This year's Haitian Flag Day festivities didn't happen in Montréal-Nord. Organizers want answers

Residents and workers at a Montréal-Nord community organization are seeking clarity after they say they felt the need to cancel the borough's annual Haitian Flag Day celebration.

The event, which has been held in May every year since 2009 in the heart of the borough, was cancelled for the first time last weekend. 

The organizer, Café-Jeunesse Multiculturel, says it was informed by the borough that police did not want to provide security services, citing safety concerns for the area. 

But Roberson Berlus, a youth worker with the organization, says nothing has ever gone wrong during the festivities.

He added that the free celebration offers various spaces for youth to play, as well as DJ sets, food and shows featuring Haitian artists.

Although the event highlights the Haitian flag and culture, Berlus noted that it attracts over 3,000 people from different ethnic communities. Some even travel from other parts of the province, Ontario and the U.S. to attend.

"That's really a bad thing for us because, yes, it's Haitian Flag Day, but it's everyone who participates," he said.

Without the police presence they had every year prior, organizers decided to not go ahead with the festivities. Ultimately, the group reluctantly opted to cancel. 

Berlus emphasized that Montreal police are part of the community and should be present on that day, alongside everyone else.

"We've been doing that since 2009, nothing ever happened. Why is it dangerous now?" he said.

Conflicting messages from police, borough 

In a statement sent to CBC, Montreal police, known by its French acronym SPVM, said no safety notice had been issued for any sector of Montréal-Nord.

The SPVM said it had not received a request from the organization to assign officers to Haitian Flag Day and it is "not up to the SPVM to authorize or cancel an event taking place in the public space."

Police added the borough had not made a request neither, something the borough confirmed in a statement of its own to CBC News. 

"The SPVM has not received a 'request for collaboration' or 'authorization,' simply because neither the borough nor the organization is required to file such a request," wrote borough spokesperson Daniel Bussières.

The borough spokesperson stated that, every year, it meets with the local police station to inform officers of upcoming summer events.

According to the borough, the station suggested it would be easier to ensure the celebration's safety if it were held in a park rather than on the street. But Bussières said the organization maintained its intention to hold the event on Pascal Street, where it's traditionally been organized.

"We agreed to this request. We gave the OK to the organization for street closures and assured them we would provide logistical support," the borough spokesperson wrote.

Organizers maintain they were told by the borough that police were not going to provide security for the event. 

Coming together after killing of 18-year-old boy

Haitian Flag Day is more than just a public gathering for the borough.

It's linked to the memory of Fredy Villanueva, an 18-year-old whose fatal shooting by police during an altercation in 2008 sparked riots in the neighbourhood heightened tensions between the community and police officers.  

The first Haitian Flag Day celebration in Montréal-Nord took place in the spring following Villanueva's death.

Ted Rutland, a Concordia University associate professor who specializes in urban security and policing, described those festivities as a community effort to come together in a difficult moment and to show that there is a lot of love and joy in the neighbourhood. 

"Montreal is a city that defines itself by its public life, public events, festivals, the way we occupy public space. And here we've got a case where they're saying: 'Montreal North doesn't get to do that,'" said Rutland. 

Slim Hammami, a co-ordinator with Café-Jeunesse Multiculturel, says the area where the festive gathering usually takes place is very stigmatized and that the community group hosts it for the youth and young adults to show that positive things can emerge from the neighbourhood. 

Hammami emphasized that the organization has no conflict with the SPVM and the police station, and even said it's "always had a good relationship" with them.

"So we didn't quite understand the silence toward us," he said. 

He said residents and regular attendees have expressed frustration over the cancellation and are still wondering why the gathering was called off.

"This festival also helps Montréal-Nord to be seen in a positive light," said Hammami, adding that he hopes Haitian Flag Day will return to the borough next year.

"Citizens and young people taking part and getting involved in the festival, that's what they want too."