Westmount Public Security and police from Station 12 made sure during the cold snap last week that the homeless people who take shelter under the Ville Marie Expressway overpass in the city stayed out of the cold.

"It's a regular thing that homeless people stay there," said Captain Richard Bourdon of Westmount Public Security. "Ever since I've worked here, (the overpass) gives them some shelter."

Police and Public Security stepped up their regular patrols to the area during the recent five-day extreme cold snap that hit eastern Canada, dropping temperatures to as low as -25 C each night.

"We try to refer (the homeless) to local services," Bourdon said. "Sometimes it's better when the police come and bring them somewhere warm. We don't want to find one dead from the cold."

Just before Christmas, a homeless man was found dead in Viger Park in Montreal, presumably after freezing to death in temperatures that had dipped to -16 C.

The tragedy left Montreal shelters calling for the Quebec government to come through with the $3 million-plus promised to help fund emergency services.