“Montreal’s state of cleanliness is at a record low,” says Ensemble Montréal

The day after the arrival of spring, Ensemble Montréal presented a plan to tackle the city’s glaring cleanliness issues. From raising awareness to improving the cleanliness brigades and revising the waste management system, the party insists that the proposed measures be deployed on a permanent and ongoing basis. While the arrival of the summer season often rhymes with a massive clean-up operation, the last few years have demonstrated the perpetual state of filth Montreal is in all-year round.  

“Ensemble Montréal understands that offering a clean city is the most important thing we can do! It’s a well-known fact that when our environment is clean, we pay more attention to it, and vice versa. I’d like to think that the members of the Plante administration clean up their own homes, so why don’t they do the same with the city they’re responsible for?” said Stephanie Valenzuela, the Official Opposition’s environment spokesperson, at a press conference on Wednesday. 

Cutting Garbage Pickup? Only With Adequate Support  

This is the fourth time that the elected representatives of Ensemble Montréal have raised this issue, despite several commitments from the administration. Not only has the situation not improved, but it’s likely to get worse with the spacing of garbage collection in certain neighborhoods. 

Ensemble Montréal is particularly concerned about the consequences of this decision in Parc-Extension. Buildings with 9 units or more will see their collection reduced from twice a week to once a week, starting in May. Too little support is provided to guide residents through this major change in habit. 

“Last May, I presented several solutions to the administration, which were just waiting to be implemented. Not only are there no results on the ground, but now they’re adopting measures that are likely to cause even more problems in a borough where the presence of rats has become a public health issue. If this isn’t adding fuel to the fire, I don’t know what is!” lamented Mary Deros, city councillor for the Parc-Extension district. 

In Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, where collection has been reduced from once a week to once every two weeks in two sectors of the borough, the lack of support has exacerbated the problem, according to the city councillor for the Tétreaultville district. 

“I sincerely wish I could say that it works, because Ensemble Montréal is in favour of waste reduction. However, it’s delusional to expect compliance for all residents and that they will simply ‘make the necessary arrangements to have fewer garbage bins’. It’s vital to raise awareness and support citizens,” added Julien Hénault-Ratelle, city councillor for the Tétreaultville district.