Montreal’s homeless shelters are urging the Quebec government to reach an agreement with Ottawa to help people living in the city’s encampments.

The federal government has offered up to $50 million to help solve the homelessness crisis, but the province has been slow to accept the deal.

Funding delay, first reported Friday by Radio-Canadamust be resolved as quickly as possible, said Sam Watts, CEO of Welcome Hall Mission.

“We’re obviously in a hurry. We’re trying to say, ‘Come on, let’s make this happen,'” Watts said in an interview.

The federal money, he said, “was intended to help cities solve some of the pressing problems we all see every day, and there is very little reason to delay.”

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante is also expected to remedy the delay later today, after touring the new housing at Chez Doris, a Montreal women’s shelter.

Millions at stake

In September, the federal government said it made $250 million available to the provinces to help “urgently find shelter for people who are homeless or living in encampments.”

This money, however, comes with conditions.

Housing Minister Sean Fraser’s office told Radio-Canada it expects Quebec to provide a matching contribution to the federal investment and provide plans for how the money will be used.

“We look forward to being able to allocate this funding in Quebec communities to help prevent and reduce out-of-shelter homelessness in Quebec,” spokesperson Sofia Ouslis said in a statement.

Marie Barrette, a spokesperson for Quebec Social Services Minister Lionel Carmant, said negotiations are “going very well” and the province hopes to reach an agreement soon.

Barrette said the government expects to receive its “fair share.”

“As for Quebec’s financial participation, discussions are underway given all the money the government is investing in homelessness,” she said.

Other provinces, including Ontario and Saskatchewan, have was also slow to accept federal funding.

MUST SEE |A Montreal shelter is changing the way it accommodates its clients:

Montreal homeless shelter transforms dorms into private and semi-private rooms

A few months ago, the Old Brewery Mission space was an open dormitory filled with bunk beds. The shelter is now divided into small, private rooms providing clients with more privacy and dignity, while only losing six of the shelter’s 191 beds.

Marie-Pier Therrien, director of communications for Montreal’s Old Brewery Mission, said the money will help organizations develop new ways to help people in encampments around the city, which have become increasingly common since the pandemic.

“This is an area where we need to do more, and we need to act more quickly,” Therrien said in an interview.

“Most emergency services and shelters are full 12 months of the year. What worries us most is that the living conditions of people living in encampments are becoming much more dangerous and risky as the winter is coming.”