Canada: dismantling of a homeless camp in Montreal
Audio 01:20
The homeless had to leave after their camp in Montreal was dismantled by the police on December 7, 2020 © Paul Chiasson / The Canadian Press via AP
Text by: RFI Follow
4 min
In Montreal, a homeless camp erected a few kilometers from the towers of the city center has just been dismantled.
People homeless since July were living in tents along an expressway, despite the cold, for lack of accommodation.
The fire in a tent on the night of Saturday to Sunday prompted the firefighters to demand the dismantling of the camp.
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With our correspondent in Montreal,
Pascale Guéricolas
“
Shame on you
” launches indignantly to the police, preventing it from passing a demonstrator who came to support the inhabitants of the canvas camp who must pack up.
"
What are your reasonable grounds for not helping people over there?"
He continues.
Housing prices continue to rise in Montreal, forcing thousands of people to turn to emergency shelters.
An unacceptable solution for Jacques Brochu who pitched his tent in July along rue Notre-Dame.
The 60-year-old does not understand why the police force him to leave the camp: “
Are we criminals ?!
I wish everyone here was treated humanely, with dignity.
That everyone here has a HLM, it is an emergency!
"
Lack of social housing
The end of the camp took place largely in confusion, because social workers who know the tent occupants well were unable to access it.
Valérie Plante, who heads the town hall of Montreal, nevertheless maintains that she advocates the soft method.
In his eyes, it is above all a lack of social housing: “
Even before the pandemic, there were not enough units that were built.
It can be people experiencing homelessness, it can be abused women, it can be native people… That is the reality in Montreal.
"
While waiting for the public authorities to release the necessary funds, emergency measures are being put in place to increase the beds available in shelters this winter.
►Also read: Canada resumes the deportation of asylum seekers that the country needs
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Canada
Housing
Poverty
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