Gentrification on Montreal Counter-information

Fuck Microsoft, Fuck AI, Fuck Techno-Capitalism

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 11:41:00 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

As crises multiply, technology companies continue to take advantage of them to reap record profits — not only contribute to the proliferation of crises, but also to profit from them.

Last night, an autonomous group sabotaged Microsoft’s Montreal facilities located in the artificial intelligence cluster in the Marconi-Alexandra sector.

Let’s not kid ourselves. Microsoft is complicit in numerous crimes against humanity. From its collaboration with the Israeli government in the genocide of the Palestinian people to its impact on gentrification and the displacement of tenants in the Parc-Extension neighborhood, to its significant contribution to climate change in the frantic race for artificial intelligence, its active participation in the technological arms race of surveillance, and its numerous partnerships with police services, the American multinational represents the new enemy to be defeated.

October 30th - Devil's Night

Fri, 01 Nov 2024 13:16:00 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

October 30th - a small crew broke into the all-too-warm night to recall the long tradition of mischief, rebellion, fear, revelry, and ritual often associated with this transitory time of year. Pry bars were wedged in the cracks of this rotting hellscape we call ‘city’ , holes in welded metal walls became new opportunities for exploration far beyond the eyes of security cameras, burnt out rooftops were made for cloudgazing if nothing else, and a beautifully abandoned wasteland of a building currently being converted into condos (corner St. Catherine and Leclaire) received a new paint job. We do this for the feeling of joy in criminality, to assist our bodies in remembering what it means to feel autonomous. If we practice enough, perhaps these ecstatic nights will imprint our actions on our bodies, so that they may become a part of our daily lives.

Devil's Night Against Landlords

Fri, 17 Nov 2023 12:14:00 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

Devil’s night is traditionally a time of mischief and subversive activity, striking fear into the forces of order. On this night, the weekend before Halloween, we took the form of mischievous creatures and decided to haunt the Upper Westmount mansion of the real estate boss Stephen Shiller. Stephen is one half of Shiller Lavy, and his son Brandon Shiller runs Hillpark Capital. These firms are responsible for renovicting and pricing out many tenants in the Montreal area in the past decade, putting hundreds of people out on the street.

Action Against Luxury MTL Real Estate Agency

Wed, 12 Jul 2023 13:55:58 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

July 1st is moving day in Montreal. It’s always chaotic, but with the threat of Bill 31 rent reforms the situation may become far worse.

We are told there is a housing crisis, a term used to avoid naming those responsible. Why is housing scarce, unsafe, expensive, and precarious in Montreal?

Greedy landlords who renovict, charge damage deposits and “finder’s fees” to maximise profits.
To avoid rental laws and increase profit landlords convert housing into short-term rentals (e.g. Airbnb). This caused several deaths in the spring .
New housing is built for investors, not residents. While low-income housing is “impossible” , dozens of towers with luxury housing are built, units sold to investors just to sit empty and appreciate in value.

Over 500 people are newly homeless since moving day. The eviction of people living in tents under the Ville-Marie expressway is imminent. They build skyscrapers and pander to rich urbanite investors while people sleep rough. Bill 31 is part of this plan. The landlord lobby, developers, property managers and real estate agencies profit from a Montreal where you must pay up or get out. The powers that be want a city made for the rich – high rent, expensive food, yuppie gentrification – the rich get richer.

Call for Solidarity : Has the Ante been Upped in Montreal Tenant Union's Struggle with the State and Major Local Landlord, the Cucurulls?

Wed, 14 Jun 2023 11:14:00 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

This is a call for solidarity and support for the Montreal Autonomous Tenants’ Union - known by most as their French acronym, SLAM. The tenants’ union has put together a picket line for this Friday, June 16, at 4:00pm in front of the landlord offices of 5301 Parc. This callout explains the ongoing situation of state and landlord repression, and why it is important that we, as a movement, help match these adversaries in their upping of the ante.

Tenants' Union March into the Offices of Transport Québec

Fri, 24 Feb 2023 12:16:00 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

Monday, February 20th, members of the Montreal Autonomous Tenants’ Union (SLAM-MATU) stormed into the offices of Transport Quebec. Any plans for a future eviction of the Ville-marie encampment must be cancelled, and encampment members need to be given housing that fits their needs. We marched on TQ’s offices, just as we march on the offices of landlords, because direct action gets the goods.

We’re calling on members of the public, supporters, and unhoused comrades, to take to the streets this coming Monday, February 27th, 5:30pm, Atwater Metro (Cabot Square) to help put an end to these evictions.

Tenants Escalate Against Cromwell Renoviction

Tue, 06 Dec 2022 15:53:39 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

The views expressed within this text are not those of the Montreal Autonomous Tenants’ Union (SLAM). The following is an account and analysis by one union member. SLAM is built on anarcho-syndicalist principles but is not an explicitly anarchist organization and contains many (if not mostly) non-anarchist militants. Working together has not been a question of compromising our principles, but of growing our strength based on tactical agreement.

Windy Morning for Condo Sellers

Thu, 24 Nov 2022 12:30:00 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

On Monday, November 14, gusts of air were the only visitors to the Le Moden condo sales office by Frontenac metro.

