Petition urges Quebec government to find funds to house those living under Ville-Marie Expressway
Posted April 17, 2023 2:38 pm.
Advocates working with Montreal’s homeless population launched a petition urging the Quebec government to find the necessary funding to provide housing for people living in an encampment under the Ville-Marie Expressway.
A Superior Court judge postponed an eviction notice by the Transport ministry to halt repair work for ten days starting April 11.
The construction is to be done on the expressway, near Guy and Atwater, where some have been living in tents.
Resilience Montreal launched the petition on Monday. They say people in the encampment are “among the most vulnerable in Quebec.”
BACKGROUND:
- Interim injunction to suspend eviction of homeless people under Ville-Marie Expressway for 10 days
- Lawsuit to stop evictions of homeless under Ville-Marie Expressway
- Lawyers, province negotiating to find housing for those living under Ville-Marie Expressway
“Some members of this street community suffer from mental health problems or serious illnesses, such as cancer and staphylococcus aureus; that others have serious drug problems, and that one woman is pregnant,” states the petition. And that the government has done nothing to help relocate those living there since the first eviction notice was served in the fall of 2022.
They are requesting funds for a pilot project to house the community, adding that the government has a responsibility to protect them.
The injunction is up for renewal on Friday.
