Group wants court to exempt homeless from curfew

A Montreal-based group that defends the rights of marginalized individuals is seeking to get homeless people exempted from the provincewide curfew.

Clinique Juridique Itinérante filed a legal challenge in Quebec Superior Court Friday, asking for the curfew to be immediately suspended for homeless people until the courts look into the matter further. It's also asking for the curfew to be declared constitutionally invalid when applied to the homeless in Quebec.

“Maintaining the curfew on these people is unnecessary, arbitrary, disproportionate and cruel,” CJI says in its legal challenge. “It causes serious and irreparable harm that is not justifiable in a free and democratic society.”

The request is expected to be heard today.

CJI is a mobile legal clinic whose mission is to promote access to justice for the homeless, the impoverished and marginalized members of society.

According to CJI'S request, the curfew violates rights protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, including the right to life, safety and security, as well as equality. It also violates the protection against any cruel and unusual treatment or punishment.

Premier François Legault imposed the 8 p.m. curfew two weeks ago in a bid to rein in COVID-19 infections. The measure applies at least until Feb. 8, with some exemptions. For instance, dog owners are allowed to take their pets out after 8 p.m. as long as they stay within a kilometre of their homes.

Fines for violating the curfew start at $1,000, plus $550 in additional fees, and can rise to as much as $6,000.

Legault on Tuesday shot down the idea that homeless people could be spared from the curfew. Such a decision could lead people to pose as homeless to take advantage of the loophole, he said.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante had earlier called for an exemption 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.

Despite the creation of a record number of beds for Montreal's homeless since the start of the pandemic, overnight capacity is strained. Plante 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.