The city is already fucking ugly but new condos make shit worse. The yuppification of Place Frontenac and Centre-Sud is imminent. The domination of capitalism advances quickly. Don’t wait a second more to practice your window-smashing throw with your friends!
RAILROAD SPIKES
- accessibility 10/10
- impact 9/10
- discretion 7/10 (less loud than we thought)
- handling 10/10
- fun 10/10

Tenants Resist Renoviction by Cromwell, Anarchist Solidarity is Key

Sun, 23 Oct 2022 13:04:00 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

Berlin: Rigaer94 Calls for International Solidarity - Destruction of our Space Expected

Thu, 18 Feb 2021 13:31:08 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

After the eviction of the anarcha-queer-feminist house project Liebig34 on 9th of october 2020, the offensive of state and capital against self-organized structures in the northern area of Friedrichshain and other parts of the city did not cease. The Liebig34 is since then under the control of the owner and the presence of his gang had also an affect on the local life. The so called Dorfplatz (“village square”) lying directly in front of the house was during the last months less used by residents and visitors as a common space and saw some minor confrontations with the invaders. With having taken one of the strategic points in the area and in the same time removing a political obstacle, state and capital could focus on the Rigaer94, which lies just some meters away from the Dorfplatz and has been a constant topic in the medias over the last year.

Another Ending is Entirely Speculative: Reflections on the Eviction of the Notre-Dame Encampment

Sat, 12 Dec 2020 12:45:58 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

On Monday, December 7th at 7am over 50 people attempted to gather outside the Notre-Dame tent encampment in support of residents facing eviction by the cops that morning. This camp was established earlier in the summer of this year by those living without safe and secure shelter. The SPVM had already set up a perimeter, and they defended it to prevent supporters from approaching the camp. As a result, the police were able to easily remove the camp’s residents, as planned.

Montreal Rent Strike - Beginning April 1, 2020

Fri, 20 Mar 2020 19:35:53 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

11" x 17" Poster

8.5" x 11" b&w Poster / Bilingual Flyer

See also: Grevedesloyers.info

Poor, unemployed, laid-off, precarious, undocumented, contract and other workers — all of us who live month-to-month — will not be able to pay rent this April 1st. Many of us were struggling to pay rent before this crisis hit, and are likely already behind. In a perspective of direct action and social solidarity, ALL tenants can refuse to pay rent on April 1st.

Invitation to the Winter Games of Urban Revolt

Thu, 19 Dec 2019 18:08:01 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info Print: 11 x 17" Poster text:

INVITATION TO THE WINTER GAMES OF URBAN REVOLT

December 20, 2019 - March 15, 2020

Challenge your friends, your neighbors, and other crews.

Three fields of play await the athletes.

no 1 Camover Returns

Destroy surveillance cameras

dummy camera = 2 points
functional camera = 6 points
smart doorbell with camera (Amazon Ring / Google Nest) = 6 points

no 2 Nobody Pays

each metro turnstile disabled = 3 points
- all the turnstiles of a station = bonus +4
each fare distribution machine disabled = 6 points
- all the distribution machines of a station = bonus +2

no 3 A Long Winter for Condo Promoters

glue the locks of a condo sales office (all doors) = 6 points
redecorate exterior (paint bombs, graffiti, or extinguisher) = 4 points
redecorate interior (with an extinguisher) = 10 points

Bonus

claim one’s action with a meme = 2 points
burn a christmas tree displayed in public = 4 points
disable a cop car during a snow storm = 10 points

*This is not an encouragement to brag about one’s actions or otherwise endanger one’s security or that of friends.

Don't Call the Cops!

Sat, 22 Jun 2019 15:10:10 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

In the early morning of Monday June 10th, the Montreal police shot a man. A neighbour was having a crisis. Instead of doing anything helpful, they harassed him for hours. They had guns pointed at his head. They finally shot him in the leg through hs own apartment door early monday morning. On Sunday June 17th anarchists in the St-Henri neighbourhood of Montreal put up posters reminding our neighbours to think twice before calling the cops.

OSHA Condos: New Communiqué Poster

Mon, 04 Feb 2019 04:05:07 +0000

11 x 17" | PDF

Attacks against OSHA Condo Advertising Billboards

Sat, 26 Jan 2019 20:33:24 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

Last night and the one before, different crews bombarded the colonial-themed advertising billboards for the new condo project OSHA with paint.

The OSHA Condo project is simple: the destruction of Hochelaga. How? With the arrival of more than 200 condo units (selling for between $200 000 for a 2 and a half and more than $500 000 for a 4 and a half). Meaning 300 to 500 more yuppies in our neighborhood, and in a particularly sensitive location home to many of those tossed aside in recent decades by different real estate developments. The arrival of opulence, where misery reigns. Raising the number of cops and patrols, of expensive eco-ethico-responsible-biodegradable stores, of chic restaurants daring to name themselves “Les AffamÉes” (“the starving”) in one of the largest food deserts in Montreal. A social cleansing in every respect.

Discover Westmount: An Up-and-Coming Hub of Anarchist Activity

Sun, 28 Oct 2018 15:19:24 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

When you hear the word “Westmount”, temporary autonomous zones, dumpster barricades, and flaming effigies of Trudeau aren’t exactly what pops to mind. People often think of this drab neighborhood looming over St. Henri as purgatory where the absurdly wealthy listlessly drift between a loveless marriage, resentful children, and a soul-crushing job… But not anymore!

Westmount is undergoing revitalization!

Anarchists are transforming it into a mixed-attack neighborhood that offers many opportunities for comrades of every tendency. In desolate Westmount, there’s an activity for anarchists of any stripe—regardless if your flag flies black, half-red, or purple glitterbomb.

Public Advisory in Saint-Henri: Risk of Luxury Car Arson

Tue, 18 Sep 2018 16:30:12 +0000

From Corporate media, détournement not required

A flier claiming to be from the Sud-Ouest borough is being refuted by city officials as a fake, and a fear-mongering tactic by opponents of gentrification.

