Indigenous and Inuit homelessness in the Milton-Parc district represents a real “humanitarian crisis in the heart of the metropolis”, for which the City of Montreal and the health network must act quickly, reveals a report by the Ombudsman de Montréal released Tuesday morning.
Posted at 8:09
The report, titled “Ne pas avert le regard”, makes several observations about the distress experienced by the homeless population that frequents this sector of the Plateau-Mont-Royal and the problems of cohabitation with the citizens who live there. .
Ombudsman Nadine Mailloux makes five recommendations, including the establishment, as of 2022, of a “stable and safe emergency accommodation resource that meets the needs of Inuit people”.
“It is important to walk the talk,” the report says. It is fundamental not to manage this situation by simple checkboxes in a plan. We must act with premeditation and ensure that the planned measures produce concrete results, that entities in all directions are accountable for the responsibilities incumbent on them and that this accountability is not measured by isolated tasks, but rather by decisive impacts on the ground. »
The Ombudsman points out that he followed the process of establishing winter measures for homeless people, put in place at the last minute, in a flagrant lack of planning on the part of the City.
The report follows complaints from a group of citizens living near avenue du Parc and rue Milton, who denounce the deterioration, unsanitary conditions and dangerousness of this district.
More details to come.