Quebec to exempt homeless from curfew after court finds measure endangered safety
by The Canadian Press
Last Updated Jan 27, 2021 at 11:50 am EDT
Advocates for the homeless hold a protest against the COVID-19 curfew Monday, January 11, 2021.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Ryan Remiorz
MONTREAL The Quebec government said Wednesday it will not challenge a temporary court order granted Tuesday that exempts the homeless from a provincewide curfew imposed to limit the spread of COVID-19.
Junior health minister Lionel Carmant said in a tweet that the government will modify its curfew decree to ensure those without shelter will not be subject to the measure.
When the curfew was put in place, the Legault government insisted police would use tolerance and common sense when enforcing the decree, especially when it came to homeless people. But Monday, lawyers from the Mobile Legal Clinic brought forward the case of a 38-year-old homeless man, who suffers from alcohol addiction and schizophrenia. Lawyers said the man was given two $1,500 tickers last week, and in one case, he had to go to Sainte-Thérèse because no shelter in the city would take him because of his addiction. When he arrived in Sainte-Thérèse, lawyers said police arrested him, and put him in jail.