The flier was left on some high-end cars – including an Audi and an Acura - urging owners to move out of St. Henri or face the possibility of their cars being set on fire.

The fliers were mostly recovered from Lea Roback St., where several cars were torched in summer 2017.

Parc-Extension Residents and Housing Activists Brave Violence at the Hands of BSR Group to Fight Gentrification

Fri, 10 Aug 2018 17:49:15 +0000

From Parc-Ex Contre la Gentrification ( Facebook page )

Over 60 people gathered in front of Parc metro station yesterday afternoon to protest property speculation and gentrification. The action aimed to bring together members of Parc-Ex Against Gentrification, POPIR, Comité B.A.I.L.S, the Parc Extension Action Committee, the Comité Logement de Rosemont, and the Comité Logement du Plateau Mont-Royal to maintain pressure on property developers and send a clear message that condo and luxury apartment developments are not welcome in our neighborhoods.

Beyond Support: Update on Locke St Defendants and a Proposal for Beginning to Organize Solidarity

Tue, 05 Jun 2018 18:21:14 +0000

From North Shore Counter-Info

Before giving updates on the Locke St defendants, it’s worth taking a moment to put things in their context and to remember that these seven people are accused of participating in a struggle against gentrification in the city. This struggle has taken countless different forms over the years, from mass meetings, to stickers and posters, to broad-based organizing, to counter-demonstrations and pressure campaigns. The reason so many people have chosen to dedicate their energy to this issue for so long is that it’s one of vital importance — people are losing their homes at an ever–increasing rate as housing is treated more as a commodity or investment than as a basic need that everyone deserves to have met.

Hamilton: What Are We Fighting For?

Tue, 27 Mar 2018 17:03:17 +0000

From Northshore Counter-Info (anonymous submission)

I rarely read fiction. I regret that truth and so every few months, when I get given a book of dystopian sci-fi or imaginative history, I stumble through it halfheartedly. I know that fiction has a lot to offer in terms of expanding our realm of possibility, of inspiring creation of new worlds. Someone near and dear to me once advocated for changing my reading habits by explaining that non-fiction changes what we know but fiction changes how we think. And yet, I find myself falling back into the practical guides for non-monogamy, the exposés of political corruption, the treatises on decolonial feminism. I’m driven by the internal desire to dismantle systems of dominance and hierarchy. If I can learn enough about them, maybe I’ll be better equipped to aid in their destruction. Theory to practice to theory to practice.

Disruption of the Parc-Ex Borough Council Meeting to Denounce Gentrification

Tue, 20 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

From Parc-Ex Contre la Gentrification (Facebook)

On March 13, we went to the Villeray-St-Michel-Parc-Extension borough council meeting in order to prevent the elected officials of the borough from granting Ron Basal a permit to continue the development of his luxury apartment project in Plaza Hutchison. After the council refused to consider the appeal of residents in Villeray who opposed the Taxi Diamond condo project, we decided to disrupt the meeting, so that Ron Basal would not receive his permit. We were brutally forced out of the room by the police, and two people were arrested and charged. The borough council then approved the permit for the Plaza Hutchison construction, in an empty room, with Basal sitting in the front row.

Hamilton: Ungovernables and Yuppie Tears: A Saturday night on Locke St

Sun, 18 Mar 2018 00:00:00 +0000

From North-Shore.info Text received as an anonymous submission

Every day — whether it’s the landlords charging ever more rent for ever shittier apartments, the boss pushing you to work harder, the business association lobbying for more cops, or just the Audi that cuts you off in rush hour — the rich make our lives worse. Every day we have to deal with their attacks on us, but every once in a while we can find a way to strike back.

From #HoMa to #HamOnt: The secret is to round up your loser friends.

Tue, 13 Mar 2018 03:59:39 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info. To donate to The Tower’s renovation fund, click here.

These thugs are no better than the anarchists.

Don’t they know the financial burden that their vandalism will have on the Tower’s landlord?

Don’t they understand that boarded up windows will bring down property values in the neighbourhood around the Tower??

Engaging in this kind of violence just creates lawlessness, and legitimizes the destruction of private property.

Staying Solid through the Flurry: An Anarchist Perspective on the Kirkendall Riot

Sun, 11 Mar 2018 19:26:12 +0000

Solidarity with The Tower! The Hamilton anarchist social centre has faced several attacks since the events on Locke Street. To donate to The Tower’s renovation fund, click here. Read The Tower’s statement on recent events here. From North-Shore.info

I wasn’t there on Aberdeen or Locke that night. I don’t know who was, and I’m not interested in knowing who was. I don’t necessarily think it was the most strategic or timely action in Hamilton’s history of resistance, but I certainly don’t condemn it. Far from it. I think it was brave, I think it was well-executed, and I think it was a meaningful and justified act of political action against a neighbourhood that sits way too comfortably on a mountain of unearned privileges, and that flamboyantly basks in the luxuries afforded by a destructive and exploitative system.

Arson of two luxury cars in St-Henri

Fri, 08 Sep 2017 19:47:59 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

Inspired by the riots in Hamburg, we burned two luxury cars outside of a condo in St-Henri during the night of July 13. In a neighbourhood where people have to choose between food and rent, don’t be surprised when we set fire to your flagrant displays of class privilege.

We used a simple method: fire sticks half-covered in fire-paste. All the material can be found in a camping store. We lit the fire-paste covered end and placed it in the top corners of the car’s grill, between the headlights. We used two sticks per car. The fire is mostly invisible until plastic or motor oil catches fire, giving you time to leave unseen. Be careful: the fire can easily spread to cars parked close-by.

