Evicted, then evicted again

La Presse tells the heartbreaking tale of what it’s like to be evicted from one’s home, then evicted again from a homeless encampment. It’s a dossier by Quentin Dufranne, who also attempts to explain the encampments, now that a UN rapporteur has emphasized that housing is a right, and evicting people from their encampments is a violation of that right. Dufranne also describes some possible solutions.

When I was a kid I remember being told, or shown on TV, how families in cities in India would camp on sidewalks because they were so poor. And then later, reading guys like Dickens and Victor Hugo, about the vast gulf between rich and poor in the 19th century. And voilà, we have both these features here now! In 1967 we brought the world to Montreal for Expo 67. Now we’re experiencing the world and its many contrasts without even having to build a new island. With the heavy rain warning for Sunday, we may even get some new lakes and waterways!