Like many other Quebec cities, Longueuil is grappling with an increase in the number of homeless people in its territory due in particular to the housing crisis and mental health and drug addiction issues. While presenting her administration’s plan to combat homelessness on Monday, Mayor Catherine Fournier assured that the City intended to show tolerance towards the encampments.
Catherine Fournier unveiled the guiding principles that will guide the City over the next two years in terms of homelessness. Developed in collaboration with its community partners, the City’s plan provides for various actions including a pilot project to offer storage locations to the homeless and training for library employees to promote cohabitation.
The phenomenon of homelessness has been growing significantly since the pandemic. Last December, the City had already presented its housing strategy in order to increase the rate of non-profit rental housing in its territory to 20%. The City also wants to act on other fronts. “A fundamental principle of the reference framework is the recognition of the full rights of people who are homeless,” explained Catherine Fournier.
The City, however, faces a difficulty because the Halte du coin shelter, which welcomes 35 homeless people this winter, will have to be relocated. “The Notre-Dame-de-Grâce church, which currently houses the Halte du coin, will be converted into social housing specifically intended for clients at risk of homelessness or people who are transitioning out of homelessness,” recalled the mayor. The City and its partners are still looking for a site to host the shelter.
Camps tolerated
The City does not have precise data on the number of homeless people present on its territory. She believes there are between 200 and 1000. She also counted a dozen camps which, in the majority, are tolerated by the authorities as long as they do not present security issues.
To explain the City’s tolerance towards these encampments, Catherine Fournier invoked the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and case law, which stipulates that if a city cannot house all itinerant people, it cannot dismantle the encampments. . “I see all the citizens of Longueuil who find that it doesn’t make sense. I share this opinion, but at the same time, there are people for whom it is a choice to live in these camps or who are refused [dans les refuges] for several reasons,” argued Catherine Fournier.
Longueuil will spend $825,000 in 2024 to fight homelessness, but this responsibility falls to higher governments, recalled Mayor Fournier. “The City of Longueuil and municipalities across Quebec are taking their responsibilities. We believe that the governments of Quebec and Canada must do the same,” she said.