As described by Pieter Sijpkes in the chapter "The four lives of Pointe St Charles" in the book Grass Roots, Grey Stones and Glass Towers, Pointe St. Charles is currently shaping its fourth life. Its first life was a hunting and camping ground for First Nations tribes, its second life  was as farm land for religious communities, and its third life was as Canada's original core  of  transportation, heavy industry and industrial workers housing. The question now is “What should this fourth life be?” 

Major changes have happened in the last 50 years in the Pointe St. Charles area and along the whole Canal. The heavy industry and manufacturing  activities have almost completely left the area, making way for much used green space along the Lachine Canal and allowing conversion of factories into housing (e.g. Redpath, Belding Corticelli, Stelco and soon Northern Electric). The cessation of all railway building and repair activities in Pointe St. Charles in 2002 created a vast stretch of empty land and a pool of buildings that are currently being studied by many interested parties.

The population of Pointe St. Charles has dramatically changed from the almost 35,000 people in its industrial heyday in the 1950s to about 13,000 now. The original make-up of French Canadians north of the tracks and Irish immigrants south of the tracks has greatly changed with the influx of newcomers of many backgrounds. The original working class population is now changing as young professionals, students and older people move in, diluting the original mix and enriching the overall make-up.

The fourth vocation of the area will be  greatly influenced by the type of development on the Peel basin land and the railway lands. As mentioned above, the proposed Casino/Cirque de Soleil proposal ran into well-organised opposition from community groups such as RESO and Table de Concertation de Pointe St. Charles. The current proposal to turn the Peel basin site into a Wal-Mart is rightly condemned in almost all circles. A Wal-mart within view of Place Ville Marie!

The question in this case is not only: "What kind of Pointe St. Charles, Sud-Ouest area are we creating?", but also what kind of Montreal do we want? Indeed, the location of this site and the adjacent "Green Crescent" of vacant land make this time a key opportunity to decide to enrich, rather than to impoverish  the overall quality of life in downtown Montreal. Of real interest in this respect is the recently published study by the Association du Vieux Port de Montreal, "the Bouchard report"