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Montreal’s mayor made her first official demand to the incoming Parti Québécois government Thursday as the city seeks to address the growing homelessness crisis ahead of winter.
Soraya Martinez Ferrada announced the city is opening nine warming centres across seven boroughs. They’re expected to increase the network’s capacity to 3,000 emergency and transitional housing spaces, 500 of which are seasonal, becoming available in November.
But for those centres to be operational 24/7, Martinez Ferrada says the city needs long-term financial commitments from the province.
“I really hope this is the last winter where we’ll be waiting for funding knowing the winter comes every year,” she said during a news conference. “Community organizations need that certainty to retain their team, workforce and plan ahead.”
In a news release, the city says it’s asking the government to guarantee funding for Montreal’s cold-weather plan over the next three years. The mayor estimates the city needs around $20 million per year.
Martinez Ferrada began her announcement Thursday by offering her condolences to a woman who died after an encampment in Montréal-Nord caught fire Wednesday morning. The death of a 59-year-old homeless man was also reported by police in Granby on Monday.
“The homelessness crisis is reaching proportions that could be described as bordering on out of control,” Martinez Ferrada said in French.
She says she’s aware of the frustration expressed by several residents in regard to cohabitation with the city’s homeless population — the largest in Quebec — and is calling for more tolerance ahead of the cold months.
The fact that premier-designate Paul St-Pierre Plamondon represents a Montreal riding gives her hope that he’s aware of the city’s reality, she says. She adds his promise to allocate a special budget to tackle homelessness in the coming months is also a source of relief.
Most of the warming centres will be equipped with beds, marking a shift away from the rows of chairs usually seen at these places. The city says it purchased 350 beds for this year.
“Our long-term goal is that every space will offer a bed so people can rest with dignity,” Martinez Ferrada said.
The centres will be spread out across the city, including in the downtown core and the boroughs of Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie, Le Plateau-Mont-Royal, LaSalle, Verdun, Ahuntsic-Cartierville and Saint-Laurent.
Benoit Langevin, who is the executive committee member responsible for social development and cohabitation, says the city isn’t opening any warming centres in the West Island because there are already resources there, such as Ricochet. That homeless shelter sees its capacity increase from 82 to 110 every year with winter measures funded by the Quebec government.
“We’re really optimistic that the Quebec government will do the same plan or increase even more the capacity of the existing [centre],” he said.
Martinez Ferrada ended Thursday’s news conference by saying the city is working on a site offering transitional accommodations for people waiting for a home. She says those details will be shared at a later date.