13 community groups, under 1 roof, face eviction by Montreal school service centre

After more than 20 years of operating under one roof and uniting to provide support to thousands of residents, 13 community groups are set to be evicted due to the need for extra classroom space at Montreal's largest school service centre.

The eviction would force those groups to scatter or even shut down, and they're hoping to buy enough time to avoid what they say would be a "catastrophe."

In February, the Centre de services scolaire de Montréal (CSSDM) sent the groups a letter saying it wants the former school building located on Laverdure Street in Montreal's Ahunstic neighbourhood by the summer of 2025, in order to deal with a growing demand for French-language programs. 

Pause Famille is among the 13 groups based at the community centre. The group estimates that it offers services to about 400 families per year dealing with a variety of challenges, including being on low income. Executive director Myriam George says a large number of her clients are asylum seekers who have had a hard time finding public daycare spots.

"Children that have gone through long journeys of migration often appear to be frozen in time," George said. "We need to sort of overstimulate them before they go to school."

George says Pause Famille pays about $16 per square foot to rent out their space, a number that would at least double if it had to find a new space.

"It's not realistic for us to relocate," George said.

If forced to leave, a food bank service group called the Service de nutrition et d'action communautaire or SNAC, would have to move its commercial refrigerators and freezers and find a new spot that respects the norms of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Ministry. 

SNAC estimates it could be looking at moving-related costs ranging between $100,000 and $200,000. 

In 2022, Radio-Canada reported that the CSSDM had imposed a 222 per cent rent increase on its tenants. The service centre ultimately backtracked.

1-stop shop for families

Combined, the 13 community groups say they provide services to about 25,000 residents.

When they're not offering direct help to those in need, people who work at these organizations are often referring clients to other groups located at the same address.

The building is essentially a one-stop shop for a lot neighbourhood residents in need, and groups say it's a big reason why the community centre is so woven into the fabric of the neighbourhood. 

"A person can come pick up their emergency cheque and we'll refer them to the Meals on Wheels program in the basement," said René Obregon-Ida, the executive director of RAP Jeunesse, a group that helps younger people experiencing homelessness.

The community centre has received support from a group of local elected officials at the municipal, provincial and federal levels. Those officials are Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly, who is the MP for Ahunstic-Cartierville, Haroun Bouazzi, the Québec Solidaire MNA for the Maurice-Richard riding, André A. Morin, the Liberal MNA for the Acadie riding and Émilie Thuillier, mayor of the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough.

In March, they sent a letter to the Quebec ministers in charge of the education, immigration and social solidarity portfolios, asking them to step in with work the CSSDM. They want the community groups to stay put for five more years. That's enough time, they say, to find a new permanent location and preserve the service offer for thousands of people in need.

Alexandra Vakaloulis, the communications manager for Solidarité Ahuntsic, a roundtable with representation from each of the groups located inside the community centre, isn't optimistic.

"The sense that we get is that there's no willingness from the CSSDM to work with us," she said. "All the workers are going to be extremely sad because we work collectively all the time."

In a statement, the CSSDM reiterated to CBC News what it told the groups in its letter. It says it needs the space to avoid a breakdown in services for newly arrived Quebecers taking French classes.

A spokesperson for the education minister's office said he will meet with the community groups in the coming weeks.