Chinatown groups in Montreal call for new sports complex to replace YMCA | CBC News

Community groups based in Montreal’s Chinatown are calling on Ottawa to support a new sports centre project to replace the YMCA that shut its doors four years ago. 

Residents from the neighbourhood and YMCA members responded by gathering a petition with thousands of signatures. 

Since then, the space formerly used by the Y in the Guy-Favreau Complex, a federal goverment building, was converted into a homeless shelter. Next week, however, that shelter  — which has been the subject of complaints by local merchants — will close, making the space vacant once again.

“Today we’re coming together to help the phoenix to rise again from the ashes of neglect and decay,” said Bryant Chang, vice president of the Chinese Association Of Montreal.

In 1984, the federal government expropriated a number of buildings in Montreal’s Chinatown to build Complexe Guy-Favreau, which houses government offices such as Passport Canada.

In exchange, Ottawa offered the YMCA a lease with a symbolic annual rent of $1 each year for 20 years to manage a gym and community centre for the Chinese community.

Then, over the years, the deal with the federal government expired and rents rose, and the Y eventually closed.

According to Chang, a new centre would help make Chinatown a safer place and provide a variety of services to different people in need from around the city. 

Chang said it would be a place for people to play sports, learn material arts and pick up language skills. It could also provide services to seniors, mentorship programs, and people with disabilities.

“We need to have a place for our youth to not just hang out, but to develop their athletic abilities, [and] their scholastic abilities on top of that,” he said. 

Richard Chin, director of the North American Chinese Basketball Association, says thousands of Chinese travellers have visited Montreal to attend sporting events — including basketball tournaments —  and a new centre would help attract even bigger audiences, putting Montreal on the map for sport for the international Chinese communities. 

Members of other organizations say a new centre would be a boon for Montreal businesses — making it money well spent.

“The economic, social and cultural potential of this Chinatown sports centre are enormous and enormously beneficial, not only for all Chinatown residents, workers and merchants, but for the downtown core as a whole,” said Bill Wong, Montreal Chinatown Economic Development Council Chair.

A new deal ahead?

Chang said he’s hoping the original 30-year agreement with the federal government can be revived.

He says the goal is to find the means to get $2 million a year, but first they need infrastructure investments and tax incentives from Ottawa. The groups say they hope to meet with Public Works and Procurement Minister, Jean-Yves Duclos, to discuss the future of the building.

In a statement, Public Works and Procurement Canada said it will “assess how this part of the building can best be used to meet the needs of the community,” but do so “once the urgent [renovation] work gets underway.”