STM's no-loitering policy in métro ends, but long-term solution sought
As the STM's no-loitering policy came to an end this week, an advocate urged the city to plan for next December now, so those without homes don't have to rely on métro stations for warmth.
The STM announced on March 13 it would put in place a no-loitering policy forcing those gathering in métro stations to keep moving. It was a reaction to recent surveys that showed one out of two Montrealers no longer felt safe within the métro network, a statistic Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said was unacceptable.
Plante supported the STM's decision to mandate its security officers to evict those loitering in stations. She added the stations are often littered with human waste, used needles and crack pipes, making them unsafe and uncomfortable for many users. The order to crack down on loitering ended on Wednesday.
The result of the policy was a discernible decrease in the number of unhoused people frequenting downtown métro stations. Contacted Friday, the STM said it will analyze the data it gleaned from the nearly two-month-long operation with a view to making it public after the STM's leadership has had a chance to see it. The STM will also reach out to community groups working with the unhoused in order to come up with a post-mortem that will be key to putting together a long-term solution the STM hopes to have in place for next winter.
'In the meantime, our constables will continue to enforce the STM's regulations, and always by referring people in need towards the appropriate resources,' STM spokesperson Laurence Houde-Roy said in a statement.
She added the goal of the long-term plan will be to ensure people on the streets get to the appropriate shelter services while limiting the effect on STM riders and employees.
David Chapman, the executive director of the day shelter Resilience Montreal, said he hopes whatever plan the STM puts in place, it is more humane than the one that was in effect these last six months.
'It led to a lot more homeless people with tickets and unnecessary infractions, and they would come by Resilience and I would hear about it,' Chapman said. 'There were unhappy altercations with security agents in the métro and tickets that they can't pay, and a lot of stress, too.'
Chapman said the city should start work now on planning for next year's cold season by finding warm spaces that can accommodate those who are most in need. He added the city can even open such spaces this summer. That would allow people to have a place to take shelter from the heat and humidity.
'Year after year, we don't have anywhere near enough accessible spaces for the unhoused to be, so as a result, we have them cramming the métros, and now when the métro becomes a problem, you go ahead and penalize them for it. Anyone with a little common sense is going to look at this and say: 'If you had provided enough adequate spaces in the first place, this wouldn't be a problem.' '
On the social media site X, opposition councillor Benoit Langevin, the Ensemble Montréal spokesperson on homelessness issues, chided the Plante administration for acting without any thought-out plan and without consulting the major actors in the homeless space.
In a statement issued Friday, Béatrice Saulnier-Yelle, a spokesperson for Plante's office, said the city's goal is to ensure a safe métro network, 'above all during the winter period, while allowing those most vulnerable to access the necessary resources, while minimizing the impacts on public transit users and employees.'
Saulnier-Yelle said the mayor has called for a national plan to address homelessness. 'Minister (Lionel) Carmant has to provide the means to develop the infrastructure needed to welcome people who are homeless, suffering from substance abuse, or mental-health problems,' Saulnier-Yelle added. 'On our side, the city will pursue efforts with the opening of three modular housing sites.'
This story was originally published May 2, 2025 at 4:42 PM.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Montreal Gazette
8 hours ago
- Montreal Gazette
Proposed class-action lawsuit seeks damages over STM strike
By A proposed class-action lawsuit filed Thursday is seeking damages for commuters affected by the ongoing STM strike — targeting both the STM and the striking union. The application, filed by Montreal lawyer Sidney Bitton, is looking to represent holders of transit passes for June, arguing that the strike's significant cuts in service breached the contract that riders entered when they purchased a monthly pass. It holds that both the STM and union bear responsibility for the strike. Before it can proceed, the suit will have to be authorized by a judge, who will determine whether Bitton can represent the proposed group of plaintiffs in court. Montreal's planned nine-day transit strike, the first since 2007, left commuters frustrated and confused as service stopped for hours-long stretches during its first three days from Monday to Wednesday. The anger was perhaps most palpable on the first day of the strike, when many commuters found themselves stranded after métro and bus service shut down earlier than they'd expected. One commuter at Côte-Vertu métro station, who only gave his name as Mike, arrived Monday morning expecting trains to be running. With the station closed, he said he would miss work and likely find himself in trouble with his boss. 'The ministers, the people who make decisions, they have their own cars,' he said, adding that people with fewer resources would be most affected. The lawsuit filing criticizes the decision to run full transit service during the Grand Prix weekend, while shuttering it for hours at a time during the workweek. 'It's shameful' and insulting, Bitton said. 'Mr. and Ms. Everyone with a pass are made to suffer the consequences and the damages,' he said, while Grand Prix spectators are unaffected. Those attending the Grand Prix tend to be 'of a certain class,' Bitton said. After the 2007 STM strike, the transit authority offered $3.50 to monthly transit pass holders who had paid full price — $65 at the time — and $2 to those who had paid the reduced price, then $35. Both the STM and union declined to comment directly on the lawsuit, though both said in emails that the strike was legal. 'The STM underlines that it took all reasonable measures to maintain the most service possible,' during the strike, spokesperson Isabelle Tremblay said in a statement.
