As cold weather arrives, Quebec hands out eviction notices at Notre-Dame Street encampment

As the temperature starts to drop, Quebec's Transport Ministry issued eviction notices to some of the dozens of people living in tents along Montreal's Notre-Dame Street East.

The people who received the notice on Friday have until Thursday to leave the strip of land near the St. Lawrence River in the Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough and find a new place to stay.

The provincially owned land has been the site of several homeless encampments since the COVID-19 pandemic. Transports Québec says it's concerned about possible fire hazards and unsanitary conditions.

A 40-year-old man who has been living at the encampment with about a dozen others since the spring says the government could fix the issue by building a "proper place" for all.

CBC News has agreed to withhold the person's name because of his concerns for safety and privacy.

"It is not a home. But it is painful to get kicked out of outside," he said. "Where do I have to go?"

The man says he's been kicked off the land several times.

"It's me they don't like. They don't like the one who actually gives tents to everyone, the one who gives sleeping bags and food and care and someone to listen at 3 a.m., for example, when no one is there," he said.

He has an idea of where where he'll go next, as he's far from the only one in this situation. There are encampments all over the city.

Councillors call for emergency housing

Independent city councillors Craig Sauvé and Serge Sasseville will present a motion this week to declare a state of emergency on homelessness. There's an ongoing debate over the issue at city hall.

The motion calls for using "all necessary resources to ensure all people experiencing homelessness can be housed" and requisitioning private accommodation spaces to shelter the unhoused before winter, as the city did during the pandemic.

It also calls for shelters to get more funding from the city, and requests additional funds from Quebec City and Ottawa.

Sauvé said the homelessness situation is becoming increasingly critical.

"We're seeing the tents pop up as well in all sorts of different neighbourhoods that we may not have seen people that are experiencing homelessness before," he told CBC Montreal's Daybreak host Sean Henry.

Sauvé said the point of the state of emergency isn't to immediately solve the issue.

"What we're asking is to save lives now because we're losing people," he said. "Premature deaths are going up. The city is not ready."

Sauvé said all levels of governments need to fight homelessness together. But he said Quebec is the "weak link" and could be doing more to help, given its resources and legal authority.

"I think the Quebec government is the piece that we need to solve homelessness once and for all," said Sauvé.

The regional health authority that keeps track of shelter spaces in Montreal said shelters currently provide 1,835 spaces — over 100 more than during the same period last year.

The goal is to reach 2,102 spaces by December, according to the health authority. It also stated that Montreal's shelters have nearly all reached maximum capacity.

The city said there were not enough spaces at nearby emergency shelters to house the people being evicted from Notre-Dame Street. 

WATCH | Community groups urge Quebec to reach deal with Ottawa to help fight homelessness:

Montreal mayor and homeless advocates urge Quebec to sign funding deal with Ottawa

19 days ago

Duration 2:29

Quebec stands to receive $50 million but still hasn’t agreed to a deal. Community groups and municipal leaders are sounding the alarm and warning many could be left out in the cold.

Robert Beaudry, the city's executive committee member responsible for housing, told reporters Monday afternoon that a state of emergency is not the best approach to the issue.

"We want to have investment to acquire building and there is investment from Ottawa and Quebec, but the state of emergency ain't gonna give us that," he said.

Beaudry added that he expects the province to take control of the situation and to send teams to help people with mental health and physical issues at the encampment. He hopes the workers will direct unhoused people to the services they need.

In 2020, the city dismantled dozens of tents in the area, and they have gradually reappeared.  

Last month, the borough of Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve asked the Transport Ministry to take charge of the land.

The borough said it is costing too much to maintain the the green space.