The City of Gatineau is working to relocate the camp outside the Robert-Guertin center, despite the mobilization of the region’s business community.
• Read also: Snow forces the displacement of homeless people in Gatineau
The City considers that this operation is necessary to allow snow removal from the roof of the arena; the center will also have to be demolished, as it is aging.
It is orchestrated in collaboration with the Service de police de la Ville de Gatineau (SPVG), the city’s blue-collar workers and various homeless community organizations.
Homeless people were informed of the situation on November 15.
“What we find damaging is that we are asking them to move without necessarily offering them something better. […] We have entrepreneurs from the region who will come and install tents heated with electricity soon, in the coming weeks, but unfortunately the City persists in wanting to move everyone now,” said Alexandre Gallant, coordinator of the Collective regional fight against homelessness in Outaouais.
The City specifies that discussions are still ongoing surrounding the tents that the business coalition intends to install.
“There are issues regarding the roof. So we have to clear snow regularly. And then, snow removal operations require the snow to be blown outside. So, for these reasons, we cannot have people camping near the building,” declared Mychelle Vaive, head of community planning for the City of Gatineau.
– With Louis-Charles Poulin
2023-12-08 18:17:49
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