Legault won't give exception to curfew rules
Rule adds to vulnerability already felt by those living in the streets, Plante says
Premier François Legault on Tuesday nixed the idea that homeless people could be exempt from the 8 p.m. provincewide curfew.
The premier said he trusts police officers to use their judgment and said he could not exempt homeless people from the rule, because then other people could pose as homeless to take advantage of the loophole.
“They do not intend to give tickets to homeless people,” Legault said of the police.
“If we put in the rules the fact that a homeless person could not receive a ticket, then anybody could say, `I'm a homeless person, so you don't have the right to give me a ticket.”
Earlier in the day, Mayor Valérie Plante called for homeless people to be exempt from the curfew.
“What I want is for people to feel safe in Montreal. I don't want to exacerbate that fragility, that vulnerability that is already present,” she said, clarifying that she still wants the homeless to find safe spaces to spend the night, but without the added pressure of the curfew.
“I'm not encouraging people to sleep in the streets. That is not my message. My message is to use the resources.”
Plante made the declaration to reporters near city hall two days after a homeless man was found dead inside a portable toilet, steps away from a warming station where he could have spent the night had it not been closed because of COVID-19 concerns. It was another example of how the pandemic and the curfew have combined to complicate life for some of Montreal's homeless and the shelter workers who care for them.
“They're giving their all,” Plante said of the workers, “but it's certain that the curfew is raising the level of stress and anxiety and, at a certain point, the sense of security among the visitors as well.”
Plante said she hoped the police would use their judgment and that homeless people would not feel persecuted, but she said she was hesitant to go against Quebec and direct Montreal police officers not to ticket the homeless.
City councillor and head of the official opposition, Lionel Perez, said the mayor needs to be more clear.
“Simply asking for tolerance isn't sufficient,” he said. “She has to, with the chief of police, give clear orientation that this is not what we want.”
Despite the creation of a record number of beds for Montreal's homeless since the start of the pandemic, overnight capacity is strained. The mayor said 95 per
cent of shelter beds are occupied on some nights, and there have not been enough beds on others. She pleaded for the Quebec government to provide more resources.
“What we're learning is that some nights, it overflows,” she said. “Some nights there are still beds available, but other nights there are not.”
At The Open Door on Tuesday, safety inspectors arrived to see if it could reopen as a warming station for the homeless overnight.
John Tessier, an intervention worker and coordinator at the drop-in centre — which is located steps away from where Raphaël André's body was found on Sunday morning, said they were hoping they would soon get permission to stay open overnight.
“We knew that something like this was very likely to happen, and sure enough it did. Now, after tragedy strikes, everybody and the powers that be seem to be moving their feet to try to get something done,” he said.
Tessier said the police in the area have, for the most part, been tolerant and understanding of the plight of the homeless, but the curfew still “adds another layer of stress to an already difficult life.”
“Of course it's unhelpful,” he said. “It's nice that they're talking about not ticketing people, but curfew or not, it's Montreal, Canada, in January and February.
“Curfew or not, people need somewhere to be.”
If we put in the rules the fact that a homeless person could not receive a ticket, then anybody could say, `I'm a homeless person.'