Tiohtià:ke/Montreal is grappling with a worsening housing crisis. A recent report reveals a staggering 44 per cent increase in Quebec’s homeless population between 2018 and 2022, with Montreal being the most affected. These figures, however, don’t capture the full scope, as they do not account for ‘invisible’ or ‘hidden’ homelessness. Indigenous people are among the most represented populations experiencing homelessness. The report, published by Quebec’s public health institute (INSPQ), shows that 13 per cent of the people surveyed identified themselves as Indigenous, even though they represent 2.5 per cent of the population in Quebec.
As the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation approaches, and with McGill hosting its annual Indigenous Awareness weeks, The Daily decided to focus on the precarious housing situation for Indigenous residents in Montreal. We looked at the shortcomings of institutional and government measures, systematic discrimination, and the work of several organizations providing services to Indigenous homeless populations.
Delving into the failures of institutional and governmental responses, reinforces the understanding that colonial legacies and ongoing systematic discrimination continue to increase the risk of homelessness for Indigenous peoples. There are very limited services dedicated specifically to Indigenous peoples experiencing homelessness. The Daily had the chance to interview Na’kuset, the executive director of Native Women Shelter, and David Chapman, the executive director of Resilience Montreal, two Montreal-based organizations leading numerous initiatives and projects to help indigenous communities.
Assessing the Indigenous Homelessness crisis in Montreal
Montreal’s homeless population, totaling 4,690, is the largest in Quebec. Indigenous people are overrepresented in this number. While only making up 0.6 per cent of the city’s population, Indigenous peoples represent approximately 12 per cent of Montreal’s visible unhoused population. Indigenous people experiencing homelessness in Montreal also tend to be underserved by shelter and transitional housing systems and experience more long-term and cyclical homelessness.
The issue goes well beyond numbers. In their April 2024 report Eyes Wide Open, the Montreal Indigenous Community NETWORK defines Indigenous homelessness as “the historic and ongoing displacement, geographic separation, mental disruption, imbalance, cultural genocide and spiritual disconnection experienced by First Nations, Inuit, and Métis individuals, families, and communities,” in addition to “[their] state of lacking permanent, stable, and/or basic living conditions.” While aspects of this specific form of homelessness overlap with traditional material precarity, it is inextricably linked to the legacy of historically constructed and ongoing settler colonialism and racism. For generations, these systemic forces have displaced and dispossessed First Nations, Métis and Inuit people from their traditional governance systems and laws, territories, histories, worldviews, and ancestors.
Roots of Indigenous Homelessness
Today’s exclusion of Indigenous people from housing has its roots in systemic and institutional marginalization and discrimination, trickling down from Canada’s colonial history and government policy failures. The enduring impact of colonial policies, such as the Indian Act and the 1975 James Bay and Northern Quebec Agreement, has disrupted Indigenous communities, displacing them from their traditional lands and undermining their cultural and governance structures. The legacy of residential schools play a significant role in perpetuating homelessness among Indigenous peoples. Intergenerational trauma has disrupted family structures and community cohesion, contributing to the instability and vulnerability that often leads to homelessness. Other causes include failures of social systems, including thorough overrepresentation in the criminal justice and prison systems and child welfare programs. Together with other failures–such as economic barriers, bad living conditions (approximately 75 per cent of reserves have contaminated water), insufficient educational structures, these factors push Indigenous people to move to urban centers such as Montreal. However, the high influx of people faced with inaccessible housing and a limited supply of appropriate services leads to the augmentation of homelessness.
Addressing the factors leading to Indigenous people experiencing homelessness requires long-term systemic change, including repairing the historical and ongoing impacts of colonization, providing culturally appropriate support services and preventative initiatives, and creating opportunities for Indigenous communities to thrive culturally, socially, and economically. Though much of the burden falls on the government, this is first and foremost a human and community responsibility.
When discussing the causes of Indigeous homelessness, David Chapman, the executive director of Resilience Montreal, told the Daily that “the 100 years of cultural genocide through residential schools where Indigenous people lost their language and culture very intentionally [was clearly] a policy of the Canadian government.” He notes that “as people suffer the implications of this loss, it makes them more susceptible to things like addiction, for example, social problems, family breakdowns and violence. So, of course, there’s a reason why there’s such a high concentration of Indigenous peoples on the streets of Montral.” Chapman concludes that “part of the challenge is educating people on the history of genocide in Canada and when they are a little bit educated, it does help when you’re trying to implement new resources.”
