Arson Series Targeting Ormstown Restaurants Prompts Quebec Minister Visit

Ormstown arson series and Quebec public security minister visit, Digi Mart USA News (Ormstown, Quebec): A series of arson fires targeting restaurants in Ormstown, a municipality of about 4,000 residents in Quebec’s Montérégie region, has alarmed the town’s mayor to the point where he has asked for help from the provincial government and the Sûreté du Québec (SQ).

Public Security Minister Guy Lapointe Jr is scheduled to visit the municipality on Monday, where several arson fires have damaged or completely destroyed restaurants on Lambton Street over the past several months.

The most recent fire occurred in the night between Saturday and Sunday and completely destroyed Pizzeria Ormstown. Firefighters were called to the scene around 2:30 a.m.

The restaurant had previously suffered a minor fire on Wednesday, November 4.

Two other restaurants have also been affected in recent months. It is not yet known whether the fires are linked, but the Sûreté du Québec is conducting investigations and last week arrested a man in his thirties.

Mayor Philippe Besombes said in an interview that he believes the SQ is doing what it can with the resources it has, but that additional resources are clearly needed. “Four fires plus one in the neighboring municipality […] It’s no longer working, we really need help,” he said.

The first restaurant targeted by an arson fire was Caza Venizia, on July 20. The business has since relocated to a neighboring municipality, but according to Mayor Besombes, another Molotov cocktail was thrown at its new location.

Ormstown is one of 13 municipalities in the Haut-Saint-Laurent regional county municipality that share four to five police officers on patrol at night. The mayor described these numbers as insufficient and is calling on the province for more resources.

In a message posted Sunday on X, Minister Lapointe wrote that he is “very concerned about the situation in Ormstown,” adding that “the citizens of this municipality have every right to feel safe in their community.”

The minister is scheduled to meet with Mayor Besombes at 9 a.m., along with representatives of the Sûreté du Québec and MNA Frédéric Laplante.