Coroner investigating hypothermia as potential cause of death of man found in Montreal’s Place Simon-Valois | CBC News

A coroner is investigating the death of a 55-year-old man who died on Sunday after being found unconscious in Montreal’s Place Simon-Valois. 

Montreal police say they received a call at around 9 a.m. about a “man possibly dead” at the intersection of Valois Avenue and Ontario Street in the borough of Mercier-Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.

Firefighters and paramedics were the first to arrive at the scene, the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) says.

The man was rushed to hospital and was pronounced dead there, according to police.

Borough mayor Pierre Lessard-Blais published a statement on X Sunday afternoon, calling out an “avoidable and sadly predictable tragedy.” He said the man was unhoused. 

“For months, municipalities and the community have been saying how bad things are, how we need to open more emergency shelters and establish a national plan before the cold weather arrives,” he wrote.

Lessard-Blais pointed out that there would be more deaths if the health network didn’t intervene quickly and concretely to open shelters. 

On X, Robert Beaudry, the Montreal executive committee member in charge of homelessness, also stressed the urgent need to open new shelters and warm places to protect the most vulnerable.

“We can’t wait any longer,” wrote Beaudry. “The city is ready to act, and calls on the government to join us in this effort.”

The case was handed over to a coroner who is working to determine the cause of death, with hypothermia as one hypothesis.

The SPVM mentions that there was no mark of violence on the man’s body.