Mile End Residents Who Helped Save S.W. Welch Bookstore Say 'This Is Just The Beginning'

They're demanding that Montreal do more to protect neighbourhoods.
Group That Helped Save S.W. Welch Says 'This Is Just The Beginning'
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Staff Writer

Following a stunning victory for the Mile End's beloved S.W. Welch Bookstore against its landlord, Shiller Lavy realties, a member of the community group Mile End Ensemble says that "this is just the beginning" of its anti-gentrification movement.

"After landlord Shiller Lavy's U-turn on their proposed 150% rent hike for bookstore S.W. Welch, citizens are turning their attention to rising rents, wrongful evictions, vacant shopfronts, and the city’s ongoing housing crisis," wrote organizers in a press release shared with MTL Blog. 

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Mile-End Ensemble via Arizona O'Neill

The group is planning a "read-in" protest on rue Saint-Viateur on March 13 from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. "to symbolize its opposition to predatory landlords." 

According to the group, "this will be the first of many events and campaigns they will carry out well into election season."

"Shiller Lavy doesn’t know what they’ve unleashed," said one organizer. "This bookstore has mobilized an entire neighbourhood."

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  • Teddy Elliot
  • Teddy Elliot
    Teddy Elliot was a Staff Writer for MTL Blog. He was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec and has a B.A. in Literature. Teddy has been a journalist for three years and was once an English teacher. His creative work has appeared in The Blasted Tree and Parenthetical Magazine. When he's not chasing scoops, Teddy can be found cheering on Aston Villa and listening to 80s power ballads. He was shortlisted for a Digital Publishing Award in 2021.

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