Montreal mayor wants Quebec government to appoint a homelessness minister

Plante asked Premier François Legault 'to make a strong gesture, up to the magnitude of the crisis raging throughout Quebec.'

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is asking the Quebec government to appoint a “top gun” for homelessness ahead of an expected provincial cabinet shuffle.

She made the request at a news conference on Tuesday during which she also proposed to spend nearly $22.5 million to tackle homelessness.

Plante asked Premier François Legault “to make a strong gesture, up to the magnitude of the crisis raging throughout Quebec.”

Legault has said he will shuffle his cabinet this fall, amid rising dissatisfaction with his government. Plante said it’s the right time to have a minister dedicated to managing what she called a humanitarian crisis.

Homelessness “deserves a top gun,” Plante said, borrowing an expression Legault uses for his top staff.

Homelessness currently falls under the responsibility of Lionel Carmant, who is the minister responsible for social services.

Plante said her request was not a slight towards Carmant, who she described as an “ally.” However, she said a problem as “complex and deep-rooted” as homelessness needed more attention.

“I would like it to be in their title, in big letters,” she said. “It would be their mission, their cause, their fight to find lasting solutions.” She said the minister could work with people who are experiencing homelessness, but also with different government departments, including housing and health and social services.