De-gentrification action against “3734”

Thu, 31 Aug 2017 16:04:54 +0000

11 x 17″ | PDF

Anger into Action: Anti-gentrification attacks this summer in Hamilton

Sun, 27 Aug 2017 00:55:21 +0000

From The Hamilton Institute

The buzz has become impossible to escape. Business associations speak of “renewal”, while expensive restaurants celebrate “revitalization” and local politicians promote “redevelopment” as the city gives large grants to Toronto entrepreneurs to set up shop in town. This is all accompanied by a media blitz presenting Hamilton as a land of opportunity for the rich. With every passing day the meaning of these words becomes painfully obvious – in practice they really just mean increased misery, hardship, and displacement. Real estate agents, property management firms, investors, and business owners amongst others, reap huge profits as many of us who have called Hamilton home struggle to get by in the changing city. This is a fundamental reality of capitalism and is not surprising. What is surprising, is that those who celebrate and profit off gentrification continue to do so openly without regularly feeling the anger of those who their narrow self-interest harms.

Finding ways to resist: learning from anti-gentrification actions in Montreal

Thu, 22 Jun 2017 15:18:30 +0000

From The Cannon Street Bellows

As rising housing prices push more of us into difficult situations here in Hamilton, it can be hard to find inspiration for how to fight back against gentrification. But just down the 401, anarchists in Montreal have been developing a practice of direct action against businesses involved in gentrifying their neighbourhoods over the past several years. Focused on Hochelaga in the east and Saint-Henri in the south-west, a variety of strategies have emerged that share a common goal of making the territory inhospitable for businesses that try to attract a rich clientele to working-class areas.

Let them eat paint! : de-gentrification action against “3734”

Tue, 20 Jun 2017 17:54:02 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

Just over a year ago, a masked crowd looted the yuppie grocery store attached to the “3734” restaurant on Notre-Dame street and redistributed the food to people in the neighborhood, one of dozens of actions against gentrification in recent years. The grocery store shut down several months ago, but we noticed that the 3734 restaurant was still serving business lunches and expensive dinners to local yuppies. So last Wednesday night we paid them a visit, breaking a window and covering the inside of the restaurant with paint, using a fire extinguisher.

Hey There Yuppies!

Tue, 23 May 2017 16:15:58 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

On the night of May 19, we decided to come together to attack the restaurant and bar Ludger, the offices of Projet Montréal, and the IGA supermarket in Saint-Henri.

If we attacked Ludger, it’s not only to denounce the over-priced meals that they serve, but to attack the way of life of young professional yuppies who invade popular neighbourhoods with their cash, and contribute to the exclusion of the poor in the neighbourhood.

BUSINESS INVASION: A Tactic to Fight Gentrification?

Sat, 06 May 2017 01:48:13 +0000

This winter, I visited New York City, where I attended a really inspiring Black Lives Matter demonstration called the People’s Monday March. They employed a tactic I’ll call Business Invasion, which allows a small number of people to deliver a political message in a way that cannot be ignored.

The day after that action, I wrote a reportback, which forms the first half of this article. The second half is reflections on how this tactic could be used by anarchists to fight gentrification in Montreal.

Anti-gentrification vandalism in Saint-Henri

Fri, 17 Mar 2017 19:48:35 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

On March 15, 2017, a dozen or so condo owners in Saint-Henri dug their cars out from under the biggest snowfall of the winter, only to learn that their tires had been slashed while they slept.

We carried out this simple action on the eve of the 20th annual Protest Against Police Brutality, in Hochelaga, to emphasize that the struggle against policing and the struggle against gentrification are one and the same: the creation of a world hostile to social control and all forms of domination.

Putting into practice: adding to the conversation on anarchist activity in Montreal

Mon, 13 Mar 2017 15:04:45 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

Download and Print Here

We’d like to respond with our thoughts to a text Mise en Commun (Putting in Common) that has been circulated critiquing insurrectionary projects and perspectives in Montreal. We appreciate that the authors of Mise en Common want to elaborate similarities and clarify differences, and move past bad faith. We’re taking this as an occasion to respond and to clarify ideas that we’ve been reflecting on for a few years now. We’ll try to use points of difference with Mise en Commun as an opportunity to delve further into ideas and how they inform practices, rather than limiting the scope of our text to simply addressing the critiques. We recognize that the length of this text might not facilitate a simple back-and-forth with the original authors, but our goal is to contribute to a larger discussion about these questions. We hope others will feel compelled to participate in this process of clarifying ideas and directions.

Building common grounds

Mon, 06 Mar 2017 18:05:55 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

We’re hoping to engage in a dialogue we have until now chosen to avoid.

The cliques rub shoulders with each other, but struggle sometimes to communicate and often don’t speak the same language, in either words or gestures. The present text is about making clear what we have in common and what separates us. Certain unaddressed tensions have lead to far too much shit-talking, gossip, bad faith remarks, half-reflections, and security breaches. Some people want to see in these sometimes vehement exchanges simply interpersonal conflicts, but this understanding empties all political content of the critiques thus put forward. To avoid that all this be reduced to gossip and late-night debates, we want to identify the lines of tension, to politically name the points of rupture and look for which ways we can collectively grow more powerful. Our intention here isn’t to “denounce” certain practices or to discourage friends from reproducing them, but to avoid the fetishization of smashing windows and to constantly and collectively reflect the benefits and costs of our actions.

