The fire department took most of the heat when terrasses were suddenly shut down during Montreal’s busiest tourist weekend. A Gazette investigation has found the chaos could have been avoided.
Two Montreal fire-prevention officers took much of the blame for the Peel St. terrasse fiasco on Grand Prix weekend in June when half a dozen restaurant and bar terrasses were suddenly shut down amid the busiest tourist weekend of the year.
In fact, there was plenty of blame to go around, according to documents obtained by The Gazette and interviews with well-placed sources:
Restaurants repeatedly flouted rules and didn’t adhere to plans they submitted; Ville-Marie borough and fire department officials failed to communicate with one another about regulations regarding canopies over the terrasses; After warning restaurants their canopies contravened the fire code on May 23, fire officials did not return to ensure changes were made on May 27, as promised. Instead, they showed up on June 7, the first night of Grand Prix weekend, when the terrasses were packed with clients, and ordered them to close immediately.
The story of what went on behind the scenes emerges from interviews with sources with direct knowledge of what transpired and documents obtained from Ville-Marie borough via an access-to-information request. The documents include a chronology, internal emails and warnings sent to Peel restaurants.
A Gazette investigation has found the Peel chaos could have been avoided.
Starting in early May, the borough had trouble getting restaurants to respect rules on how far terrasses could encroach onto the road and sidewalk, the documents show.
The borough stood firm even after Montréal centre-ville, the downtown merchants’ association, pleaded for flexibility and claimed the fire department had no problem with the setups.
But a key rule may not have been passed on to restaurants until May 23, just two weeks before the Grand Prix, which ran from June 7 to 9.
A borough chronology indicates it may not have been until May 23 that the fire department realized the borough was allowing canopies — tent-like structures to protect terrasses from the sun, rain and dust from nearby construction.
And it was only on that day that the fire department warned Peel restaurant and bar owners their canopies were too close to existing buildings.
They treated us and our clients like we were drug dealers.
Alain Creton, president of the Peel Street Merchants’ Association
Quebec’s fire-prevention code requires that a tent or canopy be installed at a distance of at least three metres from other structures. The fire department gave the businesses a deadline of May 27 to either remove the canopies or install smaller ones to respect the norms.
Alain Creton, president of the Peel Street Merchants’ Association, told The Gazette last week the fire department’s order caused frustration.
That’s because the restaurants had recently moved their tents closer to the buildings after the borough threatened them with fines on May 1 for taking up too much room on the street.
One of the problems: The merchants were reusing the same canopies from years past, when Peel had been closed to traffic during the Grand Prix. This despite a March 28 warning from the borough, telling Montréal centre-ville that “the size of terrasses must be reduced” this year, since traffic would be allowed on Peel.
Creton, owner of Alexandre et fils, a Parisian-style bistro on Peel, said the restaurant owners asked Glenn Castanheira, executive director of Montréal centre-ville, to reason with the borough and the fire department.
According to Creton, Castanheira told Peel merchants he had met with borough officials to seek solutions. Creton claims Castanheira passed on reassurances that the merchants could leave their tents where they were. Whether those assurances came from the borough, the fire department or both is unclear.
Since the fire department employee who gave the May 27 deadline did not come back, Creton said merchants erroneously assumed all was well.
“Glenn (Castanheira) said they will leave us alone until after the Grand Prix,” Creton said. “The firefighters had said we had 48 hours, but when they didn’t come back we thought ‘No news is good news.’”
For Sandra Ferreira, director of operations at Portuguese restaurant Ferreira Café, the timing and manner of the intervention were unacceptable. She posted an emotional video on Instagram expressing the shame she felt for her city.
Castanheira of Montréal centre-ville would not confirm last week whether he had received assurances from someone at the borough or fire department that the restaurant owners could leave tents where they were.
“We will refrain from any comments to avoid compromising the ongoing internal investigation and any legal actions taken by the merchants,” Castanheira said through a spokesperson.
Previously, on June 10, Castanheira had told The Gazette: “We received confirmation from the borough that the borough would tolerate the terrasses as is. The (fire) inspectors acted alone.”
