Glenmount residents mull relaunching bid to secede from Montreal and become TMR citizens

Talk of secession is brewing once again in a small Montreal enclave teemingwith residents who feel more akin to their Town of Mount Royal neighbours than their fellow citizens in the borough of Cte-des-NeigesNotre-Dame-de-Grce.

The last time residents of Glenmount made a formal demand to be annexed to TMR was in 1985, when their request was denied by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs. Now the threat of losing a popular borough subsidy has revived that collective desire to divorce from Cte-des-NeigesNDG.

The borough pays $130,000 a year to provide Glenmount's1,800residents with access to TMR'smunicipal facilities and programming, but that subsidy has become a contentious issue in recent months.

"I just think that's a lot of money," borough Mayor Sue Montgomery toldCBC. "We have a lot of demand in our borough."

Glenmountersare closer to TMRthanCte-des-Neiges

There are about 705 residences in the 30 hectares that make up the neighbourhood of Glenmount a mix of single-family homes, duplexes and two large apartment blocks thatsitbetween Laird Boulevard and Canora Avenue, just north of Jean-Talon Street.

TMR borders Glenmounton three sides, and with Canadian Pacific tracks and a busy boulevardto the south, residentsare isolated from Cte-des-Neiges, but walking distance from almost everything the demergedcityhas to offer.

So, Glenmount residents, despite being Montrealers, have longhad the same privileges as TMR residents enjoying equal access to the town's sports and recreation programs and facilitiesand summer camps,thanks to thatlongstanding agreement between the borough and TMR.

The subsidy predates the 2002 forced merger of Montreal municipalities whenGlenmountwas briefly made part of the borough ofTMR. WhenTMRresidents voted todemergefour years later, the old municipal boundaries were re-established and so was the subsidy.

Perez, residents push for subsidy to continue

With non-profit organizations in NDG-CDNstruggling to pay their staff a livingwage, Montgomery says, the $130,000 annual expense could be better spent in the borough.

The subsidy, which is renewed every few years by borough council vote, is set toexpire in December.

Negotiations are still underway, but the possibility that the deal won't be renewed doesn't sit well with Glenmount residents or their city councillor, opposition Ensemble MontralLeader Lionel Perez.

"That subsidy was always there," saidFrancine Brodeur, a longtime Glenmount resident who was shocked to learn she may lose access to TMR's library.

"It was there for many years prior to when we arrived here, 30 years ago."

Some 500 Glenmount residents signed a petition this fall demanding the subsidy continue.

At last month's borough council meeting, Perez's proposed motion to renew the subsidy was supported by Coun. Marvin Rotrand but ultimately rejected by Montgomery and her Projet Montral majority.

Ending the subsidy "will affect the quality of life" of Glenmount residents who grow up attending schools, summer camps and recreational programs in TMR, said Perez.

The subsidyalso encourages active transit at a reasonable cost to taxpayers, he said,because rather than walk, Glenmounters would have to drive over the train tracks and past the busy boulevardsto get toCte-des-Neiges.

"The costs that we are going to be paying TMR are essentially the same costs if these people were to be using most of our facilities in Cte-des-Neiges," Perez said.

Montgomery is proposingthe borough payabout $20,000 for Glenmount residentsto get TMR access cards.

If TMR agrees to that proposal, Glenmounterswould have to pay non-resident feesto participate in TMR programs, but they would still have the same level of access as TMR residents, Montgomery said.

"To me it's a good compromise, and I think the residents would be happy with that," she said. "But we're still negotiating.So it's not a done deal yet."

Not all Glenmount residents'well to do'

Perez said TMRwould be reluctant to accept that lower subsidy rate, based on what he's heard from municipal officials there.

TMRspokesperson AlainCtdeclined to share details about the ongoing subsidy negotiations, but he saidTMRhas "always enjoyed serving theGlenmountresidents."

The president of Glenmount'sresidents association, Christopher Deehy, doesn't like Montgomery's idea.

"About a third of the residents live in the two apartment blocks that are in the area, so not everyone is necessarily well to do," he said.

Deehy said forcingresidentsto pay non-resident fees in TMR for activities penalizesthe hundreds of low-income residents who don't have the financial means to pay the higher fees.

When Deehy helped collect those 500 petition signatures this fall, he said many residents suggested pursuing annexation again something his association has the mandate to fight for, if necessary.

"At this point, we have not made a decision to actually do that."

Glenmountresidentsare waiting to hear what borough officials decide.

The first hope is that the subsidy, which he said works out to about $80 per Glenmount resident annually, will continue.

"I understand the borough has other needs, but the borough does have the money, and the city doesn't offer us any services in the neighbourhood," he said."We're cut off geographically from the rest of the city."