Montreal homeless advocates call for reform after coroner's report on Innu man's death

Isaac Olson · CBC News

· Posted: May 16, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

Visibly moved, the main of Raphaël André's Innu assemblage stood to talk aft the Quebec coroner presented her findings Thursday connected the 2021 decease of the 51-year-old unhoused man.

"When you sound connected the doorway 1 infinitesimal earlier closing, and you get an reply similar 'no room'? Come on, hide the rules and travel in, my friend, travel in, my son. That's a quality being," said Réal McKenzie, the main of Matimekush–Lac John successful bluish Quebec.

McKenzie's affectional absorption followed the merchandise of coroner Stéphanie Gamache's study into André's decease successful January 2021. The Innu antheral was recovered frozen wrong a portable toilet, conscionable steps from the structure helium frequented — 1 that had reduced hours during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decease was avoidable, the study concluded, and it highlighted a request for much resources to combat homelessness.

"It was wholly preventable," said Nakuset, enforcement manager of the Native Women's Shelter of Montreal.

At the time, the Legault authorities had implemented a curfew that applied to unhoused radical arsenic well. It was wide thing atrocious was going to happen, Nakuset said.

"But I'm not rather definite we've learned anything, due to the fact that we conscionable had different decease this wintertime — different stateless antheral froze to death," she said. "It's disheartening."

There inactive isn't capable structure space, she said. People are gathering successful Metro stations and connected the streets. There are lineups and waiting lists, but radical request services now, she said.

Nakuset said she hopes those successful powerfulness who work the study volition enactment connected it.

Calls for much funding, services

David Chapman, enforcement manager of Resilience Montreal, said his enactment serves the Cabot Square country and is tally by an all-Indigenous committee and largely Indigenous staff. Despite the wide request successful that area, helium said his enactment struggles to secure capable backing to support its doors open.

At a clip erstwhile Canada is talking astir reconciliation, it's hard to recognize wherefore his structure faces changeless backing uncertainty, Chapman said.

Some advocates person pushed for semipermanent lodging solutions to extremity homelessness, helium said, but that displacement successful mindset is pulling resources distant from short-term exigency services. He said the attack fails to conscionable ongoing, year-round needs that can't lone beryllium addressed seasonally.

That's wherefore 1 proposal successful the study stood retired to him. Recommendation 11 calls for "stable and recurring backing for organizations providing exigency structure services, some time and night, to warrant cosmopolitan accessibility to these services, with a absorption connected harm reduction."

Another proposal calls for much backing for enactment services — including intelligence health, addiction and societal enactment — to guarantee nonrecreational staffing and due care. That, too, is urgently needed, Chapman said.

"We did a memorial past summertime for 37 people," helium said, referring to those who died implicit a fewer years. But successful conscionable 1 year's time, helium said, the fig of names to retrieve volition already beryllium successful the 20s this summer.

Montreal, Santé Québec say much is needed

Chapman said he'd similar to spot Resilience-style organizations successful each Montreal neighbourhood, offering front-line structure and societal services year-round.

"Can we astatine slightest support radical live earlier we acceptable a extremity of ending homelessness?" helium said successful a telephone interrogation Thursday evening. "Dead radical are ne'er going to participate housing."

In a written statement, Santé Québec spokesperson Marianne Paquette said the bureau volition rapidly reappraisal the coroner's recommendations and projected improvements "in bid to instrumentality factual and co-ordinated actions with our web partners."

"It is important for america to guarantee effective, due and humane services and attraction that conscionable the needs of radical experiencing homelessness passim Quebec," she said.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante's bureau said the coroner's study confirms "what seems evident to us: the decease of Raphaël Napa André was preventable, and the work is collective."

The deficiency of structure abstraction is simply a well-known problem, the connection said.

"Despite the galore measures taken by the City of Montreal, we indispensable bash much to enactment radical experiencing homelessness."

The mayor's bureau said it is reaching retired to the Quebec authorities to instrumentality a provincial program connected homelessness.

"We tin nary longer let this concern to proceed without a solution," the connection said.