RIMOUSKI – Camps in Rimouski and Saint-Georges, requests for accommodation in Matane quintupled, overcrowded shelters: homelessness is spreading to regional cities and elected officials are demanding concrete action from Quebec before the onset of winter.
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In the Parc de la Gare in Rimouski, tents are set up under the wooden tents of the public market. About ten people sleep there every evening because there is a lack of accommodation.
“The situation is catastrophic!” complains the coordinator of Action populaire Rimouski-Neigette, Michel Dubé, who works with poor people. “The cold is coming and it’s time to act.”
The emergency call center Le Répit du Passant is full and is struggling to meet demand.
“The picture of homelessness is changing,” states Director General Martin Bélanger. I saw people sitting in the park who had jobs but couldn’t find a place to live.”
On the street at 70
The Journal met a 70-year-old man, originally from Quebec, who has been camping in Rimouski for a month after he says he “lost everything” in a robbery at his apartment.
“I want you to emphasize in your newspaper: poverty exists in Rimouski too,” says the man, who simply introduces himself as Mr. Boudreau.
Mr. Boudreau has been camping in downtown Rimouski for a month and hopes to soon reach the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, September 7, 2023. Photo Jean-Philippe Guilbault
The pensioner, who describes himself as a trained statistician, also lost his guaranteed income supplement of $700 a month “after a small error in his form”.
He hopes to go to the Îles-de-la-Madeleine, where accommodation awaits him, but he is stuck in Rimouski until his situation with the government normalizes.
Great need in Matane
In Matane, the Action-Logement de l’Est Committee says requests for emergency accommodation in the region have increased fivefold in a year, rising from 50 to 250.
“We can blame the current inflation directly, the crisis caused by the obsolescence of buildings,” said coordinator Sylvain Dubé. “Even the average wage worker finds themselves in a situation of vulnerability sooner than expected.”
Contrary to what we observe in Rimouski, homelessness in the Matane region is more discreet: people sleep from sofa to sofa with family or friends.
But on Quebec’s south coast, in Saint-Georges, homeless people are becoming increasingly visible.
“This is the first year we have seen so many people sleeping on the streets,” says Émilie Vachon from the organization Le Bercail. “We often had one or two people sleeping in their tent […]but this summer we have seen several, sometimes more than ten at a time.”
Ball throwing problem.
Mayors have sharply criticized the government in recent days for a lack of resources to address the problem, following Gatineau’s mayor’s outcry that an 18-year-old homeless woman gave birth alone in a wooded area this summer.
Rimouski Mayor Guy Caron agrees: The province needs to do more.
“There is a clear responsibility on the part of the Quebec government to provide resources,” he emphasizes, referring, for example, to drug addiction or mental health support services. “There is a lack of leadership,” Mayor Caron added.
Rimouski Mayor Guy Caron is calling on Quebec to take concrete action on homelessness. Photo Jean-Philippe Guilbault
In Gaspé, where hidden homelessness is also on the rise, Mayor Daniel Côté is hoping for more concrete measures from Quebec.
“There’s a ball throwing problem, that’s for sure!” he blurted out. “Ultimately this is a matter that must fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health or Housing.”
The two elected officials have high hopes for the homelessness summit that the Union of Quebec Municipalities will organize on Friday. They hope that the Legault government will listen attentively.
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