Authorities dismantle homeless encampment under Ville-Marie Expressway

Eight holdouts in the homeless encampment under the Ville-Marie Expressway have cleared the area after months of court proceedings delaying their eviction.

They were asked to pack up their belongings in blue boxes by 9 a.m. Monday.

Last month, the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled that the 20 or so people living beneath the highway wouldn't be able to stay there until July 15, as their lawyers had requested.

But organizations working with the people experiencing homelessness said finding an appropriate place to relocate them has been challenging due to a lack of resources.

The group was initially asked to leave last November, with two weeks' notice.

"It's not fair," said Jacco Stuben, who said he's been in and out of the site for the past decade.

"I have been moving and always co-operating with them. But the problem is they want to throw everybody out because of some other stuff."

Officials have been trying to clear the site for Quebec's Transport Ministry to carry out repairs to Route 136.

"We need to make sure the highways and infrastructure are safe," said Sarah Bensadoun, the communications director for the ministry. "We don't have the expertise to relocate the campers and that's why we ask our partners to work with us."

David Chapman, the executive director of Resilience Montreal, who has been supporting the community living under the expressway, said forcing vulnerable people to leave the encampment will compel them to look for more dangerous places like forested areas and abandoned buildings to remain out of sight.

"The dynamic is if the authorities can see you, they're going to kick you out," Chapman said. "Is it responsible for government leaders to force some of the most marginalized in our society to disappear?"

Those struggling with addiction who might isolate themselves to find shelter will see their chances of overdosing increase, he added.

The eviction also complicates the work of psychosocial organizations who have fostered relationships with the people living in the encampment, said Marie-Pier Therrien, communications director for the Old Brewery Mission.

"They have their care team here most of the time, the CIUSSS people, the street workers. They know them," she said. "If they move territories, they lose that safety net."