Police Acquire Down Montreal Pandemic Homeless Camp

Text measurement

Dozens of police officers on Monday moved in to dismantle a makeshift camp in Montreal occupied for months by a hundred homeless people today, according to an AFP journalist at the scene.

Authorities cordoned off and cleared the grassy boulevard on the outskirts of the city’s downtown, although riot law enforcement — some on horseback — held again a couple of dozen protestors, together with 1 dressed as Santa Claus.

Community hearth officials experienced ordered the camp closed just after a tent burst into flames about the weekend.

The camp went up in July. Various of its occupants had a short while ago turn out to be homeless, possessing missing their jobs and flats in the course of the pandemic.

Quite a few experienced vowed to stay all winter season — in spite of forecasts of harsh weather conditions.

Louise Desrosiers, spokesperson for the Montreal fireplace division, instructed reporters a 3rd of the 60 tents experienced been eradicated by midday.

Everyone removed from the website was to be supplied area at one particular of two space shelters — together with a not long ago transformed lodge.

But not anyone was keen.

“Those people who never do effectively in shelters, wherever are they going to go? They will slip away and die in a avenue at -20” levels Celsius, mentioned protestor Manon Charette.

Marc Laramee, who has helped feed the campers in modern months, explained he is “apprehensive” for them, indicating there is a deficiency of very affordable housing in the city — like in a number of some others across Canada.

The Saturday tent fireplace was sparked by a candle. No one was injured, but the metropolis stated in a statement it “could have been catastrophic.”

jl-ast/amc/jh