The mayor of Quebec called on Prime Minister Legault and asked him to take strong action to make the fight against homelessness a “national priority”.
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“I think we need more than ever for the Prime Minister, given the immense challenges we are facing, to rally around him, perhaps even all the other parties. To say: we are going to take action,” said the mayor of Quebec, Bruno Marchand, in front of an audience of representatives who are interested in the fight against homelessness, during general meetings on the issue.
According to him, “regardless of the upcoming elections”, resources must be invested in this issue. For the City of Quebec, these are “tens of millions”, for Quebec, “hundreds of millions” which must be put on the table.
Despite the budgetary context
The mayor says that we must give ourselves “every means” to help people experiencing homelessness. He is aware of the budgetary context and agrees that it is “bad timing”. “On the other hand, if we don’t do it, the consequences are more serious on our finances.”
According to him, homelessness must “be included not only as a priority, but also [figurer] in our dashboards. The Prime Minister must question his teams and monitor the situation closely, “because we know the solutions,” he says.
Mayors across Quebec also assume their responsibilities regarding this issue, he added.
Last year, Bruno Marchand called for “the anger” of elected officials and ministers to change the situation. “Mayors want to play their role and cannot do it without Quebec. We need more than ever a Prime Minister who says it publicly,” he proclaimed, to loud applause.
Minister Lionel Carmant needs to be supported and receive more resources to help the community, he insisted.
Picard approves
The mayor was supported in his remarks by the Chief of the Assembly of First Nations, Ghislain Picard, who called on the Prime Minister to speak out publicly to prioritize homelessness. He even believes that this issue must be “transpartisan” and reach the House of Commons in Ottawa. An ovation greeted his remarks.
“There is someone on Parliament Hill whose ears must be ringing,” added the host of the States General, triggering laughter from the audience.
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