Canadian shopping mall uses Baby Shark to deter homeless from loitering

A Canadian shopping mall has played the viral YouTube hit Baby Shark to discourage homeless individuals from loitering in its stairwells.

The Complexe Desjardins in Montreal, Quebec, has been playing the children’s songs at varying speeds to dissuade people from lingering.

Homelessness has risen since the COVID-19 pandemic, after leaving several individuals financially impacted and having their mental health impacted. 

While many parents might agree that being stuck in a room with the track on repeat could be somewhat torturous, some have criticized the mall management’s method as “cruel and unusual.”

Global News reports that the downtown mall started looping the song to keep its emergency exit stairwells clear.

This news follows British Tesco staff expressing their frustration over the limited in-store playlist, leading to a petition for a more “mindful” music selection.

Mall spokesperson Jean-Benoit Turcotti stated: “About a year ago, music was installed on some of the fire escapes in the Complexe Desjardins because we were having problems in these areas.”

He added: “Since the installation of this sound solution, we have noticed an improvement in the situation.”

The Quebec-based mall is near the Old Brewery Mission, a support organization for the homeless.

Baby Shark has proven effective, and the mall has no plans to stop playing the song, which boasts over 15 billion views on YouTube.

Turcotti highlighted that, despite the constant music, the mall supports the homeless community. He underscored that the mall’s owners had contributed a hefty $1.2 million toward homelessness initiatives in the city in 2023.

“Our goal is not to coerce these people, but to support them. That’s why we have two social workers working at the Complexe Desjardins to ensure a dialogue with these people,” Turcotti clarified.

Sam Watts, CEO of Welcome Hall Mission champion for the homeless, slammed the continuous looping of a children’s tune as “cruel and unusual.”

Employing children’s melodies to deter the homeless isn’t groundbreaking. In 2019, West Palm Beach in Florida deployed the earworms ‘Baby Shark’ and ‘Raining Tacos’ to nudge the homeless into relocating.

On X, reactions to the mall’s strategy were somewhat more optimistic.

A user commented: “Actually i’m not even mad. It is creative.”

Another opined: “Better than dousing them with water. What other method would you use? They CAN’T live there.”

A third user remarked: “I bet it was effective though!”

Meanwhile, yet another reflected, “It’s all subjective. Maybe they’re playing it to be soothing / entertaining.”