A Quebec man was ticketed for begging on the street a year before he could make a living; He is now fighting to declare the Municipal Act unconstitutional.
On September 24, 2022, Michael Bolduk was fined $227 for street begging.
In this situation Mr. Bolduc is not alone: in 2018, Quebec police issued 234 tickets, 154 in 2019, 81 in 2020 due to the pandemic, then 148 in 2022 and 144 so far in 2023.
TVA News
Mr. Boltak contested his finding of infringement. Last week, he appeared in Quebec’s municipal court with his lawyer to file a petition to have the law banning street begging unconstitutional.
“I’m contesting these cases because they know we don’t have money. We live in poverty and then pay $226 tickets and we can’t afford to do that,” Mr. Bolduc fumed.
Chloé Proulx, coordinator of the Clinique Droit de Cité, agrees: “They say these are discriminatory municipal regulations, in particular, when in fact they only apply to people who are homeless.”
TVA Nouvelles contacted Mayor Bruno Marchand to get his opinion on the matter.