But fire department spokesperson Guy Lapointe said in several interviews following the closures that no fire department official ever told merchants they could leave their tents where they were.
Lapointe said he could not comment on the documents obtained by The Gazette because of an anticipated “legal process” by merchants seeking compensation in the affair.
The report is … based on the entire sequence of communication around the operation. We will give no further comment at this stage.
Executive committee spokesperson Marikym Gaudreault
He confirmed two fire-prevention officers were placed on administrative leave — with pay — while the department completed its own investigation.
Lapointe declined to specify the disciplinary measures the employees were given, but said they were promptly reinstated to their regular functions and were not docked any pay. The employees will receive some additional training, Lapointe added.
“The priority of the (department) is now to go further in its analysis of our ways of doing things. We have already begun this process and in a few weeks, we will reach out to (businesspeople and restaurateurs). It is important for us to involve them in this exercise.
“The goal is to work in concert with them to review the way things are done … (taking into) account their needs and concerns.”
Creton, meanwhile, said his main concern was with the heavy-handedness of the intervention.
The team of fire-prevention officers and police surrounded the terrasses each in turn at the busiest hour of the busiest weekend of the summer. He said the officer in charge of the intervention treated the restaurant owners brusquely when they questioned his actions.
When one terrasse guest tried to refuse the order to leave, an officer grabbed the man forcefully by the arm and escorted him out, Creton said.
“They treated us and our clients like we were drug dealers,” he said.
Creton said the restaurant owners concerned have applied to a city fund that compensates business owners for losses due to city operations. He said the owners have decided against suing the borough or the fire department because “only the lawyers would make money” and a class action would take years to be resolved.
But a well-placed source with the city told The Gazette last week that in fact the two fire-prevention agents got only “a slap on the wrist.”
The first employee received a complaint in his file because he neglected to return to inspect the terrasses on May 27, after telling the owners to make the adjustments by that date.
And the agent who led the June 7 intervention was disciplined not because he ordered the shutdown, but because he “lost his cool” while dealing with restaurant owners, the source said.
A report on the city’s investigation is not yet finished, said executive committee spokesperson Marikym Gaudreault.
She said she doesn’t know when it will be submitted to the executive committee.
“The report is … based on the entire sequence of communication around the operation. We will give no further comment at this stage.”
In the days following the events, the restaurateurs met with Mayor Valérie Plante and expressed their frustration and their wish that this kind of situation never happens again.
Plante, also mayor of Ville-Marie borough, said she supported the fire department on its insistence that the fire code be applied to the letter, but said she was sorry for the chaotic way the situation was handled.
The restaurants were allowed to reinstall their canopies after the borough agreed to disallow parking on the east side of Peel. Creton said he had suggested this to the borough weeks before the Grand Prix to create more room for the terrasses in the roadway while meeting fire code requirements. That request was refused.
“At the end of all this, can we just say to all organizations involved that they try to be in solution mode, rather than repression mode or punishment mode?” Creton said. “We pay business taxes and property taxes on our homes, and there was a lack of respect that night.”
Ferreira declined to be interviewed but sent a statement to The Gazette: “Communications with the various administrative departments of the city of Montreal can sometimes be difficult. I hope to see smoother communication channels established in the coming months, conducive to organizing a great Grand Prix weekend next summer.”
Timeline
This chronology is based on borough documents and interviews:
July 2023
To help Peel St. restaurateurs during the pandemic, Ville-Marie borough had relaxed summer terrasse rules between 2020 and 2023. However, in July 2023, the borough tells restaurateurs that, as of the summer of 2024, terrasses would have to “comply with regulatory standards” since cars would return to the street.
March 2024
Restaurants submit requests for terrasse permits. All plans submitted “comply with the requirements of our regulations,” the borough says. Between March 15 and April 2, the borough issues permits approving the terrasse plans of the six Peel St. establishments (McLean’s, Ferreira, Iberica, Chez Alexandre, Vasco da Gama and Ryu).
