The discovery of a young child at a homeless encampment in Montreal has put the city’s worsening homelessness crisis in the spotlight of Quebec’s provincial election campaign, with party leaders expressing shock and offering competing solutions to the problem.
After two days of back-to-back debates, the leaders returned to the campaign trail Thursday, but their planned announcements were overshadowed by questions about the child found at an encampment on Notre-Dame Street in Montreal’s east end.
Montreal police said they received a call on Sept. 11 about a woman and child at an encampment in the Mercier—Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough.
Police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant said officers located the pair after a search and noticed what police described as concerning elements.
Police are collaborating with Quebec’s youth protection agency on the investigation, Brabant said, adding the child’s health and safety were not at risk.
The case prompted strong reactions from Quebec’s political leaders Thursday, as homelessness and the lack of affordable housing emerged as a major issue at the halfway point of the provincial election campaign.
Québec solidaire Leader Ruba Ghazal called the situation “completely unacceptable and shocking.”
Ghazal said it was disturbing that a family could find itself in such a vulnerable situation in Quebec and argued that tackling homelessness requires significant investments in housing and community organizations.
Québec solidaire is promising $11.8 billion in housing investments if elected, including funding aimed at helping people experiencing homelessness.
Liberal Leader Charles Milliard said elected officials need to intervene, but stopped short of calling for the Notre-Dame Street encampment to be dismantled. Milliard said the focus should be on finding solutions to the homelessness crisis rather than simply debating whether encampments should be closed. He said the City of Montreal has as important a role to play as the provincial government.
The Liberals are proposing an additional $1.5 billion in spending to address the issue.
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Coalition Avenir Québec Leader Christine Fréchette said the discovery was heartbreaking and called for greater co-operation between the province, municipalities, the private sector and community organizations.
Fréchette said authorities also need a clearer picture of who is living in homeless encampments, including whether other children are among their residents.
“Those children really have to be taken out of that environment,” she said. “It’s not an environment for children at all.”
Fréchette said her government is developing a provincewide plan to address homelessness.
Parti Québécois Leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon, who represents the riding where the Notre-Dame Street encampment is located, blamed the CAQ’s record for the worsening situation.
He said homelessness would be his “social priority” if the PQ forms government and described the situation as unacceptable in a wealthy society.
“There are a certain number of decisions that have an impact on the increase of homelessness, and that’s the track record of the CAQ,” St-Pierre Plamondon said.
Conservative Leader Éric Duhaime also called the situation “totally unacceptable” and said governments should work to eliminate homeless encampments across Quebec as quickly as possible.
Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada described the case as “heartbreaking” and a “wake-up call” in a social media post Wednesday night.
She said the city could no longer wait for the Quebec government to address what she called a provincewide problem and said Montreal would take action at the Notre-Dame Street site.
Montreal’s official Opposition, Projet Montréal, meanwhile, called on the mayor to make 30 unused modular housing units available, with priority given to homeless parents and pregnant women.
Opposition Leader Ericka Alneus said the units are not a substitute for permanent housing but could provide families with quicker access to services while they seek a longer-term solution.
The political debate comes as Quebec struggles with a homelessness crisis that has become increasingly visible in Montreal and other communities across the province.
With the provincial campaign now at its halfway point, the issue is likely to remain a focus as the parties make competing promises on housing, homelessness and social services.
–with files from The Canadian Press
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