Several unclaimed attacks on bougie businesses in Hochelaga

Sat, 04 Mar 2017 21:37:52 +0000

Le Lapin blanc

A restaurant on Sainte-Catherine street in Hochelega-Maisonneuve, the Lapin blanc, was the target of vandalism on Thursday night, between 26 and 27 January.

A few minutes after the business closed, a surveillance camera captured a masked individual writing some hardly flattering graffiti.

For the owner, Stéphane Allard, there is no doubt that it was a planned, anti-gentrification action.

“You see four individuals pass by with a backpack. Then you see a masked person write hateful graffiti”, explains Mr. Allard, who estimates he lost an entire day of work.

Still Cameras, Still Targets

Tue, 14 Feb 2017 20:50:58 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

Anarchists hate cameras. We love games. That’s why some friends in the Sud-West took up the call to play CAMOVER . Masked up in black (obvi), we bagged a bunch of nosey CCTVs and painted over many others. No Face No Case! Shouts out to hommies in Hochelaga throwing down. Keep the good work up and the snitch cameras down.

From one participant:

CamOVER!? No Question. We hit the street four deep, two on the lookout, real casual, walkies and cigarettes, and got to bagging. Rope lines snaking through the air, cracks off streetlights as cams tumble down, we caught a side-eye from a citizen passerby and got back at it, like, FUCK YOU&YOUR CAMERAS. We dipped when the cops rolled up, stashed the cams alley-side, and swooped em up the next day.”

Cabaret and open-mic night against gentrification

Thu, 09 Feb 2017 19:32:40 +0000

Most humble greetings, Princesses and Princes of the so-called city of Montreal. It is time to brighten up our long, cold nights with a luxurious and decadent celebration in honor of gentrification! In Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, dangerous anarchists are trying to slow progress. But, gentrification is an inevitability of unfettered capitalism, a most desirable process and, of course, our highest ambition. Join us as we feast on salmon and caviar, martini in hand. Let us witness magnificent concrete condos rise! Let us toast to new security cameras and police presence! Only they will protect our modest businesses, our honorable citizens, and maintain order in our streets.

#isupportmycomradesandtheirvandalism

Thu, 12 Jan 2017 00:26:41 +0000

11 x 17″ | PDF

New communique posters

Tue, 10 Jan 2017 03:39:54 +0000

11 x 17″ | PDF

Defend the Hood

Thu, 22 Dec 2016 00:35:19 +0000

From subMedia.tv Download zine (letter-sized) Make sure to press CC on the video player for English subtitles

In 2016, numerous attacks were launched at diverse symbols of gentrification in the Montreal neighborhoods of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and Saint-Henri. We wanted to give space to the people involved so that they can explain a point of view, that corporate media consistently ignore or misrepresent. subMedia has obtained an exclusive interview with two anarchists involved in the actions.

Louis Cyr, the police, and the gentrification of St-Henri

Thu, 15 Dec 2016 00:53:16 +0000

11 x 17″ | PDF

More cameras, more targets!

Thu, 01 Dec 2016 23:07:05 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

Over the last few months, friends have been playing Camover in the neighbourhood of Hochelaga. We’ve destroyed around twenty security cameras. For your pleasure (and certainly for our own as well!), here’s a photo in which we see a friend sporting a necklace of optical trophies.

In response to the recent smashings of gentrifiers in the neighbourhood, and in the context of twenty-two businesses being vandalized in the last year, the city and the police have publicly announced a renewed collaboration. They’re desperately trying to reassert control, faced with people who “aren’t afraid of the police”, and their initiative to install more cameras shows it. Of course, the police know that it’s impossible to be everywhere all of the time. There will always be loopholes that allow those who are creative and well-prepared to attack. That’s where cameras come in: to make us feel powerless and watched. But our masks will continue to give us power against any camera. No face, no case. And so, to keep up morale, we’ve decided to see this increase in the presence of cameras in the neighbourhood as an occasion for more CamOver and increased sabotage of the mechanisms of control that the authorities put in place.

Candies for children, rocks for the rich

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 17:23:09 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

On Monday October 31, about 75 people assembled in Hochelag’ with costumes and candy for a Halloween demonstration against gentrification. In a carnivalesque mood, the small crowd took the streets and put up graffiti on the walls of the neighbourhood. In the wake of the demo’s path, one could read: “fuck homa”, “genre = cauchemar” (gender = nightmare), “tout le monde déteste la police” (everyone hates the police), “junkies contre la gentrification” (junkies against gentrification), etc. This gave a bit of colour and life to Hochelag’, a neighbourhood which is undergoing sterilization so that, slowly but surely, all that can thrive are condos, yuppie grocery stores and high-end clothing stores.

Attacking more than windows: attacks in Hochelaga

Tue, 29 Nov 2016 03:51:02 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

About a year ago, the good citizens of the neighborhood were indignant about an attack against Electric Kids, whose front window was sprayed with purple paint which we can still see traces of today.

Tonight, we decided to attack other businesses on rue Sainte-Catherine – three furniture design boutiques, a real estate office, and a yuppie hair salon. If this is the strategy we use, it’s not just to make those who support and participate in the gentrification of Hochelaga talk about it. We want to do more than just raise our voices, to be more than indignant when faced with this movement that slowly chases us from the neighborhood. Rather than being satisfied with just smashing their windows, we decided to spray the interior of the design businesses with paint to ruin their merchandise. It’s a matter of directly effecting these owners, and not just the facades that protect them.

Gentrification is Scary

Sat, 05 Nov 2016 00:46:10 +0000

From Submedia.tv

On Halloween night a crew of 100 peeps in costumes marched on the neighborhood of Hochelaga in Montreal, and handed candy to kids and neighbors. They also spray painted condominiums and businesses they say are contributing to gentrification. They also smashed luxury cars and when a cop cruiser tried to run them over they responded with a volley of rocks, and like ghosts disappeared into the night.

