:
Sakina Benhima, 5264 rue Waverly
Sophie Bissonnette 5350 rue Waverly
Martin Duckworth, 4618 rue Jeanne-Mance
Pascal Guy, 5264 rue Waverly
Leila Marshy, 5395 rue Hutchison
Damaris Rose, 5263 rue Waverly
Noëlle Samson, 5284 rue Waverly
Claudine Schirardin, 5341 rue Jeanne Mance
cc. Monsieur Alan de Sousa, conseiller responsable des Finances de la Ville de Montréal
cc. Monsieur Luc Ferrandez, Maire de l’arrondissement Plateau Mont-Royal
cc. Monsieur Alex Norris, conseiller du district Mile-End et conseiller de ville pour
l’arrondissement PMR
cc. Monsieur Richard Ryan, conseiller du district Mile-End
cc. Vivre sur le Plateau
cc. Le comité des citoyens du Mile-End
cc. M. Raymond Bachand, député d’Outremont
cc. M. Amir Khadir, député de Mercier
cc M.Thomas Mulcair, député d’Outremont
cc. M. Gilles Duceppe, député de Laurier-Ste Marie
cc.
All the residents who support this action and whose names are in Annex II
ANNEX 2
This letter is supported by:
1. Charles Schirardin, 5341 rue Jeanne Mance
2. Clifford Hastings, 5263 rue Waverly
3. Marie Lafrance, 5237 Waverly
4. Pierre Flynn, 5237 Waverly
5. Nancy Thede, 5414 Jeanne Mance
6. Alain Ambrosi, 5414 Jeanne Mance
7. Margery Comeau, 5219 Waverly St
8. Caroline Taran, 5301 Waverly
9. Jean Kuzyk, 5387 Jeanne-Mance
10. Wanda Lewandowska, 5387 Jeanne-Mance
11. Heather Wallace, 5260 Waverly
12. Nassera Touati, 4656 Coloniale
13. Mohamed Amar, 4656 Coloniale
14. Roman Korol, 5272 Waverly
15. Aldo Marchini, 138 Av.Clermont
16. Michel Bonnardeaux, 136 Av. Clermont
17. David Smith, 133 Av. Clermont
18. Nicole Labelle, 5365 avenue de l’Esplanade
19. Denis Marchand, 5365 avenue de l’Esplanade
20. Lorne Brass, 5277 Waverly
21. Céline Paré, 5277 Waverly
22. Robert Bruce Thicke, 5261 rue Waverly
23. Philip Szporer, 5261 rue Waverly
24. Michel Gauthier, 5834 rue Clark
25. Nicole Beaulieu, 5958 Jeanne Mance
26. Louis Desjarlais, 5958 Jeanne Mance
27. Marie Sterlin, 5939 Waverly
28. Carole Danis 5292 Waverly
29. Maria Paz Berger, 5330 Waverly
30. André Dallaire 5292 Waverly
31. Joan Irving, 5892 Jeanne-Mance
32. Anouk Lebrun, 5379 Waverly
33. François Bédard, 5379 Waverly
34. Léa Berger, 5332 Waverly
35. Étienne Pagé, 5332 Waverly
36. Soleil Guérin 5368 Waverly
37. Olivier Landreville 5368 Waverly
38. Lise Gauthier,149 rue Villeneuve ouest
39. Daniela Venezia, 5878 rue St Urbain
40. Philippe Brais, 5878 rue St Urbain
41. Christian Gagnon, 5864 rue Jeanne-Mance
42. Nathalie Antoine, 5291 rue Clark
43. Marianne Chemla, 5350, rue Waverly
44. Maryse Bienvenu, 7155 Waverly
45. Jeanie Baudchon, 5304 Waverly
46. Barbara Stewart, 5379 Jeanne-Mance
47. André Dubois, 5379, rue Jeanne-Mance
48. Pierre Beaucage, 5371 Jeanne-Mance
49. Elena Soldevila Durante, 5371 jeanne-Mance
50. Paul Beaucage, 5371 Jeanne-Mance
51. Lyne St-Hilaire, 6056 Jeanne Mance
52. Françoise Laprise, 4576 Resther
53. Gwynne Basen, 4813 Jeanne Mance
54. Dalie Maynard, 5349 Clark
55. Pierre Letarte, 3775 Hotel de Ville
56. Rochelle Pyne, 5389 Jeanne-Mance
57. Céline Edelmann, 5914 avenue de l'esplanade
58. Hélène Thibault, 5447 rue Jeanne-Mance
59. Amapola Alares, 5389 rue Waverly
60. Christian Roy, 5267 Waverly
61. Mia Webster, 5347 Waverly
62. Leland Young, 5347 Waverly
63. Rachelle Claveau, 5256 Waverly
64. Sophie Grossmann, 5564 rue Clark
