Outremont residents oblivious to new U de M campus

Université de Montréal’s plans to build a satellite campus in Outremont was approved by city council this week, but local residents remain oblivious to the project. When a Montreal Gazette reporter asked around the neighborhood if people knew about the new campus, a gas attendant said “don’t know,” a cook at an area restaurant said “really? I didn’t know that,” and a local police officer “flagged down by a lost reporter” hadn’t heard of the plan either. U de M purchased an Outremont train yard for $18 million in 2006, and held public consultations in 2007. However, some groups, concerned that the campus will drive out poorer residents, say not enough was down to solicit feedback from the community. “We are appalled and any other synonym you want to use for that word,” a spokesperson for the Citizen’s Committee of Park Extension, said. The university, which hopes to open the site in 2015, says more public consultation will be taking place.