Glenmount residents decry cut for T.M.R. services

Residents of the Glenmount neighbourhood near Jean-Talon St. W. and Canora Rd. are talking of separating from the city of Montreal unless the Côte-des-Neiges— Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough renews a deal allowing them to access municipal recreation services in Town of Mount Royal. “I just want my children to have the same access to services as anyone else,” said Guillaume Tardif, a member of the Glenmount Community Association, representing about 1,800 residents in the enclave bordering T.M.R. On Monday, citizens will join T.M.R. Mayor Philippe Roy and Montreal opposition leader Lionel Perez at a news conference at T.M.R. town hall on the non-renewal of the funding agreement. While the neighbourhood is part of Côte-des-Neiges, residents have long sent their children to school in T.M.R. and used its libraries and sports facilities. But on Tuesday, the town warned residents of the area that because C.D.N.-N.D.G. had not renewed the funding agreement, they could no longer enjoy the same access as T.M.R. residents. Registration for the winter season began Tuesday in T.M.R. for aquatic activities and will start Monday for all other activities. Non-residents may apply starting next Thursday. Glenmount lies roughly between Jean-Talon St. W., Laird Blvd., Glencoe Ave. and a line halfway between Canora Rd. and Aberdare Rd. The borough paid $155,000 last year so Glenmount residents could access leisure and recreation services in T.M.R. without paying additional fees. In an interview Sunday, C.D.N.N.D.G Mayor Sue Montgomery said that money could be better spent on other services, like hiring an additional building inspector. She said the borough has offered to pay $20,000 next year to ensure that Glenmount residents can sign up for activities like hockey at the same time as T.M.R. residents, but she is not willing to continue subsidizing the difference between fees paid by T.M.R. residents and those for non-residents. “I totally understand they want to continue having access to these services, and I understand that they live next door to T.M.R,” she said. “But it’s $150,000 a year that our borough was paying.” Montgomery said the borough has been spending $214 annually for sports and recreation per Glenmount resident, while it only spends $128 per resident in the rest of the borough. That amount includes both services in T.M.R. and those available in C.D.N.N.D.G., she said. She said it’s hard to justify the subsidy since the median annual income in Glenmount is $70,000 while in C.D.N.-N.D.G. it is $39,200. But Tardif said Glenmount residents don’t actually benefit much from services in Côte-des-Neiges since the neighbourhood is cut off by a dangerous intersection on Jean-Talon, and train tracks, and public transit connections to Côte-des-Neiges are poor. He added that, while it’s true the median income is higher than in Côte-des-Neiges, the area includes apartment buildings with some people on lower incomes. Montgomery said she was taken aback when T.M.R. announced last week that negotiations had broken off, since she thought talks between herself and T.M.R. mayor Roy were going well. She said she didn’t realize the deadline for enrolling children in activities for the winter season was coming up. Residents of the sector have paid the same fees as T.M.R. residents for recreation services for decades. Glenmount was briefly part of the T.M.R. borough during the 2002 municipal merger but was returned to C.D.N.-N.D.G. during the demerger four years later. However, the city of Montreal agreed to subsidize access to services in the town so Glenmount residents would continue paying the same fees as T.M.R. residents. In June, Glenmount residents won a battle over the right to send their children to schools in T.M.R., affiliated with the Marguerite-Bourgeoys school board. A ministerial decree allowed the children to enrol at the board instead of being forced to attend schools administered by the Commission scolaire de Montréal.