The dismantling of part of the homeless encampment set up along Notre-Dame Street will not take place before 1is December, following the intervention of the Traveling Legal Clinic, which asked the government to wait for the opening of the shelters before carrying out evictions.
Posted at 3:56 p.m.
Updated at 4:13 p.m.
The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility (MTMD), owner of the land in question, in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district, issued eviction notices last Friday ordering around ten people to remove their tents by Thursday.
Read also “Imminent dismantling of part of the Notre-Dame Street encampment”
“Such a reprieve is essential given that existing shelters are currently at full capacity and are unable to accommodate more people,” argued lawyer Helena Lamed, working pro bono for the Traveling Legal Clinic , in a letter sent Monday to the Attorney General of Quebec, that The Press obtained.
« The 1is December 2024, warm shelters will open, including one at CAP Saint-Barnabé, which will make it possible to accommodate homeless people who are unable to find housing for the winter period. Dismantling the camps on Notre-Dame Street East before this date would condemn the evicted people to wandering around the city with no place to stay. »
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility (MTMD), owner of the land in question in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve district, issued eviction notices last Friday ordering around ten people to remove their tents by Thursday.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
“A reprieve is essential given that existing shelters are currently at full capacity and are unable to accommodate more people,” argued lawyer Helena Lamed.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
The director of the Traveling Legal Clinic confirmed Tuesday that Quebec had accepted the request to postpone the dismantling date.
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PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, THE PRESS
In 2023, the dismantling of a camp located on MTMD land, under the Ville-Marie highway, west of the city center, gave rise to a legal battle led by the Traveling Legal Clinic, which however had lost on appeal.
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The director of the traveling legal clinic, Mr.e Donald Tremblay confirmed Tuesday that Quebec had accepted the request to postpone the dismantling date.
“This is a step in the right direction, very good news for the Mobile Legal Clinic,” declared Mr.e Tremblay.
To justify the eviction of the occupants of the tents along Notre-Dame Street, the MTMD asserts that it received notices of infraction from the borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve for non-compliance with the municipal by-law on nuisances, due to noise, waste cluttering the premises and criminal activities.
Around ten tents, out of the thirty in the encampment, are targeted by the threat of dismantling, denounced by community organizations due to the lack of places in homeless shelters and the housing crisis.
In 2023, the dismantling of a camp located on MTMD land, under the Ville-Marie highway, west of the city center, gave rise to a legal battle led by the Traveling Legal Clinic, which however had lost on appeal. In this case, the government argued for the need to carry out maintenance work on the site. He still agreed to wait several months before evicting the occupants.
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