Starting next year, Montreal will expand its social intervention squad, EMMIS, citywide. Launched in 2021 as a pilot project in Ville-Marie and Sud-Ouest, EMMIS has since grown to include the Plateau-Mont-Royal and Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve areas, as well as Metro operations. Funded by $50 million from the city and Quebec’s Public Security Ministry, the expansion will deploy 90 EMMIS workers across Montreal’s 19 boroughs, with a new 211 hotline for dispatch starting in January.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante highlighted the need for EMMIS due to increasing visible homelessness, mental health crises, and marginalized populations. The squad’s role is to address non-urgent issues related to public space sharing and support individuals with immediate needs, thereby allowing police to focus on criminal and urgent matters.
EMMIS teams provide referrals, car escorts to shelters, and work with local social organizations like Équijustice. Despite this, community organizer Jérémie Lamarche criticized the initiative, arguing it might lead to the harassment of vulnerable people and only displace them rather than address homelessness causes. He advocates for more investment in social housing and assistance, and a moratorium on dismantling homeless encampments until viable alternatives are available.
Montreal’s official Opposition also noted that EMMIS has yet to establish agreements in certain boroughs with rising cohabitation issues, including Montréal-Nord, Saint-Léonard, and Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles.
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