Montreal extreme cold: city opens 2 temporary emergency sites
With deep-cold temperatures in the forecast, Montreal is making two new temporary emergency sites available to help the homeless population.
The sites are being made available to the health network and community organizations in the event of an overflow in shelters.
A first site in Ville-Marie opened Tuesday. A site in the Plateau-Mont-Royal will open Thursday. Both will remain open from 8 p.m. to 9 a.m. until Sunday, when the extreme cold is expected to end.
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Police officers and members of the Équipe mobile de médiation en intervention sociale (ÉMMIS) have been instructed to lead the city’s most vulnerable to those two locations.
The city says the SPVM will have dedicated patrols that will visit areas targeted by homeless people.
A special weather statement is in effect for the Montreal area, Châteauguay – La Prairie, Laval and Longueuil – Varennes for snow squalls beginning on Thursday evening.
On Friday, Montreal is expected to receive the coldest weather in years: minus-40 Celsius with the wind chill.
