Montreal is seeking to appeal a decision that stopped the city from dismantling a homeless encampment around the Van Horne overpass in the Plateau-Mont-Royal borough. A Quebec Superior Court judge halted the city’s plan in June to clear the encampment near a near a skatepark and basketball court, where 10 people live. “There’s some zones that we can’t allow them to be because they impede other citizens to enjoy parks or, you know, the backyard of a school or a skateboard, like the Mile End,” Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada told CJAD 800. The borough attempted to have the residents relocated in May, citing concerns about limited access to the recreational area. However, the Clinique juridique itinérante, which advocates for people experiencing homelessness, challenged the planned eviction in court. The city proposed two alternative locations: “Parc sans-nom,” near Saint-Laurent Boulevard under the Rosemont overpass, and L’Entrepôt 77. The court ruled that neither location was suitable. The location under the Rosemont overpass were rejected because of heavy traffic, its proximity to residential homes, and lack of access to water, washrooms, lighting and electrical services. The second location was rejected because it was slated to become a skating rink during the winter, meaning residents would once again face eviction. The city says it wants to defend the city’s protocol on managing encampments in Montreal. Montreal is also calling on the Quebec government to take further action to address the city’s homelessness crisis. The city is seeking 3,200 emergency shelter beds that would be open 24/7 and regularly funded, including 500 seasonal beds. It is also asking for three emergency centres specializing in mental health and substance use, as well as 2,000 transitional housing units with support services to help people make a sustainable transition out of homelessness. The city is also demanding that 45 per cent of provincial housing program funding be allocated to Montreal. With files from CTV News’ Swidda Rassy
