Homeless in Montreal fighting COVID-19, freezing temperatures and police – APTN
Jan 22, 2022
For the second time in one month, a person experiencing homelessness was found dead on the streets of Montreal during a particularly harsh cold snap.
It’s the fifth such death reported among the homeless of Montreal since January 2021, when Raphael Andre – an Innu-Naskapi man from Matimekush-Lac John in Northern Quebec – was found dead in a port-a-potty near the closed shelter he normally frequented.
On Thursday morning, paramedics received a call about a woman in cardiopulmonary distress near a downtown metro station. She was pronounced dead shortly after.
An ambulance service spokesperson said the 64-year-old woman was wearing several layers of clothing for protection against the extreme temperature, which had dropped to colder than -20 C with the wind chill.
The Quebec coroner’s office is now investigating. They are also looking into the death of a 74-year-old homeless man on Jan. 10 who was found in a makeshift camp under a downtown overpass.
“What happened last night is so unfortunate. It is tragic,” stated Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante in response to the most recent death during a press conference Friday morning.
