Denis Coderre wants to “intervene better” with victims of domestic violence. While 17 alleged feminicides have occurred since the beginning of the year in Quebec, the candidate for mayor of Montreal is committed to setting up a new mixed team dedicated to the fight against domestic violence at the City Police Department. de Montréal (SPVM), together with the shelters.
“From the moment the victims leave their attacker until the moment they are accommodated in a safe way, we will support them in their entire escape process”, explained Mr. Coderre during a press conference held Tuesday morning in the premises of the organization La rue des Femmes, worried about the fact that “this scourge which destroys lives has intensified with the health crisis”.
The new mixed team of the Montreal police would be made up of patrollers, but also social workers and front-line workers, with the aim of “making a difference” in the willingness of victims to file a complaint, in particular.
In addition to this measure, Ensemble Montréal’s plan also includes the signing of agreements with taxi companies in order to “distribute free coupons to shelters”.
A free moving service would also be offered to women who need it, as well as a “temporary storage service” for their belongings. Vacant City premises would also be made available to aid organizations lacking space.
The Coderre team is also committed to “prioritizing” social housing projects put forward by shelters, “which currently stands at only six in Montreal,” deplores the party. According to figures put forward by the latter, 75% of admissible requests in this direction are currently refused.
“Periodic” communication campaigns
Nadine Gelly, who would be president of the executive committee of a possible Coderre administration, also promised Tuesday to go “directly to meet” the victims by launching a “periodic communications campaign containing the contact details of the resources available in Montreal”.
“The City of Montreal has important distribution channels which are visited by thousands of people and which can make a real difference in terms of the number of potential victims who are reached”, insisted the mayoral candidate of Ahuntsic-Cartierville, Chantal Huot.
The fact remains that the announced plan does not contain any precise figures or budget. When questioned on this subject, the mayoral candidate indicated that he would draw the required funds from the Reflex Montreal roaming agreement, which his party intends to “renegotiate” with Quebec to invest 60 million over a period of four years.
“When you have a sense of the metropolis, you can play this role of counterweight. There is a new federal cabinet looming on the horizon, so we will work with both Quebec and Ottawa, and we will find solutions, ”said Mr. Coderre on this subject.
If you are a victim of domestic violence, you can contact the SOS Violence Conjugale helpline at 1 800 363-9010 or by text at 438-601-1211. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.