Regulations that criminalize the homeless, an Indigenous community that does not feel heard and unequal access to various community services are some of the social inclusion issues facing Montreal.
However, better integration of the different communities into society could contribute to crime prevention, say experts and organizations.
The question of social inclusion is more and more essential in political speeches in Montreal, both from the administration of Valérie Plante and the opposition.
In mid-September, the City presented a new action plan for 2025, in which it “reaffirms its commitment to become more united, equitable and inclusive”, in particular by offering expanded access to services. of the City and tackling systemic racism.
At the speech stage
However, “in terms of inclusion, we are still at the stage of the discourse”, deplores the director general of the Clinique Droits Devant, Bernard Saint-Jacques. For years, his organization has deplored the social profiling of people experiencing homelessness in Montreal.
Recent university research shows that homeless people in the metropolis annually receive thousands of tickets from the police for violating municipal by-laws which, by default, target them more. These include the ban on strolling in public space, consuming alcohol or being in a state of intoxication.
A review of these bylaws has been set in motion by the City to reduce instances of social profiling, but this process has been delayed by the pandemic. “This is a file on which our services are working,” assures the new head of social inclusion and homelessness at the executive committee, Josefina Blanco.
In recent years, the City has also implemented several measures to help the homeless. In 2016, the post of protector of the homeless was entrusted to the founder of the magazine. The Itinerary, Serge Lareault.
Then, a forum was held in 2019 at the Grande Bibliothèque de Montréal to address the various issues of social cohabitation with the homeless, in the presence of community groups, representatives of the City and the Police Department of the City of Montreal.
A democratic issue
But true social inclusion of homeless people cannot be achieved without allowing them to come together and make their voices heard in the City, estimates the professor at the School of Social Work of the University of Quebec. in Montreal Michel Parazelli, who is the main author of the book Roaming and urban cohabitation, published this year by Les Presses de l’Université du Québec.
“The issue is a democratic issue, that is to say that we must recognize the place of people experiencing homelessness”, says the expert, who believes that they should have their say to say about City decisions that affect them.
Bernard Saint-Jacques thus thinks that the municipal administration should contribute to the creation of gathering places for the homeless where they could “assert their positions” and “make themselves heard” by the municipal administration on different issues within a group that could also bring together peer helpers who have lived on the streets in the past, but have survived.
“There is food for thought and we are open” to this proposal, says Mme Blanco.
Contradictions
Michel Parazelli also mentions “contradictions” between the political discourse in favor of an inclusive city and the various “practices” implemented in the field. In this regard, he notes the vigorous dismantling of the Notre-Dame Street camp in December 2020 and the fines given to homeless people last winter during the curfew, before an exemption was granted to them.
“Social inclusion means having access to long-term housing,” said Josefina Blanco for his part. Projet Montréal also made a commitment, during the election campaign, to create 1,200 housing units for people experiencing homelessness or at risk of becoming homeless within four years.
Not in my backyard
Montreal is also facing challenges for the inclusion of Aboriginals on its territory, whose number more than doubled between 2001 and 2016 to reach more than 12,000 individuals, according to the latest Statistics Canada census. This number reaches about 35,000 in the greater Montreal area.
In recent weeks, the death of Elisapie Pootoogook, a 61-year-old woman from Salluit, a northern village in Nunavik, highlighted the lack of resources intended for the various Indigenous communities living in Montreal.
However, while the project Native Projects of Quebec is struggling to find a place to realize its project of shelter open 24 hours a day, Resilience Montreal faces the phenomenon of “not in my backyard” in its efforts to convert the tent that is used. from a temporary day center in Cabot Square to a permanent resource in a building.
“People will say that the legacy of residential schools, the eradication of identity, violence and homelessness, it has to stop. But when we want to put a resource [pour les itinérants autochtones] in their neighborhood, there is a very strong no ”, deplores the general manager of Resilience Montreal, David Chapman. Now, “how can society progress without anyone making sacrifices?” »He continues.
The Executive Director of the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal, Nakuset, for her part, notes that she is often the only member of the First Nations to be invited around the table when the City makes decisions concerning the implementation of resources intended for to aboriginals. “Is it inclusion when we have to force our place [au sein des instances décisionnelles] ? »Launches Nakuset, who asks the City to be more« attentive to the needs »of the members of the First Nations in Montreal.
A matter of public safety
Better social inclusion of the various communities is also essential from a public safety perspective, believes Pierreson Vaval, director of Team RDP, an organization that works with young people in the northeast of Montreal.
To do this, “diversity” in the offer of community services intended, among other things, for young people is necessary, he believes, referring to the creation of new sports infrastructures as well as the establishment of mentoring services to facilitate looking for a job.
“It is very important to ensure that everyone can find what they are looking for” in order to ensure better “social cohabitation” and to prevent an escalation of tensions, continues Mr. Vaval, who notes that the City cannot be content to opt for “repression” to counter the increase in armed violence in Montreal, among other things by adding more police officers in the streets of the metropolis.
Mme Blanco also recognizes that the City must focus on reducing the inequalities that persist between the offer of community services offered between the various boroughs of Montreal.
“We must ensure that public investments go to the right place so that these differences from one borough to another are reduced,” adds the city councilor.