Does anybody know the real story behind parts of buildings falling into the streets? I've read newspaper reports but can't quite get a handle on what's going on.

A concrete slab fell off the Marriott Residence Hotel on Peel Street tragically killing a woman. It was reported in all the news media.

What don't you understand? What do you mean by "the real story"??

Have there been other incidents that have been hushed up??

Is Montreal crumbling to pieces as we speak??

It was ONE part of ONE building. A very sad, freak accident.

What part of that is hard to "get a handle" on?

There is no terrorist conspiracy to make all the buildings of Montreal kill people by knocking parts of them off into the streets.

I didn't think it was a conspiracy. There was another story about a glass panel falling off a building and someone mentioned earthquake in the description. It may all be just a coincidence. Since I'm taking my family there next month, just wanted to know what's going on.

Patay

I may have been a bit hasty in my earlier comments. My apologies.

It appears that within a week of the concrete panel falling off the Marriott, there were two other incidents. They involved bricks and masonry falling off a three storey building in Chinatown, and another glass panel falling off an office building at St. Antoine and Mansfield.

http://tinyurl.com/m7ztl4

There have been no earthquakes reported, but I can see why it seems that Montreal may be crumbling. There have, of course, been two very serious incidents in the past couple of years involving a bridge and a parking garage collapsing both involving loss of life. The article also points out that the new Bibliotheque Nationale has had more than a dozen panels fall off, the latest last September. (That problem has apparently not been fixed, so I would avoid a visit to the library when you come to Montreal).

Thanks for the info laverendrye - good to know the whole story. Looking forward to our visit.

This is a story with legs.

Last week the National Post took up the issue, and the perceptive reporter even found time to research the Fodors Forums:

"In a discussion forum on the popular Fodor's travel website, usually a source of advice on restaurants and attractions, someone planning a family vacation in Montreal this month recently asked for an update about 'parts of buildings falling into the streets.'"

For the whole story, see:

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=1851173

Wow! Thanks for sharing. I won't walk under any ladders either.

This seems to me to be a rather insidious (but time-consuming) way of eliminating les anglais.