A Quebec Supreme Court judge has temporarily barred Montreal from dismantling a homeless encampment under the Van Horne overpass in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough while a legal challenge over the move proceeds.
In a decision released Monday, Justice Alexander Pless granted a safeguard order sought by the Clinique juridique itinérante, which has asked the court to prevent the city from removing an encampment near the Van Horne skatepark and basketball court.
The legal clinic argued that forcing residents to leave could violate their rights under the Canadian and Quebec charters and that the city had failed to offer a suitable alternative location.
The city had previously ordered residents to leave the site, citing the need to ensure safe use of nearby recreational facilities. It later proposed alternative locations, including an area known as Parc sans nom and another site called Entrepot 77.
However, Pless concluded that questions surrounding the adequacy of those alternatives should be examined at a hearing on the merits of the case.
“Without an alternative that ensures the security and dignity of the residents, the city cannot force them to leave until the matter is adjudicated on the merits,” Pless wrote in the decision.
The order prohibits the city from taking steps to evict residents, dismantle the encampments or dispose of their belongings until a judgment is rendered in the case.
Pless explained that the ruling does not give residents a permanent right to occupy public property and noted the city could seek authorization to relocate the encampment if it identifies an alternative that respects residents’ rights and complies with the city’s encampment protocol.
The encampment is home to about 10 people and has been subject of an ongoing dispute between the city and advocates for unhoused residents.
The Gazette has contacted the City of Montreal and the Clinique juridique itinérante for comment but had not received a response as of Tuesday evening.