I am proud to call myself a Canadian, and proud to be from Montreal ( but don’t tell anyone. ).  In the past couple of years, we have seen our proud and wonderful city begin to fall into ruin.  From overpasses falling down on the highway, to trains falling over on bridges to bridges being considered unsafe to drive on, to potholes the size of a VW beetle, how can we hope to attract tourists ( which means revenue ), respect and prestige that was once common place with Montreal.

People would come from all over the world to visit Montreal.  From the world class festivals ( Jazz, Just for Laughs, Francopholies, … ) to the historical areas ( Old Port, cathedrals, … ) to the social diversity present in our town. website domain names search .  But now, I can’t begin to imagine people will continue to see us as a destination spot, with so many “incidents” ( as the minister of transport calls them ) happening.  It all started with the overpass in Laval that fell and killed 5 people ( it even has its own wiki page ).  The city and the province are quick to blame everything on the “unique” climate condition we face here, but come on, there are other city’s provinces close by that have close enough conditions and they don’t have 2 tonnes of concrete landing on people, or cave like pot holes ( http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/story/2011/08/02/large-pothole-in-montreal.html ) in the middle of a metropolitan city.

Not to deter the communities that receive relief funds after major storms/earthquakes I wonder at which point they will start refusing our aide/help thinking “If they can’t take care of their own city, how can they possibly help us”.  Personally, if i was someone in Haiti in charge of rebuilding roads, houses, structures i’m not sure i would want someone from Montreal helping out after the incidents spanning the past couple of years, to name a few incidents.

My question is what has the mayor of Montreal been doing with all the taxes, money from the provincial government, and tourist revenue?  It sure hasn’t been to take care of the beautiful city that was entrusted to him when he was elected mayor.  We have gone from first class destination to 3rd world war zone.  Our potholed covered roads are still in better condition that most war ravaged countries.

When will we wake and do something about it.  Its obvious with the scandals that have plagued this administration that they aren’t worthy of the trust we put in them, maybe its time to change a few things.

As far as I’m concerned, its going to continue to get a lot worse before it gets better, at least if we continue down the path we are going, “Critical” status reports obviously don’t matter to our government and administration, they don’t act upon them.  They put our lives at risk everyday because its inconvenient to do the things that actually matter.  For those of you who work near the festival area in montreal ( in/around Complexe desjardins ) I would have been ashamed to host the festivals with the road conditions.  you had constructions crews blocking the roads.  Instead of a light and festive atmosphere, you had dust, heavy equipment, and fencing to enjoy.  This was a massive fail for you Mr Tremblay, you have disrespected our great and wonderful city.  Shame on you.

a concerned citizen