Winnipeg is planning to eradicate homeless camps, which includes Indigenous citizens.
WINNIPEG, Manitoba-The City of Winnipeg has announced plans to hire a contractor this summer to dismantle homeless camps and collect used needles from parks and other public areas. They have accordingly put out a request for proposals (RFP).
The move comes as a surprise to some organizations that work with people at risk, including Main Street Project. The director of transitional housing, Adrienne Dudek, told Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC.ca) reporters she hopes outreach workers have the chance to speak with people living on the street before their shelters are destroyed.
"By taking away the physical structure, we're not actually addressing the root cause of why that person created that structure," Dudek said.
City spokesperson Ken Allen said the city will try to protect the health and safety of the homeless and that the inhabitants of the camps will be given 12 to 24 hours to remove their belongings before the City of Winnipeg, and potentially the police, step in.
The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs (AMC) has responded to the City of Winnipeg's plans to remove homeless camps and needles, noting that while it is disappointing to see Winnipeg ravaged by the drug epidemic, removing homeless camps could further marginalize and make it harder for the people in the camps to receive help for addictions or mental health.
"Societies are judged by how the less fortunate are treated. To hear that this is the living conditions of Winnipeg's most vulnerable citizens is quite unfortunate," said Grand Chief Arlen Dumas. "At the very least, both the city and the province should consider adopting safe-injection sites, or increase the amount of homeless shelters in the city.
Dumas noted that according to a 2018 Winnipeg Street Census Poll, approximately 65.9 percent of Winnipeg's homelessness were Indigenous.
One of the organizations not made aware of the city's orders was the Bear Clan Patrol, a volunteer group determined to assist with crime prevention and personal security of the Aboriginal community in Winnipeg, which numbers 60–80,000 in the city, primarily in urban areas.
Grand Chief Dumas said. "The Bear Clan has done an excellent job protecting Winnipeg's most vulnerable. I hope the city and the province listen to them in their apprehensions about removing these homeless camps. We hope that the AMC's Eagle Urban Transition Centre is asked to assist in solving this homeless crisis, particularly given we just wrapped up a draft First Nation Homelessness Strategy with End Homelessness Winnipeg."
When First Nation people are at risk of homelessness, it is extremely important that they receive the help that they deserve, rather than punish them by attempting to remove makeshift homes, the AMC notes.
