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A real battle is currently taking place on Bellechasse Street, where the Ly family and residents of the area are opposing the STM. The family, who have lived in a duplex for 41 years, received an expropriation notice to allow for the construction of an underground ventilation station. They denounce the loss of their family heritage and the lack of communication on the part of the STM. Will the transport company back down in the face of local pressures? Report.
While the first snow covers Montreal, the atmosphere is far from festive for the Ly family, residents of the Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie borough. Their main concern: to save their duplex. The STM gave them an expropriation notice, announcing the demolition of their house to allow for the construction of a ventilation station.
In front of their home on Bellechasse Street, Trivi Ly, son of the owners, is standing in the cold, wearing a khaki coat and a black cap. He tells their story, while his elderly parents stayed inside: “Six years ago, the STM already contacted us to find out if we would be interested in selling our property,” he explains. Their response was no.
Pointing to the aging mailbox, he adds: “Six years later, last April, we received the notice of expropriation by mid-November. They just put it there, like a regular letter. When I showed the letter to my parents, they did not believe it. They told me: 'No, it's not possible, they don't have the right to do that! We live in a democracy, right?'”
Originally from China, the Ly family bought this duplex in 1983, four years after they arrived in Montreal. For these parents who have worked tirelessly all their lives — the mother as a seamstress and the father in electronic repair — this news is a real shock. “They paid for this house for nearly 30 years, and now they are being asked to leave, as if they had never really owned it,” says Trivi, outraged.
Seeking to find out their options, the Lys consulted a lawyer. But hope quickly gave way to frustration. “He advised us to cooperate with the STM, because they have all the rights,” says Trivi, referring to Bill 22, which regulates expropriations.
Insufficient compensation to buy a property in the neighbourhood
After the initial shock, it was the STM's offer of expropriation compensation that worsened their distress. It was initially set at $696,000 according to a letter that the family received in April 2024. An offer much lower than the real market value, believes a real estate broker commissioned by the family. “It's not even an offer," protests Trivi. "They are taxing this amount, with no possibility of negotiation.”
But the story doesn't end there. The family, who hoped to see the value of their house increased, allowed STM experts to visit their property for a new valuation, and was stunned. “They estimated that the brick wall required work, that the floor was too worn out...” Result: the offer fell by $136,000, now reaching $560,375. “I don't understand their logic! In any case, they have to destroy everything,” he said.
This succession of obstacles has only intensified the family's sense of injustice. Trivi sighs, he feels helpless: “Finding a new home in the neighbourhood is mission impossible with such a low offer and such short deadlines. We are deeply rooted here, with our businesses, our doctors. This amount is insufficient to start all over again elsewhere.” According to our research, the cheapest duplex offered for purchase near the Bellechasse sector is currently listed at $600,000, not including the costs associated with the acquisition of real estate.
Asked about this, the STM explains that the initial amount of $696,000 was based on an evaluation based on photographs, without access to the property. She assures that the current amount of $560,000 is “provisional and not final”, because the possible claims of the expropriated could give rise to additional compensation.
In this second offer, only the “market value of the expropriated right” is taken into account. The Ly family can claim compensation for reorganization, displacement, reconciliation, or even an “allowance established according to the approach based on the theory of resettlement.” The latter takes into account “compensation for damages”, the “loss of convenience value”. (sentimental value up to $31,524), and“the troubles, annoyances and inconveniences.”
The STM thus confirms that the expropriation process is still ongoing and that it “will pay the compensation due in accordance with the law.” While the law provides for these various indemnities in the event of expropriation, it does not make them mandatory. “The expropriated persons have filed other claims which could, if found admissible, give rise to other indemnities,” states the STM.
Petition, demonstration... the neighbourhood is mobilizing
A few weeks ago, at the request of the family, the expropriation notice was extended for two months to allow them to look for a new home. They now have until the end of January, a deadline that Trivi still considers too short. Despite the emergency and the disarray, the Ly family is not alone in the face of the STM. The entire neighbourhood is mobilizing to contest the expropriation of the latter.
As Trivi tells us his story, a man wrapped up in a black scarf approaches on foot. He is holding a water bottle in one hand, gloves in the other: he is Tristan Desjardins Drouin, a neighbour of the Ly family, who has become a central figure in citizen mobilization and the spokesperson for the neighbourhood since the announcement of work on the ventilation station. “We are all united in the hope of finding solutions with the City and the STM. The objective is to ensure that the STM really justifies its expropriation project,” he begins.
Tristan believes that some nearby sites, several of which are vacant, would have been better options for the ventilation station. “But let's be clear,” he continues, “we haven't been involved in six years. And the consultation process we are being offered only lasts three weeks, which is clearly insufficient.”
The STM had initially planned two consultation evenings: a first meeting on November 12, limited to information, and a second on Tuesday, December 3 at the Maisonnette des Parents, to gather the opinions of residents. La Converse was present that evening.
At 6:30pm, night had already fallen when we arrived in front of the Maisonnette des Parents. The inhabitants of the Bellechasse sector protested against the expropriation of the Ly family, but also against the heavy work project that would last at least three years. They remained there until the start of the second public consultation scheduled for 7 p.m.
On site, the atmosphere was surprisingly warm despite the palpable tensions: the demonstrators stomped their feet and danced to Queen tunes to warm up. On the signs they held up, you can read shocking sentences: “You don't build the future at the expense of a family. No to expropriation! or “Theft, no matter what it's called, it smells just as much.”
A little further on, some are distributing QR codes to motorists. They encouraged them to sign a online petition which has already collected more than 3,931 signatures since its launch on November 17, 2024. In response, cheering horns sounded, including from an STM bus, triggering bursts of laughter: “Ironic, right? The STM that supports us! ”, laughs one protester.
