Québec Solidaire (QS) is calling on the government to open 500 additional emergency shelters for homeless people.
Guillaume Cliche-Rivard, QS spokesperson on homelessness, made the request on Sunday in light of the early onset of winter this year.
He says that Montreal shelters have already turned away hundreds of people in recent days due to a lack of space. “We’re lucky, in quotation marks, that it’s 0 or -2, but when it gets to -20, it’s going to be a different story. We must absolutely avoid people being turned away, being told no for a warm place to stay this winter,” he explained in an interview with La Presse Canadienne.
Cliche-Rivard points out that, according to the Coroner’s Office, 108 people lost their lives while homeless last year.
While the community groups generally provide emergency beds, QS believes that the government itself must open its emergency shelters, rather than relying solely on funding for organizations.
“We’ve seen that the government has already mobilized when there have been other humanitarian crises. We can think of the pandemic, for example, when emergency vaccination centers were opened throughout Quebec,” said Cliche-Rivard.
The Ministry of Health and Social Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment from La Presse Canadienne.
While homelessness is a growing problem across the province, the solidarity request specifically concerns the metropolis. “We have more accurate data on Montreal, so it was easier to quantify,” explained the member for Saint-Henri—Sainte-Anne.
He explained that the figure of 500 places was based on the latest census. If 2,000 beds were available, approximately 900 people would have no place to sleep and would have to sleep outside.
Related:
“Since then, the number of places has increased slightly in the community network, but not enough to fill the gap,” leading to the calculation that there would be a shortage of about 500 places, explains the QS member.
Cliche-Rivard highlighted needs in Quebec City, Chicoutimi, Rouyn-Noranda, and Gaspé, as well as in certain villages. He said he hopes that each city will find solutions with public health authorities.
As for Montreal, the QS MNA believes it is important that shelters be opened in neighborhoods that are currently underserved. While there are many services in Hochelaga, Centre-Sud, and Sud-Ouest, he deplores the fact that there are no shelters in the neighborhoods further north on the island.
By distributing resources, Cliche-Rivard believes that southern neighborhoods will be less strained, allowing for “greater social cohesion and cohabitation that works.”
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
