'we’re not just garbage,' man says after authorities dismantle encampment on notre-dame st.
few people were in the tents when authorities arrived, according to transport department spokesperson martin girard.
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authorities began dismantling sections of an encampment for unhoused people on notre-dame st. monday morning, a little more than two weeks after people living there received eviction notices. workers in hazmat suits, hard hats and masks could be seen dismantling a section of the encampment near notre-dame st. e. and bourbonnière ave. payloaders removed tent materials, bicycles and other objects belonging to the evicted residents.
dozens of montreal police officers were on the scene, with some carrying launchers used for tear gas and rubber bullets.
police tape surrounded the area and a small crowd of observers gathered outside.
monday’s dismantlement was the fifth time police had moved devint vézina since april, he told the gazette.
“they’re attacking homeless people,” he said.
he accused mayor valérie plante of ignoring homelessness and said he wanted to talk with her.
“we are still your citizens. we’re not just garbage.”
devint vézina gets emotional as he speaks about trying to save his belongings as montreal police clear the notre-dame st. encampment in montreal, on monday, dec. 2, 2024.
allen mcinnis
/
montreal gazette
the dismantlement was ordered by quebec’s transport department.
the camp is mainly spread out across three clusters of tents along notre-dame st. in addition to the tents on site, there’s also an accumulation of scrap and materials, with overflowing recycling bins and garbage bags piling up.
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people were first told they needed to vacate the area by nov. 21, but were granted an extension.
in an interview monday morning, martin girard, a spokesperson for the transport department, said workers began the dismantlement around 7 a.m., starting with an area next to morgan park. few people remained in their tents when workers arrived, he added.
“since it’s been a few weeks since the notice to leave was given, we presume people left ahead of time,” girard said.
montreal police stand watch as a portion of the notre-dame st. homeless encampment is cleared inside the morgan park fenced boundaries in montreal, dec. 2, 2024. police were not clearing the transport quebec owned lands next to the park area.
allen mcinnis
/
montreal gazette
when the eviction notices were served, the transport department had said it was acting on a request by the city, given the encampment goes against the mercier — hochelaga - maisonneuve borough’s bylaws.
the department said it was aware of what it described as dangerous materials in the camp, such as propane tanks, and the dismantlement is in part to ensure people’s safety.
marine gourit-armengaud, a community organizer for the comité bails, a housing advocacy group, slammed the dismantlement for targeting “people who have tried to find solutions of last resort to survive.”
“are encampments a solution? no. do (people living there) have another alternative? no,” she told reporters, who gathered near the dismantled section of the encampment at notre-dame st. e and bourbonnière ave.
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dismantling parts of the encampment was “an attempt by the city to make poverty invisible,” éric groleau of refus local, another advocacy group, said.
“an encampment is a way for people living there to form solidarity, to try to have a little stability. but an encampment is also a visible and durable symbol that there are people in our society living in poverty.”
workers, with the help of montreal police, clear the notre-dame st. encampment in montreal, on monday, dec. 2, 2024.
allen mcinnis
/
montreal gazette
speakers at the press briefing, held on behalf of six “citizen groups and collectives,” and the encampment’s residents, called for a moratorium on all encampment dismantlements. they also called for services to be offered to encampment residents, including garbage collection, sanitary facilities and fire department support for safe heating systems.
the eviction has been challenged in recent weeks by community groups that work with unhoused people. the clinique juridique itinérante, or mobile legal clinic, intervened with the transport department following the eviction notices.
according to the clinic, the discussions led to a “mutual agreement” to have the eviction pushed back to monday, instead of nov. 21, and limited to three specific sites along notre-dame st.
the transport department will tolerate tents in other areas along the busy east-end thoroughfare until the end of the winter.
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“preventing unhoused people living in encampments from finding shelter when they have nowhere else to go prolongs and exacerbates the homelessness crisis,” the legal clinic wrote in a statement on friday.
“the quebec government must do a better job of finding urgent, rights-based solutions that respect the dignity and autonomy of street community members,” it said.
unhoused people have set up an encampment on notre-dame st. e. in montreal.
dave sidaway
/
montreal gazette
the city of montreal has said it can’t tolerate encampments because they pose a safety risk and it would rather persuade people to stay in shelters, where there is oversight and access to services.
advocates, however, argue there aren’t enough spaces in the city’s network of homeless shelters to accommodate the growing number of people who find themselves unhoused.
“elected officials can tell us the solution is for people to sleep indoors. we agree,” gourit-armengaud said, “but there isn’t space.”
a quebec government report released last year estimated there were 4,690 unhoused people living in montreal in 2022, a nearly 50-per-cent increase since 2018.
the grassy area along notre-dame st. was the site of another large encampment in 2020 that was ordered dismantled after a fire broke out and nearly spread to a propane tank. tents have come and gone in the area since, usually being removed by the time the winter cold arrives.
montreal police stand guard with a standard launcher used for tear gas or rubber bullets as a portion of the notre-dame st. homeless encampment is cleared inside the morgan park fenced boundaries in montreal, dec. 2, 2024.
allen mcinnis
/
montreal gazette
