Montreal needs to come up with a clear plan to avoid dismantling homeless encampments and supervise them when necessary, according to a new city-commissioned report.
The report, prepared by representatives from community organizations and experts from the public health and social services network, was made public Monday afternoon.
It includes 15 recommendations on how the city can address the problem of homelessness in the city — and more quickly get people into housing.
A more consistent response to encampments is among the key recommendations.
“Various members of the committee consider that the dismantling should stop, and that action should be put in place to house more people this winter and to offer assistance services to those living in tents,” says a summary of the report, obtained by CBC News.
In recent months, advocates have criticized the city for cracking down on encampments, given that many shelters are stretched beyond capacity and people don’t always have another place to turn.
With a cold snap descending on the city this week, shelters are expected to be under further strain. The city has opened up additional warming centres to give people a place to stay.Â
James Hughes, head of the Old Brewery Mission, was a member of the committee that prepared the report. He said it should serve as a roadmap for the Plante administration in addressing the crisis.
Montreal, like many other Canadian cities, has seen a dramatic rise in homelessness since the pandemic, with many people sleeping outside beyond the city centre. Between 2018 and 2022, the latest government data available, the number of unhoused people across the province doubled to roughly 10,000. About half of them are based in Montreal.
“We don’t want the situation to get worse,” Hughes said. “We don’t want the city of Montreal to be defined by these issues.”
The Old Brewery Mission has added services beyond its doors to assist those living in encampments. Hughes said the city should do the same, with a team of agents that meet with people to help them access services and, eventually, get into housing. Â
Quebec’s Transport Ministry issued eviction notices to the people who had been living in tents on part of Notre-Dame Street East in Montreal’s Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough in November. Community groups worry others living on that stretch of provincially owned land are next and advocates are calling for a moratorium on dismantling homeless encampments.
More broadly, the report recommends the city should establish a “protocol to support people, evaluate the level of danger of occupying a public space, avoid dismantling and supervise [encampments] when necessary.”
Unlike some other Canadian cities, Montreal doesn’t have a clear policy for how to deal with unsheltered people and campers, the report points out.
The result has been an “uneven” response and inconsistent enforcement across city boroughs.
“Such a protocol should also be developed in collaboration with the Quebec government, a variety of homelessness partners and people experiencing homelessness,” the report said.
RAPSIM, the Réseau d’aide aux personnes seules et itinérantes de Montréal, an advocacy group for people who are homeless in Montreal, went further, calling Monday for an outright moratorium on the dismantling of encampments.
Robert Beaudry, the city’s executive committee member responsible for fighting homelessness, said the administration is working to develop a city-wide strategy, as recommended by the report. He said encampments aren’t the solution.Â
“Living under a tent is not safe,” he said, adding, “we understand that interventions have an impact as well.”