When night falls, the bats come out to dance

Sun, 21 Aug 2016 16:20:46 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

Last Tuesday, August 16, a widespread power failure plunged Hochelaga into darkness. No more light in the streets, no more functioning cameras… When we realized what was happening, we quickly exchanged knowing looks and smiled under the glow of candles. We gathered our rain jackets and several tools, then left to play in the night. The torrential rain had disrupted the stifling machine of the city and its system of surveillance. The storm offered us a respite, a moment of chaos to not be missed. Completely drenched, with joyous hearts, we strolled in the streets, improvising our targets with excitement. We took several precautions: planning an exit route for each location, and having lookouts. Darkness was our accomplice. We hurried to play until electricity returned, then headed to our homes without any problems.

Theft, direct action, solidarity

Mon, 04 Jul 2016 17:53:03 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

Today is July 1st, the day when the founding of the state of Canada is celebrated. We have chosen this day to announce that over the past months we have stolen and freely redistributed a number of quality objects and food obtained from bourgeois stores to marginalized individuals and families from oppressed communities in Montreal, occupied Kanien’kehá:ka territory. This text is to explain why we have done this, to express solidarity with related actions, and to encourage others to continue taking similar initiatives.

Balade in Saint-Henri loots expensive grocery store

Wed, 08 Jun 2016 17:19:07 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

A balade for de-gentrification took to the streets of Saint-Henri on the evening of May 28, 2016. About 30 people, all in black bloc, strolled down rue Notre-Dame and looted the yuppie boutique grocery store “Le 3734”. As most of the crowd held down the street outside the store, a few people went inside and filled duffel bags with fresh and dry sausages, cheese, maple syrup, and other items. Meanwhile, the storefront was redecorated with graffiti reading ‘Fuck Empire’ and wheatpasted posters that communicated some of the intentions behind the action. After throwing smoke bombs ahead of and behind the crowd on Notre-Dame, people dispersed via the train tracks before police could arrive, and no arrests have been made. In the days that followed, we re-distributed the food to people in the neighborhood who wouldn’t regularly have had access to it. The poster left behind read as follows:

CAMOVER MONTRÉAL

Sat, 28 May 2016 15:19:14 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

In CamOver, you play a group of humans confronted with an invasion of cameras in a gentrified neighborhood. The struggle against the cameras is important, but your own survival is essential! To win you must form teams with friends in your neighborhoods and destroy as many cameras as possible. The game takes place throughout the summer. At the end, the neighborhood with the most points wins the game.

For the proliferation of the balade: some thoughts on the anti-police demo in Hochelag'

Tue, 10 May 2016 23:03:07 +0000

From Anarchistnews

After having participated in what was called as a demo against the police in Hochelaga on Thursday April 14th, we had the urge to share some reflections outside of our living rooms (towards yours perhaps?).

First off, we were fucking excited to see a flyer circulate that was calling for a neighborhood demo in Hochelag’. We want to be able to participate in moments of struggle in the neighborhood and not only downtown and/or in demos called on Facebook.

Attacks in Hochelag'

Sat, 27 Feb 2016 18:55:19 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

Last night, we destroyed the windows of Antidote, Mâle Bouffe, Electric Children (which was also sprayed with paint), and attacked the businesses of the Place Valois. This morning, flyers were thrown in the metro stations Préfontaine, Joliette and Pie-IX and at the Place Valois explaining the attacks of the night before.

Flyer:

During the night of February 25, 2016, some businesses in Hochelaga were attacked. We smashed the windows and threw paint everywhere.

New Year's Eve attack on a yuppie car in Montreal

Sun, 10 Jan 2016 23:51:33 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info_ “Because Black December is not a staged repetition of previous insurrectional events, but rather a circle of struggle that connects the past with the present, in search of a future where our everyday life will be inundated with acts of attack and rebellion against Power. Because, although our bodies are incarcerated between walls and bars, our souls are found in every part of the planet where flags of resistance are raised for a world of freedom. Because our hearts stubbornly continue to beat to the rhythm of wild freedom…”

Attack on yuppie clothing boutique in St-Henri

Tue, 29 Dec 2015 21:10:53 +0000

_ _Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

In the early morning of Tuesday, December 22, we used chunks of porcelain to break a window of the yuppie clothing boutique at the corner of Notre-Dame and Delinelle in the Montreal neighborhood of St-Henri. We then used a re-purposed fire extinguisher to spray the interior of the store with vomit-colored paint, wrecking the merchandise inside.

Businesses like this one make the neighborhood more appealing to rich people, driving up rents and the cost of living, forcing people out of their homes, and drawing heightened social control to the places we live.

Private patrol car sabotaged for a black December

Mon, 14 Dec 2015 15:12:51 +0000

Anonymous submission to MTL Counter-info

No peace for the defenders of commodity-society!

In the early hours of Wednesday Dec 2, we punctured the tires of a patrol car belonging to the private security company Garda on the corner of St-Jacques and Irene in the Montreal neighborhood of St-Henri. Garda provides prison, security and deportation services, profiting intensely from many aspects of this burning dumpster of an existence under capitalism. So, you know, fuck ’em. We claim this action within the context of the international call for a black December by imprisoned Greek anarchists. Through this communique, we wish to express our sincerest criminal complicity with all fugitive and incarcerated anarchist comrades around the world.

