The increase in homelessness is being felt outside the metropolis: police forces have noted for three years a sharp increase in the presence of homeless people in Outaouais, Montérégie and Estrie.
“Homelessness is not a public safety issue, it is a social issue. We know that currently the social context is difficult for many people,” said Pierre Brochet, Laval police chief and president of the Association of Police Directors of Quebec (ADPQ), during a press briefing. .
Since 2021, homelessness has been growing in Quebec municipalities. The ADPQ asked the police for an overview of this increase.
Conclusion: Police officers in the Outaouais, Montérégie and Estrie regions have observed a meteoric rise in the phenomenon of homelessness since 2021.
The city of Sherbrooke has also put two full-time people in place who tour the resources and camps. “Two weeks ago the officers saved a man who was poisoned by a propane tank that he kept in his tent,” explains François Lemay, president of the Federation of Municipal Police Officers of Quebec.