Months into the city’s ban on encampments in many public spaces, such as schools and playgrounds, a city councillor fears a persistent one still poses a danger to its residents and neighbours.
Coun. Cindy Gilroy said she’s disappointed people are still camping at a community garden at 609 Langside St.
“It’s a place where we (have previously had) multiple open fires… and drug (use). It’s concerning to me that we have this (policy) now and we’re not enforcing it,” said Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre), during a community services committee meeting Tuesday.
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Coun. Cindy Gilroy said she’s disappointed people are still camping at a community garden at 609 Langside St.
In an interview, Gilroy said she is concerned winter conditions further raise the risk of injuries, due to some bitterly cold temperatures and fires set by people trying to keep warm in tents.
“The community is very concerned. And when there is a fire, it’s not only the neighbouring properties, but the people that are inside the tents (at risk)…. It could be very, very dangerous for them. (And) living out in this extreme cold is (also) very dangerous for people, so trying to bring them indoors is really critical,” she said.
During the meeting, staff working to enforce the encampment ban said bylaw officers and homeless outreach providers have visited the site on a near-daily basis and helped many occupants find alternative shelter.
About a dozen people who had been living at the encampment have now moved out, and efforts are underway to help the lone occupant at the site, said Greg MacPherson, the city’s senior co-ordinator for community development.
While encampments are clearly banned at “outdoor recreational facilities,” MacPherson said this specific site is zoned residential, making it more challenging to address.
“We have been working very hard on that specific site…. We are very close to having that site remediated. It’s a bit more complicated… than other sites that are designated as parks,” he told the committee.
Fire destroyed a previous encampment at the same location in 2022.
As colder winter weather set in over the past couple months, the volume of calls reporting encampments dropped, said MacPherson.
Since the ban on encampments in many public spaces took effect Nov. 17, the city has cleared 17 encampments, moving people to housing or shelter spaces, he said.
Overall, the city has removed garbage from 51 former encampment sites, though many became vacant without enforcement of the city ban.
The city’s rules prohibit encampments from being set up at transit shelters, playgrounds, pools, outdoor recreational facilities, spray pads, recreation facilities, schools, daycares, adult care facilities, medians, traffic islands, bridges, docks, piers, rail lines and rail crossings, as well as wherever the camps obstruct traffic or pose a “life safety issue.”
Coun. Vivian Santos, chairwoman of the community services committee, said cleared sites have generally remained encampment-free so far.
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Santos (Point Douglas) said the city must avoid simply displacing people, so working with outreach agencies to ensure shelter or housing spaces are available is key to enforcing the ban.
The city does not provide data on the number of people moved out of encampments. MacPherson said those numbers are included as part of the results released for the provincial Your Way Home Strategy.
Since January 2025, the province credits that strategy with moving 186 people out of encampments and into housing.
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Joyanne Pursaga
Reporter
Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.
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