Mayor of the South-West has responded

Maire de l'arrondissement le sud-ouest, Benoit Dorais, a répondu à notre mission de sauvegarder le parc à chiens, Parc Gallery. Sa lettre est jointe:

The mayor of the South-West, Benoit Dorais, has responded to our initiative to save the dog park at Parc Gallery. His letter follows:

The good news is that there will be a public consultation about the future of the park in the very near future: within the next 30 to 60 days. Mayor Dorais has invited us to prepare a justification for the safeguarding of the park, to be considered as part of the public process. This must be written as soon as possible. As long as the land belongs to the City of Montréal, which it presently does, there is hope.

The bad news is that, according to Mayor Dorais, the park is not zoned as a park, despite all evidence to the contrary, such as its name, and the signs on the fence. It has, he writes, been incorporated into the private domain.

This incorporation may have taken place during the rezoning of Griffintown in the 1970s. But this may also have been an illegal incorporation, as the City of Montréal is supposed to support and protect all existing green, public spaces. A lawyer's advice on civic law would be extremely helpful here.

Dog park users - the time has come to publicly voice your concerns to the Mayor and to collect evidence that can show, unequivocally, that this green space is indeed a public park. A petition produced by the users, and signed by the users, would be a strong supplement to the argument that we will write and present to Mayor Dorais in the coming weeks.