City councillor says arson leaflets in St. Henri are fear-mongering fakes

The flier says there’s a “risk of luxury car arson” in the Sud-Ouest area, and that police have not been able to arrest anyone in the arson cases from last year. (CTV Montreal)

A flier claiming to be from the Sud-Ouest borough is being refuted by city officials as a fake, and a fear-mongering tactic by opponents of gentrification.

The flier was left on some high-end cars – including an Audi and an Acura - urging owners to move out of St. Henri or face the possibility of their cars being set on fire.

The fliers were mostly recovered from Lea Roback St., where several cars were torched in summer 2017.

The flier says there’s a “risk of luxury car arson” in the area, and that police have not been able to arrest anyone in the arson cases from last year.

It advises residents to not leave flammable materials in the cars, and finally, to move out of the neighbourhood to Westmount or Beaconsfield.

Before the Sud-Ouest’s borough council meeting, City Councillor Craig Sauve said the fliers aren’t just fake, but they may end up scaring residents.

“it’s immature, it’s reckless, it’s dangerous – it doesn’t represent our neighbourhood whatsoever,” Sauve said. “It scares the very people we’re trying to help, so we shouldn’t do these kinds of things. We should try to look out for one another, and try to fight for more affordable housing, and that’s how we succeed as a neighbourhood.”

The car fires were captured on cell phone video last year, and yielded little information about a suspect.

At around 3:45 a.m. on Friday July 14, 2017, two cars were set on fire on Lea Roback Street. Two other nearby cars also caught fire.

A man was seen near the cars shortly before both fires were set, but police did not get a description.

The SPCM admitted that with no description of the suspect, and no security footage, the flier is correct – no arrests were made for the arsons from last year.

“It happened during the night – we had not much detail, no witness, nothing,” Sylvain Parent, Commander of Montreal Police Station 15.

“So of course for us to start an investigation based on the thing that we found on the scene was very difficult,” he added. “That’s why they say that nothing has been done – something has been done, but unfortunately we were unable to relate it to any kind of suspect whatsoever.”

Sauve said the borough and the city are finding ways to increase affordable housing and support community measures that help low income residents.

As he sees it, residents coming together to help each other is the real spirit of St. Henri, not somebody making veiled threats in a pamphlet.