Article content
Facing an increasing number of complaints and fear among the general public, the city will undertake a vast consultation on the issue of homelessness.
Flanked by the city’s director of public health and a member of the CAQ government, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante announced Tuesday that she will mandate the Office de consultation publique de Montréal to conduct hearings with a view of finding new solutions to the homelessness crisis.
Article content
“We noticed that more and more residents, parents and business owners are concerned about how services are planned in their sectors and we have to do better at predicting the needs,” Plante said in a statement.
No longer just a downtown phenomenon, encampments of unhoused people are being seen across the island of Montreal, as more people than ever are struggling.
Reacting to the announcement, Sam Watts, the CEO of the Welcome Hall Mission, said it’s good news because he knows the city will continue to work in its capacity to help alleviate the crisis in the meantime. However, he agreed the public needs assurances.
“It’s far better to have consultation than to do nothing,” Watts said. “But I think we need to continue to do the work between now and whenever the consultation results are shared with everybody.
“Part of what this will do is provide some level of comfort to the general population who I think in some areas of the city are a little nervous of what’s going on, and understandably so. So, we actually need to do that to make sure that they participate, and I think participation is better than just leaving it alone and hoping for the best.”
This report will be updated.
Recommended from Editorial
Share this article in your social network