GRANBY, Canada: Canada is facing a concerning surge in homelessness, affecting tens of thousands of individuals priced out of the rental and real estate markets.
This crisis is extending from major cities to smaller towns, with government data vastly underestimating the true extent of the problem.
In Quebec, a new report highlighted a significant shift, where one in two homeless people can now be found in rural areas of the province rather than predominantly in Montreal, as seen in the past.
One resident, Danny Brodeur-Cote, has been living in a makeshift camp in the woodlands near a cemetery in Granby, a town of 70,000 inhabitants located 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of Montreal.
He was homeless after being evicted from an apartment he shared with his girlfriend in June. He has struggled to find affordable housing despite working five days a week as a janitor. For the 39-year-old, this marks the first time in his life living on the streets.
A few blocks away, a park has been transformed into an ad hoc encampment, hosting men and women of all ages, including those with jobs like Brodeur-Cote. According to a Quebec government report, nearly one in four homeless individuals ended up on the streets due to eviction from housing.
Karine Lussier, the director of a local anti-poverty organization, stressed the urgent need for affordable housing in Granby, stating that the city requires at least 1,000 such units.
Between 2018 and 2022, the homeless population in Quebec surged by 44 percent, reaching 10,000 people last year. Indigenous people, who constitute five percent of Canada’s population, are disproportionately represented among the homeless population, particularly the Inuit, according to Lussier.
Granby’s mayor, Julie Bourdon, admitted that the city has significantly increased rent over the past two years. Rather than dismantling homeless camps and relocating residents, the town has maintained “places of tolerance.”
The situation is also a concern in Gatineau, a city with nearly 300,000 residents across the river from the capital, Ottawa. Mayor France Belisle believes that the problem may be even worse than the figures from a year ago suggest, especially with the rising cost of living and high inflation in recent times. —APP
