Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada and Longueuil Mayor Catherine Fournier announced new protocols for intervention homeless encampments including centralized monitoring, tolerance zones, perimeters and restrictions on belongings.
At a press conference Friday, the mayors said the new rules was aimed to balance rights of unhoused individuals with public safety.
“Let’s be clear, we are not going to make the camps permanent,” Martinez Ferrada said. “Our goal is to get Montrealers who are homeless off the streets in a sustainable way.”
Martinez Ferrada added that the protocol brings a new approach for intervention even as the City worked on increasing housing, psychosocial and other services for those experiencing homelessness.
Fournier said Longueuil had been informally applying the approach for several years, but with the announcement the City was formalizing it.
“Making these guidelines public is essential: it allows everyone to know the rules and roles of each party, builds trust, and promotes harmonious coexistence,” Fournier added.
However, the new protocols do not rule out dismantlement of encampments even though the City’s public consultation body (OCPM) had recommended against them last year.
“(The new protocols) establish that forced displacement must remain a measure of last resort, in cases of imminent threat to public safety,” the statement said.
The protocols rely on close collaboration among several agencies: “municipal services, community organizations, police and fire departments, public health authorities, CISSS/CIUSSS, and various institutional partners.”
Monitoring tool, tolerance zones in Montreal
Under the new protocol, Montreal will create a “centralized monitoring tool” for coordinating interventions by City officials, something Martinez Ferrada had promised on the campaign trail last fall.
It may also designate tolerance zones in boroughs and downtown where encampments would be allowed.
The City said it will focus on harm reduction and voluntary participation.
“The protocol establishes that the relocation of a camp is an exceptional measure, used only as a last resort, particularly for reasons of personal safety,” the statement said.
The City will also assess encampment sites and develop a plan with health and community partners.
The protocol, however, is not a bylaw and the City will have discretion to enforce regulations.
Perimeters, restrictions on size in Longueuil
In Longueuil, encampments cannot be setup within 250 metres of schools, daycares, women’s shelters or senior residences.
Only five tents or five people can be part of an encampment site located on public land.
An individual will only be allowed one tent and one bicycle “to prevent the accumulation of belongings” and tents cannot be sublet.