Vandalism against gentrification in Hochelaga

Wed, 24 Jun 2015 18:35:12 +0000

Vandalised because of their business name Our enemies - 11/6/2015 A restaurant named “La Mâle Bouffe” was the target of radical feminists who broke one of its windows and covered the neighborhood of Hochelaga in posters denouncing gentrification.

It was on June 2, ten days before the opening of his restaurant on rue Ontario, that the owner noticed that a large rock had been thrown through a window of his business.

St-Henri vandalism

Mon, 25 May 2015 23:02:08 +0000

From our enemies - Global News, 01/25/2015

In a brazen attempt to vandalize several businesses at around midnight on Saturday, a group of individuals wearing ski masks broke the windows of four businesses located on Notre-Dame Street in St-Henri.

Dressed all in black, the vandals damaged storefronts as seen in a security video obtained by Global News.

The damage to Jesse Bowden’s shop, Campanelli, was just shy of $8000 in glass alone.

Attack on employment centre in Hochelaga, May Day

Fri, 01 May 2015 22:38:28 +0000

Our enemies – journal de montreal, 01/05/2015

The local employment centre of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve was vandalized, over the night of Thursday to Friday, in Montreal, when white and red paint was thrown on the buildings façade and the windows were broken.

A passerby called 911 around 5:40 am to communicate the dammages to the building on rue De Rouen. Upon arriving at the location, police also noticed the interior had been ransacked, affirms the spokesperson of the SPVM, Jean-Pierre Brabant.

The rich of St.Henri targeted

Fri, 03 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0000

From the mass media

Business owners of Saint-Henri are tired of being victims of vandalism on the part of those who blame their luxurious shops for the gentrification of the neighborhood. They are now considering hiring a night guard.

“If you sell anything other than hot dogs at 25 cents in Saint-Henri, you are not always welcome,” says business owner Corey Shapiro. Every day, people spit on the windows of his hair salon and its luxury eyewear, both located on rue Notre Dame.

Montreal: vandalism against gentrification

Sun, 23 Nov 2014 19:50:44 +0000

From [Anarchist News](Depuis quelques années, le quartier de St. Henri subit des changements importants: lors d’une promenade sur la rue Notre-Dame, des nouveaux restos gourmands, des magasins des vêtements de mode, des galeries d’art, et des «drinkeries» accueillant les residents des condos qui bordent le canal, et remplaçant des marchés aux puces et des magasins d’aubaines. Bien que l’embourgoisement du quartier se fait par plus que des nouvelles entreprises et des belle vitrines, nous avons decidé de rendre notre degôut avec celle-ci en vandalisant deux entreprises exemplaires avec des extincteurs de feu remplis de peinture. L’un est le barbier Notorious, avec les patrons fiers de porter des ensembles de Versace, qui offre des services comme le rasage doré à $1000; l’autre est Campanelli, un magasin de mode haut-de-gamme et café bourg qui tient également un muraille de Louis Cyr, ancien flic et figure «héroique» dans l’histoire du quartier. Connu comme «strongman», il travaillait pour les services policiers afin de pacifier le Village des Tanneries, où se trouve Campanelli aujourd’hui. Cyr n’était pas capable d’imposer la loi et l’ordre, et a été battu et envoyé du quartier. Le choix de la part de Campanelli de glorifier cette figure est un indice de comment cette entreprise se voit dans le quartier, et est un exemple de la manière que l’histoire des quartiers populaires se déforment pour effacer tout trace de résistance et valoriser la conformité et la docilité. Nous espérons que l’avenir de Campanelli soit semblable à ce de Cyr: un échec. Ces commerces, en tant que jouers actifs de la «revitalisation» du quartier, contribuent à repousser les pauvres et les travailleurs-euses précaires pour favoriser la venue de jeunes yuppis ayant des revenus considérables et qui sont toujours à la recherche de la nouvelle tendance-autant en terme de nourriture, de bière, de mode vestimentaire que de quartier. Incapables de débourser le prix du nouveau coût de la vie, subissant plus de harcèlement par la police qui contribue au projet de nettoyage des rues en repoussant les indésirables de plus en plus loin du centre-ville et des aires centrales, les travailleurs-euses précaires, les sans-emploi ou tout autres marginaux de la société se retrouvent toujours perdant-e-s dans ce processus de «revitalisation». Nous percevons aussi cette action comme prenant part à la lutte contre le colonialisme et en solidarité avec l’autodétermination et la souveraineté autochtones. Alors que nous reconnaissons que notre lutte à Montréal, terre autochtone occupée, n’est comparable en aucun cas aux luttes autochtones dans sa forme ou son contenu, nous avons engagé cette action en solidarité avec celles et ceux qui luttent contre des projets exploitatifs chez eux, tels que la construction des gazéoducs et autres stratégies d’extraction de ressources naturels. Nous pensons que l’une des meilleurs façons d’agir en solidarité est de lutter dans notre propre contexte contre des ennemis communs: les forces de répression et de déplacement de population, incluant le capital et la police. En ce sens, inspiré-e-s en partie des luttes contre des menaces du territoire et de l’eau qui se produisent sur des terres ayant déjà été volées aux peuples autochtones, des menaces qui pérpetuent un processus sans fin de colonisation et de génocide des peuples autochtones au Canada, nous avons attaqué des forces qui nous rendent aliéner de ce qui nous entourent et qui nous poussent hors des espaces dans lesquelles nous habitons. quelques anarchistes)

Yuppie businesses attacked in Hochelaga

Thu, 05 Dec 2013 23:27:19 +0000

From SabotageMedia

We heard through the media that on the night of November 26 to 27, yuppie businesses in Hochelaga were once again attacked.

