Designated encampment debate returns to city hall

A city councillor is renewing efforts to identify potential locations for designated encampment sites following an Ontario court decision that could impact how homeless people are relocated in Winnipeg.

The motion, introduced by Coun. Cindy Gilroy is scheduled to go before the executive policy committee next week. It calls on the public service to examine multiple locations across Winnipeg that could be considered suitable to host encampments.

Speaking to the Free Press on Thursday, Gilroy said a recent court decision in southern Ontario has renewed the case for designated encampment sites in Winnipeg. Last month, a judge barred the Region of Waterloo from clearing an encampment in Kitchener, Ont., unless alternative housing options were made available to those living there.

“The laws are changing so dramatically,” the chair of the community safety committee said, adding she’s unsure if the city is prepared for a similar legal challenge in Winnipeg.

“How are we dealing with it? If now there’s a precedent in place telling us that we can’t move people out of our community parks or playgrounds where kids are playing, if we do need to have designated space now, should we be re-evaluating this?”

In December, city council requested a report to determine the feasibility of running a temporary managed encampment site this spring and summer, one that would have included portable washrooms, garbage bins and on-site service providers to offer resources to the homeless. The public service, however, recommended the city drop the idea.

The Daniel McIntyre councillor wants to see multiple designated sites, providing options citywide. She said they wouldn’t be managed — meaning they wouldn’t have on-site supports or security — to keep costs down with the unlikelihood of the province providing funding. They would offer portable toilets and garbage bins.

“In all reality, you don’t want everybody in one space. It would be very chaotic and unsafe,” Gilroy said, adding that the city’s homelessness crisis isn’t limited to the inner city.

Data from the city backs up the claim, with all but four of the 15 council wards showing at least one encampment.

Earlier this week, city officials reported they had cleared more encampments in the Fort Rouge-Fort Garry ward (28) than anywhere else in the city since an encampment ban came into effect in November. The policy prohibits homeless camps near playgrounds, pools, recreation centres, transit shelters, bridges and rail lines, among other areas.

Currently, Point Douglas has the most encampments in the city with 19, followed by 15 in Fort Rouge-Fort Garry and five in Daniel McIntyre.

Winnipeg’s mayor said his stance on the motion hasn’t changed.

“I don’t support that, and the biggest reason is we would need the province to be a full partner with us on a designated encampment site, and they have other focuses right now,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said.

“We as a city, we’re full partners with the province of Manitoba on the your way home strategy… we’ve reduced the number of encampments… so there’s some things going in the right direction. We need to continue to focus on getting more housing built… and we need to focus on people’s addictions and help them get into detox and long-term treatment.”

During a meeting of city council’s community services committee on Tuesday, Kate Kehler, the executive director of the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg, was asked for her perspective on managed encampments.

“There’s absolutely mixed opinion,” Kehler said. “There are people who work in this sector who are 100 per cent opposed to them for good reason.

“One of the main reasons that I can see is what generally happens, though, is when investment is made in a managed encampment, resources are taken away from other places — so instead of finding new money, money gets reallocated, and there are less resources going around.”

Kehler pointed to the city’s 2025 request for proposal process, which resulted in Main Street Project becoming Winnipeg’s sole outreach provider.

She said the intent was to streamline services, but the outcome was fewer supports in some areas.

“West Central Women’s Resource Centre lost their gender-based approach lens, so their outreach… got lost in that.” she said.

“Consolidation shouldn’t mean less services, but unfortunately, in our world, it does.”

Kehler also expressed concern that designated encampments could heighten public tensions rather than ease them.

“There’s also the public opinion thing. If there is a managed encampment someplace else, people who don’t sympathize, who are angry for whatever reasons about encampments, will be more justified in going, ‘Hey there’s a place for you over there, how come you’re here?” she said.

— with files from Joyanne Pursaga and Erik Pindera

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca