Winnipeg city council shelves proposal to dismantle bus shelters, looks for new idea
A motion to dismantle Winnipeg bus shelters is not moving forward after it was replaced with a new idea at city hall Thursday.
The original motion brought to city council by Councillor Shawn Nason was shelved Thursday. It asked the city to remove the glass from two bus shelters in Transcona.
Kris Clemens with End Homelessness Winnipeg told CTV News she is encouraged the motion did not move forward.
"Especially to see some of the councillors that had voted for this motion at committees have a bit of a change of heart," said Clemens.
After hearing public outcry from several advocate organizations, an emotional Nason backed away from his original motion and said it is about the people.
"There's people in very difficult circumstances on our streets. We see it day in and day out. It's not hidden homeless – it's in our face,” he said in tears at City Hall on Thursday.
A new resolution by Councillor Sherri Rollins, seconded by Nason, instead addresses six recommendations put forward by community partners in response to the original bus shelter motion.
Rollins said it is important to listen to what organizations helping unsheltered Winnipeggers have to say.
"It's that housing first and harm reduction, wrap around supports is what most needed to alleviate that,” she said.
The new motion asks the city to explore options for 150 new low barrier transitional housing spaces, which will need funding and a location.
"This step to create 150 units of transitional housing in the short-term compliments those efforts that are already underway and it could give our community the extra boost it needs to really support those who need it most,” said Clemens.
Advocates point to efforts like the 24/7 winter warming safe space on Disraeli Freeway called N'Dinawemak, which is still open now even though it's summer.
Cora Morgan, the First Nations family advocate with the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, said even with this space, there is not enough room for the number of unsheltered people in Winnipeg. That is leading people to encampments or bus shelters instead.
"To take away bus shelters is not a good reaction," she said.
Morgan added that longer-term funding for safe spaces like N'Dinawemak could help address the immediate need and provide a place where people are treated with respect and feel welcome to tell their truth.
"People need that. It's not about just housing people, it's helping them have value for life and have dreams and acknowledging who they are and what their gifts and talents are."
N'Dinawemak only has funding to keep the doors open until October 31, said Morgan.
The new motion will come to city council again in July.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.
What a urologist wants you to know about male infertility
When opposite sex couples are trying and failing to get pregnant, the attention often focuses on the woman. That’s not always the case.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Made-in-Newfoundland vodka claims top prize at worldwide competition
A Newfoundland-made vodka has been named one of the world’s best by judges at this year’s World Vodka Awards.