65. Irène Zaïkoff, 5310 rue Clark
66. Stéphane Najman, 5310 rue Clark
67. Michael Wells, 5247 Waverly
68. Hélène Meunier, 5312 Waverly
69. Danièle Lacourse, 5269 de l'Esplanade
70. Sarah Cartwright, 5281 Waverly
71. Joanne Boissy, 5308 Waverly
72. Magnus Isacsson, 4239 Esplanade
73. Jocelyne Clarke,4239 Esplanade
74. Alison Burns, 4861 rue Jeanne Mance,
75. Dan Babineau, 4861 rue Jeanne Mance
76. Ginette Boivin, 5908 avenue de l'Esplanade
77. Françoise de la Cressonnière, 5333 Waverly
78. Yehudi Lindeman, 5333 Waverly
79. Diane Dulude, 5402 St-Urbain
80. François Cayrol, 5402 Jeanne Mance
81. Johanne Morin, 5624 rue Jeanne-Mance
82. Clément Paul, 5414, rue Waverly
83. Camille Vanasse, 5906 avenue de l'Esplanade
84. Alexis Vanasse, 5904 avenue de l'Esplanade
85. Elizabeth Hunter, 5329 Waverly
86. Colleen Thorpe, 5358 Waverly
87. Marc Fauteux, 5358 Waverly
88. Armance Brandenburg , 5345, rue Jeanne-Mance
89. Maite Cao, 5201, rue Waverly
90. Geneviève Beaugrand-Champagne, 4855 av. de l'Esplanade
91. Marc-Antoine Daudelin, 4855 av. de l'Esplanade
92. Sarah Humphrey 4666 Jeanne-Mance
93. Emanuelle Beaugrand-Champagne, 4860 de l'esplanade
94. Odile Martial, 5411 rue Jeanne-Mance
95. Sunday Egbeola, 5411 rue Jeanne-Mance
96. Dorothy Hénaut, 5045 Esplanade
97. Suzanne Hénaut, 5041 esplanade
98. Nathalie Tremblay, 5878 Jeanne-Mance
99. Sophie Tremblay-Sabatini, 5878 Jeanne-Mance
100. Sarah Binder, 4622 av de l'Esplanade
101. Danièle Monfette 5628, rue Jeanne-Mance
102. Janis Zubalik, 5253 Waverly
103. David Engle, 5253 Waverly
104. Marie Lauzon, 5282 Waverly
105. Anne Labelle, 5719 Waverly
106. Pierre Thériault, 5719 Waverly
107. Alexander Johnson 5900 rue Jeanne Mance
108. Hervé Juste, 5822 Jeanne Mance
109. Anika Lefebvre, 5870 Waverly
110. Marielle Nitoslawska, 208 Marie-Anne est
111. Victor Shiffman, 4882 Clark
112. Suzanne Perron, 5300 rue Jeanne-Mance
113. Kevin Cohalan, 5300 rue Jeanne-Mance
114. Bruno Robitaille 5843 Jeanne-Mance
115. Natalie Fleurant, 5352 Clark
116. Pierre Dongier, 4639, Jeanne Mance
117. Louise Blais, 4662 Jeanne Mance
118. Diane Dulude 5402 St-Urbain
119. Pascale Sirard, 1855 rue Marie-Anne Est
120. Hélène Roche, 5295 rue Waverly
121. Pierre Nadon, 5295 rue Waverly
122. Julie Rainville 5332 Rue Jeanne-Mance
123. Sylvia Franke, 5910 rue Jeanne Mance
124. Andrew Mullins, 5910 rue Jeanne Mance
125. Nancy Héroux, 5382 Waverly
126. Gilles Thériault, 5382 Waverly
127. Rachelle Ellis, 5382 Waverly
128. Sabrina Steenhaut, 5367 rue Clark
129. Mireille Dansereau, 216 St-Joseph ouest
130. John Zeppetelli, 4304 rue Berri
131. Katharine Bourne, 4304 rue Berri
132. Emmanuelle Sirard, 1851 Marie-Anne est
133. Juliette D'Hollander 4653 Jeanne Mance
134. Jiri Tucker 4653 Jeanne Mance
135. Emmanuel Dubourg, 6065 avenue du Parc
136. Armelle Dubourg, 6065 avenue du Parc
137. Véronique Cnockaert, 3913 St-Hubert
138. Luc Faucher,6733 Papineau
139. Sophie Rousselle, 6733 Papineau
140. Nathalie Dulude, 5400 st-urbain
141. Olivia Ward, 3606 avenue Laval
142. Kester Dyer, 3606 avenue Laval
143. Carole Breton, 5242 Clark
144. Maria Pontes, 5273 Waverly
145. Pascal Henrard, 5312 Waverly
146. Denis Courville, 2522 avenue Jeanne d'Arc
147. Christopher Schoofs, 5311 Jeanne-Mance
148. Sharon Bezeau, 5311 Jeanne-Mance
