POT CAFE'S NEIGHBOURS FACING DEMOLITION

No Conspiracy, Borough Insists

There is no connection between the planned demolition of some Mentana
St. properties and the recent opening of a pot cafe in an adjacent
building, says Plateau Mont Royal borough spokesperson Michel Tanguay.

"We ordered the inspection before the building was identified as the
location for the pot cafe. There is no link; it's a question of
safety," he said.

That is little comfort to the storeowner operating beside and the
tenant living above Cafe Marijane, both of whom will have to leave in
the coming days.

The borough's urban planning department sent a letter to the owner of
the properties on Nov. 28 giving him 10 days to begin the demolition
of a vacant building at 4147 Mentana St., damaged by fire in August
2001, and an adjacent garage and annex. The annex houses the kitchen
of the second-floor apartment at 950 Rachel St. E and the atelier of
Myriade, an adjacent boutique specializing in glass mosaics.

The borough ordered an inspection of the properties on Nov. 19 as part
of what Tanguay says is a regular pre-winter safety survey of vacant
buildings.

Myriade's owner, Tina Diab, first heard of the impending demolition
when inspectors came calling a few weeks ago, but the letter outlining
the 10-day deadline arrived at her store only yesterday. Diab says she
won't be able to operate and will have to move.

"They should give us a month or two to get our act together,
especially at Christmas time. We've worked so hard for a year and
invested so much money," she said in an interview.

The second-floor tenant has been offered other accommodation, Tanguay
said.

Bloc Pot leader Hugo St. Onge says it's all part of a campaign to
close down the party's pot cafe.

"The (Mentana) building has been there for two years, but now they say
you must take it down because it's dangerous. Why wasn't it dangerous
last year?"

Bloc Pot has rented the Rachel St. space for the past four years and
will try to help Myriade get the demolition delayed, he said.

Police are continuing visits to the cafe. Last night they arrested two
patrons for possession of small amounts of marijuana.