Tent community camped under Ville-Marie Expressway can stay put until June 15

People living in tents under the Ville-Marie Expressway in Montreal will not be forced to abandon their encampment to make way for Transport Ministry construction work for at least the next seven weeks.

Quebec Superior Court Justice Suzanne Courchesne has extended an injunction to delay the eviction of the group living under the expressway between Guy Street and Atwater Avenue until June 15. This comes after the court agreed on April 11 to extend that injunction for 10 more days.

David Chapman, executive director of the day shelter Resilience Montreal, said the extension is "another small victory for human rights." 

He said he's hoping the government will use this time to engage in "some real negotiation" and provide housing accommodations for the 20 or so people living under the expressway.

Quebec's Transport Ministry has said the eviction is necessary to carry out major repairs under the expressway. 

The ministry has been postponing that move since last November, in the hope that alternative arrangements would be made to house the small community elsewhere. 

In earlier court proceedings, the judge suggested all parties involved agree on a set deadline for those living under the expressway to move and to find a place to which all of them could move as a group.

Chapman says these negotiations have yet to take place.

"Unfortunately, till now, it's been sort of like a battle in divorce court, where as little as possible is given and that every inch is a fight," he said.

"I certainly hope that that dynamic changes." 

Donald Tremblay, executive director of the Mobile Legal Clinic, the group of lawyers representing the community, said he's hoping the government will "do the human thing" and find housing for those living under the expressway. 

"I still think the government is of good faith, and they want to find a human solution to this problem," he said. 

The next court date is scheduled for May 30. 

If no solution is presented by then, Chapman said, another request to extend the injunction will be filed. 

"There's kind of an easy way and a hard way [to do this]," he said. The easy way, Chapman said, involves listening to those living under the expressway to find out what their needs are. The hard way, he said, involves multiple trips back to court.

 "Why not just take the easier route? It would be better for everyone involved."