CBC
4 days ago
- CBC
Montreal police clamp down on vehicle thefts, but assaults and robberies are up
During the SPVM's annual review, police Chief Fady Dagher updated Montrealers on the SPVM's hiring goals, what types of crimes are down and which ones are proving more challenging to fight against.
CTV News
06-06-2025
- CTV News
Montreal increasing police, intervention worker presence downtown this summer
An officer from the SPVM gets out of his patrol car in Montreal on October 8, 2024. (The Canadian Press/Christinne Muschi) The City of Montreal announced it will increase the presence of patrol officers, EMMIS intervention workers and its 'cohabitation team' in the downtown area this summer. In a news release, the city said it wants the population to feel safer and is deploying 'more resources than last year,' including private security, to 'address the needs and concerns of all parties involved.' This includes 'the local population, tourists, business owners and employees in the city centre.' About 30 more Montreal police (SPVM) officers are slated to patrol the Ville-Marie, Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and Sud-Ouest boroughs, including members of the ECLIPSE violent crime division. The city stated that it has also invested $1 million in new 'social cohabitation teams' for busy areas of the Ville-Marie borough, which will comprise 13 social workers working 450 hours per week. They will 'add a more in-depth level of intervention to the work being done by EMMIS workers,' the city said. Officials said the workers come from organizations like l'Anonyme, l'Itinéraire and the Société de developpement social de Ville-Marie. The city increases its police presence downtown every year, Mayor Valérie Plante explained. 'We know that the summer months are a challenge,' she said. 'This summer, we are more committed than ever to mobilizing all our skills and resources to go even further … Every effort is being made to ensure that everyone can fully enjoy the summer in a vibrant, clean and safe city centre.' However, some community organizations question why they weren't included in the city's strategy. 'Contest of rights' David Chapman, executive director of Resilience Montreal, said he understands that increasing police may help some feel safer and reduce unnecessary 911 calls. However, he added the $1 million spent on brigades trained by the SPVM would be better put to organizations that have a rapport with the unhoused in the area. He also said there is a big difference between the public's perceived sense of safety and actual risk. 'For example, we may read in the media about a stabbing at the Atwater Metro, and often these reports don't include very important details, like the stabbing was between two drug sellers who are competing for, sort of, the crack trade in the area … The general public just reads 'Stabbing at Atwater Metro,' and they conclude, 'Well, I better not go anywhere near Atwater Metro because clearly it's unsafe for me to be there,'' Chapman said. 'But for everyone else … you are not at risk.' He emphasized that the workers at Resilience are trained in de-escalating conflict and are familiar with the people in the area. He added that vulnerable people are increasingly criminalized. Chapman said he once saw someone call the police out of concern for a man sleeping on the sidewalk near Resilience Montreal, who ended up in the backseat of a cruiser. 'Housed citizens will say, 'I have a right to health and life, a certain quality of life, and this right is at risk.' And the homeless will say … 'I too, have a right to this sidewalk, and I have a right to be here.' So then, what often happens is it just sort of degenerates into a contest of rights, which is not productive,' he said. 'The best way for this security and for a sense of public safety is actually if community organizations themselves are funded to hire people who can de-escalate.' 'Not only new police officers' Robert Beaudry, responsible for homelessness with Montreal's executive committee, said the homeless population has increased everywhere in Quebec, and the city wants to have a balanced response. He stressed that the increased patrol and private security officers should have 'eyes and ears for criminality, not homelessness.' 'It's not only having new police officers or private security, it's as well having more social workers,' he told CTV News. 'We, as well, offer opportunity of reinsertion for people who are in vulnerable situations.' He said the new brigade is made up of people who are already involved in the borough and know the needs of those in the streets. The Ville-Marie borough is spending some $30 million on cleanliness year-round, a $4 million increase from last year, according to the city. With files from CTV News' Maria Sarrouh.
