Advocates for Montreal’s homeless residents criticized Parks Canada Calling a series of local camping events, over the weekend, the agency has scheduled during the summer, set a double standard between those with and without the financial means.
The programs, called learn-to-camp, are described as opportunities to learn basic camping skills for a price of $108.75 per tent along the Lachine Canal in the west end of the city.
“I was disappointed when I saw this,” Anne Archambault, who works with a non-profit organization helping Montreal’s vulnerable population, said in an interview on Sunday.
Archambault of Rue Action Prevention Jeunesse said the initiative came across as a bad joke because city officials often ransacked camps for the homeless on public land.
“It is outrageous and ironic, we have been fighting for years against the dismantling of camps for the homeless, but the city has zero tolerance,” she said. “If you don’t have money, you can’t (camp), but for $108.75, you can.”
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Parks Canada posted a statement on its website without giving any reason for the cancellation of the first event on Saturday, but the same events scheduled for July 23, August 13, 20 and 27 are still open for registration.
Parks Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Archambault said the remaining dates should be canceled and camping gear handed over to groups that work with people without homes.
“It is not only the activity that we are condemning, but it is the irony of the location itself,” Archambault said, adding that Parks Canada lacks sensitivity in sending the message that public spaces are for those who can afford them. .
Caroline LeBlanc, a doctoral candidate in community health at the Université de Sherbrooke who studies people who experience homelessness, agreed.
“It’s distasteful,” LeBlanc said in an interview on Sunday.
“Right now, there are many people living on the streets who have to deal with repression in order to find a place to go. This is a double standard. We promote Montreal as an inclusive city. Some reflection is needed. ,
Asked about criticism over the camping activity, Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante said last week the decision was Parks Canada’s. She also reiterated the city’s long-standing stance that camps are not the solution to homelessness.
“It is a question of dignity and security; We will continue to discourage the camps,” Plante told reporters on June 29.
For LeBlanc, the Parks Canada initiative only reflects a deeper issue.
“The question isn’t how Parks Canada could have done a better job, they probably weren’t with the wrong intention, it’s about not only the city but the provincial government’s emergency response to the housing crisis and the increase of people without homes,” LeBlanc said.
According to a report released on Saturday by the Quebec housing advocacy group Front d’action populaire en remanagement urbane (FRAPRU), nearly 600 homes were left without a home after the province’s July 1 run day. At the same time last year, there were around 420 tenant houses without housing.
“We see a good 15 tents camping on the Lachine Canal? Why can’t we do that kind of thing,” LeBlanc said.
LeBlanc insisted that dismantling the camp for the homeless was deeply taxing the homeless, urging officials to find solutions to secure Montreal’s public space for all.
“No one wants to die in a tent, they want stability,” she said.
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