Parks Canada cancels camping event in Montreal amid criticism over unhoused people
Advocates for Montreal's homeless residents ramped up critiques of Parks Canada over the weekend, saying a series of local camping events the agency has scheduled throughout the summer set a double standard between those with financial means and those without.
The events, dubbed learn-to-camp, are described as an opportunity to learn basic camping skills for the price of $108.75 per tent along the Lachine canal in the city's west end.
"I laughed out of despair when I saw that," Annie Archambault, who works with a non-profit organization that helps Montreal's vulnerable populations, said in an interview on Sunday.
Archambault, of Rue action prévention jeunesse, said the initiative comes off as a bad joke as the city's authorities frequently dismantle encampments for the homeless erected on public land.
"It's insulting and ironic, we've been fighting for years against dismantling encampments for the homeless but the city has zero-tolerance," she said. "If you don't have money, you can't (camp) but for $108.75, you can."
Parks Canada posted a statement to its website cancelling the first event on Saturday without providing a reason for the move, but the same events scheduled for July 23, Aug. 13, 20, and 27 are still open for registration.
Parks Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Archambault said the remaining dates should be cancelled and the camping gear handed to groups that work with people without homes.
"It's not the activity itself that we're denouncing, but the irony of it and the location," Archambault said, adding Parks Canada lacked sensitivity in sending the message that public spaces are for people who can afford them.
Caroline Leblanc, a doctoral candidate in community health at Université de Sherbrooke who studies people experiencing homelessness, agreed.
"It's distasteful," Leblanc said in an interview on Sunday.
"Right now, there are several people living in the streets who have to deal with repression to find a spot where to go. It's a double standard. We promote Montreal as an inclusive city … some reflection needs to be done."
When asked about the criticism over the camping activity, Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said last week the decision belonged to Parks Canada. She also reiterated the city's long-held stance that encampments are not a solution to homelessness.
"It's a question of dignity and safety; we will continue to discourage encampments," Plante told reporters on June 29.
For Leblanc, Parks Canada's initiative only mirrors a deeper issue.
"The question is not how Parks Canada could have done a better job, they were probably not ill-intentioned, it’s about not only the city but also the provincial government’s emergency response toward the housing crisis and the increase of people without homes," Leblanc said.
About 600 households were left without a home after the province's Jul. 1 moving day, according to a report released on Saturday by Quebec housing advocacy group Front d'action populaire en réaménagement urbain. About 420 renter households were without housing at the same time last year.
"We see nice camping of 15 tents on Lachine canal … why can't we do that type of thing," Leblanc said.
Leblanc stressed that dismantling encampments for the homeless is deeply taxing on unhoused people, urging officials to find solutions to secure Montreal's public space for everybody.
"Nobody wants to die in a tent, they want stability," she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 3, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports betters, the league says.
BREAKING Former Air Canada employees among suspects identified in gold heist at Pearson airport: police
Nine people have been arrested in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International airport last year, Peel Regional Police said Wednesday.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.
MPs summon ArriveCan contractor to the House to be admonished in rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Gas prices across Ontario expected to climb to levels not seen since 2022, analyst says
Ontario is going to see a big jump at the pumps later this week as gas prices in the province hit levels not seen in nearly two years, according to one industry analyst.
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archaeological site in southwest France.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s sons have released a single together
A new Lennon and McCartney collaboration is the last thing anybody expected.
Some millennials say federal budget was 'a letdown' amid cost of living struggles
It’s a picture-perfect scene: Adam and Maria Reynolds are playing with their daughters inside their Port Coquitlam, B.C. home. Watching them together, you might not realize the Reynolds household is stretched to its limit.