Over 100 families without long-term housing on Moving Day in Montreal

At least 107 families were unable to find a home before July 1 Moving day in Montreal – a number Mayor Valerie Plante called “unacceptable.” Plante said recently the city would work with anyone out of a home to find new lodging. On Saturday, she renewed a request to the province to collaborate more closely with the city.

At least 107 families were unable to find a home before July 1 Moving day in Montreal – a number Mayor Valerie Plante called “unacceptable.”

Plante said recently the city would work with anyone out of a home to find new lodging. On Saturday, she renewed a request to the province to collaborate more closely with the city.

“I feel like the city is doing a lot of things, the (provincial) government is doing some things,” she said during a Saturday press conference. “But how about we put all of our efforts together?”

“When I put a bylaw against renovation … or to buy apartments, I do it from my budget,” she said. “But then, imagine if I would work with the government of Quebec, if the government of Quebec would say ‘it’s a priority, we want to work on it,’ we could duplicate, we could multiply those actions.”

“All citizens in Quebec are saying the housing crisis is real and we want to be heard,” she added.

On the tenant side, Darlene Lamontagne fears she could soon face homelessness herself.

She’s been living in her Pointe-Saint-Charles apartment since she was 17 years old. These days, at 64, she deals with mobility issues. She uses a cane, and lives on a fixed disability income of $1,500 per month.