Irish community upset over proposal to name Griffintown REM station after former Quebec Premier

REM renaming proposal upsets Irish Montrealers A proposal to rename a Griffintown REM station after former Quebec Premier Bernard Landry has members of the Irish community up in arms

MONTREAL - Irish Montrealers are upset over Mayor Valerie Plante's suggestion to name a light-rail station in Griffintown after a former Quebec premier.

Valerie Plante said on Wednesday she hoped the REM station built in Griffintown would be called "Griffintown-Bernard-Landry" station, after the Quebec premier who helped build the nearby Multimedia City.

But some members of Montreal's Irish community aren't pleased with the proposal. It would be an insult to the Irish, who built much of the neighbourhood's infrastructure.

"The Irish built the Lachine Canal, the Victoria Bridge. Later, they built St-Mary's Hospital," argued Fergus Keyes from the Montreal Irish Monument Park Foundation. "They've been mayors; they've done a great number of things in contribution to the city, so, yeah, it's a bit of an insult to just kind of ignore that."

It makes no sense to name the station after Landry, Keyes argued.

He said he had discussed the idea of giving the station a name that honours the Irish community with the Caisse de Depot et Placement, who are in-charge of the project.

They seemed open to the idea, he said.

With files from CTV Montreal's Andrew Brennan.