Police find one-year-old in Montreal homeless encampment

Montreal police say an investigation is underway after officers located a woman and a one-year-old child in a homeless encampment in the city’s east end.

Police say they received a call about the woman and a child on Sept. 11 in the eastern Montreal borough of Mercier—Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.

Police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant says officers located the woman and child after conducting a search and noticed what they described as concerning elements.

Brabant says police are collaborating with Quebec’s youth protection agency on the investigation.

In a social media post published last night, Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada called the situation “heartbreaking” and a “wake-up call.”

Martinez Ferrada said the city could no longer wait for the Quebec government to address what she called a provincewide issue and said the city would take action on the Notre-Dame site.

She also thanked residents who intervened to help the child, as well as first responders and police.