Montreal Ombudsman Nadine Mailloux delivered a powerful and heartbreaking report this week on the extreme precariousness of homeless Aboriginal people. Don’t look away is the story of a real “humanitarian crisis” unfolding before our passive eyes in the Milton-Parc sector, where an island of misery contrasts with the festive Quartier des spectacles just to the south.
Those familiar with the sector know what it is all about. In the shadow of the buildings on Avenue du Parc, corner Milton, an Aboriginal presence, mainly Inuit, takes root in the cracks of the cold and inhospitable concrete. From year to year, the faces change, but one constant remains: the homeless indigenous population is growing and dying in heartbreaking conditions exacerbated by the pandemic and the contraction of accommodation places.
The investigation stems from a request for intervention from a group of neighborhood citizens, for whom the problems of safety, sanitation, intoxication and violence are legitimate sources of concern. Far from the image of intransigent citizens of the “not in my backyard” type, they were personally affected by the deplorable state of the homeless Aboriginal people. They witness physical and sexual assault, open-air drug use, prostitution and sexual exploitation. Their children make detours to go to school. Arguments are common with motorists and pedestrians when intoxicated people block streets or sidewalks, sometimes risking their lives. In 2020 and 2021, six road accidents involving homeless people, including one fatal, occurred at the corner of Parc and Milton.
These citizens had the impression that the competent authorities were offloading their responsibilities in the care of the Inuit and the members of the First Nations in a situation of homelessness. The conclusions of the ombudsman’s report prove them right. Homelessness was already a known phenomenon, but the ombudsman quickly understood that the situation brought to his attention was “critical”, hence the striking use of the term “humanitarian crisis”.
In her subtle analysis, Nadine Mailloux focused on the actions of the City of Montreal and the other organizations responsible for intervening in the area of homelessness: community groups and integrated university health and social services centers (CIUSS). She observes a lack of consultation and planning between them. The ways of doing things, community or state, are incompatible. Accountability is lacking. To put it simply, “everyone passes the buck”. These phenomena of duality and incompatibility between community and state intervention are not new. In its interdepartmental homelessness action plan (Coming together in the face of homelessness), the government of Quebec suggests “decompartmentalising” the management of homelessness, “getting out of the silos” that add a layer of complexity to the problems experienced. Like the reduction in emergency room wait times or the effort to find a family doctor for every Quebecer, it seems that the problems that afflict the management of homelessness are insoluble.
When it comes to Aboriginal people, who are overrepresented in the homeless population, a layer of complexity is added. Their presence in the streets of Montreal is inseparable from the precariousness and adverse living conditions they experienced in northern villages. They arrive in the metropolis with historical scars and traumas, conditioned by distrust of health services.
Miracle solutions? There is none. One recommendation in the ombudsman’s report, which received consensus, deserves immediate action. Montreal must acquire permanent accommodation resources adapted to the cultural reality of the Inuit. With the expansion of municipal powers in the area of homelessness (thanks to the “Réflexe Montréal” framework agreement), it is an achievable goal that the funding disputes between Quebec and Montreal cannot derail. It is both a question of human dignity and the preservation of healthy living environments.