A Swiss friend of mine participates in referendums a few times every year, responding sometimes to up to 50 separate questions. Deciding everything from the price of butter to revising employment insurance to membership in the UN, these votes call upon its citizens to partake in defining the shape of the country. When I asked her if there are ever referendums like the one taking place this coming Sunday in Mile End, she said “Never!”
On Sunday, June 19th, a referendum will be held for a group of residents to determine whether or not a small synagogue will be “allowed” to proceed with its renovations. That this vote must take place is the result of a concerted lobby on the part of a handful of people. In the fracas, the city administration has thrown its hands up in the air, “leaving it up to the citizens to decide.” I’m not much of a Catholic, but I know I’ve read those words in the Bible and things didn’t turn out so good.
We know well in this province how referendums can whip up emotions, encourage us vs them mentalities, and spell disaster for the “losing” side. But it is one thing to vote on the future of a province – it’s a big girl, it can take it – but it is quite another to let individual citizens decide the fate of their neighbours.
The Gate David synagogue is a small, old building that serves about 50 Hassidic families. They first drew up plans to renovate in 2004. Many revisions later, the city approved the plans in 2010. However, if it weren’t for the barrage of petitions, flyers and demonstrations, I would be hard pressed to even tell you where the synagogue is – and I live half a block up.
Much of the opposition has been spearheaded by Pierre Lacerte, whose blog is so replete with sarcasm, innuendos, and lies that it can almost be called hate literature. Yet, he is quoted at face value by the media and allowed to determine the tone of the “conflict.”
Because he and his comrades come door to door at such regular intervals, I have made efforts to understand their opinions. But it’s a hard thing to listen to when such words eventually turn up in the conversations as “those ethnics,” “they are a threat,” “next thing you know it will be a mosque and Muslims,” and “reasonable accommodation has gone too far!”
This Sunday, at the Mile End library on Avenue du Parc, residents of Hutchison street (between Fairmount and St Viateur) and Avenue du Parc (between Fairmount and Bernard) will be asked to decide whether or not the renovations to a decrepit building can go ahead.
I don’t know about you, but as an eligible voter, this doesn’t so much feel like democracy as an excuse for a lynch mob. There are building and zoning laws and regulations to which these reno plans comply to a T. The immediate neighbours have agreed to the plans. Anything else is an excuse for racism.
NOTE: Both Daniel Sanger, in the comments below, and Alex Norris, Projet Montréal councillor for Mile End, have added some needed nuance to my position. That being said, it remains a delicate thing when the future of a community, in the guise of building permits, is left up to the whim of its surrounding neighbours. There is nothing ambiguous about whether or not this renovation adheres to zoning bylaws. What is ambiguous are the motivations of a vociferous opposition who will not be content even if they do succeed in stopping the renovation. All I can ask of them is, what is next on your agenda? And who is going to stop you?
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Leila,
a good piece but one thing that neither you nor most of the reporters who have written about the synagogue expansion-reno debate have grasped: the borough councillors had to order the referendum if they want the project to have a chance of happening.
it goes like this:
- since the synagogue does not conform to zoning (but is allowed to stay there because it's been around so long) virtually any changes require a variance (aka dérogation);
- the councillors voted to grant the variance;
- BUT, under Quebec law, variances can be challenged by neighbours in almost all municipalities, including the Plateau;
- to do so they must get 15% (i think) of the voting age residents in immediately adjacent zones to sign a register calling for a referendum;
- this is a pretty high bar, considering these people are just voting to have a vote and have to go down to their local library (or wherever) on a specific day to express such a desire;
- if the register succeeds, it is standard practice for the municipality to simply can the project, i.e. withdraw the variance it previously granted and flush everything;
- the Plateau councillors came under pressure to do just that when the synagogue register got well above the support required. it would have been the easy thing to do given the referendum cost about $40k, money that would be better spent on curb extensions or other fun stuff;
- but the Gate David folk said they wanted the referendum to proceed and the councillors also felt it had to.
So it is not a case of the the council abdicating its responsibility and greenlighting mob rule but rather a provincial law (the law on cities and towns) taking decision-making out of the hands of elected reps and giving it to…, well, Lacerte and co.
