“Isn’t it hot?” » “No, but I also thought about it. » This is what can be heard a few seconds before a merchant splashes water on a sleeping man at the front of his restaurant.
The video relayed Monday by Kevin Calixte, known in particular for being one of the hosts of the podcast Rapolitik, ignited the Web on Monday. It was first published last Saturday. We see a man sleeping in front of a commercial building on Saint-Laurent Boulevard, in the heart of Chinatown. The building notably houses the La Toxica restaurant and an arcade center, the MTL Gaming Center.
In the video, a woman brings a container filled with water, which she hands to another man. He sends it to the face of the dozing man, who wakes up with a start, visibly panicked. “We need to wake up, my friend. […] We can’t sleep here,” he said, laughing.
At the time these lines were written, The Press was unable to speak with the staff of the La Toxica restaurant. However, in a response from the restaurant to an Internet user, also shared on the social network Instagram, we can read that the attitude of the man who was sprayed “has been reported several times to the police”, who do nothing.
The Montreal City Police Department, however, argued, in light of the “little information currently available,” that it did not appear to have received a call “concerning the content of the video.”
La Toxica also claims to have tried to wake the man “the right way”, but to have failed. “He was completely intoxicated,” she says, information that The Press was unable to confirm. In short, the restaurant claims to have a “problem” with homelessness issues and to “need support”, which the City would not provide.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
The entrance to the commercial establishment located in the heart of Chinatown
In a post on X, the owner of MTL Gaming Centre, who initially published the video, apologized. He has since deleted the post, but in a screenshot taken by an Internet user, it can be read that he had warned the person to leave several times. “That does not excuse my actions,” he also wrote. I recognize that what I did was wrong and unjustified. »
In a press release, Mayor Valérie Plante’s office described the video as “shocking.” “Everyone has the right to dignity and respect, regardless of their situation. »
Reprehensible practice
Annie Savage, from the Support Network for Single and Homeless People of Montreal (RAPSIM), encourages people to “show tolerance and empathy towards people who live on the streets”.
“We often talk about incivility from people experiencing homelessness towards people living there, but here, it seems to be the opposite situation,” she notes. She also reminds us that everyone has the fundamental right to live in public space – “not just traders and customers”.
Mme Savage also invites citizens bothered by the presence of homeless people to call the Mobile Mediation and Social Intervention Team (EMMIS). Made up of front-line psychosocial workers, the EMMIS aims to defuse situations of crisis, distress and conflict in public spaces. “It was put in place by the City precisely to respond to this type of situation,” summarizes M.me Savage.
Asked to comment on the procedure to follow in such circumstances, the SPVM first affirmed that it did not encourage the type of behavior adopted by the merchant. This “could lead to possible criminal charges”.
It would have been better to call the SPVM, said the police force. The police officers called to the scene will thus be able to analyze the situation in order to establish the course of action to follow in light of the information collected.