Body found in backyard of downtown Montreal daycare, police investigating

Montreal police (SPVM) are investigating after a man's body was discovered downtown on Friday morning in the backyard of a daycare.

The victim was 32 years old and homeless. According to the SPVM, and his death is considered "suspicious."

A daycare staff member called 911 at 8:10 a.m. to report the discovery near the Saint Michael's Mission shelter on Stanley Street.

"When the police arrived on the scene, they found an unconscious man, but unfortunately, the death was pronounced on the scene," said SPVM spokesperson Sabrina Gauthier.

Todd Admond is a barber with the Saint Michael's Mission, which opened recently in the basement of the church where the daycare operates.

He said the victim was one of his clients.

"It's a shock, yes," he said. "It's such a loss."

"As far as his name, I have no idea, because so many people pass through me getting their haircuts," he continued. "They come and they go."

The daycare director told CTV News that the discovery is the latest and most shocking in a series of escalating incidents since the shelter opened.

She said her staff must continually check the backyard and entranceways for drug paraphernalia, beer cans and other trash. On one occasion, staff found a person sleeping in one of their sheds.

Sam Watts, CEO of outreach organization Welcome Hall Mission, said that while the man's death is tragic, the circumstances are a failure of the system.

"One death on the street is one too many. Furthermore, I hate to see situations where people are being cared for in close proximity to something like a childcare centre. This is something we need to take a good hard look at to see if we can do better because we can do better," he said.