National assembly endorses homeless report

The national assembly has unanimously endorsed a report calling for urgent action to help Quebec's homeless.

The new report recommends more money for low-income housing and stable government funding for homeless shelters and support groups.

The report doesn't provide any budgets and it's not binding.

Camil Bouchard, a Parti Québécois MNA who co-chairs the committee that wrote the report, said all four parties in the assembly have recognized that they can't afford not to act.

"It's a tough period in terms of investing more money into social problems, but it's a tough period too for people," he said.

Bouchard said the committee is giving the Liberal government one year to come up with a plan. He believes it will act in good faith and spend some money.

Mina Mackenzie, who started living on the streets at 13, and now has a job and an apartment in Montreal at 24, said she could have gotten off the streets sooner if there had been more help.

"It's really hard to find an apartment when you've got tattoos, and you've got dogs, and you don't have any references," she said, adding that she eventually received assistance from Dans la rue.