Chinatown advocates call to extend protection measures for neighbourhood

Chinatown residents and advocates are rejoicing after learning about the area receiving heritage status, but they also say preserving the neighbourhood will require more than just protecting buildings.

During an online news conference Monday, Culture Minister Nathalie Roy and Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante announced the plan to grant heritage status to a portion of the neighbourhood.

The decision comes after community members fought development projects, which have threatened the area's cultural landscape for decades.

May Chiu, a member of the community group Progressive Chinese of Quebec (PCQ), says while she appreciates the gesture, going forward, heritage designation for the neighbourhood should encompass both tangible and intangible culture.

"Chinatown comprises what we call living heritage," she said. "It's not a museum. We're not fossils."

For instance, the seniors' residence where her mother lives, on Hôtel-de-Ville Avenue, falls outside of the area targeted by the measures. Currently, the city of Montreal intends to modify its urban plan for the perimeter between René-Lévesque, Sainte-Élisabeth, Viger and De Bleury Streets.

Two buildings will be classified as heritage buildings: the S. Davis and Sons factory and Wing's Factory, also known as the former British and Canadian School, at the corner of De La Gauchetière Street West and Côté Street.

"We will make sure that Chinatown is not only protected but continues to grow in its own way," Plante said.

Although many recognize the measures as a milestone in the fight to protect the neighbourhood, they say it's only a first step.

'The work isn't over'

Longtime Chinatown resident and tour guide Jean-Philippe Riopel said learning about the new protection measures brought him tears of joy.

"Getting this in a year is exceptional, normally it takes years," he said.

Riopel and his colleague, Élyse Lévesque, an instructor at the Institut de tourisme et d'hôtellerie du Québec, started a petition in April 2021 to protect the neighbourhood, after developers bought the Chinatown building where his apartment is located.

"[The developers' acquisition] was an enormous stress, and it really affected my mental health," he said.

Together, they researched the neighbourhood's history and documented the changes to draw provincial politicians' attention to the cause.

"What really touches me is there was really this urgency, and they listened," Lévesque said. "It was about time."

'Not just about dumplings'

Many people who lived in Chinatown have already lost their homes to renovictions, but Lévesque says the decision is a turning point for the neighbourhood's survival.

"I know the work isn't over, but in April, I would have never believed that we would reach this point so soon," she said.

"People live here and we forget that it's not just about dumplings," she said. "It's such a tight community, and I've never seen this anywhere else."

Before pulling up his sleeves again, Riopel says he'll take a moment to celebrate the victory.

"If we keep destroying [the neighbourhood's character], Montreal will become a soulless city of towers, where people buy and sell condos without any attachment to where they live."

"That heritage can never be rebuilt."