Île Ste-Thérèse: cottages to be demolished
People have had cottages on Île Ste-Thérèse for decades without formally owning the land, but these are going to be demolished starting this summer, with the intention to have them all gone by 2028 as the city turns the island into a public park.
Not all the habitual summer residents are happy, even though it sounds like they always knew their rights were provisional at best.
walkerp 10:51 on 2024-08-07 Permalink
That’s quite a tough situation for those people. I feel for them and at the same time, it is nice to see that they accept their fate and one of them even recognizing and appreciating the privilege they had. None of this nonsense anger against the government we get so much of these days. Ultimately, making it a park for everyone to appreciate is the right choice.
Kate 10:58 on 2024-08-07 Permalink
I’m also of two minds. It’s a big island, although it may be difficult to judge how much is marshy and uninhabitable via Google. Some of those folks might have been able to be grandfathered in as residents, but it’s probably fairer to clear the whole place.
Editing to add: It was mentioned on CBC radio that the issue of the cottage people has been through the courts, so it isn’t as if some of them didn’t fight the park plan, which has been in the works in the background longer than this blog has existed.
H. John 23:52 on 2024-08-07 Permalink
Concordia researchers took a look at the issue:
https://www.concordia.ca/news/stories/2024/04/10/concordia-researchers-tell-the-story-of-a-people-displaced-by-a-municipal-park.html
The article includes a lin to their study “An Island Is More Than a Park”.
Kate 09:23 on 2024-08-08 Permalink
Thank you, H. John. I can see from the tone of current reports that the presence of people on the island is already being blown off as unimportant.
Major Annoyance 11:07 on 2024-08-08 Permalink
I wonder if there’s a ferry or a water taxi you can hire to get over there. Looks positively bucolic from the air.
Ian 12:48 on 2024-08-08 Permalink
Hypothetically once it’s fully rehabilitated as a park, there will be. https://forum.agoramtl.com/t/parc-metropolitain-de-l-ile-sainte-therese/6630