While the City of Montreal maintains its hard line and dismantles the shelters of people experiencing homelessness, others more affluent will be able to camp in Montreal for $108 a night this summeran offer from the Government of Canada that tastes very bad on the eve of the 1er July, as we already know that many households will find themselves on the street in the midst of a housing crisis.
During the weekends of July 2 and 23 and those of August 13, 20 and 27, 2022, people will be able to learn about camping in an urban environment. The initiative is most likely without bad intention, but that remains debatable. Why ? Because it is inconceivable to allow people to sleep peacefully in a public space for $108 while there are homeless people who are being bullied and constantly being moved around the city to less desirable and safe places .
Every day these people are reminded that they are not welcome and have nowhere to go. They must continually live in insecurity and instability, not knowing when and how they will be expelled from their little corner, their little “home”. Then, without respite, they are evicted and see their shelters dismantled, sometimes violently. An experience that can be traumatic for many and that places them at square one by forcing them to rebuild one to house themselves. Where, when, for how long?
Marie-Josée Houle of the Office of the Federal Housing Advocate acknowledges in her first report that there is a human rights crisis for homeless people living in encampments. However, the inhumane dismantling of camps that Montreal continues to experience gives a good example of how homeless people can be treated, even though we know that there is a major housing crisis and that the pandemic exacerbated the difficulties of finding housing and finding a place in emergency accommodation.
That said, the “not in my backyard” or even the “not in our city” that people who live on the street are told, the non-tolerance of camps and the inaction of the authorities in the face of the problems and risks experienced in camps can have serious consequences for the safety and health of these people. Despite this, we allow ourselves to say “if you have $108 to spend per night, you will be able to sleep on the edge of the Lachine Canal in a tent, but not yours and nowhere else, because we don’t give you any not allowed “.
We feel this is a “double standard” situation. That is to say, on the one hand, people who can find good housing and afford a lot of land in Montreal to sleep outside, and, on the other hand, those who do not have the means and the right to live somewhere.
What message are we sending to the public? You need money to sleep outside!
* This text was also co-signed by: Catherine Marcoux (community organizer at the Montreal Support Network for Alone and Homeless People), Caroline Leblanc (Ph.D. candidate in community health, she conducts FACE research on the reality of life of people who live in la rue), Laury Bacro (collaborator and ally on the FACE project), as well as Carolyne Grimard and Sue-Ann MacDonald (professors of social work at UdeM).