Faced with a growing homelessness crisis, Quebec and the federal government have finally reached an agreement that will secure an additional $50 million from Ottawa for communities across Quebec.
Roughly half of that amount will go to Montreal.
The funding, spread out over two years, is intended to “address the urgent needs of individuals living in such encampments and in situations of unsheltered homelessness,” according to a federal government news release.
It was part of a countrywide $250 million commitment announced in September, but the money for Quebec was delayed.
Quebec was supposed to match that amount with new funds, but the province said it has already allocated $400 million to combat homelessness since 2021. Nearly $50 million of that amount will be put toward those in encampments, the province said.
The deal, which had previously been reported by CBC News, was made official at an announcement Friday.
“The most urgent thing is that the money will flow quickly to the organizations that need it the most,” Soraya Martinez Ferrada, the federal minister responsible for economic development, said at the Welcome Hall Mission in Montreal.
Last month, community organizations and Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante publicly urged Quebec and Ottawa to quickly reach a deal given the shortage of shelter space and approaching winter.
Julie Grenier, a spokesperson for the advocacy group Mouvement pour mettre fin à l’itinérance à Montréal, said she’s concerned the money likely won’t get into the hands of community organizations until March 2025.
She said the money will help, but that it’s “not just about adding emergency beds.”
“We need to get people back into housing as soon as possible,” she said.
As it stands, the city’s 1,400 shelter beds are full every night, said Robert Beaudry, the Montreal executive committee member in charge of homelessness.
Quebec’s Transport Ministry issued eviction notices to the people who had been living in tents on part of Notre-Dame Street East in Montreal’s Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough in November. Community groups worry others living on that stretch of provincially owned land are next and advocates are calling for a moratorium on dismantling homeless encampments.