Montrealers should be able to nix real estate projects through referendums, opposition says

Citizens will lose a key means of fighting unwanted development projects in their neighbourhoods if Bill 122 is passed without amendment, Projet Montralsays.

Article 24 of the bill, tabled last December with the aim of giving Montreal and other major Quebec cities more autonomy from the province, would end residents' right to force municipalities to hold referendums on real estate development projects.

"If the bill goes through, major real estate and industrial development projects will no longer be brought before the OCPM[Montreal's office of public consultation]," said Projet Montral's leader, Valrie Plante, in a statement Tuesday.

Planteis headed to Quebec City today, to speakat 4:30 p.m. to the committee of the National Assemblystudying Bill 122.

City will still consult: Denis Coderre

Mayor Denis Coderresupports the abolition of citizen-led referendums, saying that they tend to favour the interests of a small group over the interests of the community at large.

He has said the public will still have a say, through the consultation process.

However, Projet Montral argues that without the possibility of a referendum, Montrealers will lose their power to compel the city's OCPM to conduct a public consultation.

"For large scale projects, this signals the end of public consultations as we know them in Montreal," said the borough mayor ofRosemontLa Petite-Patrie, Franois Croteau, in astatement."It's a very serious issue."

Citizen-blocked projects

It's not uncommon for residents to use their power to hold a referendum toblocknew real estate projects in Montreal.

Last June, in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough, 290 people voted against the construction of a local mosque, preventingits construction.

In December, a similar situation played out in Outremont.

Residents in a Notre-Dame-de-Grce neighbourhood also blocked a proposed 4,300-square-metre supermarket from opening in a residential neighbourhoodby gathering enough signatures to forcea referendum.

Jo-Anne Wemmers was one of the people who collected signatures, and she thinksthe process could beimproved by makingit more open.

"The rules [for the supermarket referendum] only allowed the people living immediately adjacent to the site to participate," Wemmers told CBC News.

She said Coderre's preference for public consultations over referendums would take away citizens' ability to decide what's best for their neighbourhoods.

"Consultations have no power. They are simply consultations," she said.