Montreal police investigating suspicious fire at kosher restaurant

MP calling for hate crime investigation

Police are investigating a suspicious fire that broke out overnight at a kosher restaurant in Montreal's Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough (CDN-NDG).

The two-alarm fire broke out at approximately 3:15 a.m., at Nöam restaurant on Décarie Boulevard near Vézina Street , according to Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) spokesperson Raphael Bergeron.

While no one was injured in the fire, the building was considerably damaged. Bergeron told CBC there is preliminary information that an individual was seen on the premises as the fire began.

He says police are in possession of surveillance videos that will verified by investigators.

In a social media post shared on Saturday, Quebec Liberal MP Anthony Housefather called for the fire to be investigated as a hate crime.

"Absolutely disgusted to see what appears to be an arson attack on Nöam, a local kosher restaurant overnight. This attack on a Jewish [owned] business must be investigated as a hate crime [and] those involved in this criminal act must be caught [and] prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," he wrote.

Borough Mayor Stéphanie Valenzuela also expressed concern in a post shared on Saturday afternoon, and reassured residents that safety is a top priority.

"CDN-NDG is home to a strong, diverse and resilient community. Acts of violence and intimidation have no place in our neighbourhoods," she wrote.

Valenzuela added that the borough has been in touch with the authorities and is closely monitoring the situation.

Anchal Sharma is a CBC journalist based in Montreal. She has previously reported in Ottawa and on Inuit Nunangat for CBC North. Send her an email at anchal.sharma@cbc.ca

With files from Paula Dayan-Perez