WATCH ABOVE: A Montreal family is being asked to take its snow fort down because it’s a safety hazard. Rachel Lau has the details.
BEACONSFIELD — Yann Lefebvre’s fort is no ordinary kingdom.
“I’m a really involved Dad,” he told Global News.
“I really like being outside playing with them, and I told them I’d build them the fort of all forts this year.”
He worked hard on the fort, but it’s now at the root of a debate with the city of Beaconsfield.
To the dismay of his four kids, the family is being asked to take the fort down or move it away from the street by at least six feet.
“If I don’t tear it down and it becomes problematic, they’re just going to not clear the streets, or not my street,” said Lefebvre.
“I’ll kind of have to feel the wrath of the neighbours, so then it’ll oblige me to take it down.”
What’s the problem?
The fort is sitting on city property, which is a concern for officials.
“If somebody gets hurt, they’re legally responsible,” Lefebvre explained.
“More than anything else, that’s what their concern is.”
The city pointed out it has only one thing on its mind when it comes to the neighbourhood and the fort.
“Safety, safety, safety is the issue.”
“We think common sense and good judgement would dictate that the fort would be removed and put into a safer area for the kids,” Georges Bourelle, the mayor for Beaconsfield, told Global News.
Lefebvre’s house is on a corner, Bourelle noted, and when he recently visited the site, he said he saw instantly that there was a problem.
“When a snow plow goes by, it’s going to be extremely dangerous.”
“There’s even danger of a car slipping in that could injure, so we are very concerned about the safety of the kids.”
But Vanessa Rice, Lefebvre’s wife, says the fort is actually solving the issue of safety on their street.
“Since we put the snow wall up, it makes everybody go slower,” she told Global News.
“It doesn’t completely block your view but it just kind of impedes it a little bit so everyone’s really slowing down coming around the corner so it actually made it a lot safer for us.”
Shannon Walsh, who lives two houses away from Lefebvre, insisted that there is always parental supervision when the kids play outside.
Neighbours say it’s not uncommon for kids to run around and play together.
“They’re not out there by themselves.”
“There’s always an adult out there, and you know when cars pass, it’s ‘Car!'” she told Global News.
“So, if the city’s worried about clearing snow, even if there was no fort, we would be out there to supervise the kids.”
Although he doesn’t agree with the city’s policy, Lefebvre said he’s not willing to argue.
“I feel funny now that I’m having to defend a snow fort,” he said.
He’s planning a “Rebuild and Move the Fort Back” party on Saturday, so that the kids in his neighbourhood can continue feeling like the kings and queens of their very own ice castle.
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