[Opinion] Camping in Montreal? Yes, Canada says, for $108 a night.

As the city of Montreal maintains its hard line and dismantles homeless shelters, other, wealthier people will be able to. Camping in Montreal For $108 a night this summerAn offer from the Government of Canada that tastes really bad on the eve of Day 1^Verse July, as we already know that many families will find themselves on the street in the midst of the housing crisis.

During the weekends on July 2, 23 and those on August 13, 20 and 27, 2022, people will be able to learn about camping in an urban setting. The initiative was likely to have been without ill intent, but this is still a matter of debate. why ? Because it is unreasonable to let people sleep peacefully in a public place for $108 while there are homeless people who are being bullied and constantly moving around the city to unwanted and safe places.

These people are reminded every day that they are unwelcome and have nowhere to go. They must constantly live in insecurity and instability, not knowing when and how they will be expelled from their little corner, their little “home”. Then, without respite, they are evacuated and their shelters are seen dismantled, sometimes violently. An experience that can be traumatic for many and puts them square one by forcing them to rebuild one for housing. Where, when and for how long?

Marie Jose Hall of the Federal Housing Attorney’s Office admits In his first report That there is a human rights crisis for the displaced persons living in the camps. However, the inhumane dismantling of the camps that Montreal still suffers from gives a good example of how homeless people are treated, even though we know that there is a major housing crisis and that the pandemic has exacerbated the difficulties of finding housing and finding a place in emergency housing.

Having said that, “not in my backyard” or even “not in our city” that the people who live on the street are told, the intolerance of the camps and the inaction of the authorities in the face of the problems and dangers they have been through. In the camps it can have serious consequences for the safety and health of these people. Malgré cela, on se permet de dire « si vous avez 108 $ à dépenser par nuit, vous allez pouvoir dormir sur le bord du canal Lachine dans une tente, mais pas la vôtre et pas ailleurs, parce qu’on ne ne’ Not allowed “.

We feel this is a “double standards” setting. This means, on the one hand, people who can find good housing and buy a lot of land in Montreal to sleep outside, and on the other hand, those who do not have the means and the right to live somewhere.

What message are we sending to the audience? You need money to sleep outside!

*This text has also been signed by: Catherine Marcoux (Community Organization in the Montreal Network to Support Single and Homeless People), Caroline LeBlanc (PhD Candidate in Community Health, conducting research on the realities of people living in la rue), and Laury Bacro (collaborator and ally on the FACE project), as well as Caroline Grimard and Sue Ann MacDonald (UdeM Social Work Professors).

Let’s see in the video