Squat for St-Charles
Stefan Christoff
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New view in Pointe St-Charles
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This weekend community activists in Pointe St-Charles will establish a grassroots community centre, reclaiming an unused local building in the area by squatting it. The Autonomous Social Centre is the long-term vision of a dogged group of activists and community workers in Pointe St-Charles who've spent years building relationships in the area and mobilizing the support of the community through dinners, film screenings, workshops and community events.
Despite the illegal part, over 50 organizations support the community centre squat and it has become a popular project in the neighbourhood, says Anna Kruzynski, a Concordia University professor and activist involved in the project. "Many people in the neighbourhood are very supportive because the centre speaks to the needs of the area, [the ones] politicians have been systematically ignoring."
By reclaiming the abandoned building without city permission, the group also hopes to challenge the notion that property rights should always outweigh the needs of community rights, especially in hard times.
"There is a serious lack of cultural, political, social spaces in southwest Montreal, places where alternative cultural and political events can occur," says Kruzynski. "[This will be] a community space where we can work to reduce hierarchy while working to limit the dependence [of this neighbourhood] on the state. [It's about]
trying to remain autonomous through not asking for grants or funding, not asking for permission to take action." Community members and activists will gather for what is billed as "a great demonstration" on Friday, May 29, at 5:30 p.m. at St-Gabriel Park (Charlevoix metro). For more info, go to www.centresocialautogere.org.
| Point St-Charles residents have to move on |
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My family came from Point St-Charles so I am well aware of the culture and heritage. I am also well aware of the refusual of people in that neighbourhood to move on. When the casino project was trashed because of public pressure, this was an economic disaster for the community. I had to laugh when the excuse was the presence of a casino in the basin would promote gambling when just about every depanneur in the Point has gambling Lotto Quebec was is that? Who buys that with their welfare cheques - the gentrified folk?! How many bars are in there in that area and who are the patrons? The casino could have opened up jobs for the neighbourhood, but I guess that would mean for some people having to get off their butts and earn and living instead of just collected it. I love the Point and live in the former Stelco Steel building, but this let's preserve the Point is dated and makes no sense. When I saw the docu on Griffintown - give me a break, it was a slum. Do you really want to go back to living in poorly insulated cold water flats in the winter time - please!!!! Grow up people and face reality.
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Iris Mary Shestowsky
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