Our Story
The Verdun Citizens' Action Committee was created in 1975 to protect and defend the most vulnerable tenants in our neighbourhood. For nearly 50 years, we have been working to ensure that everyone has access to decent housing at a reasonable price, particularly through social housing.
Our mission
The organization supports the most disadvantaged so that they can improve their living conditions. The CACV promotes their goals and aspirations, particularly in housing and urban development. Our goals: To promote the improvement of living conditions; To promote access to information; To direct citizens to the appropriate community and institutional resources; To promote exchange, the development of critical thinking and collective awareness.
Vision
The CACV wants all Verdun tenants to be fully aware of their housing rights in order to defend themselves against injustice. Also, more and more tenants are forced to leave our neighborhood because the cost of rent has become too expensive. As a result, we want a significant number of social housing units to be built to allow lower income tenants to stay in their neighborhood.
Goal
Our goal is to make the people living in our neighborhood aware of the housing crisis, and to inform about the issues, the analysis of the problems and the potential solutions. The CACV aspires to be a place for meetings and discussions on housing, at the local, provincial and federal levels.
Work team
Lyn O’Donnell
Community organizer and intervention worker
With a background in social work, Lyn has previously worked in the field of homelessness and mental health. These experiences greatly inspired her to get involved in grassroots community organizing. After serving on the Board of the CACV, she is now a community organizer and social worker.
Kay Lockyer
Community organizer and intervention worker
Kay is a community organizer and intervention worker at the CACV, with roots as a labour organizer in the garment industry. She is also a passionate anti-imperialist and feminist activist in local and international groups. Kay's work is rooted in the principle that housing is a right, not a market commodity or an investment of capital, and she dedicates her efforts to politicizing and collectivizing tenant issues.
Marie Frédérique St-Onge
Coordinator
Marie Frédérique has cumulated several years of experience in the NPO sector working with diverse clienteles. After studying international relationships, it was ultimately local action that motivated her the most and the trajectory of her career brought her back home, to the borough of Verdun.
Camille Toffoli
Camille has a background in literature, but her activism and writing projects have led her to to fight for tenants' rights and against gentrification. In the past, she was part of the founding collective of the feminist bookstore L'Euguélionne, and of the Ville-Marie Housing Committee team. She defends a feminist and intersectional approach to tenants rights.
Administration Council
Sylvie Dorval
President
Sylvie is an engaged member involved in several causes in our neighborhood. Her leadership, human skills, and administrative abilities make her an outstanding spokesperson for our organization. Sylvie never hesitates to step up for the tenants in the neighborhood, no matter how challenging the issues they face may be.
Riham Al Bakouni
Treasurer
Riham is a member of the CACV and serves on our Board of Directors as Treasurer. Her compassionate leadership and expertise in administrative and accounting management are an undeniable asset for the CACV and its members.
Melissa Simard
Vice President
Melissa is an active member of our housing committee, an advocate for several social causes, an entrepreneur, and a long-time Verdun resident. Her network of connections and dedication to the tenants' cause know no bounds.
Kay Lockyer
Kay serves on the Board of Directors as a representative of the work team. Her role brings a frontline perspective into the strategic areas of our organization and ensures information sharing that enables board members to make informed decisions.
Kip Douglas
Kip Douglas has been a tenant in Verdun since 2015. They are a CEGEP professor, a bird enthusiast, and passionate about our local community. Their involvement with our board of directors began in June 2024, but their ongoing commitment to the cause of housing rights dates back several years.
Members
The CACV is proud to be a member of the Front d’Action Populaire en Réaménagement Urbain (FRAPRU) and the Regroupement des Comités Logements et Associations de Locataires du Québec (RCLALQ).
Financials Partners
The CACV greatly thanks the CENTRAIDE du Grand Montréal and the SACAIS who financially support our actions.
