Reportage de CBC News
Montreal markets like Jean-Talon say merchants may start leaving due to dated installations
Atwater, Jean-Talon and Maisonneuve markets are owned by the city, but the director of all three says the infrastructure that helps them operate 12 months a year is in poor shape and now merchants are looking to the city to solve the issue.
For more on this story: Montreal public market merchants warn of crumbling infrastructure, urge city action | CBC News
Every winter, the Jean-Talon Market puts up modular walls around its stalls — thin panels just a few inches thick that offer little protection from the elements.
“All the structure is getting old and rusty,” said Guy Desgroseilliers, a merchant at the market. “And the doors are all [torn] and need some love.”
He’s not the only one worried. The group that manages Montreal’s public markets surveyed about 60 merchants, and the results, it says, are concerning.
Nicolas Fabien-Ouellet, head of the Société des Marchés Publics de Montréal, said 88 per cent of respondents said they are dissatisfied with the infrastructure. He said one out of three merchants is thinking about reducing their offerings.
Fabien-Ouellet blames a lack of funding from the city.
Montreal owns the historic Atwater, Jean-Talon and Maisonneuve markets — providing fresh produce and other goods to residents while serving as community hubs and tourist attractions.
Fabien-Ouellet said repairs would cost more than $20 million and wants candidates in the upcoming municipal election to take notice.