MONTREAL - Police distanced themselves on Saturday from claims by a borough mayor that prostitution will be tolerated east of downtown Montreal.

Cmdr. Ian Lafreniere told QMI Agency Saturday that there is no "zone of tolerance" where officers look the other way as prostitutes engage with potential clients.

QMI Agency reported Friday that the borough mayor for Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, east of downtown Montreal, said he asked police two weeks ago to move all the prostitutes in his district to an industrial street by the river.

Real Menard said he wanted to create "the rules of the game" for prostitutes, whose presence irked local merchants and parents of young children.

Menard said police were "collaborating" with his plan.

However, Lafreniere said on Saturday that "collaborating" meant police are listening to the concerns of elected officials in Hochelaga and are working with politicians to find "long-term solutions to the problem of prostitution."

Lafreniere said that police might "act more rapidly" in certain areas where prostitutes are being solicited, such as around schools, "but that doesn't mean police have created a tolerance zone.

"An officer could say (to a prostitute): The place where you're working tonight, you should move to a different place," Lafreniere said. "That's possible - that's trying to find a solution."

But he said that police in the area have not been given an outright directive to move all prostitutes to one designated street.

QMI Agency reported on Friday that Cindy, a 50-year-old prostitute, said police told her that a so-called tolerance zone was going to be created.

Lafreniere responded: "I guess the officer took the liberty to say that ... but police are not ready to move forward with (a tolerance zone)."

The City of Montreal doesn't seem ready for a tolerance zone either. Jocelyn-Ann Campbell, who sits on Montreal's centralized governing body, said Friday Menard's idea is "totally irresponsible."

Menard countered her comment on Saturday, during an interview with QMI's French-language television station.

He said Montreal pushed all the prostitutes out of downtown and into his borough and has not given the district enough resources to help the women.

Menard said Saturday that neither local politicians nor police can legalize prostitution, "but we can ensure that it is not done near businesses or schools."

"As mayor, it's my job to put an end to this," he said.

He maintained he is going ahead with what he called a "zone of tolerance."

Menard said he will continue to ask police to "invite the women to (solicit clients) in areas that are less prejudicial to citizens and businesses and in a more industrial area."