By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

An information meeting will be held in the next few weeks regarding the prospect of a Hippodrome development without the Cavendish extension, Côte St. Luc councillor Dida Berku told the May council meeting. Berku said she is hoping hundreds of people attend.

Berku told The Suburban that the date and location for the meeting still has to be worked out.”The three Mayors of Côte St. Luc, Town of Mount Royal and St. Laurent will host the information session,” she added. “Suddenly, the City of Montreal is on a fast track [regarding the Hippodrome], they’ve been dragging, dragging, dragging since they filed at the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement. They announce the development on April 19, they have an information session on May 15, you have to file briefs on June 21. Suddenly, we’re on a fast track without Cavendish.”

During the question period, CSL resident Sharon Freedman, who has questioned council often on the delayed Cavendish link, said the recent alliance between, CSL, TMR and St. Laurent and business leaders to demand the link be prioritized was a pretty good idea, “but nothing much will change.You are all being outplayed by Mayor Plante. How long will this council allow themselves to continue to be disrespected and blown off by her again? It’s really time to play hardball. They need to demand that the Quebec and federal governments take over this project. The feds need to withdraw any money going to Plante. We need to withhold our agglomeration taxes,” as proposed by Hampstead Mayor Jeremy Levi in terms of all demerged cities withholding their respective shares.

Mayor Mitchell Brownstein challenged Freedman to suggest what the city can do to play hardball, adding that withholding the agglomeration shares for police, fire and public transit services would lead to the municipalities being placed under trusteeship by the province.

“It’s time to sue them,” Freedman suggested.The Mayor replied that he agrees with legal action, but that according to legal opinions received by the city, municipalities “don’t necessarily have the right to sue.It would have to be you (residents) who would sue them,” he added. “The residents, in my opinion, have the right because they pay the taxes to the agglo, and you’re the ones who are not able to get in and out of the city. Maybe residents like you can all get together, or the business alliance.” n