Protesters barricade entrance to Ray-Mont container yard in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve

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Dozens of protesters blocked access to the embattled Ray-Mont Logistics container yard on Notre-Dame St. E. in Montreal’s Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighbourhood Thursday morning.

The demonstrators set up barricades in front of the access point around 6:30 a.m. Police showed up just before 7 a.m. The container yard, which is less than 100 metres from a residential area and the Boisé Steinberg green space, has been hotly contested since 2017.

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Site supervisor Alexandre Paré said he arrived at 6:35 a.m. and was unable to enter.

“I called the police right away,” he said.

Paré said workers can’t do anything to dismantle the barricade now that police have arrived. He confirmed that an employee had spoken with the protesters.

The protesters’ police liaison, who declined to give his name, told said just before 8 a.m. that police told him they are waiting on an eviction notice to be signed by the property owner. Police cannot move in until they have read the notice to protesters, he said.

The protesters are made up of members of Les soulèvements du fleuve and activist group Mobilisation 6600.

Anaïs Houde, the group’s spokesperson, said the group has tried to stop the project through other means, but to no avail.

She said Ray-Mont Logistics has shown itself uninterested in adapting to local needs and has “paralyzed” the democratic process by responding to municipal attempts to block the project with legal action.

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Montreal turned down a permit request for construction of the yard in 2017. In 2018, Quebec’s Superior Court sided with Ray-Mont, finding the company was entitled to build on the site; that decision was upheld by the Court of Appeal. Ray-Mont then sued the city for $343 million and settled for $17 million.

As a result, the city is largely powerless in stopping the project despite widespread local opposition, spearheaded by Mobilisation 6600. Public consultations have begun, with a first session for the public scheduled for Nov. 12.

Ray-Mont is “a bully that intimidates elected officials, civil servants and citizens,” Houde said.

She said a container yard worker had approached her toward the beginning of the action and said workers would be back with machinery to dismantle the barricade. At least three trucks could be seen lined up outside the entrance, unable to come in. Houde said she wasn’t sure how long demonstrators would stay.

“That depends on the police.”

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