Eviction of homeless encampment under Ville-Marie Expressway postponed

On Thursday morning, the Quebec Transport Ministry (MTQ) announced that the planned eviction of occupants of a homeless encampment under the Ville-Marie Expressway has been postponed. The MTQ, which has not revealed a new date for the eviction, says they want to work with the city and support organizations to relocate the community. According to CityNews, “but the MTQ will continue to dialogue with the campers and is in contact with the Ministry of Social Services on this issue.”

Meanwhile, the Montreal Autonomous Tenants’ Union protested the scheduled eviction at the site this morning.

#WATCH: The Montreal Autonomous Tenants' Union marched in solidarity with those living under the Ville-Marie expressway, calling for accessible housing for all.

READ: https://t.co/A9RQR73VCJ pic.twitter.com/AwGA6TGvKI

— CityNews Montreal (@CityNewsMTL) November 10, 2022

On Monday, homeless support and advocacy organization Resilience Montrea sounded the alarm over the lack of institutional aid for the city’s most vulnerable, a problem made urgent given the rapid approach of winter. Resilience said that the ”survival camp” under the Ville-Marie expressway is made up of homeless people who either can’t access shelters because they’re at capacity or who don’t qualify for housing programs or emergency shelter access due to severe addiction or mental health problems.

According to CTV, the Quebec transport ministry (MTQ) had given the residents of the encampment 10 days to leave the area because maintenance work is required at the site. Provincial and municipal police were due to clear away the remaining people and tents from the site by 9 a.m. this morning.

While the MTQ has reportedly enlisted the aid of organizations to aid the people who have been living under the expressway, such as mental-health intervention group EMMIS and transitional support group Diogene, Resilience Montreal (whose staff has also been working with the encampment residents) points to the need for an action plan with long-term solutions to fix fundamental problems.

In their press release about the Ville-Marie Expressway encampment, Resilience says the population they serve has more than doubled since 2020, and shelters don’t have enough beds to house them. Following the deaths of Raphaël Andre and Elisapie Pootoogook last year, Resilience fears that those who have been living in the encampment “will be left without any alternative but to sleep under more dangerous conditions.”

#WATCH: “They’re relieved,” says David Chapman, part of Resilience Montreal, about the postponement of the dismantling a downtown encampment under the Ville-Marie expressway.

READ : https://t.co/A9RQR73VCJ pic.twitter.com/Gw1lQlaPkg

— CityNews Montreal (@CityNewsMTL) November 10, 2022

This article was originally published on Nov. 8 and updated on Nov. 10, 2022.

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