Noise complaints: Downtown Montreal venues, nightlife advocates push back on new proposed rules

People dance at a music venue. (Peter Dejong/AP Photo)

Montreal is revamping nightlife policy in two of its downtown boroughs, but advocates and venue owners say it does not address their concerns and could lead to more venues closing.

MTL 24/24, an advocacy group lobbying for better nightlife policy, has been among those pushing the city to revise its noise regulations after venues like Divan Orange and La Tulipe had to shut down following noise complaints.

But spokesperson Max Honigmann, who also organizes music events in the city, says the new rules for Ville-Marie and the Plateau-Mont-Royal offer no protection for venues and drastically increase fines for first-time offenders.

He says that if the bylaw is adopted as-is, it could be the nail in the coffin for small and medium venues, which are still struggling post-pandemic.

Under the proposed bylaw, police officers responding to a noise complaint will be allowed to shut down a show or party if they deem it to be too loud and can impose a $10,000 fine to venue owners for a first-time offence.

Fines for noise complaints can go up to $20,000 under the proposed rules.

Currently, fines for noise complaints are around $1,500.

“Which is a mind-boggling jump and can be existential for smaller venues,” said Honigmann. Though the city has said fines should be used as a last resort, he wants to see it enshrined in the law.

“As it stands now, a police officer or a city official who’s having a bad day can shut down a venue and give them a fine, even on the first offence, and they’ll have done nothing in the against the law,” he said.

Increased monitoring

The bylaw proposes that the city or police could impose a continuous sound monitoring system at the venue’s expense, and request data at any time.

Honigmann said that also raises concerns as how the data will be used is unclear.

“You have new noise limits for inside venues as well, so venues could potentially even get fined even when there’s no noise complaint,” he said. “It’s increased enforcement in a context when we need more support and more relief from these kind of the way draconian measures, as we see them.”

The city said it wants to protect “the the vitality of Montreal’s cultural scene” and “residential neighbourhoods’ quality of life.” It said the bylaw is still subject to change after public consultations.

• READ MORE: Montreal looks to modernize noise bylaw to protect nightlife, ease tensions

But Turbo Haus owner Sergio Da Silva doesn’t mince words when asked about the draft changes.

“I could literally say there’s nothing positive that they’re proposing,” he said. “Ultimately, you just have to look at these new proposed laws to show that what they actually think of nightlife in this city.”

He said no one will want to open new venues if the city goes ahead with the proposed rules.

“The risk is too high. It could just be a single noise complaint, and then at the discretion of whatever officer shows up in the scene, it could be $10,000 for the first time. And literally, you could get a call the next day, and then it’s a $20,000 fine. You’re looking at 30 G’s in a weekend. Why would you ever get involved in that?” said Da Silva.

He added that it’s a sad move for the city, which is one of the liveliest in North America.

‘Morality police’

Da Silva believes that to really protect nightlife, the city not only needs to go back to the drawing board for its noise regulation but also work with provincial authorities.

Quebec’s liquor board, or the Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux (RACJ), regulates permits around alcohol, but also activities like dancing and karaoke.

Champs Sports Bar on Saint-Laurent Boulevard was forced by the RACJ to close for five days and pay thousands of dollars in fines and soundproofing after a noise complaint.

The bar did not have a license to allow “the practice of dance” in its establishment, a permit that typically regulates nightclubs, and has banned dancing and karaoke as a result.

“No matter what the city decides to change in terms of their bylaws, it’s pretty irrelevant if those could be overrun by the morality police and the RACJ,” said Da Silva.

He says initiative like 24-hour bars are “lip service” and “become irrelevant when a morality officer shows up to your bar, says this is a nuisance and we’re going to shut down the show and suspend your license.”

Honigmann and Da Silva would like to see Montreal come up with an alternative response. They would rather see a specialized department made up of local actors who are entrenched in the city’s culture to mediate when it comes to tensions between residents and venues.

They say a single noise complaint should not necessarily result in venues being fined and shut down.

The city is accepting feedback on the proposed bylaw until the end of Friday and it will be implemented in September.

With files from CTV News Montreal’s Joe Lofaro