Roger-Luc Chayer
Recently, a group of homeless youth walks through the Gay Village of Montreal and can spend several days in front of a shop, or a business particularly frequented by homosexuals, in order to offer passersby prostitution services or wide range of drugs. They are 3 or 4, always the same, and thus occupy the storefronts, 24 hours a day, some sleeping squarely in the markets of abandoned businesses or on the sidewalk.
Often under the influence of drugs, they find a way to connect an extension cord either on the circuit of the City above some street lights, or where they can find functional electrical outlets and spend their time on their cell phones, music in the box and occupy a space as if they lived there. The phenomenon of the homeless in the entrances of businesses is not new in the Village, but the operation of this particular group is more recent and absolutely invading for the traders who see their customers intimidated by the fact of being asked for sex or for drugs, all without hiding, in all transparency.
Recently, the police at Station 22 were contacted to remove this group of sidewalk squatters, but once the police departed, the group returned and took possession of the premises, with the noise and inconvenience associated with these lousy activities.
The situation is problematic particularly with respect to prostitution and sexual services offered by members of this group of young people aged 19 to 25 at first sight, since since the reform of the Canadian Criminal Code, prostitutes are no longer targeted by the authorities, only clients can be subject to arrests and fines. On this side, nothing special to do. As for selling drugs to passersby, the group that is not new to the issue seems to have understood that as long as the drug is not on you, but hidden elsewhere, they have nothing to fear from police searches . A customer wants crack, no problem, the young leaves the scene and returns a few minutes later with the order.
As for the question of strolling on public roads, that’s another matter. There are several bylaws in the Ville-Marie borough that police can use to fine and seize property. The regulation concerning peace and order in the public domain and especially the regulation on good citizenship, respect and cleanliness, in section 45, prohibits the offering of any paid service on public roads, but there still, there must be complaint and intervention of the police.
Gay Globe asked for some comments and recommendations at the SVPM Police Station 22 and Sergeant Ayotte contacted us to tell us that he had been concerned about the situation and explained that the two municipal by-laws mentioned above were exactly the same ones that he could use. Normally, when there is such a report, the police move to identify the people, to see if they are wanted or missing, then we ask to move and only if there is a repeat offense, the police can issue a ticket or proceed to the arrest of people, but this measure is very rare. Sergeant Ayotte insists on recommending merchants to contact 9-1-1 without embarrassment, it is the job of the police to enforce the law.