Montreal councillors vote down motion to declare state of emergency on homelessness

Montreal's city council has voted down a motion brought by twoindependent city councillors seeking to have a state of emergency declared over the city's homelessness situation.

Mayor Valrie Plante says councillors agree that the high number of unhoused people is an urgent concern but declaring a state of emergency would not help.

The motion submitted by council members Craig Sauv and Serge Sasseville was defeated Monday night in a 32-26 vote.

Earlier this month, Plante called on the provincial and federal governments to reach a deal to free up what she said is $100 million promised to help provide shelter and other support to the province's homeless population.

A state of emergency would have given council more powers, including allowing the city to requisition privately owned accommodation for shelter spaces, but the governing Projet Montral said it would be largely symbolic.

Robert Beaudry, a Projet Montral councillor representing a downtown district, said adopting a state of emergency would put more pressure on the city to manage new resources without any additional staffing or money.

He says everyone needs to do their part in dealing with homelessness including the province and Ottawa.

A growing number of cities across Canada have declared states of emergency in recent years over homelessness, including Edmonton, Toronto and Hamilton.

Eviction notice extended

Meanwhile, Quebec's Transport Ministry has given a short reprieve to some people who live in a homeless encampment along Montreal's Notre-Dame Street East.

The people who received notices of eviction last week were told to leave byThursday.

However, the ministry has moved the date to Dec. 1.One group involved in efforts to prevent the eviction says the decision is timed to coincide with the opening of warming sites for the winter.

WATCH | Government could fixthingsby building a 'proper place' for all, says man living at encampment:

Its painful to get kicked out: Transport Ministry evicts homeless people from Montreal encampment

5 days ago

Duration 2:03

Transports Qubec says its concerned about fire hazards and unsanitary conditions. It says it will dismantle some of the tents on Notre-Dame Street East if people dont leave by the deadline.