The discovery of a one-year-old child at Montreal’s largest homeless encampment has prompted a police investigation and forced city officials to reconsider their hands-off approach to the growing tent city.

According to the Montreal Gazette, police received a 911 call shortly before 7 p.m. on Sept. 11 concerning a woman and child near Ste-Catherine Street East in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.

Officers found the pair after searching the area and alerted Quebec’s youth protection agency after observing what police described only as “concerning factors.”

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Police are now investigating alongside youth protection officials. Authorities have not disclosed whether the child was injured, required medical treatment or remains with the woman.

The infant was located near the Notre-Dame Street East encampment, which recently contained approximately 200 tents and 150 residents. It has continued to expand despite a city-funded program intended to move occupants into housing.

Municipal documents have already identified public-health and safety risks at the site. Residents of the surrounding neighbourhood have complained of open drug use, public nudity and people experiencing mental-health crises.

Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada called the discovery a “warning signal” and said the city could no longer wait for another level of government to solve the problem.

“If Quebec cannot resolve this national issue, Montreal will act,” she wrote on X.

The mayor did not say whether that action would include dismantling the encampment. Her office said officials were assessing their options and would not remain idle.

Montreal’s encampment policy treats forced relocation as a last resort. The discovery of an infant at the troubled site, however, is now putting that policy under fresh scrutiny.