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CBC
7 hours ago
- Politics
- CBC
Ban homeless encampments beside major roadways, says Winnipeg city councillor
Winnipeg Coun. Jeff Browaty says tent encampments alongside major roads are a safety issue and he wants to see them banned. He intends in September to submit an amendment to a motion fellow Coun. Cindy Gilroy tabled this week to prohibit encampments in public places where children gather — playgrounds, spray pads, community gardens and community centre spaces. Browaty called Gilroy's motion "a good, important first step" but said it should go further. He planned to speak to her Wednesday "to see if she would be amenable to having this added on." The addition would be a restriction on encampments beside thoroughfares to further increase the safety of all people in the city, he said. That would include Portage Avenue, Main Street, McPhillips Street, Henderson Highway, Regent Avenue, St. Mary's Road, St. Anne's Road, Pembina Highway, Kenaston Boulevard, Abinojii Mikanah and Lagimodiere Boulevard — a list of roads Browaty said were "off the top of my head." The danger of people experiencing addictions and mental health issues while living beside those roads is they might wander into traffic, he said. "I hear from residents, especially around Disraeli, they're worried somebody's going to get hit. Members of the public that are driving down these streets, they don't want to cause a fatality. They're just trying to get home," Browaty said. "This is why this is unacceptable." Browaty said he's not pretending such a ban will "fix the ills of the city," but he hopes it helps avoid some tragedy. Addressing those larger issues requires more housing with wraparound supports, he said. "Obviously we need more and we need it faster," he said. In the short term, "we need to encourage and find ways to make living on the street undesirable" for those who do have the capacity to move into any form of existing housing, such as with friends or family, he said. Couch surfing "is better than living on the street," he said. For those with more severe challenges, there needs to be quicker movement on getting "deeper supports" and proper housing, he said. That echoes concerns highlighted by Mayor Scott Gillingham last week about building housing faster to end homelessness. There are legal challenges in forcing people out of encampments, but at the very least, Browaty wants to see those who are breaking laws dealt with as soon as possible. "If there's use of drugs in these areas openly, enforce that. If they're running bicycle chop shops, as I've heard that they apparently are along Disraeli, follow up on that. Find any laws that are being broken and enforce those stringently," he said. The Manitoba government has been slowly adding to public housing stock to address homelessness. As part of the province's Your Way Home strategy launched earlier this year, those units are being offered to people living in encampments. Sam Tsemberis, the founder and executive director of Pathways to Housing, a Housing First program for people with serious mental illnesses, long histories of homelessness and substance abuse, said it's time to bring landlords into the conversation. "Both the private landlords and the social housing landlords are essential to ending short-term homelessness quickly," he told CBC Manitoba Information Radio host Marcy Markusa on Tuesday. That means governments and other agencies helping people in encampments should present them to landlords with a rent subsidy, the first month's rent and a guarantee of support for the tenant once they move in, Tsemberis said. "So that the landlord is willing to take the risk to house someone without a credit history and coming in with that difficult background." Avrom Charach, spokesperson for the Manitoba Professional Property Managers Association, agrees that supports — and not just financial supports — are absolutely necessary to enlist landlords. "About 20 years ago, when Housing First first hit in Winnipeg … my company that I worked for took the very first Housing First person in. What we found was after 5 p.m. on a weekday, you couldn't find support," he said. "If people were flailing, you ended up having to treat them like any other tenant. It's like, 'I'm sorry, you can't live here anymore,' because you couldn't get someone to come in and help deal with their issues." For some people, all they need is a social worker to talk to, so they know how to behave around others, Charach said. Last year, a tenant would glare at people in the hallways and lash out if someone even looked at them, he said. In other cases, even though the rent is being paid, tenants are damaging property beyond what any damage deposit will cover, he said. Charach plans to call Bernadette Smith, Manitoba's minister of housing, addictions and homelessness, to see what part his association can play, but says many members who stepped up when Housing First began might be less willing now. However, there have been improvements, he said. Landlords who house tenants supported by some service agencies do have a number to call if someone is having a breakdown, and the response has been good, he said. Altogether, there are 74 members in Charach's association with many housing units. "If each one of our members … put two people in, it would be 150, easy," he said. "And two people is not a lot to take. So we could probably house 200 or 300 if vacancy is there, and if they meet the three very simple criteria that we use: pay the rent, don't bother the neighbours and don't damage the property."