What initiatives have been developed to tackle this critical issue?
In 2020, the city of Montreal launched its 2020-2025 strategy for reconciliation with the Indigenous peoples. Among the objectives stated are “Support the urban Indigenous community”, “Improve the feeling of safety of Indigenous people in Montreal”, and “Support the economic development of Indigenous peoples in Montreal”. With 2025 just a few months away, are we anywhere near reaching those objectives?
Continued institutional abuses, compounded by the Government’s inability to help improve the living conditions of Indigenous communities in urban settings such as Montreal, forced local initiatives to step up to the challenge. Created in 1987, the Native Women’s Shelter of Montreal (NWSM) is the only shelter in the city to provide support for First Nation, Inuit and Metis women and their children. The NWSM provides a safe space for Indigenous women and their children to heal and build better futures. Through support services and programs tailored to specific needs, they aim to accompany these women towards independence and foster empowerment. The Daily spoke with Na’kuset, the executive director of NWSM since 2004. She notes that the shelter has “programming specifically for Indigenous women who come to spend time with us. Each person who comes in is assigned a support worker, and each week we are updating to see how the progress is helping them in everything that they need. And then we have the outside project, like the Cabot Square. So we go over and above to help the Indigenous population, but the demand is high of course.”
With the increasing demand in recent years, existing resources have not been able to provide sufficient support to everyone. This has also caused people to find shelter in unsafe places. Homeless Indigenous women are particularly affected, facing gender-based violence in addition to a lack of material support. “There needs to be more spaces like the Native Women’s Shelter because we are exclusively the only Indigenous shelter that serves Indigenous women and their children. No one else does that,” Na’kuset told the Daily.
She then added that “every woman who comes in has different issues. It’s not like just painting everyone with the same brush, right? We accept them when they come in, and then we find the appropriate resources for them. We support them with what they need, and we accompany them because there are issues with all the institutions, whether it be education, whether it be hospitals, whether it be welfare, whether it be finding housing. There’s always challenges. We actually get used to it. But when we support the women, we go with them because they shouldn’t have to deal with it for themselves. And when you have a staff that accompanies them, then that door gets jammed open, which is what we want.”
Last June, Resilience Montreal held a memorial to honour the lives of over 30 homeless people who have died since 2021. Chapman observed that “when you look at the photos, about half of the people who’ve died–who’ve used our services in the last few years – have been young Indigenous women.”
First founded in 2019 by the Native Women’s Shelter, Resilience Montreal has established itself as an independent day shelter. The organization provides basic need services, including three meals a day, showers, and hygiene, as well as Intervention Services such as Indigenous-centered wellness services, government documentation assistance, and a housing program.
Challenges to carrying out efficient services
“What’s interesting to me is that people love the idea of accessible services to unhoused populations. In theory, this is a very popular idea that people will support. The problem lies in trying to implement these accessible services. And the problem is no one wants a homeless resource in their neighborhood.It’s worse than that, when you try to implement a homeless resource, sometimes not only will neighbors try to block you but some may even try to sue you. In fact and in fact right now there’s a class action lawsuit in the Plateau,” explained Chapman to the Daily.
Class action suits have been brought by neighbours and nearby business owners against Hotel Dieu hospital on St-Urbain Street (serving as a shelter since 2021) and the Open Door Montreal shelter on Park Avenue. “They’re suing for 25.000$ per citizen for diminished quality of life,” added Chapman. Resilience Montreal has faced similar issues in the past years.
Cohabitation is one of the biggest challenges faced by organizations helping homeless people. Class actions such as this one are also a reminder that difficulties don’t solely come from the government, but also fellow citizens.
Chapman elaborated on this, saying that “everyone’s demanding their rights. One of the challenges is to have a bigger conversation in human society about, what does collective human flourishing look like, you know? Instead of these human rights standoffs, which is what we’re looking at right now, and it’s growing in Montreal.” He then added that efforts went beyond pointing fingers at the government.
