Two months later, Montreal still sorting out how its encampment protocol will work

Two months after Montreal presented its new protocol on handling homeless encampments, questions remain about exactly how it’s to be applied across the city’s 19 boroughs.

Announced as a first for the city in February, the protocol  —  which calls for a more tolerant approach  —  is still making its way through the administrative process at city hall.

It was adopted by the executive committee in mid-March, then repealed, and re-added to this week’s city council meeting agenda  —  before being withdrawn after the opposition raised concerns about its application.

“People need to have predictability and to know what resources are going to be attached ,” said Projet Montréal city councillor Martine Musau Muele. “And especially, when it comes to equity, to know that all boroughs will be participating in the effort.”

The Martinez Ferrada administration presented the protocol on Feb. 20, describing it as a new approach for the city after years of grappling with a growing number of encampments.

The 40-page document stipulates the city should no longer dismantle encampments and should add certain basic services  —  such as portable toilets and storage  options —  to sites when possible.

One of the protocol’s central elements is establishing new “tolerance zones” to which the city could relocate encampments when deemed necessary.

During the February announcement, Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada stressed it would be up to individual boroughs to identify the zones and said she wanted them established in all 19.

“Every part of the city has to contribute to the social safety net that we need to give,” Martinez Ferrada said.

However, as warmer weather arrives and the number of encampments is likely to grow, it remains unclear whether boroughs have established the zones and if they are required to.

In early April, The Gazette contacted each of the 19 boroughs to ask whether they had identified the zones on their territory. Most referred The Gazette back to the central city; none confirmed they had done so. 

In an email response, a city spokesperson then said the protocol first aims to avoid displacing people experiencing homelessness.

The tolerance zones are not mandatory, they noted, but should rather be considered a “tool to serve the objectives of public safety and the management of public space.”

Still, the spokesperson added, “each borough has the necessary autonomy to identify tolerance zones within its territory.”

At this week’s city council meeting, Projet Montréal pushed the administration to clarify whether the protocol will be mandatory across all 19 boroughs.

Musau Muele, the party’s spokesperson on homelessness, also accused the administration of using “procedural gymnastics” to avoid debating the protocol, since it was tabled in a way that did not require a vote by city council. 

She noted the city has faced class-action lawsuits over how it’s dismantled encampments in recent years and stressed the need for clarity given how serious the issue is.

“One has to wonder whether this administration understands and grasps how important it is for our boroughs to adhere to an action plan that is coherent, adequately funded, and backed by clear guidelines,” Musau Muele said. 

The administration answered that the protocol was developed with input from all borough mayors and reiterated that it wants tolerance zones established everywhere across the city. 

Martinez Ferrada acknowledged that many questions remain about how it will be implemented, but noted it’s the first time a city the size of Montreal tries to develop a similar protocol.

“We’re sort of building the plane as we fly, because we have a humanitarian crisis on our hands; we have to address it, and then we have to provide (boroughs) with guidance,” the mayor said.

She said her administration intended to make the protocol flexible, since homelessness is experienced differently in each borough.

She then agreed to withdraw the item from the agenda and push it to May’s city council meeting.

“We’ll come back next month and vote on it together so that it becomes mandatory in all boroughs,” Martinez Ferrada said. “I have no problem with that — it’s what I’ve wanted from the start.”

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