![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Chinatown-daycare-3-1024x768.jpeg\")
The security guard and \u201cno smoking\u201d sign at the existing CPE Le Petit Palais location in Chinatown, May 13, 2026. (Lola Kalder, CityNews)<\/p>\nSome Montreal parents have been saying for years that their children were exposed to the impacts of homelessness, drug use and public disorder \u2013 right outside the doors of their Chinatown daycare.<\/p>\n
The signs of the challenges families and staff say they\u2019ve faced are evident: a security guard stood outside the CPE Le Petit Palais on Wednesday afternoon, and a wall separating the children\u2019s play area from the street bears a no-smoking sign.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can\u2019t move around the daycare centre because it\u2019s really surrounded on all sides,\u201d said Sylvie Chabot, the daycare\u2019s general director. \u201cThe homeless people, either they set up camps or they settle in the surrounding areas. So for us, it\u2019s really not safe to walk around with the children.\u201d<\/p>\n
The security guard and \u201cno smoking\u201d sign at the existing CPE Le Petit Palais location in Chinatown, May 13, 2026. (Lola Kalder, CityNews)<\/p>\n
But that unrest is about to be alleviated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re finally going to be relocated after two-and-a-half years of effort,\u201d Chabot said. \u201cSo we\u2019re very happy; we\u2019ve found a new location to offer the children, a safe environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Sylvie-Chabot-1024x768.jpeg\")
Sylvie Chabot, the general director of CPE Le Petit Palais, speaking to CityNews from its current location, May 13, 2026. (Lola Kalder, CityNews)<\/p>\n
The Chinese Association of Montreal says the situation got so bad for some, that many younger families have been moving out.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause they realize it\u2019s an untenable situation. It\u2019s very hard to bring up a young family and they have to expose their kids to this sort of chaos,\u201d said the association\u2019s vice-president, Bryant Chang.<\/p>\n
One of those families was Phil Chu\u2019s. His daughter attended CPE Le Petit Palais for about five years. He describes seeing open drug use, paraphernalia, and aggressive behaviour. He recounts the daily stress of navigating the neighbourhood. He says some CPE outings even required police escorts.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was something that I really, honestly, I don\u2019t wish upon anybody to experience because it was a very taxing period for myself and my family,\u201d Chu said. \u201cIt was very stressful. We were in constant fear.\u201d<\/p>\n
The daycare\u2019s new site \u2013 on Bonsecours Street in Old Montreal \u2013 is about a 10-minute walk from the current location. The CPE\u2019s director says all children currently enrolled are expected to move with it.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Daycare-new-location-2-1024x768.jpeg\")
The upcoming location for CPE Le Petit Palais, once it moves from its current Chinatown location. (Lola Kalder, CityNews)<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever you build within a community, that\u2019s what becomes of that community,\u201d Chu said. \u201cYou want families to be in the neighbourhood, well, you build basic services that care towards families.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a statement to CityNews, the mayor\u2019s Ville-Marie borough cabinet said: \u201cThe situation at Le Petit Palais daycare centre\u2026 demonstrates the scale of the challenges in Chinatown.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to make Chinatown a welcoming place for families again. We are already working on cleanliness and security, but it\u2019s going to take some time to see the results.\u201d<\/p>\n
In an email, Montreal police also acknowledged the move and said it\u2019s continuing to work with community organizations that support vulnerable people in an effort to improve safety and social cohesion in the neighbourhood.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe city, I think they\u2019ve put some things in place, organizations and all that. But it\u2019s not enough,\u201d Chabot said. \u201cWe need to work a little harder and put trained people in place for this.\u201d<\/p>\n
CPE Le Petit Palais is set to relocate by June 1, ending nearly seven years at its current location.<\/p>\n
\t\tKeep it Factual<\/p>\n
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