hruvthestar

15.02pm
1/28/12

To anyone living in Montreal or interested in tenant’s rights: I’m organizing a protest against the illegal eviction/demolition of Rick Trembles & tenants in his St. Henri apartment complex

Please circulate & RE-TUMBLR!

At 9am Monday morning, a CBC TV Crew will be at Rick’s apartment on Ste. Emilie St. and Bourget to cover the (possible) illegal demolition of his building. I’d like to organize a group of people to make noise for the media, and afterwards to help protect Rick & his possessions as he moves his remaining belongings out of the apartment.

This Summer there was an electrical fire in the apartment below his that could have killed him if not caught on time, and recently, a fire on the other side of the building destroyed half of his building and was so devastating it made the front page of the Gazette news.

Rick has been living in fear for his life due to the unsafe conditions of the building, but was not financially able to move.

This Tuesday, Rick’s landlord gave him less than a week of notice to move out, informing him that his side of the building would be demolished along with the section of the apartment complex that burnt. Rick has never received any official documents from the city warning him of the demolition or asking him to leave.

The landlord has a permit to demolish the side of the apartment destroyed in the fire, but does not have a permit for demolishing of Rick’s apartment. He claims that the structure of the building will not withstand the demolition, and that both sides need to go. It is possible he will attempt to do this illegally or cause an “accident” — and Rick will most likely not be able to move all of his belongings safely on time for Monday.

In a statement made to a CBC Reporter on Friday January 27th, Rick’s landlord claimed he has never asked tenants to leave the building. Rick has tape recorded phone conversations with the landlord that prove this is untrue.

Rick is a prominent Montreal artist, cartoonist, and musician who has lived in his apartment in St. Henri for 13 years. He works from home and writes the Montreal Mirror’s Motion Picture Purgatory weekly film review comic strip (www.snubdom.com). He has a massive collection rare art, out of print books and magazines, a huge library of rare books and DVDs, and equipment that is necessary for his art practice. He has been finding it physically impossible to organize a move on time for Monday, while also protecting himself legally - his mental, emotional, and physical health is suffering during this crisis and time of incredible stress.

Tenants have the right to have a home where they don’t have to fear for their safety and where they are given adequate notice if forced to leave. Slum landlords who don’t respect these basic rights have become a huge issue in this city.

The city itself is often just as bad. When Rick explained to a city official that the demolition could endanger the lives & possessions of tenants who had not had time to leave the building, the city official sided with Rick’s landlord and insinuated that Rick would be the one arrested if he attempted to call the cops to protect himself.

Please invite anyone living in Montreal, or anyone with an interest in tenant rights to circulate this widely! & feel free to contact me (e s t h e r i n a @ g m a i l . c o m) if you work for any media outlet that would also like to cover this.

And please come out on Monday to 3718 Rue Sainte-Emilie (by Atwater Market) at 9am, or anytime time throughout the day, to help protest this gross injustice and show your love & support.