Montreal, Longueuil unveil approach to homeless encampments

The mayors of Montreal and Longueuil are intent on ensuring homeless encampments do not continue to exist as they currently do.

“Let’s be clear, we are not going to make the camps permanent,” said Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada. “Our goal is to get Montrealers experiencing homelessness off the streets in a sustainable way.”

Longueuil Mayor Catherine Fournier had similar thoughts on the South Shore situation.

“Our commitment to citizens experiencing homelessness and the entire population is clear. This protocol for managing encampments reflects our desire to reconcile safety, dignity, and social coexistence,” she said.

The two cities unveiled their new approach to managing encampments on Friday. They want to promote cohabitation, ensure sustainable interventions and adapt those interventions to each situation.

Both municipalities say they are determined to respect dignity and human rights while focusing on housing and reintegration solutions.

Systematic assessment

In Montreal, the mayor is intent on doing a systematic assessment of each camp with a coordinated intervention plan combining health and community agencies.

In addition, the plan is to deploy a centralized monitoring tool for coordination and potentially designate “tolerance zones.”

“The protocol establishes that the relocation of a camp is an exceptional measure, used only as a last resort, particularly for reasons of personal safety,” the city said in a news release. “The goal is to rely on the active participation of people living in camps in the solutions offered to them.”

The city’s advisory committee, which was established at the beginning of winter and is made up of multiple organizations, will be consulted regularly.

“We are working very hard to implement concrete solutions, including more housing, assistance, and psychosocial support,” said Martinez Ferrada. “We are choosing a more coordinated, concerted, and above all, more humane approach.”

One tent in Longueuil

Longueuil’s approach adds that encampments can not be less than 250 metres from schools, daycares, seniors’ residences or women’s resources.

• READ MORE: City dismantles homeless encampment near Longueuil elementary school

In addition, there is a limit of five tents or five people on the same public space and one tent or bicycle per person.

No one is allowed to sublet a tent either.

“One tent = one owner,” the city said.

“Making these guidelines public is essential: it allows everyone to know the rules and roles of each party, builds trust, and promotes harmonious cohabitation,” said Fournier. “Although these principles have already been applied informally in Longueuil and its agglomeration for several years, formalizing them in a structured framework helps us to act in a consistent, sensitive, and respectful manner in the field.”

Good step, say advocates

Working with neighbouring communities is a good step, said Sam Watts from the Welcome Hall Mission.

“I think it’s a very good idea that we get together and say, ‘Let’s take a common approach, one that’s based on human rights, but that points to a future that includes permanent housing,’” he said.

As part of its protocol, Montreal is introducing tolerance zones to offer a space in case an encampment has to be moved, but it’s up to boroughs to set them up.

Mayor Martinez Ferrada said she expects every borough to help out.

“Every part of the city has to contribute to the social net that we need to give. It’s not fair for many neighbourhoods in our city that have an overconcentration of homelessness because there’s no other service in the rest of the city,” she said.

Groups that work with the homeless applaud the city’s new vision, including James Hughes, CEO of the Old Brewery Mission.

“The extent that a borough decides to dismantle an encampment, it won’t be to simply evict,” he said. “It’ll be, ‘We have another place for you if you’d like to pitch your tent here,’ and that makes all the difference in terms of the safety and security of the people that we’re working with.”