Not a happy situation but I really applaud what you're doing and hope that tolerance prevails and the Hassidim get their vote out etc etc. (I also hope their menfolk start driving their mini-vans and Suburbans more responsibly.)
Hope this helps,
Daniel making a snide comment like "I also hope their menfolk start driving their mini-vans and Suburbans more responsibly" is not much better that what P. Lacerte is doing.
I'm not going to whitewash the issue and say that there arent any people in our community who drive irresponsibly, of course there are 'some' people who dont drive responsibly but to brush the entire community with one brush by writing "their menfolk" is a bit narrow-minded.
Please take into consideration that more than 50% of the drivers are aged 20-35 which is very young and energetic, I don't think that percentage-wise we have a bigger amount of irresponsible YOUNG drivers compared to the rest of the population.
Welcome to the club. Switzerland has used similar referenda to keep out people who weren't quite the right colour. Or didn't have enough money to merit citizenship. Or didn't have quite enough money to buy citizenship. Referenda are a very dangerous thing in an age of dumbing down and where vital information is supposedly passed through Twitter accounts. It seems to me that this referendum is similar. I'll be very interested to know which "democracy" this referendum is going to acknowledge.
There will always be minority opinions in a democracy, and they deserve to be respected too. Democracy should be about representative decision making and compromise, not about "majority rules", but this concept seems to have been lost on many people today. If not, then we will have a 'tyranny of the masses'. That is one of the reasons why we have such seemingly convoluted systems of representation, and there are (or should be) numerous 'checks and balances'.
btw the referendum is not about the renovation but about the enlargement of the building. Also, the immediate neighbors on the other side of Hutchison were never consulted, as they live in the district of Outremont. I suggest getting your fact right before calling people racist or bigots because you don't agree with their opinion. Not very democratic that.
The renovation includes extending the back wall out 10 feet. No one has said to the contrary. The immediate neighbours on either side were consulted as they would be most impacted. I have never heard of an across-the-street neighbour being consulted for work being done in a back yard. Certainly, I never did it when my coprop renovated and extended out the back way. Have you?
I don't use words like racist (or bigoted) because I disagree with their opinion. I use them because I've read the blog and had the conversations. I am also, as resident, privy and witness to it. It's not pretty.
As a Hasid living in Outremont it warms my heart to see a decent person like Leila Marshy standing up for truth and tolerance.
Most of my friends in our community don't have a clue of how big a menace Pierre Lacerte and his cohorts are for our community.
When we hear him being quoted in the mainstream media – complaining about how everything Hasidim do is "illegal" and how we are creating traffic noise it seems like hes just a simple disgruntled old man.
BUT when reading his blog I cant help but recall what I read about how the Nazi propaganda machine managed to persuade the most a cultural nation in the world to really started believe that Jews where scum of the earth and they need to be suppressed and eventually eliminated.
I'm sure P. Lacerte will soon start a smear campaign against Liela he has already proven himself to do that to anybody who "dared" stand up for the Hasidim. But Liela please don't be afraid YOU are the GOOD who is standing up against the EVIL And GOOD will always prevail!!!
Now this is about GOOD vs. EVIL – yeesh!!!
I was born and raised in this area. I am Jewish. I do not think this is question of good or evil or racism or bigotry. I think these tensions arise because of fear of others and of lack of knowledge. I have seen this situation many times in my 60 years. It is true that the Chassidim are a closed group that while respectful of others do not share with the larger community. This is perhaps why some people view them as a threat. But the Chassidim because they are a closed group also feel the same threat.
Based on my own personal experience, when I feel threatened I may attack, the Chassidim ignore. It is a very sad situation when there is no real physical threat, only ignorance of who the other is and how he lives.
If all the energy and time spent on this matter had instead been used to party, everyone would know his and her neighbors better. I doubt there would be a prolem. Thank you
THUMBS UP TO YOU, LEILA!!! it is only because of your noble act and others like you that peaceful and law abiding citizens are able to continue to live peacefully amongst people from a different culture and belief, even though they are FROM A MINORITY GROUP.
Keep it up and never let yourself be harrased or manipulated by those very few "hate driven" people with a clear agenda of spreading harrasment and hate under a cover of "we are protecting the law"
THE TRUTH WILL PREVAIL!
Leila, I’m so disappointed with yesterday’s result. I would love to get involved in your citizens’ group. Could you please contact me to let me know how I can help establish better relationships amongst our neighbors? Thanks.
