Montreal’s Jean-Talon market was as busy as ever Saturday, with vendors hawking their wares and tourists and locals alike enjoying free samples of juicy peaches and crunchy cucumbers.
But that’s not all that was going on at the popular public market.
A citizen group called Les ami.e.s du Marché Jean-Talon, was holding a public consultation.
Sarah McMahon-Sperber, a spokesperson for the group, said they are hoping to get a feel for what people like and dislike about the market and how they envision the future.
The group has its own ideas on what sort of changes it would like to see but McMahon-Sperber said that today’s consultation was really more about opening up the channels of communication.
“I think sometimes we forget that the public market does have a public function and that if we step away from being involved and don’t have a very clear way of communicating ideas, or our thoughts, or our comments, then it can quickly kind of erode and lose it’s public essence,” she said. “It’s our job to sort of shape the market because we’re the ones that its supposed to be catering to.”
The recent opening of a Starbucks, in an area known for supporting local producers and mom-and-pop shops, did raise a few eyebrows. Although technically the Starbucks is not on market grounds.
“I think it would be disingenuous to say that some of us weren’t sort of surprised by the arrival of Starbucks and other chains around the market,” McMahon-Sperber said adding that for many it served as a wake-up call and conversation starter.
“There are a lot of vacant spaces coming up on Jean-Talon and obviously there are decisions being made about who is going to be taking up those spaces and what kind of businesses are going to be doing that,” McMachon said.
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According to McMahon-Sperber, Saturday’s survey could be useful in validating stories or feelings surrounding some of those tensions but she conceded that the group could be wrong.
“Maybe we’ll hear that everything is perfect and that everyone is really happy,” she said.
Gentrification wasn’t the only issue at hand. The group would like to see a more inclusive and diverse market and more importantly citizen involvement on the market’s board of directors.
If you weren’t able to make it to the market this Saturday, you can have your voice heard by filling out the online survey available on the Friends of Jean-Talon Market website.
Regardless of the results, McMahon-Sperber said the group will share the results of the poll with the board in the hopes of creating and maintaining an open-channel of communication with decision-makers.