Not enough being done to keep Montreal’s homeless safe in extreme cold: advocate

For the city’s most vulnerable, being outside during a wave of extreme cold temperatures can be fatal.

That’s why advocates want the City of Montreal to be more proactive in its measures to keep the homeless population warm and safe.

The temperature across much of Eastern Canada felt like minus-40 Celsius to minus-50 C with the wind chill on Saturday.

BACKGROUND: Extreme cold temperatures across Quebec until Sunday

“In this weather, people who are staying outside have a really high risk of having frostbite, of having hypothermia and dying,” said Catherine Marcoux, a community organizer with the Réseau d’aide aux personnes seules et itinérantes de Montréal (RAPSIM).

The city opened two temporary emergency warming centres, each of which can accommodate up to 50 people between 8 p.m. and 9 a.m. The centres – in the Plateau-Mont-Royal and downtown – are to close on Sunday.

Could metro serve as shelter? 

Some advocates are calling on the STM to open five metro entrances to allow the homeless to seek refuge for two days. The STM declined to do so as of Saturday, saying they are not equipped to serve as a shelter – particularly due to the lack of toilets.

“People are going to have to go outside of the metro stations and they have nowhere to go, especially if they’re in remote neighbourhoods,” said Marcoux. “For example, we’re asking for the metro stations to stay open.”

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Marcoux says every year is the same situation: action isn’t taken early enough to keep the homeless population safe during the winter.

“They have to have places where they feel safe to go and keep warm all year, not just when it’s an emergency,” she said. “We’ve been saying that since November this year but we say that all the time. Every year it’s the same thing.”

#WATCH: "We're asking for [five] metro stations to stay open," says Catherine Marcoux, a community organizer with the Réseau d’aide aux personnes seules et itinérantes de montréal about calls for the STM to do their part in keeping the unhoused out of the extreme cold. pic.twitter.com/ZN5Vm4nPb5

— Brittany Henriques (@BritHenriques) February 4, 2023

Experts warn frigid temperatures like this can be dangerous for multiple reasons.

“Slipping on the ice is one of the big issues,” said Jean-Mari Dufresne, the operations supervisor with Urgences-santé. “Frostbite is the other big issue with regards to the cold. I mean, you can get frostbite within 15 minutes of having exposed skin… So it’s really important for people if they have to get outside to dress up warmly in layers.

“In cold temperatures like this, clear skies, sunny weather, the reflection on the pavement does cause for drivers to be blinded by the light, so to speak, hence causing accidents.”

#WATCH: It's -37 degrees in Montreal with the wind chill on Saturday. Urgences-santé is reminding people that frostbite can occur within minutes of being outside. Jean-Mari Dufresne supervisor of operations at Urgences-santé explains what to do if you get frostbite. @CityNewsMTL pic.twitter.com/RCTkwlAkUj

— Brittany Henriques (@BritHenriques) February 4, 2023

Hydro-Québec electricity demands

Hydro-Québec recorded more than 42,700 megawatts of electricity demand around 5:30 p.m. Friday.

It is encouraging people to use less electricity as much at they can during peak hours, morning and night.

“When demand is really high like this, we do have enough electricity because we do have tools that we can use in order to be able to respond to that demand,” said Hydro-Québec spokesperson Cendrix Bouchard.

“But you know what? It uses pretty much all the capacity of the network. If need be, we can always import electricity as well. But keep in mind that this electricity is not as green as ours. It costs more.”