Plante administration promises to make Black Rock memorial more accessible if re-elected
The Black Rock: a stone monument in Point-Saint-Charles commemorating the Irish immigrants who died on their way to Canada.
Beneath the monument are the burial grounds of some-6000 of these immigrants, who contracted typhus aboard ships as they fled the great famine.
But Montreal's Irish community says the monument isn't adequately accessible, as it currently sits between four lanes of traffic.
And one foundation wants to see the site turned into a memorial park.
"Bridge St. itself actually runs over the top of the cemetery," said Fergus Keyes, a board member for the Montreal Irish Monument Park Foundation. "For the design of the park that we really want to make, [a] world-class memorial space, to have Bridge St. run through the middle of it just wouldn't work."
Projet Montreal Candidate Craig Sauve says if re-elected, the Plante administration will spend $15 million moving Bridge St, leaving enough space around the Black Rock for a fully accessible park.
"What was really important to the community is that we didn't move the Black Rock itself," said Sauve. "That's really the epitaph and one of the main markers for this sacred place."
The new Bridge St. would divert at Rue Des Irlandais, and then run through a vacant lot owned by Hydro Quebec.
"They've offered to cede to us about 3.8 acres, which will make a fairly large and quite nice memorial space," said Keyes.
Work on the project wouldn't start until 2025, as Hydro Quebec first has to build a new transformer station on the back portion of the lot.
But for Keyes, an official announcement from the city is a major step forward in what has been a very long process.
"The administration of Denis Coderre, when he was the mayor, started it, and it continued now through the administration of Mme. Plant. So we would expect it to continue on regardless of who wins the election," said Keyes.
Denis Coderre's campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
B.C. theatre to pay $55K to neurodivergent actor in discrimination case
British Columbia's human rights tribunal has awarded a neurodigergent actor, who was diagnosed with sensory and learning disorders, more than $55,000 after finding that a Kelowna theatre company discriminated against him because of his disabilities.
Who's responsible for regulating cannabis stores operating under the sovereignty banner?
It's not quite clear who is supposed to be regulating so-called sovereign cannabis stores or even ensure they're benefiting Indigenous communities.