With gun incidents on the rise in Montreal, the Quebec government is investing $2 million in projects aimed specifically at prevention in seven boroughs of the metropolis.
In a press release Thursday, Deputy Premier and Minister of Public Security Geneviève Guilbault said that the funding is in addition to the work of the Comité stratégique en sécurité urbaine de Montréal (CoSSUM).
The $2 million in 2022-2023 will be distributed among 12 projects in the boroughs of Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Anjou, Montreal-North, Rivière-des-Prairies-Pointe-aux-Trembles, Saint-Leonard, Le Sud-Ouest and Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension.
Some of the projects consist of modernizing sports or cultural facilities to make them more welcoming, but several boroughs will be able to take advantage of the money allocated to them to hire workers who will work with young people in particular.
For example, the borough of Villeray-Saint-Michel-Parc-Extension has been granted $267,400 to create navigator positions for the major high schools and elementary schools in the region in order to create "a safety net for the youth most affected by vulnerability factors."
"Our young people are too often involved in events related to firearms," said Chantal Rouleau, the minister responsible for the Montreal region, who co-signed the announcement with Minister Guilbault and Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 23, 2022.
