Montreal councillors vote down motion to declare state of emergency on homelessness
Mayor Valérie Plante says homelessness a major problem, but a state of emergency won't solve it
Montreal's city council has voted down a motion brought by two independent city councillors seeking to have a state of emergency declared over the city's homelessness situation.
Mayor Valérie Plante says councillors agree that the high number of unhoused people is an urgent concern but declaring a state of emergency would not help.
The motion submitted by council members Craig Sauvé and Serge Sasseville was defeated Monday night in a 32-26 vote.
Earlier this month, Plante called on the provincial and federal governments to reach a deal to free up what she said is $100 million promised to help provide shelter and other support to the province's homeless population.
A state of emergency would have given council more powers, including allowing the city to requisition privately owned accommodation for shelter spaces, but the governing Projet Montréal said it would be largely symbolic.
Robert Beaudry, a Projet Montréal councillor representing a downtown district, said adopting a state of emergency would put more pressure on the city to manage new resources without any additional staffing or money.
He says everyone needs to do their part in dealing with homelessness — including the province and Ottawa.
A growing number of cities across Canada have declared states of emergency in recent years over homelessness, including Edmonton, Toronto and Hamilton.
Eviction notice extended
Meanwhile, Quebec's Transport Ministry has given a short reprieve to some people who live in a homeless encampment along Montreal's Notre-Dame Street East.
The people who received notices of eviction last week were told to leave by Thursday.
However, the ministry has moved the date to Dec. 1. One group involved in efforts to prevent the eviction says the decision is timed to coincide with the opening of warming sites for the winter.
With files from Shawn Lyons