U-turn for a homeless camp set up on a Quebec Ministry of Transport (MTQ) site in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district: Government lawyers decided on Monday not to pursue their efforts to evict the campers in court.
Posted at 3:41 p.m.
“This is mixed good news because by foregoing evictions we avoid endangering the lives of campers. However, in the midst of a homelessness crisis, the government is not offering an alternative solution adapted to the needs of these vulnerable people to accommodate them immediately,” commented Me Donald Tremblay, Director General of the Traveling Legal Clinic (CJI). , who helped the homeless challenge the MTQ’s eviction notice in court.
Last month, the CJI filed three applications in the Supreme Court seeking interim injunctions (permanent, interim and interim) on behalf of trekkers living at the camp on Notre-Dame Street East near Sucre Lantic to delay their decision Eviction scheduled for October 23rd.
In a ruling on the application for an injunction on October 26, the MTQ was ordered to suspend the eviction until November 6. On Monday, MTQ lawyers told the court they would not proceed with the eviction of the camper community, saying there was no urgency, Me Tremblay reports.
The CJI had argued before the judge that demolition of the camp, without leaving any real alternative for members of the community, would likely result in them disrupting their usual functioning, severing ties with their support network and making them more vulnerable What they had to do was live in isolation from each other.
It was the Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district that ordered the MTQ to disband the camp. In a Sept. 21 notice, a city inspector told the MTQ that there is currently a “temporary warehouse” on his property and that “this use is not permitted in this sector under city planning regulations.” We have also noticed that rubbish is accumulating on the site, which is in breach of the nuisance regulations and gives the owner ten days to remove everything.
At the district, we explained that they were acting on a complaint from a citizen.
As of Monday afternoon, the MTQ had not responded to La Presse’s requests for information about its plans for the camp.
Last Friday, a spokesman for the CIUSSS de l’Est-de-l’Île-de-Montréal confirmed that the organization had intervened with the camp’s residents “to support them in their efforts and accompany those who request it.” .” Housing”.
“The CIUSSS contacted users in mid-October, introducing the services of the Proximity/RSSS team and ensuring that they were informed of the eviction notice. No specific request has been received from them at this point,” writes communications manager Carl Boisvert in a written response to questions from La Presse.
So far, the CIUSSS has provided physical care, arranged appointments for health insurance cards, ensured psychosocial follow-up and worked with treatment teams, says M. Greenwood. “At least one mental health worker and one nurse were present at every on-site meeting,” he says.