Group of Montrealers receive $12K to fund class actions on homelessness

A group of Montreal residents in Milton Parc and Devonshire has secured $12,000 to fund a class action lawsuit against multiple government organizations.

That’s the latest update in a legal challenge over what they call a lack of solutions to problems related to the unhoused population near Hotel Dieu in the Plateau— a case that could see up to $25,000 awarded to each person affected.

“During the last few years, since they opened the multi-resources there (…) we had some police interventions like major ones for coke deals and drug dealers,” said Jordan Dupuis, a Devonshire resident. “I live on the main floor, so people do their basic needs on my main floor.”

Alexandra Simon, lead plaintiff for the Devonshire case, added, “It’s been a few years at this point that this neighbourhood has been dangerous.”

The Center for Research-Action on Race Relations (CRARR) brought the residents together on Thursday, telling reporters that the lawsuit aims to put pressure on the government to install better supports for unhoused people.

Fo Niemi, the executive director of CRARR, says government officials failed to properly consult residents before opening nearby shelters like Le Royer at the Hotel Dieu Hospital, so close to residential neighbourhoods.

“The issue is not about fighting homelessness. The issue is that the hold government authorities responsible for homelessness for their poor planning, for their poor management of services, poor delivery services,” said Niemi.

Andrée Deveault, a Milton-Parc resident, says, “Every level of government passes the buck to the other level. And in the end, the residents in the neighborhood suffer.”

The two separate lawsuits — from Milton Parc and Devonshire — have been officially deposed.

Residents say they’re living with repeated problems – spanning from break-ins, to noise, to a nearby park fountain shut down after it was used for bathing.

They say they’ve had no choice but to turn to the courts after the city failed to act.

“Yeah, look, we tried to find in the past who take the decision. Impossible,” said Éric Faille, a Devonshire resident.

Homeless shelter, the Old Brewery Mission, along with the Welcome Hall Mission, are also named in the class action.

CityNews reached out to both organizations, but they were unavailable to comment. But in an interview in June, Welcome Hall Mission CEO Sam Watts said that the key to successful cohabitation means tackling homelessness at its source.

“We don’t like the idea of neighbourhoods or public spaces that are not secure. At the same time, it’s important that if we want to solve the challenge of homelessness, we go to where the root of the problem is, which is poverty. It’s affordability, it’s a number of other things, and so for us to be attempting to fix this in any other way is really unhelpful,” said Watts.

A spokesperson for the regional health authority CIUSSS Centre-Sud tells CityNews that they could not provide a statement due to an ongoing legal process.

The City of Montreal did not reply to our request for comment in time for the deadline.

A preliminary hearing will take place in December, with the next set of legal proceedings to begin in 2026 if cases are authorized by a judge to move forward.

“Not a little band-aid here, a little band-aid there, and let’s see if we can pass through this one. Phew, the summer is here, they can sleep outside. We’re crying out loud. I need to have a concerted effort,” said Deveault.