Look for the little ancestral house that bordered Lévesque boulevard near Vieux-Pen! It was reduced to dust.
The destruction of this house recognized in 2018 for its “upper heritage value” sowed the stir to the Société d’Histoire et de genealogie de l’Île Jesus (SHGIJ) and at Patrimoine at the head, a citizen association for the protection and development of the old Saint-Vincent-de-Paul.
These two organizations deplore that they have never been consulted or even informed of its demolition which dates back to March 11.
“It is a bit like our role to ring the alarm on this way of doing things, especially when it comes from the federal government,” said Jasmin Miville-Allard, director general of the SHGIJ, on the phone.
Same story on the side of the president of heritage in mind, Martine Rodrigue, who denounces having been put in front of the fait accompli.
“The Federal is a horseman alone; Yes, I am worried about the continuation of things, “she said about the redevelopment of Old Pen and neighboring land called to accommodate some 1,500 affordable dwellings within the coming years.
Large … at no heritage value
Regarding the house built around 1878, now demolished, the inventory of the architectural heritage of the city of Laval depicts it as One of the rare houses spared during the demolition of the bottom of the village of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul to make way for buildings linked to the penitentiary.
We also read that This residence has a higher heritage value which is based on its history, its architecture, its authenticity and its context.
In 2016, the city assessed that “minor works” would be required due to the oxidation of part of its sheet metal roof.
For the Correctional Service of Canada (SCC), this building which would have been used to accommodate penitentiary employees “did not meet the minimum requirements to be appointed as a federal heritage property”.
In an exchange of emails, Jean-François Mathieu, regional communications manager for Quebec, assures that “SCC has taken the necessary measures to assess in accordance with federal government guidelines” before making it disappear.
The criteria for evaluating the Federal Heritage Review Office (BEPF) are based on international conservation principles, he continues, while specifying that “federal buildings are assessed according to historical associations, architecture and the environment”.
No license needed
As for the reason that motivated his demolition, Mr. Mathieu argues “health and safety concerns” raised following building inspections.
“The SCC has demolished after being informed by the City of Laval of its intention not to buy the building.”
In this regard, if it recognizes the “important heritage value” that this building took place, the Boyer administration maintains that it was “not able” to acquire it “considering the value, the state of the building and the procedures surrounding the transfer of property for the site of the old penitentiary”.
-For those who question why the city has not held public hearing as provided for in the municipal regulations when a building of heritage interest is doomed to demolition, it is that federal property buildings are not subject to municipal regulations. “The federal government was entitled to demolish it without the approval of the city,” summarizes public affairs advisor Jonathan Lévesque.
In a statement sent by the mayor’s office at the end of the day on Friday, the elected official of heritage files in Laval, Pierre Brabant, is working on the loss of “one of the last witnesses of the historic village of Saint-Vincent-de-Paul”.
He adds that “the vision developed by the city and its partners” is to make the bank where the house was “a green space accessible to the population”.
A part of history
To the question if the federal government intends to consult the shgij and heritage in mind in the wake of the conversion of Old Pen-designated national historic place in 1990-, the spokesperson for Correctional Service of Canada (SCC) is limited to answering that the City of Laval and the Company of Canada (SIC), which will become in the coming months the site of the former Saint-Vincent-de-Paul Penitentiary, compose the work group responsible for ensuring its redevelopment.
Managing Director of the History Society, Jasmin Miville-Allard insists on the importance of “preserving memory traces by retaining certain elements of the built heritage”.
In this regard, he recalls that the village was demolished for the first time in the 19th century to give way to the penitentiary around which a new village nucleus developed.
“These federal buildings are anchored in a local history; It would be good for the local actors to be minimally informed, ”he finished.
By the transfer of its properties to the SIC, the SCC does not provide for any other demolition, says Jean-François Mathieu, who says that “the Correctional Service of Canada (SCC) includes the importance of preserving its heritage goods”.
With regard to the revitalization of Old Pen, Pierre Brabant underlines that “the ultimate objective” is “to preserve the heritage of this exceptional site, which forms the historical identity of the district by meeting the needs of Laval citizens”.
Read also: Conversion of Old Pen: long-term work
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