CBC
5 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
Winnipeggers split over councillor's call to ban encampments in outdoor places where children gather
Social Sharing Some Winnipeggers are split on a move that would ban people from living in tent encampments set up in community spaces where children play, with some OK with the idea while others calling on governments for more housing solutions. Theresa McKay and her grandson were picking through a community garden at Vimy Ridge Park on Friday, right next to where someone is living in a tent. She said it wasn't a big enough encampment to deter her from the garden. "If it's a whole bunch, then that's where I probably stay away from the park," said McKay. Daniel McIntyre Coun. Cindy Gilroy tabled a motion this week that's set to go before city council for a vote in September that recommends banning tent encampments in public places where children gather — playgrounds, spray pads, community gardens and community centre spaces. McKay favours the idea of a ban despite being relatively unbothered by the single tent next to the community garden at Vimy Ridge Park. She associates some encampments with drug use and "doesn't want to be around those things." "I know how they can be with this meth that's going around, be unpredictable, so that's what scares me," said McKay. Chloe Lepage, who lives near Vimy Ridge Park, sees the presence of homeless encampments in some of these public spaces differently. "I feel like the issue of homeless encampments and safety are kind of two separate issues," Lepage said. "I don't really feel that it poses a safety concern to have people living in this neighbourhood, because I feel like they're just people trying to live their lives." Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew has committed to taking down encampments this year, helping people transition from living on the streets and getting them into housing. When Gilroy introduced the motion on Thursday, Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham suggested issuing such bans is complicated and potentially litigious. He pointed to other city governments that have attempted to ban homeless encampments from public spaces that were then taken to court Gillingham nonetheless expressed frustration on Friday with the pace of encampment removal and related plans. "I'm not satisfied with the speed at which we're getting housing made available," he said in an interview with CBC's Information Radio. "We need housing so people have a place to move from encampment to housing with wrap-around supports." The Main Street Project is at the front lines of trying to bring this vision to life. The organization received an exclusive contract last month for homeless outreach with the City of Winnipeg. Jamil Mahmood, executive director of Main Street Project, said the protection of public spaces for children is being taken seriously. "We're in a situation where we don't have enough housing, so I think we can look at how do we find solutions until the housing is built and we have enough," Mahmood said. Manitoba Housing Minister Bernadette Smith says the province is working as fast as it can to add more affordable housing units to Winnipeg, along with transitional supports necessary for helping ensure those who are housed stay housed. Smith echoed Gillingham's frustrations over the inadequate housing stock available to make that happen, suggesting the previous Progressive Conservative government was partly to blame for selling off "hundreds of social housing units." "While it only took seconds for the PCs to sell off housing, it will take time to build up our affordable housing stock," Smith wrote in a statement to CBC News on Friday. "Our government is investing in social housing and supports, and we're working collaboratively to bring more housing online in our province." In the meantime, Smith said there are safety concerns around having people living in tents in places where children visit. "Encampments should not be in or near where children are," her statement reads in part. "We will continue to work with police and community partners to protect public safety around child friendly spaces." Cycling advocate Jason Carter says since the COVID-19 pandemic, cyclists have seen more homeless encampments form along trails that run next to the Assiniboine River. Carter said those trail and riverside areas haven't been taken care of by the city. Carter, a former president of the Manitoba Cycling Association and current administrator with Bikepacking Manitoba, said he hasn't personally seen as much encampment presence in playgrounds and similar spaces where kids go. "But it would not surprise me mainly because it's desperation camping," he said. "They have no other alternative and that's what my friends see when we go down those trails, we see this and keep talking [about], 'Well, what in the world is the city doing?'" Carter said he would be in favour of government-designated encampment areas as a temporary stopgap measure. "It's a horrible criticism of us as a city, because we're going to such a place where we're such a size and social situation where we need tent villages in order to accommodate," he said. "But that's happened … in other cities and they're not necessarily permanent, and they at least buy some time before the province gets its act together." WATCH | Winnipeggers weigh in on banning encampments near places like playgrounds: Winnipeggers weigh in on banning encampments near places like playgrounds 2 hours ago A motion from a Winnipeg city councillor, set to go before council in September, suggests banning tent encampments in public places where children gather, such as playgrounds, spray pads, community gardens and community centre spaces. CBC asked some Winnipeggers how they feel about the idea.
