The agreement between Quebec and the Fabrique of the Parish of Sainte-Marie-de-l’Incarnation comes into force on October 1st. As the anchor tenant of the Saint Roch Church basement, the city will pay about $180,000 in the first year.
Without committing to restoring the concept of the defunct Local, whose mission was to accommodate homeless people regardless of their condition, the Marchand government sees this as an opportunity to expand its offer of resting places for the homeless with a new location.
As a “gateway” to church services, the basement of Saint Roch Church houses community organizations whose speakers can support traveling customers. Other projects to promote “social diversity” will also be accommodated under the same roof, announced Marie-Pierre Boucher, city councilor responsible for homelessness on the board, on Tuesday.
Summit coming soon
A few days before the first municipal summit on homelessness organized by the Union of Municipalities of Quebec (UMQ) in the capital, Bruno Marchand defends his findings. Those who were very ambitious during the election campaign to curb the phenomenon and even promoted the concept of zero homelessness swear that they are no less ambitious two years later.
“We are all unhappy with where we are. “We are not at our destination, we are just here to say that we are on the way and that we do not want to let it stay that way,” said Mayor Marchand on Tuesday in the presence of numerous representatives of the capital’s homeless organizations, the Quebec police and the CIUSSS de la Capitale-Nationale.
Quebec’s mayor, like his counterparts in other cities across the province, wants to form a “common front” on Friday, bringing together all actors who play a role in preventing and combating homelessness.
The demand from the cities, whose tone has continued to increase in recent days, is clear. “We want to be compensated for the money we invest, but above all we want the government to take on this responsibility and invest massively,” says Mayor Marchand, who is also chairman of a UMQ committee on roaming.
“The most pressing need is housing,” he says. The current situation is driving people onto the streets. We need housing, we need the Quebec government to open the floodgates. »
He notes that the situation has already changed in the last twelve months. He says he senses greater openness from the government, which is now including homelessness and housing among its priorities for next year.
The city is also working to unveil the final version of its homelessness vision in the fall.
The mayor “is not a victim of homelessness”
Earlier in the day, before the announcement of the mayoral team, the municipal opposition did not fail to criticize the Marchand government for its handling of homelessness in the Quebec territory.
The leader of the official opposition, Claude Villeneuve, had still not digested the mayor’s statement last week that the fight against homelessness could “kill mayors.”
“Homelessness doesn’t kill mayors, it kills homeless people. Bruno Marchand is not a victim of homelessness. I don’t understand this desire for personalization, as if he wanted to show us that he is determined,” said the Maizerets-Lairet local councilor.
In his opinion, the phenomenon continues to progress “as we make speeches, debate the gender of angels, and take trips to Finland.” “Quebec’s homelessness problem is worse than yesterday, but less than tomorrow,” Mr. Villeneuve predicts.
Given the winter, the second opposition suggests that the Marchand government should close the premises reserved for the Tramway Project Office and house homeless people there instead.
“I told you that I work with the active forces, the opposition is not one of them,” answered Mayor Marchand angrily at the end of the day.