Montreal’s mayor is calling on the provincial government to exempt homeless people from the provincewide pandemic curfew.
Valerie Plante made the request today following the weekend death of Raphael “Napa” Andre, a 51-year-old Innu man found dead in a portable toilet not far from a homeless shelter he frequented.
Andre often spent time at a day centre for the homeless called The Open Door, which was forced to close its overnight service last month following a COVID-19 outbreak.
He visited the centre Saturday evening and was found dead Sunday morning, after the shelter had closed.
Plante says the curfew between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. — scheduled to last until at least Feb. 8 — is creating an untenable situation for the city’s most vulnerable.
The mayor says on most nights the city’s overnight shelters are either at 95 per cent capacity or filled up.