Open Letter to Westmount Mayor, or, Why A Poet is Pickled

Westmount Mayor Christina Smith.

It’s a sad day in Westmount, Quebec when outdoor construction workers are hammering away at 12:50 A.M., almost immediately opposite my bedroom window.

After the workers had been hammering and sawing all day long on a house fronting Dorchester Street, what would prompt the City of Westmount to issue an emergency work order?

Has no one ever heard of securing a building with tarp?

I wish to know why, when I called Westmount’s Public Security Service at 12:50 A.M., I was told that nothing could be done to provide peaceful respite from these noisy construction workers. I nearly swore at the officer on the other end, though I am not prone to do so.

I might add that I was accepting when they were loudly hammering at 10 P.M., owing to the warm +6 degree weather.

But how could emergency hammering be continuous over a 17-hour time span? Yes, they started around 7 A.M. the morning prior.

What I would like to know is who issued the emergency work order and why? There is no doubt the construction was needed, but surely this was NOT an emergency situation.

And what can City Councillors do to protect its citizens in the future?