CBC
6 days ago
- Politics
- CBC
Inner-city councillor wants encampments banned from Winnipeg playgrounds, splash pads, pools
Social Sharing The city councillor for Winnipeg's inner-city Daniel McIntyre ward wants to ban encampments in public places where children gather. Coun. Cindy Gilroy has authored a motion to prohibit encampments at playgrounds, spray pads, community gardens, pools and community centre spaces designed for kids and their families. Gilroy issued the motion Thursday at the final city council meeting before a six-week summer prorogation at city hall. She had previously pushed for more needle cleanup in city parks and said she has seen some progress as a result, albeit only in a handful places where funding was made available. Gilroy said she is not trying to push people out of public spaces out of a lack of compassion. "This is out of frustration of inaction. We have been having major issues around finding needles [and] drug paraphernalia and things that quite simply, if a child gets a hold of it, can easily die from," Gilroy said at city hall during a break in council's July meeting. Some cities have designated areas where encampments are allowed and "could be monitored more, where they are safer for not only the public, but also the people that are living … within those encampments," she said. Mayor Scott Gillingham said he will work with Gilroy but is not keen on designated areas for encampments. "The public is frustrated. I'm frustrated. There's not enough housing units available to move people from encampments into housing with wraparound supports," the mayor said. "When you've got encampments in playgrounds, it's concerning to residents and it's concerning to councillors." Gillingham cautioned there are legal impediments to banning encampments. "There's several layers of this. We know that other cities that have tried to ban certain locations for encampments have been taken to court. So there's legalities that we have to look at as well," he said. Gilroy's motion will come before her council colleagues in September. New library named after former councillor A new library slated for Garden City Shopping Centre will be named after former Old Kildonan councillor Mike O'Shaughnessy, who served on city council for 31 years. Council voted Thursday to name the new library the Mike O'Shaughnessy Library. O'Shaughnessy originally sat on council from 1974 to 1980 and then again from 1986 to 2010, serving under mayors Stephen Juba, Robert Steen, Bill Norrie, Susan Thompson, Glen Murray and Sam Katz. Council also voted Thursday to grant city transportation engineers nine months to plan a separated bike lane on Wellington Crescent, against the wishes of dozens of cyclists who have lobbied city hall for months to install the new lane more quickly. There have been calls for the bike lane since cyclist Rob Jenner, 61, was killed on Wellington Crescent just east of Academy Road in June 2024 as he was cycling to work. He was hit by a speeding motorist who lost control of his vehicle. Council also voted Thursday to create a possibility for people opposed to new smart water meters, which transmit usage data, to opt out of their installation, provided they obtain a medical exemption on the basis of exposure to radio waves. The new meters are expected to be more accurate — old meters tend to underestimate water usage — and detect leaks more quickly than the analog meters.
