Martin responds to Mayor on Urban Plan

I remain opposed, however, to the concept of dedicating this land to favour specifically and only an influx of young families, and I object strongly to using our tax dollars, whether directly or indirectly, to subsidize such an objective. Remember, the Mayor is not proposing the more traditional form of “low income” housing, an option of any city; she states she would like to see more academics, artists and film producers.

As shown through the controversy regarding the soccer fields, there is a shortage of recreational facilities for young families currently, and no shortage of kids. Indeed the Urban Plan document itself shows an increase in the number of children, and census figures show that Westmount’s population of age 24 and under has increased at over three times the rate of the increase in the Greater Montreal area over the last 10 years (i.e. 8.3 per cent vs 2.5 per cent). There are today 450 more young Westmount citizens than 10 years ago, and financial incentives certainly are not required to encourage an even more rapid growth in this age group.

The Mayor states that the percentage of “the elderly group was growing even faster”. This is incorrect. In fact, city statistics show that the population of Westmounters aged 65 and over has increased by only 6.7 per cent over the last 10 years, while those 24 and under increased by 8.3 per cent. Meanwhile in the Greater Montreal area, the population over 65 increased by an astounding 23 per cent during the same period, which is more than three times the rate of increase in Westmount.

In any case, I do not share her alarm in this regard, as I hope to join this local age group myself one day.

The average age of the population of Canada is increasing, due to smaller families, and to better health care leading to increased longevity. As a country, Canada can counter this trend through immigration policies. But such policies cannot be applied at the municipal level for a city of only 20,000 inhabitants surrounded by an urban agglomeration of over 3 million. The encouragement of young people to move from one community to another simply artificially displaces the problem.

In short, I look forward to a lively debate at Council on these issues, and personally hope that the urban planning efforts can be steered away from the concept of subsidizing housing for those who are currently non-residents at the expense of residents, and that we can focus our attention on other issues, including the improvement of our antiquated sports facilities for the adults and kids who are here now.

• Patrick Martin is City Councillor for District 1 and Commissioner of Utilities.