Montreal mayor agrees homelessness crisis is dire and calls on premier for help

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Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante agrees with Premier François Legault and some business leaders who say the homelessness crisis is dire and is negatively affecting quality of life for residents and businesses.

While Legault put the blame for the problem squarely on the shoulders of the federal government for letting in too many asylum seekers and temporary workers, Plante said it is up to all levels of government to “think outside the box” to solve the problem as soon as possible. And she said housing is a major part of the solution.

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“We don’t want our streets to become hospitals and injection sites, or open apartments,” Plante said at a Tuesday news conference where she announced a new affordable housing initiative. “We need housing and we need more health services, and for that we work in collaboration with the provincial government.”

In a radio interview with Paul Arcand on 98.5 FM on Tuesday, Legault said an “explosion” in the number of asylum seekers and temporary workers due to Ottawa’s immigration policies is placing a strain on Quebec’s ability to provide mental health, education and housing services.

Arcand had asked the premier about a recent poll suggesting Montrealers felt less safe in their city and why his minister responsible for social services signed off on locating a supervised injection site near an elementary school in Montreal.

Legault replied that there will always be someone unhappy with the location of such centres, but he said they are necessary because, “in the end, the problem is that there is an explosion in the number of homeless, of people with mental health problems…It’s not those people who are the problem, but when we look at temporary immigration, we are at 560,000. That’s not the fault of the immigrants, that’s the fault of the federal government and places huge pressure on our mental health services, homelessness (services), social assistance, education — everything.”

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On Monday, Glenn Castanheira, executive director of the downtown business development corporation, wrote on social media: “Today: I saw a homeless person exposing himself to elementary school kids; an employee saw a homeless person masturbating in a park at noon; An employee was insulted by a homeless person. An issue of ‘safety perception’, some will say. A form of ‘cohabitation’. Enough is enough.”

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Plante said there is no question that the situation of homelessness is at a peak in Montreal and must be addressed urgently by all levels of government.

“It’s our reality and I’ve been saying it for a long time; the housing crisis combined with many more people in a vulnerable situation, whether dealing with the opioid crisis or mental health (issues), these are things that are documented. It is true. And I understand that residents and business owners are worried.

“My message to them is: the city of Montreal will continue to work very closely with the government of Quebec, which is in charge of health and homelessness, to find solutions. We will continue to think outside the box, working with the SPVM (police service), which is doing amazing work. We decided to add more police officers in the downtown core. We have all the social workers working with non-profit organizations as well. One big piece of the puzzle is housing. The city of Montreal is dedicated to building more housing and for that we also need to work in close collaboration with the provincial government.”

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She announced that the city has signed a new portfolio agreement which will see the city grant a $40 million envelope of funding to the city’s real estate arm — the Société d’habitation et de développement de Montréal (SHDM) — which will allow for the development of 1,000 rent-controlled housing units within three years, 300 of which will be reserved for people facing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. Of the $40 million, $5 million is to be spent this year.

She explained that the SHDM will now be able to act more quickly to purchase housing units and build new ones whenever opportunities present themselves, rather than acting on a case by case basis and seeking funding approval piecemeal.

“The SHDM will have more money, and lands at its disposal and more autonomy to develop quickly and move units off the market. Our administration is constantly pushing the limits of its powers to face the housing crisis and we continue to innovate to house more Montrealers.”

Last week, the city announced it had created a similar portfolio funding initiative, approving $21.4 million in funding so the SHDM could develop 670 units of student housing.

mlalonde@postmedia.com

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