Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grace (CDN-NDG) Mayor Sue Montgomery is asking Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante to reconsider the city’s decision to close police station 11 in her borough.
In a letter signed by two city councillors, Snowdon’s Marvin Rotrand and Darlington’s Lionel Perez, Montgomery asked the administration revisit the decision by holding public hearings on the issue.
On Tuesday, Montreal police (SPVM) confirmed the move to close station 11 in NDG and intergrate it with station 9 in Côte Saint-Luc later this year.
The SPVM said the move was strictly for operational, not financial, purposes, saying the goal is to form a greater “critical mass.”
Police spokesperson André Durocher added that the intergration of both stations will not result in job losses for any officer.
Montgomery’s statement said the borough was surprised and disappointed to learn of the closing of SPVM station 11 on Somerled Avenue.
The letter added that the closure, which was decided without public consultation, will leave the borough of 170,000 people with only one police station — station 26 in the Snowdon neighborhood.
“Policing is an essential service in our community. In order to build strong community relations, police officers need to be present and know our community,” Montgomery said on Tuesday.
She added that station 11 has been “breaking barriers and building trust with residents of NDG, especially newcomers.”