Montreal city council votes against declaring state of emergency on homelessness

Montreal’s city council voted against a motion to declare a state of emergency on homelessness on Monday night.

Independent councillor Craig Sauvé presented the motion, saying that the homeless crisis has been evident in Montreal for a decade due to many social issues in addition to the COVID-19 pandemic and drug dependence, notably opioids such as fentanyl.

“People are scared,” Sauvé said in City Hall during the council meeting. “They’re scared for others. They’re worried; the community groups are extremely worried, and people want to see a plan, and they want to know that people are going to be alright this winter.”

Fellow independent councillor Serge Sasseville accused the provincial Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) government of being asleep at the wheel, as a state of emergency would require urgent action by Premier François Legault's team.

Sasseville said in August that he no longer felt safe in the city after his house and property were vandalized.

"I lost my sense of security at my house, and it's really a big problem now in downtown Montreal,” he told CTV News at the time. “The authorities have lost complete control of all over what is going on downtown. It's dirty, it's violent. There are roadblocks everywhere. It's a nightmare. Something has to be done."

Sauvé added that three times more homeless people are dying now compared to three years ago, according to the Quebec Coroner’s office.

“What we need is action,” he said. “I know there are good people working at all levels of government to get this thing done. I feel the real weak link is Quebec City. That’s the CAQ government. I think the CAQ government is not active enough on this file. They’re not showing the urgency that other levels are.”

Other councillors, however, asked if such a declaration would change anything, with one saying that it would be like firing a gun underwater and may actually release the province even more from its responsibilities.

"Will a declaration of emergency suddently give us more social mworkers and interveners? What will happen?" asked Projet Montreal councillor Robert Beaudry from the Saint Jacques district.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante agreed that there is a crisis, but said declaring a state of emergency, while symbolic, would not actually provide real solutions.

"The question is will this change homelessness overnight?" Plante asked. "No, it won't. We are having discusions so that it works... I want solutions that work and I don't see it [in this motion]."

The motion was ultimately voted down by the administration.