Montrealers have their say as the city drafts a new nightlife policy

Is Montreal a party town? If the officials are lucky, this reputation can be further strengthened. A meeting at city hall Tuesday night to help shape Montreal's new nightlife policy.

Plante's administration plans to invest in nightlife, hoping to boost its economic and cultural potential, without leaving a negative impact on anyone.

“We lost a lot of places, and then that was before COVID. So this is a very important time to make sure we have protection,” said Max Honigmann, Montreal nightlife organizer and member of the Homegrown Harvest collective.

“If you want to listen to music like live music, there's no safe place for nightlife right now. Venues, clubs, concert halls, etc. that have been here for 10, 20 years, sometimes more. “Neighbors who are moving in large numbers pose a threat,” he added. “We're working with a somewhat outdated model, and this nightlife policy offers the potential to really take us in the right direction in the future.”

According to the mtl 24/24 Economic Impact Study, the nightlife industry accounted for nearly 2.5 million visitors to Montreal in 2019.

“Montreal's nightlife has a very long and colorful history, dating back to the disco scene or even earlier. This is one of the main things that attract people here, especially young people,” says Honigmann.

“We don't want to hinder people, but at the same time we want to have a certain framework where we can know the work to create a good culture in the city.”

One of the changes Honigmann expects is later hours, which he believes will contribute to overall safety.

“For alcohol, everything ends at three. So it can be as crazy as Boulevard Saint-Laurent, with everyone hitting the streets at the same time and everyone trying to grab as many last-minute drinks as possible. So I think it's much smarter to adopt a more flexible model, like in many European cities, where people can enjoy themselves as much as they want and then flow organically,” explained Honigmann. .

“There's a public misconception that we see a lot from some Montrealers that flexible nightlife policies lead to chaos, or that all we want is anarchy — that we don't want any rules. It really isn't.

“I think it's an important part of our city's identity, and if we don't do something to protect it, we're just going to be another Toronto.”