Joyce, and anyone else, could you please send an email to ruehutchison@hotmail.com and we can take this to the next step. Thanks!
With this referendum over there is only 1 thing to say to you Leila, Thank You from all of us. You stood up to the evil, and I know that this is only the beginning of better days ahead.
Thanks, Mayer
Gee, what a cynical title! Sounds like something right out of PM Harper's playbook. You know, like that whole, Democracy is a game or democracy is bickering kinda thing. And I thought I was the biggest cynic of Montreal. I have a feeling you wouldn't be saying that if your side won.
If a mosque were being proposed to be built on that exact spot, I have a feeling there would've been no discussion. It's a residential zone–no mosque! What if something completely non-secular were proposed, like say, a trendy bistro (with or without liquor license)? Again, would there be any discussion? Probably not. Only in this case, it would mainly be the Chassidic community complaining about both the mosque or the bistro, along with most of the other residents. See where I'm going here?
At the end of the day, it is about zoning by-laws. If that part of Hutchison is zoned residential, then no religious or commercial establishments should exist, there. Period.
You're going out of your way to accommodate a group of people simply because you see them as underdogs. Trust me, they're not, when you compare them to other minorities in Canada, particularly in Quebec. Particularly under the Harper government. Particularly since 9/11.
We debate endlessly about reasonable accommodation and the pros and cons of multiculturalism, but it's usually targetted at Muslims, South Asians, Tamils, Sikkhs, Hindous, etc. Yet, we tend to never dare speak of the Chassidic community, a group that, in my view, keeps themselves the most isolated from everyone else and makes the least effort to adapt, yet expect everyone else to live according to their needs.
Yes, I speak from my experience from dealings I've had with certain Chassidic people in my working life over the years. I have dealt with many of these people, as they were customers. as an evening and night taxi dispatcher for two different taxi companies, the ones I've dealt with tended to be the most difficult of customers with a sense of self entitlement. It is true what Mr. Lacerte contends about tour buses in from New York at late hours at night. I would get calls to send lots of taxis to meet the bus. Other synagogue events too would warrant multiple calls for taxis at any given address in the area very late at night as well. I hear back from drivers about their customers fighting each other for the cabs, I would get calls back every two minutes, complaining about "wrong cabs picking up wrong people", etc. Why are tour buses letting people off on a residential street so late at night? It's a rhetorical question. Not expecting an answer. It's just an example of how residents of Hutchison might feel a tad cranky. I'm only providing an example. I can go on…
If my critiquing them makes me an anti-semite in your books, so be it. I really don't care. Just so you know, I am married to a Jew and he knows about what I went through. He, too, is capable of critical thought.
Noticed you're planning a next step. What next step? The people have spoken. A superior court decision nixed the expansion plans, even, in 2009.
Frankly, there are bigger fish to fry, don't you think? Like our eroding democracy in Canda. Harper stripping powers of the working class. Women's rights going backwards. Universal health care becoming wealth care for billionaires. Seriously, Leila. You and Mr. Lacerte both should start thinking about other battles, in my humble opinion.
ck_T your words smell of racist and antisemitic tone, of the best kind: you got 9/11 and harper in their, the hassidic "power" as opposed to other minorities (bullshit, minority is a minority and you are obviously insensitive to that and full of bigoted biases, and to top it all you justify yourself by being "married to a jew" as if it matters) your "experience" with what you deem difficult Jewish costumers (and if you met some violent black people so my your experience can prove your build racism? as if there aren't good and bad costumers everywhere? your claims are the worst, people who justify racism with their life experience simply show simple mindedness) in you should have finished your reply with the point that because of the street being residential there should be no synagogue there. that's enough of a point. by saying all the other pathetic shit you said you justified everything thing leila claims about the tone of the opposers being negative and intolerant and borderline racist… you did leila a great honor by showing your built in antisemitism (a common thing among people who think they can't be antisemitic because they are married to a jew, "some of my best friends are black too"). if you don't care that i think you sound anti-semitic in your critique (and again i have no problem with your claim that it's a residential area) i don't care either, and the chasiddic community also shouldn't care. my point it you should look at yourself and you should care if your sound anti-semitic and offensive. that's leila's point too.