Q&A: Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante on building permits, increased registration rates, the encampments and more

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said on Thursday that vehicle registrations may rise, while earlier in the week she said she hopes to reduce wait times for housing build permits.

She spoke with CTV News anchor Caroline Van Vlaardingen about those issues as well as a safe drug-use site near a playground and antisemitic acts in the city.

This article has been edited for length and clarity. Watch the video above for the full interview.

CTV News: The cost of registering a vehicle in the Montreal area is going up by 150 per cent as of January 2025. That is the decision of the Montreal metropolitan community group of municipalities around Montreal.

Joining us now to talk about this, as well as other issues of the day is Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante. Thank you for being with us, Madame Mayor.

Valérie Plante: It's my pleasure.

CTV News: You are one of, I understand, 24 members who voted in favour of this increase from $59 to $150 a year, basically, in order to finance public transit. Is this really the only option left given how tight people's finances are already?

Plante: I think for all the mayors in the metropolitan area, we're always trying to find the best solution when it comes to housing, when it comes to public transport and the environment.

This is always what we're trying to do and how not to put too much pressure on citizens. That being said, as you said, there were 28 members.

Twenty-four of us decided to move forward with increasing the metric last year. That being said, we will decide how much it is once we have a final conversation with the government of Quebec with [Transport] Minister [Geneviève] Guilbault.

We know it's difficult. A lot of families are struggling financially, so our goal is not to add to it, but, at the same time, we know that we need to take care of the public transport network in the entire area.

CTV News: Let's talk about housing. You mentioned that you announced a partnership with a nonprofit organization to build 670 units, but we know that many builders said earlier this week that they have turned their backs on this city and gone to other cities because the permit process took too long, over a year, even two years in some cases.

I know you promised to bring that down to 120 days, but many people are saying that is unrealistic. Can you realistically deliver on that promise?

Plante: It's totally doable. In the borough of Ville-Marie, where I'm elected mayor as well, we were able to reach between 90 days to 100 for those specific projects.

Our goal is to create a norm that will be the same across the island, and we've done something similar with 311 where, before every borough had a different way of counting the time it would take to answer a call.

We did put a norm and now it's all the same and coherent, and this is what I want to do, working with the boroughs saying now it has to be 120 days, here are the conditions, and if it doesn't happen, then we'll be able to say like, 'Well, why is this borough so complicated? Why is it not working?'

CTV News: So you want to hear from builders then if they're running into roadblocks?

Plante: Absolutely, but that being said, the rules, this new norm and everything we've been doing around housing, it's not the city alone that makes those decisions.

We've been working closely with the private sector and the not-for-profits, developers [and] builders. This is why this is so strong, and I feel confident.

CTV News: The protesters at UQAM are now going to take down their encampment, but at McGill, there is still no sign of movement and the president last night actually called on police to do more to get rid of the camps and to police them better.

There's been a call on you to do more to fight antisemitism after another Jewish school was targeted. What more can you and the city do to protect people who feel very unsafe?

Plante: I was happy to hear that UQAM came up with a settlement working through negotiation so the encampment will be dismantled in a peaceful way.

I believe this is what Montrealers are expecting everywhere, including the McGill encampment. The SPVM is very present, but what we are inviting McGill University to do is to also go through those negotiations.

The City of Montreal has offered to do some mediation as well because we want to be part of the solution. We want this to be done in a peaceful way.

Antisemitism actions or anything related to discrimination against a Jewish community is not acceptable in any way, and this is why we've been working so hard with the SPVM, making sure that people feel safe.

It is not an easy one because it is a complex situation. I've been talking to the director of the school board this morning, reassuring them that there will be more presence.

I want to share my compassion with the families that this morning woke up and felt like, 'it is it safe for my kids to go to school,' and that is not acceptable.

CTV News: Speaking of schools, we heard from students and educators that a safe drug injection site right next to a school, which the city said would be a good idea and safe is already turning into a disaster with people openly smoking crack in front of children, trying to give them candy through a fence, urinating on or near them.

Can the city just admit that maybe this is not a good, safe idea and that other buildings should be offered that are away from daycares and schools?

Plante: Everything you've said in questioning where we should put certain places or certain resources is actually a good question, but it's very important to say that it's not the City of Montreal who decided that this specific resource would be in that area.

We don't have that power, and there are no specific rules. The Santé Publique of Montreal actually said it: 'There's no rules around that.'

So, the Minister of Health, Mr. [Lionel] Carmant, provides the organization with different resources to operate and this not-for-profit organization works with vulnerable people.

I think we can say that we don't want those people to be in the street, but at the same time, I truly understand how parents are worried.

So maybe, and actually, Mr. Carmant said that they need to do better, and the City of Montreal said and the borough, we will accompany the centre, that specific resource in making sure that there's good cohabitation, but it's not an easy one.

We've been seeing it across the island with more vulnerable people, whether it's homeless people or people using drugs, or even mental health.

This is where it's so important for the city to work closely with the government of Quebec, for which it's it is their responsibility, and we're there to help.