When he first arrived in Montreal to study nursing, Kelly Zanth said the Gay Village's vibrant character moved him. The Montreal Village Business Development Corporation (SDC) is campaigning to change the Gay Village's name to "Montreal's Village" or just "the Village," a common nickname for the neighbourhood just east of downtown. "The word gay represented a lot of people that today may not still find themselves represented by that one term," Lafleur said. (Chloë Ranaldi/CBC)Removing references to the gay community, she says, may exacerbate the de-gaying of the neighbourhood, a growing problem found in districts across North America catering specifically to the gay community. "Having the Gay Village, we knew that it was the gay safe space," Zanth said.

Source: CBC News March 12, 2021 09:00 UTC