The format of a My Take is 150 words – no more, no less – to express an opinion on a different topic each week. This week the topic was: the new curfew.
In the question period after his Wednesday night lockdown announcement, Premier Legault said that he “would like” Quebec’s homeless population to follow the curfew order and stay indoors over the coming month because he feels there is enough space.
The phrasing sounds gentle enough, and this is a time of year when temperatures usually make it important for people living on the streets to have somewhere to go at night, but If homelessness was just
an issue of space, we would have ended it long ago.
How many people are about to find themselves receiving tickets for thousands of dollars that they will never be able to pay? With the staff of homeless shelters and mental health resources across the province crying burnout months ago and no relief in sight, who benefits from further demonizing people who are already living situations of crisis and distress?