Faced with the great mobilization of the neighbourhood, two new dates have been added, one on December 5, and the next scheduled for Tuesday, December 10.
A lack of communication on the part of the STM
Demonstrators also denounce the lack of transparency at the STM. They claim to have learned about the scope of the project only three weeks ago, via leaflets left in their mailboxes. Trivi Ly, whom we met on site, introduces us to a couple of neighbours in their fifties, who prefer to remain anonymous:
“If the STM had communicated earlier, we might have considered buying elsewhere,” say those who, having acquired their property five years ago, regret that the project remained in the STM's drawers for six years. “We are musicians, so we mainly work at home. Now we live in anxiety. The expropriation of the Lys is already a tragedy. And for us, the work will be a nightmare. Imagine four years of noise... It will be impossible to leave, or even to rent our house. We're losing sleep, we're questioning all our plans.”
These consultations, seen as legal formalities, leave residents with a bitter taste. “They have been working on this project for six years, but they never bothered to consult us beforehand,” said one protester outraged. “We could have shared our knowledge of the neighbourhood and proposed alternatives. Instead, they impose their project, changing our lives without offering human solutions,” he shares.
A human impact to consider
Work on Bellechasse Street is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2026 and will last until 2030, with part of the road closed to traffic. Residents are therefore worried about the noise pollution that the construction of the ventilation station will necessarily generate.
At 7:00pm, the signs came down and the inhabitants congregated in the Maisonnette des Parents for the consultation evening. Inside, residents, representatives of the STM and an independent commission responsible for overseeing the discussions took place. STM representatives remained silent and only intervened at the end of the evening to correct or clarify certain comments if necessary.
For their part, residents were quick to express their frustration: the work will cause noise, the trucking as well, and according to them, the ventilation system once built, too.
One citizen particularly lamented the lack of clear answers: “We asked for information on the criteria used to choose this site and the reasons behind each decision. It's been three weeks and still no response.”
In a press release published on November 28 following the first consultation meeting, the STM revealed the criteria that led to the selection of the Ly home. These include considerations related to the technical feasibility of ventilation, the objectives of evacuating occupants, integration into the environment and associated costs.
Nothing to convince the Bellechasse demonstrators. “Yes, we are told that this is partly because this site is cheaper than another. But how much exactly? If the difference is only $15, it's not the same thing. But we don't have any other information, no studies that confirm it,” they say.
Two hours and forty minutes later, after eleven people had spoken, the STM representatives got up. “It is certain that expropriation is always our last resort, nobody likes to dislodge a family,” they explain, before confirming that the expropriation date is again postponed, no longer for the end of January but to June 30, 2025. They ensure that residents' requests for access to information will be answered in the near future.
A case similar to Chabanel
The protesters' concerns about noise pollution associated with this construction site are not trivial. Indeed, a precedent exists in Chabanel, in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough, and there is nothing to reassure the residents of Bellechasse Street.
In a Facebook group created in response to the STM project, residents of the Chabanel district, where work of the same magnitude has been taking place since 2022, join the cause of the inhabitants of Bellechasse and express their dissatisfaction anonymously: “As far as we are concerned, the STM was abusive and deaf to our demands.”
An article from Journal des voisins published in July 2023 reports the dissatisfaction of residents near the Chabanel site with the constant noise of the work, which lasts from 7:00am to 7:00pm during the week and from 7:00am to 5:00pm on Saturday. They also highlight the vibrations caused by blasting and the intensification of truck traffic.
There, the disturbances are expected to last until the winter of 2026, while some residents say that the impact on their lives is significant. Difficulty sleeping, relationship problems, the impossibility of remote work... so many consequences that they attribute to the omnipresence of noise.
Concerning noise, however, the STM is trying to calm concerns during the public consultation with the residents of Bellechasse. They specify that the blasting periods “will only last for one year.” Once the ventilation station is complete, they guarantee that the levels will remain in accordance with the standards: “We will respect 45 dBA, during the day, which will not be noticeable, and at night, barely noticeable.” The ventilation system will be set to operate with one fan out of two during the winter or at low speed, and will not run 24 hours a day.
In the meantime, the work schedule on the construction site will be from 7:00am to 7:00pm from Monday to Saturday, and from 10:00am to 7:00pm on Sunday. Promises that are difficult to convince.
A possible way out to avoid expropriation?
If the inhabitants are not discouraged, it is because events seem to be turning in their favour. In fact, under the pressure of their mobilization, the STM indicated that it was in talks with the Société Québécoise des Infrastructures (SQI) to re-examine the possibility of using a provincial site.
“In 2021, we received a refusal from them. It is possible that, even after reassessment, the analyzes confirm that the site at 530-532, rue de Bellechasse remains the best option for building the Bellechasse mechanical ventilation station,” tempers the STM.
During a council meeting for the Rosemont-La-Petite-Patrie borough, held on Monday, December 2 with Mayor François Limoges, the residents also received all the support from the local administration. The borough also recommends using the provincial site as an alternative for the construction of the ventilation station. “As early as 2020, the borough recommended that the STM favour the Youth Chamber land to relocate the new ventilation station there.” This site is located only 110 meters from the Ly family duplex.
However, he states that the district has no decision-making power in this case. “We made recommendations, but we have no regulatory leverage. (...) Our commitment tonight is as follows: we will join our voice to yours and that of the Executive Director of the STM, who is currently relaunching the Government of Quebec to try again to see the feasibility of installing it on the site of the Youth Chamber.”
Mobilization remains solid in the neighborhood, where the hope of a total cancellation of the project remains. “The whole neighborhood is determined not to give up,” insists Tristan Desjardins Drouin, the spokesperson for the residents.