“What’s hard to come to terms with is that we talk about the precarity of services for Indigenous women, for Indigenous peoples in general, in the city of Montreal. Yet in trying to move forward and implement these services you’re always given many obstacles and frequently you just can’t succeed,” said Chapman before adding that “I’ve had this conversation with people where I’ve explained that by blocking homeless resources from your neighborhood, you’re just going to have more unnecessary deaths of unhoused persons. Unfortunately it’s a sad reality but your average citizen doesn’t care, and governments don’t care because your average citizen doesn’t care.”
On September 30, the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, citizens of Montreal must ask themselves, what sacrifice should we be able to make for healing and efficient solutions to occur?
Discussing the ninth anniversary of the release of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, Na’kuset told the Daily that “the TRCs were created for institutions, and for institutions to apply, which they don’t, and nobody’s forcing them to. So although it may be a government thing, I would say it’s across the board for people to choose not to apply them. […] There’s many different ways that social services or youth protection could amend their ways, but they don’t do it. So everyone is ignoring these recommendations that they’re supposed to implement, and the government, again, is not doing anything to enforce it. So it’s pretty distressing that we continue to be ignored.”
Emerging new initiatives and hope for healing process to take place
Although both Na’kuset and David Chapman highlighted the dire circumstances faced by Indigenous peoples and the limitations of the organizations trying to assist them, they also spoke about emerging initiatives that offer signs of hope. Na’kuset mentioned the new two stage housing program launched by the Native Women’s Shelter, Miyoskamin.
New initiatives include the Mitshuap near Cabot Square, which has recently opened its doors for homeless people to find refuge. It is the first urban shelter created and run by Indigenous people. Chapman explained how it was an initiative by the Innu Nation in response to the tragic death of Raphaël André, an Innu man who froze to death in an outdoor public toilet in January 2021. At the time, homeless people had to hide during the night because if they were found by the police, they would receive a $1,000 fine.
“This example is a representation of Indigenous leadership resurgence, where in the past Indigenous leaders living on reserves would not involve themselves in the processes of larger cities. But there’s been an Indigenous resurgence in Quebec and other parts of Canada as well, and we’re seeing a new pattern of Indigenous leaders taking more initiative to make sure that their community members are well treated in urban centers and I think this is a good sign. I think we’re going to see more and more Indigenous-led initiatives in urban centers and this will be part of the healing process,” expressed Chapman as a sign of hope.
Efforts and work towards healing and restoring dignity to Indigenous peoples is going to take a long time; even if the city were to approve the building of new centres, they would take years to build. But efforts are there, and people need to continue contributing to organizations such as Resilience Montreal and the Native Women’s Shelter.
“There’s a reason why we call Resilience Montreal, Resilience Montreal, and it’s because obviously we’re recognizing the strength of the people we’re working with and we’re recognizing their resilience,” concluded Chapman.
Getting more involved as students and residents of Montreal
The issue of Indigenous homelessness should be of the utmost priority in government policy-making. It should also be part of the citizen’s responsibility to work towards healing and restoring dignity to the Indigenous peoples. “Volunteering is a great way to set an example of how societies can look at solving the challenges we face collectively. With people who are afraid of a new homeless community, or project in their neighborhood, if they would just come in and actually volunteer in a homeless resource for a few days somewhere, they would find that many of their fears are reduced,” said Chapman. Resilience Montreal has daily volunteering shifts, where the main tasks include either assisting in the kitchen, service or working in the clothes distribution section of the shelter.
“Students should try to do fundraising initiatives for the Native Women’s Shelter, they should show up when we have vigils, they should show up when we have marches, said Na’kuset. “They should find a way of trying to challenge the institutions that are not applying the recommendations for the TRC, asking them why they’re not doing it. Who does it serve when you don’t apply them?”
The NWSM is organizing the Every Child Matters: A Day of Action for Truth and Reconciliation March in partnership with Pop Montreal and the David Suzuki Foundation. The rally will start at 1 p.m. in Parc Mont Royal.
Indigenous housing precarity has been ignored for too long. It is necessary to move beyond a competition of rights and privileges that sets a dynamic of us versus them. We must strengthen bonds between individuals and communities and tackle this issue as a collective community, because it is a matter of common good.