Two months after Montreal presented its new protocol on handling homeless encampments, questions remain about exactly how it\u2019s to be applied across the city\u2019s 19 boroughs. <\/p>\n
Announced as a first for the city in February,<\/a> the protocol\u200a \u2014\u200a which calls for a more tolerant approach\u200a \u2014\u200a is still making its way through the administrative process at city hall. <\/p>\n It was adopted by the executive committee in mid-March, then repealed, and re-added to this week\u2019s city council meeting agenda\u200a \u2014 \u200abefore being withdrawn after the opposition raised concerns about its application. <\/p>\n \u201cPeople need to have predictability and to know what resources are going to be attached\u200a,\u201d said Projet Montr\u00e9al city councillor Martine Musau Muele. \u201cAnd especially, when it comes to equity, to know that all boroughs will be participating in the effort.\u201d<\/p>\n 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<\/a>. <\/p>\n The 40-page document stipulates the city should no longer dismantle encampments and should add certain basic services\u200a \u2014 \u200asuch as portable toilets and storage\u200a options \u2014\u200a to sites when possible.<\/p>\n One of the protocol\u2019s central elements is establishing new \u201ctolerance zones\u201d to which the city could relocate encampments when deemed necessary.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery part of the city has to contribute to the social safety net that we need to give,\u201d Martinez Ferrada said.<\/p>\n 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. <\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n In an email response, a city spokesperson then said the protocol first aims to avoid displacing people experiencing homelessness. <\/p>\n The tolerance zones are not mandatory, they noted, but should rather be considered a \u201ctool to serve the objectives of public safety and the management of public space.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, the spokesperson added, \u201ceach borough has the necessary autonomy to identify tolerance zones within its territory.\u201d<\/p>\n At this week\u2019s city council meeting, Projet Montr\u00e9al pushed the administration to clarify whether the protocol will be mandatory across all 19 boroughs.<\/p>\n Musau Muele, the party\u2019s spokesperson on homelessness, also accused the administration of using \u201cprocedural gymnastics\u201d to avoid debating the protocol, since it was tabled in a way that did not require a vote by city council.\u00a0<\/p>\n