Inuk elder found dead after seeking shelter at construction site near Cabot Square
There are renewed calls for better resources for the city's homeless population after Inuk elder Elisapee Pootoogook was found dead Saturday morning at a condo construction site on René Lévesque Boulevard and Atwater Avenue, near Cabot Square.
Following a 911 call around 8:30 a.m., paramedics arrived on the scene and confirmed that Pootoogook, 61, had passed away.
Pootoogook had a “charming way about her and a real personality,” said David Chapman, director of Resilience Montreal, a non-profit group that supports the homeless population near Cabot Square.
“It’s tragic things ended the way they did,” he said.
Nakuset, director of the Native Women’s Shelter, learned about what happened yesterday morning and said it marked the start of a bad day.
“I spent most of the day crying and reaching out to community members,” Nakuset said.
“Elisapee came to Montreal for medical services, from a community that didn't have the expertise, the hospitals, equipment -- so she came to Montreal for that," she said.
A police investigation has determined that no criminal activity was involved in the woman's death, according to a spokesperson from the SPVM.
WOMAN SOUGHT SHELTER AT METRO STATION BUT WAS KICKED OUT
But the way her life ended has Chapman and others asking, why in “modern Canada” does a frail woman in her 60s have to die looking for shelter at a construction site where condos are selling for millions of dollars.
Chapman said Pootoogook had sought shelter, as she often did, in the Atwater metro station before being kicked out by security. The unfinished condo structure offered warmth and a dry place to lay her head.
“We know that during COVID the policy is for public health to tighten who can be in the metro,” he said, making it even more difficult for people to find a safe place to sleep at night.
“To put it bluntly, there is a shortage of shelter space for people who are intoxicated or under the influence of alcohol and that needs to change quickly. If it doesn’t more people will die,” said Chapman.
A memorial service will be held on Monday in Cabot Square. People who knew her are being asked to "bring stories and flowers" to celebrate the "kind and gentle soul."
'WE NEED TO DO BETTER AS A SOCIETY'
Pootoogook's death happened as advocates were meeting with the city Tuesday to ask that the Raphael Memorial tent located in the square be permitted to remain as the winter weather arrives.
The tent was erected following a similar death of a homeless person -- Raphaël André, an Indigenous man. He was found dead near the steps of a homeless shelter in February.
The Raphael Andre Memorial Tent has welcomed thousands of Montreal's homeless but was slated to close on Dec. 1, 2021, due to lack of funding. It has stayed open primarily from private donations and from city permitting.
Serving about 300 people per day, advocates want the tent to remain open during the coming winter. The Native Women's Shelter told CTV that it will be able to stay open until March 31 provided that the workers there can fundraise for the money it needs.
“When those condos are finished the people that look out into the park are going to see the homeless that are suffering,” said Nakuset.
“You have to wonder at what point do we do better as a society, she said.”
Chapman has fond memories of Pootoogook, particularly the times he would lend her his phone so she could call relatives in the north.
“She'd be singing lullabies to grandkids over my phone in the metro,” he said.
Pootoogook's case has been transferred to the coroner's office.
With files from CTV News' Iman Kassam.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Oh my God, you're my brother': Man in his 70s discovers 6 unknown siblings
After receiving a DNA kit one Christmas from his son-in-law, Hugh McCormick soon discovered that he had six unknown siblings, with whom he shared the same birth parents.
No refund for travellers who cancelled flight already scrapped by airline: regulator
Four years on, the controversy over whether airlines owed refunds to passengers after cancelling hundreds of thousands of flights during the pandemic continues to simmer, aggravated by a sluggish, opaque complaints process.
Just how bad are ultraprocessed foods? Here are 5 things to know
Many foods fall under the category of ultraprocessed foods, depending on their exact ingredients. This type of food has been studied a lot lately, and the results aren’t great.
'My family doctor just fired me': Ontario patients frustrated with de-rostering
Dozens of Ontarians are expressing frustration in the province’s health-care system after their family doctors either dropped them as patients or threatened to after they sought urgent care elsewhere.
Rates of cancer declining in Canada, but more work needed to save lives: projections
A new study projecting declining rates of cancer cases and deaths in Canada demonstrates the success of prevention and early detection programs, but also highlights areas where more work is needed to save and prolong lives, researchers say.
DEVELOPING Trump trial arrives at a pivotal moment: Star witness Michael Cohen is poised to take the stand
The star prosecution witness in Donald Trump's hush money trial is set to take the stand Monday with testimony that could help shape the outcome of the first criminal case against an American president.
Canucks hold off Oilers for 4-3 win in Game 3
Brock Boeser had two goals and an assist, and the Vancouver Canucks hung on for a 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 3 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
Ottawa pizzeria places among top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world at international competition
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
Man fatally 'slashed in the neck' in downtown Toronto, suspect outstanding
Police are searching for a male suspect after a man was “slashed in neck” on Sunday morning in downtown Toronto and died.