Montreal’s St-Laurent Boulevard hit by Christmas tree-stealing ‘Grinch’

Dec 10, 2020 | 10:01 AM

MONTREAL — The merchant’s association on Montreal’s St-Laurent Boulevard says it has been the victim of a Christmas tree-stealing “Grinch.”

Tasha Morizio, the head of the merchant’s association, says her group placed trees in stands along the famous street known for smoked meat, shopping and bars as part of an effort to lift spirits after a tough year for merchants.

She says the trees started disappearing within 48 hours, so her group responded by bolting the trees to their stands.

But then thieves started sawing the trees down, with a total of seven trees being stolen over the last two weeks. 

Morizio says St-Laurent isn’t a stranger to vandalism, as buildings on the street are regularly graffitied and blooms are often plucked from its flower boxes, but nothing like this has happened before.

While Morizio says she’s trying to see the humour in the situation, her organization is taking it seriously and has filed a police report.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 10, 2020.

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This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Facebook and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

The Canadian Press