MONTREAL —
Police say they have arrested the owner of an Old Montreal building that went up in flames in 2023, claiming the lives of seven people.
Police say Emile Benamor, 63, faces seven counts of manslaughter and eight counts of criminal negligence causing bodily harm.
The arrest comes days after the third anniversary of the March 16, 2023 blaze at the heritage property at Place D’Youville, originally built in 1890.
Montreal Police Chief-Insp. David Shane said at a news conference that the allegations against Benamor, who is also a lawyer, were related to the state of the building and how it was being managed.
“We’re not accusing him of having (started) the fire,” Shane told reporters at Montreal Police headquarters.
Shane also said police were not accusing Benamor of having instructed someone else to start the fire. Benamor was expected to appear in court later Wednesday.
The allegations have not been tested in court.
A total of 22 people were believed to be staying in the building on the night of the fire: six escaped unharmed while nine others were injured.
The victims were Camille Maheux, 76; An Wu, 31; Nathan Sears, 35; Walid Belkahla, 18; Charlie Lacroix, 18; Dania Zafar, 31; and Saniya Khan, 31.
Of the seven victims, six were staying in illegal short-term rentals in the building. Maheux was a longtime resident of the building.
Families of the victims had raised concerns about the lack of charges in the fire.
“We are aware that they’ve been waiting for answers for a very long time. We hope that this development will to some extent alleviate their suffering,” Shane said.
Police had opened a criminal investigation into the blaze after saying that they had found traces of an accelerant at the scene. In August 2023, investigators ruled out accidental causes for the fire.
Shane said a case file was given to prosecutors in 2024 and investigators had been working with the Crown to supply more evidence. This included consultations with experts about the state of the building and whether this had an impact on how fast the fire spread.
“Every case is different, in this case, the complexity of the case made it a bit longer,” Shane said.
Montreal police are conducting two distinct investigations into the fire. The one that led to Benamor’s arrest on Wednesday focused on the negligence in building management and how that led to the quick spread of the fire.
Shane said a major crimes investigation into the intentional setting of the fire “will remain open until it is resolved.”
“Our priority is to bring justice to the victims and provide answers to the bereaved families.”
A number of civil lawsuits were filed stemming from that fatal blaze, and a coroner’s inquest ordered into the fire was on hold until any investigations or trials are completed.
Benamor was also the owner of another Notre-Dame Street E. building that went up in flames in October 2024, claiming the lives of two French tourists.
Léonor Geraudie, 43, and her seven-year-old daughter Vérane Reynaud Geraudie perished in the blaze, which started in a restaurant and quickly spread to the upper floors that were being used as a hostel.
In that other fatal fire, two men, Justin Fortier-Trahan and Juventino Hernandez Pelaez, who were 20 and 18 at the time, were charged with second-degree murder and arson among other charges and are currently awaiting trial.
Also in October 2024, police arrested three people after another building owned by Benamor was shot up. Shane said two of the three have already pleaded guilty to weapons-related charges and were sentenced while a third will appear in court in April.
Prior to these incidents in June 2021, the Quebec bar placed a restriction on Benamor’s right to practise tax law. The Canada Revenue Agency said Benamor pleaded guilty to tax evasion charges in January 2021, saying he failed to report income totalling $469,591 during the 2012 and 2013 tax years.
The CRA said the amounts came from a fraudulent scheme but the federal agency said it did not have evidence showing Benamor was aware that the funds came from such a scheme.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2026.
Sidhartha Banerjee, The Canadian Press
