When LaSalle's black community lost its Boys and Girls Club last year, after 35 years of operation, it came as a huge blow. Though the borough says it now has plans to reopen it, the minorities who used it the most say they feel excluded from the public consultation process, currently underway.
“The Boys and Girls Club was the only English-speaking service in LaSalle. All the other community services, which are well funded by the municipal and provincial government, are francophone,” said volunteer Darrah Virgo.
The club says the borough should stop all discussions about its future until the process is changed.
“We are very sad and upset about the city's present process of ignoring the important role of the Boys and Girls Club,” said Desiree Galloway.
LaSalle Borough Mayor Manon Barbe rejects the accusations and says the city will reopen the centre if it offers services to everyone – not just minority groups like it used to.
“This building belongs to the borough and the borough is ready to open those facilities to any organizations that would be responsible enough to add an offer of services to the population – but to the entire population,” she said.
The matter sounds all too familiar to activists who say they've seen other minority groups being marginalized over time.
“Ultimately these communities will lose their cultural centre,” said Balarama Holness, co-founder of community group Montreal in Action. “They might lose their sports centre; they will be underfunded and traditional communities that are used to this environment will get pushed out by different forms of businesses.”
The borough of LaSalle denies accusations of gentrification.
Public hearings resume Tuesday night.
