The cemetery says the plan is illegal and contravenes a 1928 agreement with the city.
Failing that, the cemetery says the city should pay it $15 million in damages.
The move follows “the city’s unilateral decision and the failure of our discussions with representatives of the current administration,” Maxime Jacques, general manager of Mount Royal Commemorative Services, said Tuesday.
“We hope this legal action will convince the city to develop a project that respects the rights of our lot owners, their families, and all clients and visitors to our facilities while promoting harmonious coexistence for all.”
“Inevitably, the closure of the Camillien-Houde route will cause major harm and significant damage to our client,” the cemetery’s lawyers said in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Gazette.
“More particularly, this closure will undoubtedly have the effect of diverting transit traffic towards the cemetery access road, which would notably damage cemetery roads, harm the tranquillity of the premises, cause significant inconvenience and endanger the health and safety of customers, users and visitors as well as employees.”
On Tuesday, Jacques said the cemetery decided to turn to Quebec Superior Court to “protect and assert its right of access and passage on Camillien-Houde from the southeast entrance of the Mount Royal Cemetery.”
He said the city’s decision raises “serious concerns about its impact on the safety and tranquillity of grieving families and the cemetery’s operations.”
The warnings were in a March 2023 city-commissioned traffic management study by engineering company CIMA+, obtained by The Gazette via an access-to-information request.
In the 1920s, Montreal swapped land with the cemetery as it expanded Mount Royal Park and developed plans for a tramway along the route that eventually became the Camillien-Houde roadway.
The deal included a notarized document allowing the cemetery access to the right of way in perpetuity.
“An agreement dating from 1928 with the city of Montreal guarantees (the cemetery) access from the road for vehicles coming from the east or west,” the CIMA+ report said.
In its 21-page legal motion, the cemetery asks the Quebec Superior Court to:
- recognize the perpetual easement of pedestrian and vehicular passage on Camillien-Houde as it currently exists;
- recognize the city’s obligation to allow the cemetery and its visitors to travel by car on Camillien-Houde from the southeast entrance of the Mount Royal Cemetery property to the intersection of Camillien-Houde with Mont-Royal Ave. and Mont-Royal Blvd.; and
- order the city not to proceed with the closure of Camillien-Houde in a way that would prohibit vehicular traffic for the cemetery.
Under the city’s current plan, visitors would continue to be able to reach the cemetery by car or bus from the west or via entrances at the foot of the mountain in Outremont. Visitors would also be able to reach the cemeteries on foot via the new path that would replace Camillien-Houde.
Montreal shows no signs of backing down.
“Vehicular access via Camillien-Houde is not in the plan,” said Catherine Cadotte, a spokesperson for Plante.
She said the city has held several meetings with the cemetery and has invited the institution to join a working group.
“We are confident that we can address the concerns, as both the cemetery and Mount Royal Park will remain accessible to all modes of transport,” Cadotte said.
She said “a project as large as the redevelopment of Camillien-Houde requires co-ordination with many partners, each with specific needs, necessitating compromises for all.”
The plan “will bring changes in habits, and we will maintain a dialogue throughout the process. We are confident in finding solutions.”