A year after Raphael Andre's death on Montreal street, advocates ask what's changed
Exactly a year ago, 51-year-old Raphael Andre died overnight just steps from the shelter where he'd been keeping warm during the day.
Andre's death made headlines beyond Canada last year, but those who work with the homeless in Montreal say there still aren't enough services during COVID-19 to keep them out of danger.
Just last week, a 74-year-old man froze to death in his makeshift shelter in NDG when, according to those who knew him, he could no longer seek shelter in his usual last resort, a nearby McDonald's, due to public health restrictions.
Andre, who was Innu, had been using the Open Door shelter as a place to eat and shower. But under COVID-19 rules, it was forced to close the night of Jan. 18, 2021.
Andre was under the influence at the time and sought shelter in a porta-potty on the nearby street, where he fell asleep and died.
Raphael Andre froze to death overnight on Saturday just steps from a downtown Montreal shelter closed for curfew. (Photo: Facebook)
After his death, Resilience Montreal and other partners opened a warming tent in Cabot Square, just west of downtown, naming it after him.
Its organizers say it's seen tens of thousands of visits in the last year, another sign of how serious the need for services is.
Nakuset of the Montreal Native Women's Shelter says the tent is not enough, and there needs to be a building in the same area that's open overnight.
Her organization started a new local shelter but it's only open during the day.
For now, the warming tent will stay open until at least March 21.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies found by U.S. authorities searching for missing B.C. kayakers
United States authorities who have been searching for a pair of missing kayakers from British Columbia since the weekend have recovered two bodies in the nearby San Juan Islands of Washington state.
Amid concerns over 'collateral damage' Trudeau, Freeland defend capital gains tax change
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
'It's discriminatory': Individuals refused entry to Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
Individuals being barred from entering Ontario’s legislature while wearing a keffiyeh say the garment is part of their cultural identity— and the only ones making it political are the politicians banning it.
BREAKING Mounties will not be charged in shooting death of B.C. Indigenous man
Three Mounties in British Columbia will not face charges in the killing of a 38-year-old Indigenous man on Vancouver Island in 2021.
Canada's favourite sport to watch is hockey, survey shows
The 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs have already delivered a fever level of fan excitement in Canada.
Douglas DC-4 plane with 2 people on board crashes into river outside Fairbanks, Alaska
A Douglas C-54 Skymaster airplane crashed into the Tanana River near Fairbanks on Tuesday, Alaska State Troopers said.
Tom Mulcair: Park littered with trash after 'pilot project' is perfect symbol of Trudeau governance
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
'It's just so hard to let it go': Umar Zameer still haunted by death of Toronto police officer
“It's just so hard to let it go. I mean, everyone is telling me, ‘you have to move on,’ but I know someone is not here [anymore]. So I don't know how I will move on." That’s what Umar Zameer, the man recently acquitted in the death of a Toronto police officer, told CTV News Toronto in a sit-down interview on Tuesday.
NASA hears from Voyager 1, the most distant spacecraft from Earth, after months of quiet
NASA has finally heard back from Voyager 1 again in a way that makes sense. The most distant spacecraft from Earth hadn't sent home any understandable data since last November.