The new municipal party Transition Montréal, led by municipal councilor Craig Sauvé, is accelerating its campaign for the elections next November: its first press conference on Wednesday, focused on the protection of “nightlife”.
The independent advisor to the district of the Southwest, candidate for the town hall of the metropolis, took the opportunity to announce that Sergio Da Silva, owner of the popular Bar-Specacles Turbo Haüs, would be a candidate for his party.
A single media representative was present at this announcement.
The colorful owner of the Bar-Specacles on rue Saint-Denis, which spoke a few times when closing the La Tulipe performance hall last year wanted to “put your hand in dough” in the neighborhood where it lives and works.
He will present himself in the Saint-Jacques district of the District of Ville-Marie, with the objective of “protecting Montreal nightlife”. This is one of Craig Sauvé’s priorities: ensuring the health of Montreal nightlife.
“Nocturnal life is part of our cultural heritage, it is part of who we are,” the Head of Transition Montreal tells us. In this context, you must protect it, watch over your health. You have to listen to bars, restaurants, performance halls and nightclubs that are part of our identity. »»
To do this, Craig saved to name a “night mayor”, as is the case in Amsterdam or closer to us, in Ottawa, he specifies. This person would fall under the general management of the city.
Protected cultural areas must be established. That is to say, establish areas where it will be allowed to make noise. Yes, there must be thresholds of decibels, but you have to be more permissive in certain areas. We cannot say to the people who go to bars: you cannot be noisy!
Sergio da Silva, owner of the Haüs Turbo bar
As you can see, Transition Montréal opposes the noise regulations proposed by Projet Montréal in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough.
“First, we do not adjust anything by letting the police intervene following a complaint formulated by one person,” says Sergio Da Silva. Police who can impose a fine of $ 10,000 from the first offense? It makes no sense. If I receive a ticket of $ 10,000, I am not even sure I survive that. It’s the best way to kill nightlife. »»
Craig Sauvé is of the opinion, like the Party together Montreal elsewhere, that a complaint should first be processed by a mediation service between neighbors, before a offense is issued by the police services.
Photo Josie Desmarais, Archives La Presse
The Montreal transition chief, Craig saved.
Transition Montréal also wants to protect the cultural scene by creating a fund that would make it possible to acquire or build performance halls or places of distribution “out of the speculative market” and “protect existing distribution places against abusive rent increases”.
The increase in trade rents is another workhorse of the new party.
“As we can see, there are more and more large banners like McDo or A & W on our commercial arteries,” says Sergio Da Silva, because the rents are so high. There should be a regulation to limit these banners to 50 meters or 100 meters from each other to allow local shops to see the light of day. »»
The Montreal Transition Head did not address the other priorities of his party, but on the organization’s website, there is a question of establishing a surcharge on luxury unifamilial properties – an increase of 1.25 for the properties of more than 3.5 million and 1.33 for the properties of more than 5 million. The sums collected would notably be devoted to the fight against roaming.
Transition Montréal also proposes to offer a reduced collective transportation rate of $ 62.75 – instead of $ 104.50 – for those with an annual income of less than $ 47,500.
Transition Montréal was launched in July, and Craig saved with the intention of presenting candidates in all the districts and in all the districts of the city. “This is our wish,” he said to The press. On Monday, another candidate was unveiled, this is Tom Seivewright, who will appear in the district of Saint-Henri-Est-Petite-Bourgogne-Pointe-Saint-Charles-Griffintown.
Until now a dozen other candidates have been announced. And other announcements will follow in the coming weeks.
Elected for the first time in 2013 under the Montreal project banner, Craig Sauvé had been re-elected in 2017 in the Saint-Henri-Est district, where Tom Seivewright presents himself. He had left the project caucus Montreal in 2021 to sit as independent.
Mr. Sauvé also presented himself under the banner of the NDP during a by -election in Lasalle – Émard – Verdun, in September 2024, then in the federal elections of 2025. He had finished fourth, behind the candidates of PLC, Bloc Québécois and PCC.
