By Chelsey St-Pierre
The Suburban

“They waited until the last minute and once again Montreal demonstrated its inaction on the issue of homelessness,” Pierrefonds-Roxboro city councilor and official opposition critic on homelessness Benoit Langevin told The Suburban in speaking about the refuge project that took place at Hotel Dieu. The project took shape under an emergency measure in the summer of 2021 following the announcement of the closure of a temporary shelter located in a hotel in downtown Montreal right in the middle of a global pandemic. Langevin says that the city has no strategy when it comes to planning for these projects in response to the ongoing needs of the homeless community.

It was not until the summer of 2023 that an investigation by the Quebec Ombudsperson took place revealing that the shelter was inadequate in receiving persons with certain health requirements or risk factors. According to the report, the organizations that ran the facility, Mission Bon Accueil (MBA) and the Old Brewery Mission (OBM), both acknowledged that they do not have the staff required to meet the physical health needs of persons with certain medical profiles.

Unlike health care facilities, shelters do not have admission criteria for their clientele other than homelessness. Some shelters serve only men or women or focus on a native clientele with particular needs, but when it comes to health issues, shelters are not equipped for medical interventions and rely on resources provided by the healthcare network. The project at Hotel Dieu was run by organizations that manage homeless shelters and it did what it does best. The shelter was never intended to become a health care facility and when health-related support was needed, it acted as usual and outsourced. It was workers from the CIUSSS healthcare network that reported situations to their employer that they observed while providing treatment during their visits that led to the investigation.

The Ombudsperson’s report was met with acceptance from all parties involved that collectively wanted to find the best solution for the clientele. The recommendations include, that adequate care is ensured for people admitted to the shelter; prevent vulnerable people from being admitted to an environment that cannot meet their needs; and plan the move of people accommodated to other resources after the closure of the shelter planned for July 2024.

“The urgency in which the project was deployed and the absence of contractual formalities can also explain the confusion regarding clinical and administrative responsibilities of the different actors (CIUSSS, CHUM, OMB, MBA),” the Ombudsperson’s report reads. “The city has no long term plan and when questioned, the Plante administration keeps pointing the finger at everyone else, including the Quebec government and the regional health authority that require the city to provide its long-term plan in requests for funding and implementation of services. But the city has tools at its disposal where Quebec can invest when provided with a plan.” Langevin says this scenario is not new or different from the ongoing reactive rather than proactive process of the Plante administration in how it handles the homeless situation in Montreal.

Spokesperson for the Quebec minister of social services Lambert Drainville told The Suburban that he agrees with Langevin’s perspective that the city and province need to work together in order to meet the needs of the homeless population. When asked what the minister’s position is on the Montreal mayor pointing the finger back at the provincial government, Drainville stated that he would not comment at this time but would review the issue for comment at a later date.

Langevin referred back to the city’s charter which states its obligation toward the homeless population and questions why it continues to leave nine habitable facilities empty. “Even now, it did not offer the vacant heated spaces on its territories for the relocation of Hotel Dieu. Once again, it left volunteer community groups to scramble for a last minute solution. The scenario forces the community organizations to go get mortgage loans to make up for 200 people with a new homeless situation. The city is always playing ‘hot potato’ and in this case it leaves the organizations looking for financing partners at the last minute with no concrete action from the city.” n