A judge in Longueuil will decide Monday whether to grant bail to a man accused of deliberately using his vehicle to strike an unhoused woman who had pitched a tent in his well-to-do Brossard neighbourhood.

Luigi Fragomele, 46, has been detained since the disturbing May 27 incident. The Crown opposes his release, arguing that he represents a danger to society and freeing him would undermine public trust.

Fragomele faces charges of dangerous driving, assault with a weapon, leaving the scene of an accident, and mischief in a case that has exposed the rising tensions around cohabitation as the scourges of homelessness, drug addiction and mental illness proliferate.

The hit and run marks a new and reprehensible low, but it does not negate the sad reality that these social ills are testing the bounds of tolerance and compassion in Montreal, suburbs and small towns alike as the ranks of the vulnerable swell.

Homelessness increased 33 per cent in Montreal between 2018 and 2022. And many expect that number will climb higher once the results of the most recent census, conducted this spring, are tabulated.

Emergency shelter spaces have not kept pace with demand. The city has just over 1,800 beds, for about 5,000 unhoused people.

Métro stations being used as de facto shelters forced the Société de transport de Montréal to enact a temporary moratorium on loitering earlier this spring in order to improve security for transit users.

Encampments are popping up across the city, leaving authorities to weigh concerns for safety, such as the potential for fires or........

© Montreal Gazette