Plante calls out Quebec for 'avoidable' death of 55-year-old man found outside in the cold

Montreal's mayor and other municipal elected officials are slamming the Quebec government for the "avoidable" death of a 55-year-old man who was found unconscious on Sunday in a public square. 

The case was handed over to a coroner who is working to determine the cause of death, with hypothermia as one hypothesis.

Valérie Plante said the man, who was found in Place Simon-Valois in the city's eastern Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve borough, was unhoused.

"It's a big crisis and it breaks my heart, and I know that Montrealers feel the same way," said the mayor Monday afternoon. "It's unacceptable that this happens in a rich society like ours, like Quebec."

Plante urged the provincial government to help the city open more warming centres. She also emphasized the importance of bringing social workers and nurses to those centres, as homeless people often have other needs.

"You can't just put them in a room and say: 'Well, it's warm,'" she said. "They're not trinkets, they're human beings." 

She pointed out that the government owns unoccupied buildings, such as hospitals, that could be put to good use.

And she said she wished Premier François Legault would put more focus on people who "sleep in the street" than those who "pray in the street."

Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant, reacting to Plante's concerns, said the government had always been there. He said at the heart of the issue is housing and transitional housing, adding that there's plenty of people in shelters who are "ready" to be housed.

On Sunday, Montreal police said they received a call at around 9 a.m. about a "man possibly dead" at the intersection of Valois Avenue and Ontario Street.

Firefighters and paramedics were the first to arrive, the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) said.

The man was rushed to hospital and was pronounced dead, according to police. There was no mark of violence on the man's body.

Pierre Lessard-Blais, the borough mayor, published a statement on X Sunday afternoon, calling out an "avoidable and sadly predictable tragedy." 

"For months, municipalities and the community have been saying how bad things are, how we need to open more emergency shelters and establish a national plan before the cold weather arrives," he wrote.

Lessard-Blais said there would be more deaths if the health network doesn't open more shelters. 

On X, Robert Beaudry, the Montreal executive committee member in charge of homelessness, also stressed the urgent need to open new shelters and warming centres to protect the most vulnerable.

"We can't wait any longer," wrote Beaudry. "The city is ready to act, and calls on the government to join us in this effort."