The City of Montreal is today launching its Nightlife Policy, an initiative aimed at enriching the nightlife experience and providing a better framework for the city's nocturnal activities, while promoting harmonious cohabitation with residents. The project is backed by a $5.5 million investment over 3 years.
A concrete investment to enrich Montreal's nightlife
The city is committed to allocating $3 million to implement the Policy's actions, and $2.5 million for a subsidy program to support the work of alternative performance venues with fewer than 3,000 seats. This investment will support cultural and commercial establishments in their essential role in the development of a dynamic and responsible nightlife.
One-stop shop and consultation with partners
To guarantee flexible and efficient management, the city is setting up a one-stop shop for the various players involved in nightlife, with a multidisciplinary team dedicated to nightlife and made up of members of the culture department, the economic development department, the Service de sécurité incendie de Montréal (SIM), the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) and the various boroughs primarily affected.
A concertation table with partners from the nightlife community was also created. Co-chaired by Ericka Alneus, responsible for culture, heritage, gastronomy and nightlife on the Executive Committee of the City of Montreal, and Jenny Thibault, General Manager of SAT, this group's mandate will be to gather comments and feedback from players in the field, in order to adapt practices and resolve potentially problematic situations.
Poles of nocturnal vitality to support cultural districts
The policy also calls for the creation of nightlife hubs, priority areas where cultural and festive activities will be strengthened. These poles will be able to extend their opening hours and allow for the implementation of any other measures aimed at facilitating nightlife, and will benefit from support to encourage the cohabitation of their activities with residents. The city hopes to have the first hubs in place by May 2025, and is calling on its partners to submit projects.
The policy also provides for the creation of a special status for certain night-time cultural establishments. One of the aims of this status will be to develop a personalized approach to noise management for the establishment. To obtain this status, establishments will have to commit to adopting responsible festive practices, particularly in terms of noise management and safety.
Managing noise-related issues
The City of Montreal recently increased the budget for its soundproofing program for concert halls by $2.5 million, making it available to more venues. From now on, venues with fewer than 3,000 seats and cultural venues that are not recognized as performance halls, but are an integral part of the Montreal cultural and artistic ecosystem, can benefit from the soundproofing program. This is one of the pillars of the policy to reconcile nightlife with the quality of life in residential neighbourhoods.
Noise regulations are also being amended to better control noise levels in residential areas and reduce the impact of night-time activities, while ensuring the long-term viability of concert halls and other cultural venues.
An approach inspired by international best practice
The Nightlife Policy is based on public consultations and the recommendations of reports and studies.This process, which mobilized numerous partners as well as Montreal residents, draws on international best practices to offer a balanced and concerted vision of Montreal's nightlife.
The Montréal Nightlife Policy will act as a roadmap for the current and future development of nightlife, based on three main orientations:
Foster a dynamic and safe nightlife for the population and tourists alike, drawing on entrepreneurship, the Montreal cultural experience and recognized expertise in mitigating social issues, as factors of social cohesion and quality of life;
Maintain existing nightlife hubs and equip them to promote cohabitation, in terms of noise, cleanliness and safety, for example;
Enable cultural and commercial players in the nightlife economy to seize development opportunities while respecting the harmonious cohabitation of activities.
Quotes
“The cultural and economic nightlife scene is thriving, and contributes directly to the economic vitality and pride of the metropolis. That's why our administration is proud to have worked with the milieu and successfully tested nocturnal initiatives, enabling us today to present a comprehensive, concerted and structuring strategy. Today, we are providing Montreal with concrete tools to support nocturnal vitality, while remaining attentive to the needs of each neighborhood. I'm very proud of this policy, which adds to the characteristics that place Montreal among the great international metropolises. I'd like to extend my warmest thanks to all the people and players who contributed to the development of this policy,” declared Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante.
“Nightlife is part of Montreal's DNA, and we've never bet so much on it to make our city shine. Over the past three years, we have multiplied pilot projects and concerted actions to put nightlife back on the agenda, and the results are inspiring. This new Policy is much more than a framework; it's an invitation to all players in the milieu to contribute to a collective vision, to enrich the cultural vitality of our metropolis, and to offer residents and visitors a unique experience of the Montreal nightlife scene. There's still work to be done, but thanks to everyone's commitment, we can now present a strategy that will make the heart of our city beat, day and night,” says Ericka Alneus, the Executive Committee member responsible for culture, heritage, gastronomy and nightlife.
“SAT, like the rest of the Montreal nightlife scene, welcomes the launch of the Policy, a major gesture by the City to support our city's independent and underground scenes. Through its many activities, SAT is able to bear witness to the major issues facing the nightlife scene, and is enthusiastic about taking an active part in the collective reflection needed to find solutions. As co-chair of the issue table, I am committed to ensuring that the voices heard are representative: those of the people who take part in it, attend from afar, work on it, and those of the organizations that, as SAT has done for over 25 years, bring it to life at different levels,” declared Jenny Thibaut, co-chair of the issue table on nightlife and general and artistic director of SAT.
Actions will soon be implemented to structure the deployment of the Policy and confirm the city's commitment to nightlife.
To consult the Montréal Nightlife Policy, click here.
