‘Maybe a little later’: Quebec transport minister considers delaying planned eviction of encampment on Notre-Dame

Days after a homeless encampment on Montreal’s Notre Dame Street was faced with imminent eviction, Quebec’s deputy premier and transport minister, Geneviève Guilbault, addressed the delay to dismantle it.

“We agreed on Dec. 1st as the more appropriate moment to proceed,” Guilbault said at a press conference regarding exo commuter trains on Friday.

“Maybe it will be a little later,” Guilbault added.

On Monday, occupants of the camp were given notice that the camp was going to be dismanthled days later. Transport Quebec posted an eviction notice to all those living in the encampment, stating the area will be thoroughly cleaned.

After backlash from advocates for the homeless community, the eviction was delayed until at least Dec. 1.

She said that she spoke with her colleague, Lionel Carmant, Quebec’s health and social services minister, who said more time is needed to make sure that shelters are ready for the winter.

“We are having also a lot of conversations with, of course, the City of Montreal, with the Montreal Police, with everyone who is involved in that delicate and complex situation,” she added.

RAPSIM, a Montreal organization that defends the rights of people experiencing homelessness, and several other community organizations denounced Transport Quebec’s intention to evict the homeless population there.

They say that emergency shelter spaces in the city are at capacity and that this group should not be displaced because of the trauma that it creates.

“The best solution to that is that addressing the safety issues that were brought up regarding this camp, but also make sure that we have a proper shelter to offer a place to those people,” Guilbault said.