The restaurant Le Chasseur and the Le Valois, In Vivo and Bagatelle bistros windows were smashed and graffiti was painted.

Here is a leaflet left behind, taken from media and which we’ve translated from french:

You and your collaborators of gentrification, you come here, in Hochelaga to rot us with your 25 bucks table d’hôte, your crap condos and your hip businessman ideals. It seems quite obvious that your not welcome here. Your presence makes us want to vomit. We know the song too well. Under your cheerful young entrepreneur and unscrupulous airs, your only goal is to colonize our neighborhoods and adapt them to your interests. You have big cash and the cops for your SECURITY and that’s how you plan to succeed. Well you better get the fuck out of here because we want nothing of your sanitized world.

Attack in Hochelaga against gentrification

Mon, 23 Sep 2013 22:09:13 +0000

from anarchistnews

Over the night of September 5, we broke the window of the office of Carole Poirier, Partie Québécois representative in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve. With an extinguisher filled with paint (sprayed into the broken window) the interior of Carole’s office was completely covered. Walls, carpet, computers, everything. On the outside wall, “FUCK LA PROPRIÉTÉ PRIVÉE – GRÈVE DES LOYERS” was written. This action was done in solidarity with those being evicted from the Moreau lofts, and as a fuck you to politicians who all work hand in hand with landlords to render the neighbourhood sterilized and policed.

Luxury businesses in Hochelaga vandalized

Tue, 21 May 2013 19:45:34 +0000

While the yearly anticapitalist demonstration was in full swing in Old-Montréal , vandals had a field day in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Montréal.

Around 6:30pm, suspects tried to arson the rental business of cars and trucks Jean Légaré, at 3035 rue Hochelaga (note: well-known to rent to police during demonstrations).

The police confirm that at least one incendiary device was thrown against one of the windows of the building, which did not break however.

Gentrification on Montreal Counter-information

Fuck Microsoft, Fuck AI, Fuck Techno-Capitalism

October 30th - Devil's Night

Devil's Night Against Landlords

Action Against Luxury MTL Real Estate Agency

Call for Solidarity : Has the Ante been Upped in Montreal Tenant Union's Struggle with the State and Major Local Landlord, the Cucurulls?

Tenants' Union March into the Offices of Transport Québec

Tenants Escalate Against Cromwell Renoviction

Windy Morning for Condo Sellers

Tenants Resist Renoviction by Cromwell, Anarchist Solidarity is Key

Berlin: Rigaer94 Calls for International Solidarity - Destruction of our Space Expected

Another Ending is Entirely Speculative: Reflections on the Eviction of the Notre-Dame Encampment

Montreal Rent Strike - Beginning April 1, 2020

Invitation to the Winter Games of Urban Revolt

INVITATION TO THE WINTER GAMES OF URBAN REVOLT

December 20, 2019 - March 15, 2020

Challenge your friends, your neighbors, and other crews.

Sabotage social control, de-gentrify our neighborhoods!

no 1 Camover Returns

no 2 Nobody Pays

no 3 A Long Winter for Condo Promoters

Bonus

Don't Call the Cops!

OSHA Condos: New Communiqué Poster

Attacks against OSHA Condo Advertising Billboards

Discover Westmount: An Up-and-Coming Hub of Anarchist Activity

Public Advisory in Saint-Henri: Risk of Luxury Car Arson

Parc-Extension Residents and Housing Activists Brave Violence at the Hands of BSR Group to Fight Gentrification

Beyond Support: Update on Locke St Defendants and a Proposal for Beginning to Organize Solidarity

Hamilton: What Are We Fighting For?

Disruption of the Parc-Ex Borough Council Meeting to Denounce Gentrification

Hamilton: Ungovernables and Yuppie Tears: A Saturday night on Locke St

From #HoMa to #HamOnt: The secret is to round up your loser friends.

Staying Solid through the Flurry: An Anarchist Perspective on the Kirkendall Riot

Arson of two luxury cars in St-Henri

De-gentrification action against “3734”

Anger into Action: Anti-gentrification attacks this summer in Hamilton

Finding ways to resist: learning from anti-gentrification actions in Montreal

Let them eat paint! : de-gentrification action against “3734”

Hey There Yuppies!

BUSINESS INVASION: A Tactic to Fight Gentrification?

Anti-gentrification vandalism in Saint-Henri

Putting into practice: adding to the conversation on anarchist activity in Montreal

Building common grounds

Several unclaimed attacks on bougie businesses in Hochelaga

Le Lapin blanc

Still Cameras, Still Targets

Cabaret and open-mic night against gentrification

#isupportmycomradesandtheirvandalism

New communique posters

Defend the Hood

Louis Cyr, the police, and the gentrification of St-Henri

More cameras, more targets!

Candies for children, rocks for the rich

Attacking more than windows: attacks in Hochelaga

Gentrification is Scary

When night falls, the bats come out to dance

Theft, direct action, solidarity

Balade in Saint-Henri loots expensive grocery store

CAMOVER MONTRÉAL

For the proliferation of the balade: some thoughts on the anti-police demo in Hochelag'

Attacks in Hochelag'

New Year's Eve attack on a yuppie car in Montreal

Attack on yuppie clothing boutique in St-Henri

Private patrol car sabotaged for a black December

Vandalism against gentrification in Hochelaga

St-Henri vandalism

Attack on employment centre in Hochelaga, May Day

The rich of St.Henri targeted

Montreal: vandalism against gentrification

Yuppie businesses attacked in Hochelaga

Attack in Hochelaga against gentrification

Luxury businesses in Hochelaga vandalized