Homelessness and insecurity in the village: “There's a distortion” between reality and what Valerie Plante says.

Village neighborhoods in Montreal are facing an unprecedented homelessness and insecurity crisis. This week, Mayor Valerie Plante, however, indicated that the situation is improving and that the neighborhood is “on the right track.”

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In an interview with LCN, Younes El Moustir, a real estate broker and businessman in the village, expressed his strong disagreement with the Montreal mayor.

He highlighted a recent study by the firm Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton, which notably indicated that 93% of village residents are unsafe and 87% say the streets are too dirty.

“There is a disconnect between the report, between what people experience on the ground and what Mayor Valerie Plante says,” said Mr. El Moustir said.

The latter questions the efforts made by the Plante administration and the results of these efforts.

“Today, when we ask him the question: “Can you measure the progress of actions taken a year ago?” We do not have an answer. There are no numbers to measure progress. Therefore, before progress, there must be a vision, a program will be put in place,” the real estate broker emphasized.

“Right now, there's not much, just a little bit of advertising on the right and the left that's not very specific,” he says.

Younes El Moustir particularly believes that the political structure of Montreal's administration must be reviewed so that the mayor is no longer responsible for the borough of Ville-Marie. He called for a mayor dedicated to borough issues.

These issues require special attention and different resources, he maintains.

“What we need is not more police officers, but more. The police, moreover, do excellent work on the ground, but they have little support. They don't have the necessary resources to address this security issue,” explains the real estate broker and trader.

To watch the full interview, watch the video above.