Mindy Pollack, a councilor in Montreal, proposed an extension to the time frame allowed by city law regarding succahs. The current laws allot 15 days to display them. But with construction activities banned after 7 pm and all day on Sunday, Montreal’s Jewish residents are having trouble staying within the deadline.
Pollack’s proposed changes would allow succahs to be in place from seven days before the start of the holiday until seven days after the holiday. Councilor Celine Forget countered the motion with a suggestion to reduce the grace period to three days before the holiday and three days after.
Montreal mayor Marie Cinq-Mars then brought the issue to public consultation. More than 200 people gathered to weigh in on October 29.
According to Pollack very few communities place any restrictions on succahs, but 30 succah-related complaints were filed in Outremont last year.
Pollack said that she thought most who attended the meeting supported her proposal, and that the issue was not really about succahs, but about living together peacefully.
A change.org petition for the seven-day extensions has drawn more than 275 signatures. Pollack has expressed hope that it will gain traction among the international community as well.
