How Quebec's Curfew Impacts Montreal's Homeless People

Three panelists joined Local 514 host Savanna Craig to discuss the interconnectivity between homeless and the housing crisis. In conversation with Chris Curtis, investigative journalist for Ricochet, Sophie Hart, founder of Meals For Milton Parc and Faiz Abhuani, real estate agent & founder of Brick by Brick.

The panelists discuss the challenges up against homeless people in Montreal, including how lockdown measures and COVID-19 have affected the unhoused. With the recent death of Raphael André, a homeless man from the Matimekush-Lac John Innu Nation was found frozen to death in early January, after being forced to leave the Open Door homeless shelter at night, as a result of public health restrictions applied to this shelter. André's death sheds light on the harsh realities many homeless people experience.

A province-wide curfew established in early January to run until February 8th has received some criticism, as those caught outside between 8pm and 5pm can be ticketed from $1,000 to $6,000. This regulation excludes essential workers or people walking their dogs within 1km from their homes. Some of those ticketed have included the homeless, including one homeless person who was ticketed $1,5000. Since this conversation, the Quebec government has exempted homeless people from the curfew following a class action suit against the government over homeless people being included in this regulation.

In this conversation, we also discuss many topics within the homeless and housing crisis in Montreal, including social housing, homeless people who experience sexual violence, and the best way to reduce homelessness in Montreal.

This panel was hosted live on Facebook on January 21, 2021