The issues of cohabitation between childhood and homelessness “are real” in the central neighborhoods of Montreal, Valérie Plante said Thursday.
“We absolutely do not want to deny how it can be stressful or create insecurity. It’s real,” she said alongside an announcement on housing. “Resources are good, we need resources. But people move in and out of resources, so public space is just as important in management, in planning. »
Mme Plante was questioned about the tensions around Maison Benoit-Labre, in the South-West. The neighboring primary school has counted 28 “disruptive events” since the opening of a day center and a place of supervised consumption in mid-April.
The Press also revealed on Wednesday that a city center CPE was now calling on the police to carry out walks in its neighborhood, for fear of an incident with vulnerable people.
“This is never desirable. We want the small, medium and large [enfants] move around the city freely and feel safe. I think it clearly demonstrates the real issues of cohabitation,” began the mayor of Montreal. “Montrealers must feel safe. There is no question of the City of Montreal becoming an open-air hospital, an open-air injection center or an open-air apartment. We need solutions, we need housing. »
Yesterday, the Minister of Social Services Lionel Carmant affirmed that the landing of Maison Benoit-Labre “should have been better prepared, better worked”. “I have said it several times, cohabitation has to be worked on upstream,” he added.
Benoit Dorais, the elected official responsible for Housing within the Plante administration, argued Thursday that the project had been the subject of preparations for five years, preparations which included the ministry of Mr. Carmant and Public Health of Montreal. “There are a lot of things that have been done,” said Mr. Dorais. “We are going to work so that the people around us have a living environment that makes sense. We are in a transition. »