Tuesday December 5, 2023, Lorrain Sénéchal relayed rather unusual information in his daily column at C to you on France 5. That day, the former presenter of franceinfo explained that the 45 public libraries of Montreal, Quebec, were going to modify their regulations from Monday January 1, 2024. On this date, visitors whose hygiene is deemed insufficient will be liable to expulsion, but also to a fine ranging from 350 to 1,000 Canadian dollars for a first offense. In the event of a repeat offense, sanctioned individuals risk a month-long ban, accompanied by a fine of 3,000 Canadian dollars. Many voices were raised against this new regulation, which according to them specifically targets the homeless. Indeed, homeless Canadians, also called “people experiencing homelessness” in Quebec, have gotten into the habit of coming to warm up in public libraries in Montreal.
Montreal: detractors of the new public library regulations make themselves heard
“It’s outrageous! It’s a tendency, in many public places – therefore paid for with our funds – to say that it is not their role to welcome people experiencing homelessness. It is extremely shocking and alarming”indicated Annie Savage, director of the Support Network for Single and Homeless People of Montreal (RAPSIM), in the columns of the local newspaper The Press. She also believes that the issue of personal hygiene is “extremely arbitrary”. “I don’t see how library staff will be able to apply this regulation without there being excesses and abuse,” she also added. For her part, Céline Bellot, director of the Profiling Observatory at the University of Montreal, seems to share this opinion. “Who has the power to decide who smells good and who doesn’t? It is shocking because it is a repression of access to public space. We rely on stereotypes to lead to the penalization of people.”she declared on this subject.