Airline misreads problem

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/10/2011 (5147 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Air Canada offered a tepid apology to aboriginal people for its uninformed decision to move its pilots and flight crews out of a downtown hotel and into a hotel closer to the airport on the grounds that the city’s central business district is dangerous.

If the airline had confined its remarks to general observations about safety, the issue might have been debatable at best. Instead, the national corporation implied that about 1,000 displaced aboriginals, who had been living in downtown hotels because their homes were destroyed by flooding, were a threat to its staff.

The airline said it would reconsider its decision when the displaced aboriginals returned home, Most of them, in fact, have already left the downtown or gone home.

Derek Nepinak, grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, says the airline was being racist, although he also recognizes that its executives are probably not familiar with aboriginals, who live in high numbers in Winnipeg. In fact, Nepinak said, the displaced aboriginals themselves felt frightened and intimidated in downtown Winnipeg, not unlike any stranger who ventures out at night in a big, unfamiliar city.

Air Canada says its decision to relocate was based on crew reports and corporate security, but they clearly did not understand what they were seeing. Aboriginal people are not intrinsically threatening, yet some Canadians seem to hold an almost subliminal prejudice that regards them all as a potential risk. For their part, First Nations people frequently report feeling unwelcome in the city.

Like most downtowns in major cities, Winnipeg does have a problem with homelessness, poverty, crime and panhandlers. Some areas are worse than others.

The Radisson Hotel, for example, where Air Canada’s flight crews were staying, is around the corner from a lower-end hotel, where panhandlers and others with social problems spill out in front of the Radisson from time to time. Nevertheless, the hotel attracts thousands of out-of-town visitors, including visiting baseball teams, who come and go without incident. Other hotels, such as The Fairmont and The Marlborough (where some displaced aboriginals are still living), do not report significant crime problems related to poverty and drunkenness.

At the same time, however, there’s no point in sugarcoating the facts. A stroll through downtown Winnipeg can involve encounters with the wretched of the Earth, the down and out, and those who have given up on life. There are serious social problems in Winnipeg, and much of it is on display in the downtown core.

The city has embarked on a Housing First strategy to get the homeless off the street, but the resources do not match the need. As well, the police cadet program and the Downtown Watch are unduly focused on daytime security at the expense of the evening and weekends. The point seems to be to show downtown workers and daytime visitors that the area is secure, but the real need is at night. That’s when the worst abuses and problems are evident.

The downtown needs a real security strategy, and not one that is merely intended to showcase the wonderful efforts of the police and the Downtown Watch.

Air Canada overreacted, but hopefully it will serve as a wakeup call to redouble efforts to improve the lives of the homeless and the perception that downtown Winnipeg is a war zone.