The Turcot Exchange is a maze of elevated highways in the west of Montreal which is badly in need of repair. The government of Québec has decided to demolish the whole thing and sort of begin again, creating a highway system in its place at ground level. This means many of the buildings in the area will soon be gone, and with them, a whole community. You can find countless examples of the conflict between big government and citizens in Montreal’s history; what is encouraging is that people rarely sit down and take it without a fight. Last week, quite by accident, I encountered a story in Le Journal de Montréal about the local response to the Turcot Exchange plan:

«Il y a des milliers de personnes qui passent au-dessus de nos têtes chaque jour. Mais en dessous de l’échangeur Turcot, il y a des humains, pas juste du béton !»

Pierre Fréchette ne mâche pas ses mots et défend avec fougue les intérêts des résidents de son arrondissement.

Read the rest.

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