Canal hype cramps Point poverty

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 Sometimes money is a bad bad thing.

 The millions of dollars being pumped into the Lachine Canal's makeover are making life hell for the poor, said Marie-Josee Corriveau of Projet Saint-Charles at a press conference last Tuesday. With rent and housing prices going up, she said, it is increasingly difficult for poor people to afford to live in Point St-Charles.

 Things are especially bad for women. According to Corriveau, one third of all women living in the Point spend more than 50 per cent of their income on rent. She added that the number of women without fixed addresses is going up in the Point--at a rate of about two a month.

 "The canal's redevelopment only means that more people will be forced from their homes. Bourque is doing nothing for the people of the area," she said. The group is asking the municipal and federal governments to create 100 new social housing units. : --Craig Segal

 

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