City has no response after province allows cooling centres to open

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This article was published 02/06/2021 (1738 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The provincial government is trying to protect the homeless population from blistering heat by allowing municipal libraries and community centres to open as cooling shelters despite pandemic restrictions.

The province amended public health orders on Wednesday to allow municipalities, hotels, campgrounds and other private businesses to open outdoor splash pads and pools until June 12.

The City of Winnipeg didn’t respond to the Free Press when asked if it would open such sites and operate its splash pads and pools.

Environment Canada issued a heat warning for southern Manitoba, including Winnipeg, on Wednesday; temperatures are expected to hit the low- to mid-30s today and could reach as high as 35 C on Friday and Saturday. While such temperatures are slightly less than what constitutes a warning in most years, the decision to relax the guidelines was brought on by COVID-19 restrictions in the province, Environment Canada said.

Public health orders allow exemptions for the provision of health care and social services, said Kris Clemens of End Homelessness Winnipeg.

“It’s a trade off: the risks of this extreme hot weather on people’s health, and balancing that with the ongoing risks of the pandemic and the high rates of community transmission we have right now,” she said.

The group is part of the city’s extreme weather response committee, which monitors and evaluates weather response for people in need. While it used to work on responses only to extreme temperatures well into the winter and summer, the committee is working on meeting year-round to tackle rising temperatures earlier in the year, Clemens said.

Shelters across the city have been preparing for the heat. Larger centres such as Main Street Project and Siloam Mission will expand their hours to allow people to cool off in the mid-afternoon heat.

Clemens said shelters are working under reduced capacity in this third wave. Sunshine House has had to temporarily close and Sage House is offering door service due to COVID-19 exposures that have affected staff.

Clemens said it would be “challenging” for the City of Winnipeg and other municipalities to open libraries and community centres quickly.

“It’d be a lot easier for people to keep cool and abide by current public health restrictions if everyone had a safe place to call home,” Clemens said.

“People having access to shade, having access to water, is really critical, and having access to other human beings who can check in with them, that’s precarious right now.”

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

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