Eight months after a building was ravaged by fire and then subsequently demolished, the city of Montreal is pressuring its owner to clean up the mess.
The Robillard building on St. Laurent Blvd. in Chinatown caught fire on Nov. 17, 2016, and whatever wasn't burned was knocked down the following day.
At the time officials knew the building was full of asbestos -- that is why renovations had been stopped earlier that year.
However despite repeated orders from borough officials to remove the debris, the mess remains.
The borough fined the owners, and a judge handed down $11,606 in fines after the orders to remove the debris were ignored.
Officials say the owner has since hired a company to safely clean up the wreckage of the building, and since May has built a 6 metre high wall around the worksite, and installed hoses to spray water over the debris to contain asbestos fibres.
However in July, the demolition company told the borough that it had not been paid and so has stopped work.
Valerie Plante, the mayoral candidate for Projet Montreal, said it's time for the city to take stronger action.
"I'm the city councillor here. There's been some talk. And I know that the administration has been sending bills, contraventions to the owner, but it's not working, and this is where, for me, we need to take one step further. We've tried that technique, it doesn't work, let's take the law that gives us permission and full ability to clean the site. This is what I'm asking the administration, Coderre, to do," said Plante.
"Take action, take responsibility, let's do it."
On Wednesday borough officials announced they now plan to pay the demolition company, then fine the building's owners.
The Robillard building was erected in the 1890s, and was Canada's first movie theatre.
Owners were in the midst of renovations and had removed several floors when workers discovered asbestos, prompting Quebec's health and safety board (CNESST) to stop the project.
