Montreal Holds Executive Council Meeting Discuss 311 and Resuming of Indigenous Ancestral Practice

The City of Montreal recently held an executive council meeting where they discussed the rendering of accounts and the performance of the 311 service and network. 311 is a service which allows Montrealers to contact the city with regards to public works. Citizens can call the city about traffic, trash and road issues, and other situations that require a swift response.

During the presentation on 311, the City of Montreal discussed its call volume, the processing of calls and emails, online requests and the performance of the City of Montreal when providing this service by telephone and email.

The City report noted progress regarding its response time, as well as a decrease in email and phone abandonment rates. There were 11 per cent less calls in 2022, than 2021, 31 per cent more emails and 63 per cent more online requests.

The more important part of the calls to 311 has to do with information requests, complaints, and normal requests.

The boroughs that had the highest level of service were Cote-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-De-Grace, Rosemont Petite-Patrie, Ville-Marie and the Plateau Mont-Royal, while the boroughs with the highest number of calls were Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Ahuntsic-Cartierville and Rosemont Petite-Patrie.

Most of the calls had to do with property taxes, trash collection, the collection of bulky items, the illegal dumping of waste, the collection of recyclable materials and snow removal.

Another subject the council discussed was the granting of a right of occupancy to the Native Friendship Centre in the enclosure of Espace pour la vie, in the First Nations Garden to resume an Indigenous tradition that has been stopped since the COVID-19 pandemic; the Sweat Lodge ceremonies.

The City intends to have the ancestral Indigenous practices done within the Botanical Garden, and more specifically, the First Nations Garden, in order to increase access and space for First Nations to practice their traditions and culture, especially when it comes to Indigenous individuals who live in urban areas.

The Native Friendship Center will coordinate the practices of the ceremonies themselves.