Inuit boarding home concerned for safety of patrons as resto-bar set to open nearby

Quebec's liquor board has granted an alcohol permit for a Dorval resto-bar, despite concerns it will createan unsafe environment for Inuit staying at a nearby boarding home as they seek medical care in the Montreal area.

The Ullivik boarding homeprovides support and a place to stay for Inuit who come to Montreal to receive healthcare that is otherwise unavailable in Nunavik.

"[The resto-bar]will destroy the life of Inuit in Montreal," saidJohnny Michaud, an Inuk man staying at Ullivik to treat health problems.

FromPuvirnituq, a small village in Nunavik, Michaud told CBC News he had issues with drinking when he was younger.

He said having the resto-bar so close by would create problems for people staying at the boarding house.

It's locatedabout 600 metres from the proposedRestoBarArchies, which is planned to be built in the basement of theAubergedel'AroportDorval.

"It's going to be very dangerous because of traffic. Sometimes [the cars] go fast," he said.

That was echoed byMaggiePutulik, Ullivik'sdirector.

"I'm concerned for the safety of our clients," shetold CBC Montreal's Daybreak.

The owner of the resto-bar, AchilliesVriniotis, owns another bar around the corner from where the boarding homeused to be located, on Tupper Street in downtown Montreal,Putuliksaid.

Now, she has accused Vriniotis of following Ullivik's clientele to Dorval.

"Obviously, the owner of the bar is following our clients because there's a guaranteed profit to be made," she said.

Owner deniesmoving to followUllivik'sclientele

According to a summary of the decision, issued by the Rgie des alcools, des courses et des jeux on July 27, Vriniotis applied for a permit to serve alcohol at a resto-bar he plans to open in the basement of the hotel.

The Auberge de l'AroportDorvalison Michel-Jasmin Avenue, just off Highway 520near Montreal's Pierre-Elliott Trudeau Airport.Vriniotisis leasing space from the hotel, which didn't renewits previousalcohol permit about a decade ago, the decision said.

Granting the permit "doesn't go against the public interest," the board said, nor does it present a threat to public security or public tranquillity.

Vriniotisalso owns Bar GA in the Alexis-Nihon shopping centre, on Atwater Avenuein downtown Montreal.

That bar has been in his family for three generations, the board's rulingstated, and it has always been "very strict" on the presence of minors, narcotics and over consumption at the establishment.

Vriniotistold CBCNews he wasn't opening the new establishmentin Dorval in order to follow Ullivik'sclientele.

He said he wanted to open itin order to cater to guests of the hotel."I saw an opportunity and I took it," Vriniotissaid.

"Being in the vicinity of the airport, our studies have shown that the guests usually favour hotels with a restaurant in them where they don't have to travel again for food or a quick drink," he also said, in a written statement.

Board bars advertising to Inuit

While it granted the alcohol permit, the liquor board orderedVriniotisnot to conduct publicity on any type of media that is "aimed, directly or indirectly, at Inuit clientele."

However, ads for the future resto-barhave appeared on a Facebook page called Montreal Inuit Information, which is touted as a helpful resource for Inuit coming to the Montreal area.

milieThibault, a lawyer with CainLamarrelaw firmrepresentingUllivik, sent CBC News screen grabs of those posts on Wednesday. They were publishedon the Montreal Inuit Information and the bar's Facebook pages, she said.

A description on the bar's Facebook page whichThibault sent toCBCNews as a screen grabsaid: "All Inuit welcome."

CBC News' search for the ArchiesResto Bar's Facebook page turned up no results on Wednesday.

When asked by CBCNews about the "All Inuit welcome" description on Facebook, Vriniotisonly said he's not allowed to advertise to Inuit clientele, as per the board's decision.

Vriniotis also saidthe Montreal Inuit information page is not his, andsaid he didn't know whomade the posts on that page.

"It was not me," he said. "I'm not even open yet."

Fears the resto-bar will lead to problems

In addition to the boarding house, Montreal police and the City of Dorvalhave also raised concerns about the establishment.

They allexpressed fears the resto-bar would lead to an "increase in the consumption of alcoholic beverages by people from the Inuit community housed at [Ullivik]," the board stated in its decision.

For us, it doesn't make sense to have such a bar, such a restaurant, in the area.- SbastienGauthier, spokesperson for the City ofDorval

In recent years, there has been an increase in municipal bylaw infractions and complaints in the area, the board said. Many of the cases involved Inuit and alcohol consumption.

The board said there are other places to obtain alcohol in the area near the Ullivikboarding home.

It said people raising concerns about the new resto-bar's impact on the community failed to demonstrate that its presence would lead to an upsurge in alcohol consumption among residents of Ullivik.

Sbastien Gauthier, a spokesperson for the City of Dorval,said since the area is zoned for this type of business, it had to issue the proper permits required to set up the resto-bar.

"We're opposed to the construction and creation of this establishment," he told CBCNews in a telephone interview.

"We think it is not serving the population, which has a history of having problems [with the] consumption of alcohol and drugs. For us, it doesn't make sense to have such a bar, such a restaurant, in the area."