Pressure is growing on Quebec’s coroner’s office to launch a public inquiry in the deadly fire in Old Montreal.
The blaze killed seven people, many of whom were out-of-towners staying in illegal Airbnbs in the building.
Now, opposition councillors at city hall are demanding more action from both the province and the city.
“We can’t sweep this under the rug. We have to learn, do better and make sure that no more lives are lost,” said Alan De Sousa, Saint Laurent borough mayor and member of the Ensemble Montréal opposition party.
The party convened a press conference to put pressure on the Quebec coroner’s office and the public security minister to launch a full public inquest into the circumstances surrounding the fire.
“The public inquiry will let the public see and hear and learn in an unfiltered manner what actually went on. They’ll be allowed to invite experts. They’ll be invited to speak on the public record,” deSousa explained.
One key aspect they want the public to learn more about is allegations the building was not up to code. Images from former residents and Airbnb guests show rooms with no windows.
“We need to make sure that the public inquiry provides the public with the assurance that they need, provides the deciders, the people who are elected with the tools that they need to make the right decisions and take corrective actions,” de Sousa said.
Yukun Zeng was close with An Wu, a 31-year-old neuroscientist who perished in the blaze. He likes the idea of a public inquiry.
“I think at this moment, there is still a lot of opacity,” he said.
In a statement, the public security minister’s office said the door is not closed to a public inquiry.
“There is a Montreal police investigation. We will be watching the evolution of the file closely and should let the authorities do their work,” said Roxanne Bourque, a spokesperson for Public Security Minister François Bonnardel.
DeSousa is also pressuring the Plante administration to put pressure on Bonnardel to call for the public inquiry.
“We ask that the City of Montreal add its voice to formulate an official request to the Minister of Public Security,” he said.
The opposition is calling on Plante to ask the city’s auditor general to look into the way renovation permits are authorized.
The opposition leaders convened the media in front of a hotel they said was given the green light by city officials to create windowless rooms in the basement.
“This is an elementary security issue that wasn’t taken into consideration and the permit was delivered,” said Ensemble Montreal Leader Aref Salem.
DeSousa wonders how many other similar cases there are in the city.
Catherine Cadotte, a spokesperson for Mayor Plante, said the mayor will trust the chief coroner’s choice to launch a public inquiry or not, and that the city is already working to tighten rules surrounding the management of buildings.
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