1 arrested after social housing protesters barricade themselves inside vacant Jacques-Viger hospital
FRAPRU pushing for the vacant space be converted into social housing
A group of protesters barricaded themselves inside the old, vacant Jacques-Viger hospital complex for hours before police were finally able to clear the site Monday evening.
The demonstration was staged by Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain (FRAPRU), a social housing group, to kick off a week of protest in Quebec.
- Affordable housing in Quebec gets $400 million injection
- Social housing protesters to occupy Montreal lot for several nights
Nearly 100 protesters barricaded themselves inside the basement of the old hospital around 3:30 p.m., following a clash with police where they deployed pepper spray on the crowd.
FRAPRU was demanding that the currently unused and deteriorating space, located at the corner of René-Lévesque Boulevard and St-André Street, be converted into social housing.
The hospital has been closed since 2011.
As of 6:30 p.m., police were able to force the protesters to leave peacefully. Only one arrest was made on a unrelated, outstanding warrant. Two tickets were issued for contravening municipal bylaws.
With files from Radio-Canada