The Park Ave. vote

At the monthly Saint-Laurent borough council meeting held on Nov. 7, several citizens attended specifically to voice their opposition to the renaming of Park Avenue to Robert Bourassa Avenue. None, however, came to voice their support for the name change.

In response to the opposition, Borough Mayor Alan DeSousa remained non-committal, saying repeatedly that between now and the vote on Nov. 27, he will consult with citizens he meets daily and in conjunction with the various official functions he attends.

This kind of stand brings back unpleasant memories. During the demerger debate, when DeSousa was asked whether he would support Saint-Laurent demerging, he was equally non-committal in his responses. However, once the campaign got underway, DeSousa aligned himself with forced mergers. The result of that vote, despite the unprecedented obstacles put in place, was that three times the number of citizens voted to demerge than those who voted to remain as part of the Mega city.

I hope on this issue, we can count on Alan DeSousa to reflect upon what he has heard and read so far, and that he will vote against the name change.

- Bob Smith, Saint-Laurent