{"id":698581,"date":"2026-05-28T04:13:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T04:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/698581\/"},"modified":"2026-05-28T04:13:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T04:13:09","slug":"notre-dame-st-encampment-swells-to-record-size-as-montreal-announces-new-measures","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/698581\/","title":{"rendered":"Notre-Dame St. encampment swells to record size as Montreal announces new measures"},"content":{"rendered":"

After losing his spot in a shelter three weeks ago, Blake Halliday made his way to the only place he could think of: the encampment along Montreal\u2019s Notre-Dame St. E.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s been sleeping in a tent next to a bike path ever since, watching as others in similar positions keep arriving \u2014 either seeking safety in numbers, he said, or simply with nowhere else to go. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think we need to accept it,\u201d Halliday, 37, said of the encampment. \u201cIt\u2019s not going to go away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Community groups say the encampment, a fixture of the homelessness crisis in Montreal since the COVID-19 pandemic, is now larger than it ever has been. It has swelled from 40 tents this winter to 95 on today, with 150 people living on site.<\/p>\n

At city hall Wednesday, Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada said she\u2019s concerned the encampment is growing too large to manage or ensure people\u2019s security, calling the situation \u201c\u2018unprecedented.\u201d<\/p>\n

The mayor pointed to the city\u2019s new protocol on encampments, which calls for a more tolerant approach<\/a>, but noted they can\u2019t be accepted anywhere or at any size. <\/p>\n

Asked about the line between tolerating encampments and inviting people to live in them, the mayor said her administration has been clear it does not see them as a long-term solution. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut we need to offer people alternatives, and right now I don\u2019t have them, or not enough,\u201d Martinez Ferrada said. \u201cI can\u2019t dismantle an\u00a0encampment if I don\u2019t give people an option.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The city announced a series of measures aimed at addressing the issue Wednesday, including a crisis unit focused on encampments, more money to help boroughs apply the new protocol, and increased funding for community groups. <\/p>\n

It will also be deploying a team of three blue-collar workers to be on site seven days a week to help with waste collection and cleanup around the encampment.<\/p>\n

Reacting to the announcement, the opposition at city hall, Projet Montr\u00e9al, pressed the administration to clarify how the encampment protocol is supposed to be applied by different boroughs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A central part of the protocol calls on boroughs to establish \u201ctolerance zones\u201d where people could be relocated when it\u2019s deemed an encampment needs to be dismantled.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But the opposition said it\u2019s heard of people facing eviction from other encampments being directed toward Notre-Dame St., essentially concentrating the issue in one location. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re waiting for more information on how to implement the protocol, and it needs to come quickly,\u201d said Projet Montr\u00e9al leader Ericka Alneus. \u201cBecause if we don\u2019t have a game plan, this summer is going to be very difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

The encampment\u2019s future is also before the courts. <\/p>\n

Located on land owned by Quebec\u2019s transport department, it was slated to be cleared last summer before a legal clinic that works with unhoused people obtained a court order halting the dismantling<\/a>. The case is still ongoing. In April, however, the Mercier\u200a\u2014\u200aHochelaga-Maisonneuve borough informed the transport department it no longer wished to see the encampment dismantled, given the new protocol.<\/p>\n

Julien Montreuil, director of L\u2019Anonyme \u2014 which offers services at the encampment \u2014 said he\u2019s also concerned about the growing number of tents on site, especially with Moving Day approaching on July 1. <\/p>\n

Montreuil\u00a0recalled that few people are staying in the encampment because they want to.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re seeing right now is people who feel the only way to have a roof over their head is to pitch a tent,\u201d he said. \u201cAs a society, we need to offer them more options.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ADevint V\u00e9zina, 41, right, says politicians should talk to those living in the encampment to better understand their needs. Dave Sidaway \/ Montreal Gazette<\/p>\n

At the encampment Wednesday, a man who gave\u00a0his name as Devint V\u00e9zina was rearranging the makeshift shelter he shares with eight others, pausing to mow the lawn around it. <\/p>\n

The 41-year-old said he has lived in the encampment for four years and has moved along the strip 17 times, either because of tensions with neighbours or because the city asked him to.\u00a0<\/p>\n

V\u00e9zina believes the encampment\u2019s size has helped draw attention to the homelessness crisis and pushed it into public view. <\/p>\n

He invited the mayor to meet with people living there to best understand how to address it. <\/p>\n

\u201cCome talk to us,\u201d he said. \u201cListen to those who\u2019ve been in the street for 10, 20, or 40 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

jfeith@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n

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