The Ombudsman of Montreal calls on the City to act on Indigenous homelessness

Now is the time for quick and concerted actionstates, at the opening of the report, the Montreal ombudsman, Nadine Mailloux.

The report named Don’t look away is the result of a survey that highlights the lack of planning and collaboration between the various stakeholders working with homeless Aboriginals in the city.

Homelessness, it must be said, is a real and known problem, but we soon realized that the situation brought to our attention was criticalwrites Ms. Mailloux.

The stakeholders operate within state or community structures that are sometimes difficult to reconcile, resulting in a vacuum of accountability (everyone passes the buck). It is absolutely necessary to learn to coordinate bettermakes the report.

Insufficient seasonal measures

The ombudsman also points the finger at the operation of the City of Montreal in establishing the services offered during the winter period and last minute setup of these.

Tents and emergency winter shelters are expensive palliatives that won’t solve the problem, it says. […] Responding to existing housing needs throughout the year would represent a more effective strategy for tackling homelessness and would give life to the actions and objectives reiterated many times by the City of Montreal.

A growing mobile population and dwindling resources

The ombudsman of Montreal observes that the homeless Aboriginal population is growing, but that the available resources have diminished.

This decrease can be explained by the health restrictions leading, among other things, to a shortage of beds.

However, the living conditions in Milton-Parc described in this report do not appear to be solely the product of the pandemic, although it may have exacerbated themnotes Nadine Mailloux.

Five recommendations and an investigation by the Québec Ombudsman

Faced with these findings, Nadine Mailloux and her team have formulated 5 recommendations aimed at the City of Montreal.

The Montreal ombudsman also forwarded his concerns to the Québec Ombudsman, who also agreed to conduct an investigation into the situation of Aboriginal homelessness.

It is important to move from words to deeds, writes Nadine Mailloux in the conclusion of the report. It is fundamental not to manage this situation by simple checkboxes in a plan.

We must act with premeditation and ensure that the planned measures produce concrete results, that entities in all directions are accountable for the responsibilities incumbent on them and that this accountability is not measured by isolated tasks, but rather by decisive impacts on the groundshe adds.

A citizen complaint at the origin of the investigation

The investigation was initiated by a complaint from citizens living near Park Avenue and Milton Street.

These citizens denounce the degradation, the insalubrity as well as the dangerousness of this neighborhood where a community of homeless people of Aboriginal and Inuit origin coexists. Residents complain about the lack of adequate management of these issues by the competent authoritieswe learn in the report.

The complaint also mentions that the premises where the organization is located The Open Door would be inappropriate and should be relocated.

Previously located near Cabot Square, the organization had to move to the Plateau-Mont-Royal in 2018 when the premises it occupied were purchased for the purpose of making condos. At that time, residents of the area had already expressed some concerns.