The Martinez Ferrada administration has announced the creation of the Tactical Intervention Group on Homelessness (GITI).
“This new coordinating structure aims to consolidate existing governance and support, strengthen, and accelerate actions related to homelessness in the city,” the city wrote in a press release Tuesday morning.
“The objective is to achieve predictability and find longer-term solutions to better address the homelessness crisis. This body takes over from the crisis unit established in December 2025.
The GITI, whose first meeting will take place next week, will be composed of 12 permanent members from the Government of Quebec, the City of Montreal, and institutional and community partners.
“Homelessness is a priority for our administration,” said Martinez Ferrada. “Every tent we see on our streets reminds us of our collective responsibility. With the creation of the Tactical Intervention Group for Homelessness (GITI), we are moving from emergency response to structured and agile action. By working together with all our partners, we will provide better long-term predictability, better coordinate our actions on the ground, and deliver concrete solutions to Montrealers.
“This composition reflects the City’s commitment to asserting its leadership in addressing the challenges related to homelessness. It also demonstrates its dedication to working in an integrated manner with existing regional governance.”
Chaired by Claude Pinard, the GITI will meet its members every two weeks to improve the coherence, agility, and effectiveness of interventions in the region.
“With GITI, our objective is clear: prevention rather than reaction,” said Pinard. “We are giving ourselves the means to intervene earlier, more effectively, and with greater impact. We will strengthen our responsiveness and better plan our actions, season after season. By drawing on the expertise of our partners and maximizing the resources already in place, we want to intervene at the right time, with the right resources.”
The members of GITI are as follows:
Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Mayor of Montreal;
Claude Pinard, chairman of the executive committee of the City of Montreal and responsible for homelessness;
Benoit Langevin, responsible for social cohabitation on the executive committee of the City of Montreal;
Sonia Bélanger, Minister of Health and Social Services;
Chantal Rouleau, Minister responsible for the metropolis and the Montreal region;
Caroline Dusablon, Director General – Network Management and Partnerships, Santé Québec;
Mylène Drouin, Montreal’s regional director of public health;
Nadia Bastien, Deputy Director General of the City of Montreal;
Julien David-Pelletier, Commissioner for People Experiencing Homelessness at the City of Montreal;
Nathalie Charbonneau, CEO of the CIUSSS du Centre-Sud-de-l’Île-de-Montréal;
Samuel Watts, President and CEO of the Welcome Mission;
Annie Savage, director of RAPSIM.
The group will also be tasked with identifying operational obstacles and opportunities, optimizing resource utilization, and ensuring proactive risk management, particularly during seasonal situations.
“As the thaw and spring approach, managing encampments will become an even more pressing issue,” according to the press release. “The GITI’s primary mandate will be to harmonize interventions, ensure a greater presence on the ground, and plan actions in a more structured way, in order to improve coexistence in neighbourhoods while supporting Montrealers living in encampments.”
“This initiative will help us identify solutions,” said Sam Watts, president and CEO of the Welcome Mission. “It will pinpoint opportunities for collaboration and implement concrete actions that will address the needs of marginalized individuals, those experiencing homelessness, or those at risk of losing their housing.”
To strengthen its capacity for action, the group will also present several tools in the coming months, including a metropolitan map of roaming services, seasonal planning, a key performance indicator dashboard, and an integrated roaming action plan.
The GITI will also produce an annual report outlining results, progress made, and recommendations for improving policies and investments.