The federal and Quebec governments announced Friday the allocation of $115 million over two years for the completion of 51 emergency and transitional housing projects intended for people experiencing homelessness in Montreal. This amount will make it possible to add 521 new accommodation spaces, of which 24 will be reserved for members of the First Nations and Inuit.
The announcement was made jointly by the two levels of government. It included, among others, the Minister responsible for Social Services, Lionel Carmant, as well as the Liberal MP for Outremont, Rachel Bendayan.
Open in full screen mode
Lionel Carmant, minister responsible for Social Services (left), and Robert Beaudry, responsible for homelessness on the Montreal executive committee
Photo: Radio-Canada
Among the new funded projects intended for Indigenous people, there is La Maison ᐊᓐᓇᒋᐊᕐᕕᒃ/Annagiarvik, a new transitional housing program in the Milton-Parc neighborhood, which will allow 14 Indigenous people to be housed for a period of up to five years, i.e. the duration of the lease of the premises.
There will also be an accommodation resource with 10 places which will be dedicated to young Aboriginal people leaving youth centers, explains Catherine Giroux, coordinator of regional, social and community files at the CIUSSS of the South-Central Island of Montreal. Its exact location remains to be determined.
These two projects are headed by Projets Autochtones du Québec, an organization founded 20 years ago which focuses on precarious housing in Montreal with particular emphasis on the empowerment and cultural reality of the people helped.
Two existing accommodation centers will benefit from funding in order to extend their activities. This is the Mitshuap night shelter (45 places), located in the city center of the metropolis and created in homage to the itinerant Innu Napa Raphaël André, who died in winter 2021, as well as the Hôtel des Arts (51 beds).
The Montreal Indigenous Community Network also received funding to implement “winter measures for Indigenous groups.”
By the end of 2026, the City of Montreal will have 2,047 accommodation spaces. This is a 30% increase in the number of places compared to December 2023.
Distribution of funding ($57.5 million per year)
- Renewal and enhancement of 19 emergency and transitional accommodation projects and 12 other complementary measures projects ($39.5 million).
- Increased funding for 20 emergency and transitional accommodation organizations. This component will make it possible to consolidate and create beds for clienteles such as young people, men, women and Indigenous people ($4.6 million).
- Development of 8 new emergency and transitional accommodation projects, including the transition of the Hôtel-Dieu project to permanent sites ($13.4 million).
With information from The Canadian Press