March 28, 2024
The borough tells Montréal centre-ville, a downtown business group, that terrasse canopies will be allowed in 2024 as a “mitigation measure” due to Ste-Catherine St. roadwork. The construction work has closed part of Ste-Catherine, turning Peel into a temporary one-way. However, the borough warns, compared to recent summers, “the size of terrasses must be reduced so that they occupy only the parking lane (on Peel). Also, we would like (information about) the canopies, including size, dimension, colour and materials.”
April 5, 2024
A video conference call is held about the canopies. Present are the borough, the borough’s mobility division, Montréal centre-ville and restaurateurs. The fire department is not mentioned in the list of attendees. At the meeting, the borough reminds restaurateurs that “terrasse installations must comply with the plans in terms of location and surface area since an inspection will be carried out.”
April 29, 2024
A city employee overseeing Ste-Catherine roadwork tells the borough that terrasses are taking up more room than allowed on Peel.
April 30, 2024
The roadwork official reports a vehicle has hit one of the Peel terrasses — in front of McLean’s pub. Worried about security, the city installs no-parking signs on Peel. A borough inspection finds Peel terrasses do not comply “with approved plans, particularly with regard to encroachment on the roadway.”
May 1, 2024
In an email, the fire department warns the borough about “safety issues linked to the encroachment of the (terrasses) on the roadway.” The fire official notes the absence of concrete barriers along terrasses: “In the event of an impact between a vehicle and a terrace, the situation would be dangerous.”
A city roadwork official tells the borough “some terrasses are larger than the permits that were granted allow, and what’s more, firefighters no longer have the six-metre clearance” they require.
The borough sends “notices of violation” to six Peel restaurants whose terrasses violate rules. The business owners are told “to comply or to (remove the terrasses) immediately, failing which the city will take care of the matter.”
The borough’s director of mobility, Annie Lambert, exchanges emails with someone at Montréal centre-ville. The latter’s name has been redacted.
The Montréal centre-ville official asks for an exception for Peel terrasses that are a few inches too big. “Can it be tolerated? An inspector in solution mode? For my friends the firefighters with whom I communicated, they don’t have to intervene, they don’t see any problem.”
Lambert responds. There will be no exceptions: “All installations must comply with the site plan, which allows a two-metre encroachment onto the roadway, and you must respect the 1.8-metre pedestrian corridors at sidewalk level to ensure universal accessibility to your terrace.”
May 2, 2024
Someone informs the borough that Peel restaurants “will make the required adjustments to the conformity of the installations on May 4.” The person’s name is redacted. It’s unclear if the email is from Montréal centre-ville or a business owner. The borough accepts the three-day delay.
May 7, 2024
A borough employee says McLean’s Pub is the only Peel location where the terrasse was dismantled so it could be rebuilt to the correct specifications regarding the use of road and sidewalk space. He notes the location of other terrasses have only partially been adjusted.
May 23, 2024
A borough official and Joël Frechette, a fire department official, have four phone conversations.
Frechette asks if the borough will allow canopies. When told canopies are permitted, he asks the borough to answer in writing.
In a third call, Frechette tells the borough of “a regulation associated with the distance of three metres between the canopy and the building.” In a final exchange, Frechette tells the borough his department has “informed businesses they have until May 27 to comply” with that canopy rule.
May 27, 2024
A fire department official had told Peel businesses that a follow-up visit would occur on May 27. But that visit never happens, a source told The Gazette last week.
June 7, 2024
Fire-prevention officers order several downtown restaurants to immediately shut down their packed terrasses and evacuate guests. It’s Friday evening at the busiest point of the first night of Montreal’s Grand Prix weekend. Business owners are furious. Their complaints go viral on social media.
June 8, 2024
After an uproar, terrasses are adjusted and are allowed to reopen, initially without canopies. Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante says she is disappointed with what happened and launches an internal investigation. City hall opposition Ensemble Montréal calls the events a “monumental fiasco,” blaming a lack of leadership in the borough. Glenn Castanheira, head of Montréal centre-ville, blasts the fire department. “It seems a bazooka was used to kill a fruit fly,” he says.
June 10, 2024
A borough official writes in an email that the fire department had never approached the borough about canopies and their distance from buildings. This contradicts information in the borough’s chronology, updated June 10, that describes four phone calls between the borough and the fire department about canopies.