Winnipeg Free Press
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Three-year limit good start to evict derelict homeowners
Opinion Winnipeg may finally be getting serious about cracking down on vacant homes. It's about time. If Coun. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) has her way, the city will soon set a firm time limit — three years — on how long a property can sit empty and derelict before the city takes decisive action. That could include expropriating the property, with no compensation to the owner, if they neglect it long enough. It's a bold move, and while it will no doubt raise legal eyebrows and prompt challenges from absentee owners, it's a discussion this city badly needs. We've spent years tiptoeing around the issue of boarded-up homes. You don't have to go far in the city to see the impact. Vacant homes are magnets for arson, crime, drug use, and vandalism. They drag down property values, pose safety risks for first responders, and erode the very sense of community in many parts of the city. There are about 700 registered vacant buildings in Winnipeg and the number has been growing. Some have been boarded up for years. Generations of city councillors and mayors have pledged to fix the problem, but here we are — still fighting the same fire (sometimes literally) over and over again. The city has taken some steps in recent years to combat the problem, including billing owners for firefighting costs and charging them an empty building fee and a boarded up building fee. But that hasn't convinced the majority of them to either fix up their properties or sell them to someone who will. They're happy to let them sit and rot at the expense of area residents. The city already has the legal authority to take possession of derelict homes without compensating their owners. It's called 'take title without compensation.' However, the process is agonizingly slow. It requires multiple steps under the Vacant Building By-law and the City of Winnipeg Charter, including repeated inspections, warnings, cleanup orders, and more. It's a bureaucratic slog that can take years before the city seizes a property. It's probably why it's rarely used. Gilroy wants to streamline that process, proposing a hard cap of three years. After that, if the property is still derelict and the owner hasn't brought it up to code or returned it to productive use, the city could move forward with seizing the property. In her view, enough is enough. She's right. No one is saying the city should immediately start taking people's homes. This isn't about going after homeowners who show good faith in trying to clean up their properties. Those owners should be given flexibility. This is about cracking down on people who show blatant disregard for area residents by letting their properties sit vacant for years. No doubt there's a political cost to Gilroy's proposal. Any time government moves to expropriate property, there's a risk of litigation, and some politicians get skittish. That's part of the reason this has dragged on for so long. But Winnipeg doesn't have the luxury of indecision anymore. The risks are too high. We wouldn't tolerate this kind of neglect in other areas of city policy. If you don't cut your grass, pay you property taxes or fall behind on your water bill, the city takes swift action. Yet vacant residential property owners get a pass. Part of the reason is that the current process is simply too reactive. The city responds after a building becomes a nuisance — once it's already a danger. What Gilroy is proposing is a shift in mindset: move to prevent the problem before it reaches that point. A three-year limit is a fair and reasonable timeline. It gives owners ample opportunity to renovate, sell, or repurpose the property. If they do none of the above, then they're not being responsible stewards of their property, and the city has every right to intervene. Of course, this plan needs a strong legal backbone. Any changes would need to be carefully vetted to ensure the city doesn't expose itself to costly lawsuits. The city should also look at expanding its tools. That could include higher penalties for long-term vacancy or increasing the annual vacant building fee. But the three-year limit needs to be the centrepiece. Winnipeg has talked itself in circles on this file long enough. The time for polite reminders and sternly worded letters is over. A boarded-up home isn't just an eyesore — it's a hazard, a drain on city resources, and a symbol of urban decay. Gilroy's proposal isn't perfect. It won't fix everything. But it's a necessary push in the right direction. The city needs real teeth to deal with this problem. If you let a wound fester long enough, it will infect everything around it. And that's exactly what vacant homes are doing to many Winnipeg neighbourhoods. Tom BrodbeckColumnist Tom Brodbeck is a columnist with the Free Press and has over 30 years experience in print media. He joined the Free Press in 2019. Born and raised in Montreal, Tom graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and commerce. Read more about Tom. Tom provides commentary and analysis on political and related issues at the municipal, provincial and federal level. His columns are built on research and coverage of local events. The Free Press's editing team reviews Tom's columns before they are posted online or published in print – part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Letters, July 7
