Taylor Clark

LJI Reporter

While funds have been committed to the homelessness situation around the Ruisseau de la Brasserie, independent mayoral candidate Yves Ducharme said the situation lacked concrete actions to “relieve the human suffering found there and to restore a sense of pride to all Gatineau residents who travel near the Guertin site.”

“It is unacceptable that citizens, among the most vulnerable in our society, must live in such an open-air repository,” Ducharme wrote in a press release. “The health of the premises requires accountability from all stakeholders. The citizens deserve better, Gatineau deserves better – it’s a question of human dignity and collective pride.”

Ducharme put forward a seven-point action plan to ease the “hemorrhaging” of the Ruisseau de la Brasserie. This included a major cleaning of the site, creating a plan to transfer the encampment to municipal land and developing a new site. In case this was to fall through, a backup plan would be implemented to secure a perimeter around the current site. Along with creating an Action Group for People Experiencing Homelessness, Ducharme also proposed meeting with the mayor of Ottawa to discuss cross-border homelessness and putting intensified political pressure on the Government of Quebec to assume all responsibilities regarding homelessness.

“The current situation at the makeshift campsite at the Ruisseau de la Brasserie is unacceptable,” Ducharme continued, “both for people experiencing homelessness and for residents of Gatineau and our visitors. The Ville de Gatineau has already done a lot. Now, the Quebec government must assume its responsibility. It’s up to everyone to manage their own fern, as the Deputy Prime Minister said.”

Photo caption: Citing the situation as unacceptable, mayoral candidate Yves Ducharme wishes to see a major cleanup of the Ruisseau de la Brasserie.

Photo credit: Yves Ducharme Facebook