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.

He also says the infant’s health and safety were not at risk.

Brabant could not say if the woman was under 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.