Opinion Glad to see action on vacant homes Re: Time's up: city mulls crackdown on derelicts (July 4) I am happy to hear Coun. Cindy Gilroy is trying to move forward on the huge number of vacant houses. Three years is too long. I have waited at least that long for a house across the street from me to be repaired or developed. Winnipeg needs to get on top of this issue, fast. There needs to be a plan involving all departments of the city, to address each stage of rehabilitating our city centre, from expropriation, remediation, demolition, or redevelopment into new housing, or much needed green space. Also, the city must address the elephant in the room: the number of vacant commercial buildings in the core. Owners of these properties need to be subject to the same time restrictions. With foresight, the decay in this city's centre can be reversed, and people can all find homes. Kathleen Kristjansson Winnipeg Take a different approach Re: Kinew's two options: let Fontaine dig herself out of hole after outburst or fire her (July 2) I think it's sad that the one part of this story that stuck out the most was that members of equity-deserving groups would have to look at this incident through a lens of 'Well, what are we going to do? Vote for the Conservatives? That would be even worse for us…' To feel trapped or forgotten or undervalued in the world you share with others, to the point where you have to accept Nahanni Fontaine's comments and actions as the lesser of two evils, should leave everyone trying to figure out just how bad things must really be for those faced with these daily obstacles. It should also signal to conservatives that maybe they shouldn't be trying to push Fontaine any further into the mud than she has gotten herself stuck in, but rather find some way to clean up their reputation within communities that have been hurt or forgotten under their times of getting to hold the reins. Yes. What she did was horrible. Standing there pointing screaming 'bad thing!' at the top of your lungs won't change that for her or anybody offended by her actions. The PCs aren't fooling anyone by trying to disguise their partisan politics as support for a community. One they will quickly forget about when they eventually get back into power. So maybe try a different approach to the situation. It could actually signal to people they are a party capable of change. And leave Fontaine and Premier Wab Kinew to figure out what change, if any, they will make as a result of what has happened, and leave it to the voters to feel if that change is enough. Brian Spencler Winnipeg Time to make a real deal Since U.S. President Donald Trump got elected in the U.S., he has scrapped/walked away from the trade deal between the U.S., Canada and Mexico that he actually agreed to and signed when he was president the first time around. He's instituted tariffs against us. Prime Minister Mark Carney must insist on some type of ironclad guarantee and assurance that Trump won't scrap any new deal/trade agreement between the U.S. and Canada like he did before. Can anyone really trust a bona fide liar? Robert J. Moskal Winnipeg Fontaine's comments not so bad Re: Minister angers deaf community with slight against interpreter (July 2) We've been taught over the last many years that we should see and refer to the person, not the disability. Nahanni Fontaine did just that when she spoke her mind about the ASL interpreter that shared a stage with her while speaking at the June 26 event. While lamenting the distraction of having the woman in view during her address, she didn't refer to her as an interpreter, or mention ASL or the deaf members of the audience. She only made it clear that the person was a distraction and should not have been positioned as closely as she was. To interpret her comments as a slight against the deaf community is quite a stretch, and to suggest that Fontaine should step down or be removed by the premier is ridiculous. Fontaine has apologized — twice. Nothing to see here folks. Time to move on. Don McPherson St. Andrews Keep ban in place Re: Mixed reviews for first year of cellphone ban (July 2) As I read Mixed reviews for first year of cellphone ban, I thought I must recommend to all teachers, parents and administrators to thoroughly read Jonathan Haidt's The Anxious Generation. What has happened since the release of the iPhone in 2010 is alarming and the statistical proof is there. He speaks about 'discover mode' and ' defend mode' which has been part of mammalian growth for millennia. Phones have the ability to keep youngsters in 'defend mode' to their detriment. The iPhone has been here for only 15 years and we are now seeing the effects on the mental health of Gen Z's children and adolescents. I think we must continue with the ban at least all the way through middle years with no turning back. That way, no matter what work-arounds our creative and still developing young people figure out on their off school hours, at least they will have a period of the day to learn, and to construct and maintain friendships that are not terminated by the pushing of the 'off' button. Elizabeth Dorey Winnipeg Traffic planning Re: 'Look south for inspiration' (Letters, July 2) Perhaps we need to look further afield than North Dakota for road inspiration. I have driven on autoroutes in Europe with 140 km/h speed limit and roundabouts. So easy. Observe the signage, slow to 60 km/h, yield and merge, around and away. No stop signs, no awkward turning, minimal interruption to the flow of traffic. Would cost more than an RCUT but a lot less than a grade-separated interchange. Robert Foster Winnipeg Room enough for everyone Re: 'Where can pedestrians walk safely?' (Letters, June 30) In response to Catherine Collin's letter, I write this in response. I am sorry you were injured entering a store and required a long rehabilitation. However, regarding your issue with others on the sidewalk besides yourself, I say this. I am an e-bike rider and for a small portion of my ride from Westwood to downtown, I ride on the sidewalks of Portage to Charleswood Bridge. There is no way I'm riding on Portage with the crazy drivers. Those sidewalks barely have pedestrians and if there are, I ring my bell and say passing on the left loudly for them to hear. I have been ignored by a person using earphones or has their nose in their phone; some like to take up the whole sidewalk. These sidewalks should be able to be shared, so that we all are safe by splitting them up half and half. One group is not more deserving than the other. If the biker was your granddaughter, would you want her riding on busy Portage or riding safely on a small patch of sidewalk with a bell to warn of her arrival to pedestrians? Elaine Stobbe Winnipeg
