Winnipeg | Of Interest

[Wpg_Guy]

City staff get jump on spring homeless camp inspections
By: Malak Abas
Tuesday, Apr. 14, 2026



The city has ramped up its enforcement of homeless camps during the first spring since it banned them in many public spaces, including near schools and playgrounds.

“As we move into the springtime, we’re taking an increased approach with this, we’re increasing the number of site visits,” Chris Brens, the city’s manager of community development, told Tuesday’s meeting of the community services committee.

Spring is the time when new encampments begin to pop up.

The committee was told that since the policy was approved by council in mid-November, 199 inspections have taken place, including 91 in March alone.

Three encampments were removed and cleared last month, raising the total to 20 since November.

In each case, the site was flagged as a priority by the city’s encampment co-ordination team, and a number of steps may have been taken, including visits from outreach teams to contact people living on the site, placing signage that warns camping is not allowed, offering housing to people, and cleaning the site after they have been moved to proper housing.

Since November, the city has removed garbage from 58 sites — including those vacated by outreach teams and spots where people had left on their own. Currently, two bylaw officers have been assigned to carry out the ban in Winnipeg.

Committee chairwoman Coun. Vivian Santos said she’s received fewer calls regarding encampments in her Point Douglas ward in recent months, but she and other councillors expect reports to escalate as the weather gets warmer. She said she’s happy the city has beefed up its presence in anticipation of the increase.

“We’ve gone through a winter where (the policy) has been successful,” Santos said. “The real litmus test will be this spring and summertime.”

Encampments cannot be established within 50 metres of a playground, pool, spray pad or outdoor recreational facility for children, families or seniors, a school, daycare or adult care facility, or where they could be a hazard or obstruction to vehicular or pedestrian traffic, which includes a median or traffic island. They are banned from within 30 metres of a transit shelter, bridge, dock or pier and cannot be set up within 50 metres of a rail line or crossing.

The city renewed funding for Main Street Project’s outreach service on the condition it complies with the encampment policy. Brens said the city had met with representatives from the organization since awarding the contract.

“I think we’ll be able to work well moving into the spring to ensure that we’re both supporting folks in communities, but then also doing our best to return public spaces as best we can,” Brens said.

The contract is worth $387,000. Main Street Project provides supports to people in camps on both sides of the Red River by conducting well-being checks, taking people to housing and emergency shelters and handing out clothing, blankets and water.

The community services committee receives monthly verbal updates on the encampment policy. A written report with more details on the encampment policy will be released May 4.

Data published by End Homelessness Winnipeg Monday found the number of people without stable housing in the city hit 8,248 in March, up 104 people from February. Out of that number, 4,463 had been homeless for at least six months in the past year or had been repeatedly homeless over several years.

Santos said she is surprised by the number.

“To see those numbers skyrocket does put some serious concerns on how we, as a whole as a city and a province, are going to assure that these people find (housing) units,” she said.

Winnipeg Free Press

Encampments cannot be established within 50 metres of a playground, pool, spray pad or outdoor recreational facility for children, families or seniors, a school, daycare or adult care facility, or where they could be a hazard or obstruction to vehicular or pedestrian traffic, which includes a median or traffic island. They are banned from within 30 metres of a transit shelter, bridge, dock or pier and cannot be set up within 50 metres of a rail line or crossing.

Why not just ban them outright, like really come on.

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by drew

This is a point that I have made in the past. Maybe a census of the homeless population here could lead to a direct path for Federal $$. The City should be looking at all potential funding paths.

I was in contact with someone from End Homelessness Winnipeg about the question of the origins of Winnipeg's homeless. According to them, the "vast majority of the people who are unsheltered in Winnipeg have called Winnipeg home for many years."

[pspeid]

An interesting perspective on homelessness (from the U.S.):

https://truthonthestreets.substack.com/p...iGL8d_TtGjQNA_aem_H3J60w05DCNp6VlNsZsXLw

[1ajs]

they need to clean the ones up at the end of gomez friggin blocking the bike trails watched a cyclist this even have to to come to a stop get screamed at that he cant use this trail anymore or els type screaming at him

[wags_in_the_peg]

Originally Posted by 1ajs

they need to clean the ones up at the end of gomez friggin blocking the bike trails watched a cyclist this even have to to come to a stop get screamed at that he cant use this trail anymore or els type screaming at him

from my ivory tower i can see riverbank from Gomez all way to rail bridge and there's dozens and dozens of orange and blue tarps. sad situation. i've spoken to group that aids in finding living accomodations, short term and long term. many are not interested in it, some are and suceed and not returning but some want this life

[Biff]

Originally Posted by wags_in_the_peg

i've spoken to group that aids in finding living accomodations, short term and long term. many are not interested in it, some are and suceed and not returning but some want this life

These are the people that we need to move on. If they don't want help to be reintegrated into society then they need to go somewhere else.

If people are open to help, then they should be given it. This is the area where our resources should be concentrated on.

I thought that article a few posts back was excellent. The people that do not want to advance in their attempt to contribute to society should be not provided the tools to permanently live on the streets. All of that energy should be targeted towards people striving to get off the streets.

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by Biff

These are the people that we need to move on. If they don't want help to be reintegrated into society then they need to go somewhere else.

If people are open to help, then they should be given it. This is the area where our resources should be concentrated on.

I thought that article a few posts back was excellent. The people that do not want to advance in their attempt to contribute to society should be not provided the tools to permanently live on the streets. All of that energy should be targeted towards people striving to get off the streets.

I would question where "somewhere else" would be, but I don't think combining compassion with expectation is a contradiction. As the article stated, some people dealing with homelessness benefit from having expectations presented to them, and are able to see themselves being able to live up to them.

Just from what I've read, the 'Your Way Home" strategy DOES have some expectations for it's recipients, though I'm not sure how rigorously they are enforced.

The role of "enablers" is a difficult one, as their usefulness or harmfulness tends to depend on the individual. Some folks require a gentler hand, others benefit from having more rigorous discipline. Which maxim is correct; "intense pressure produce diamonds" or "gentle heat allows the bread to rise"? Of course, both are true at different times, for different people.

I think there is a problem with some assistance organizations who have been known to tell homeless people "you have the right to be here" (on a river bank, in a bus shelter, etc.) because we can't provide anyplace else to go. It's not without some legal foundation, but it's not really codified as law. That's why cities like Winnipeg and others have needed to resort to bylaws restricting where encampments may or may not go.

Ultimately I think it comes down to "what do we do with the intransigents who simply don't want to stop living on riverbanks, panhandling for change and littering their surroundings"? The status quo isn't helping them or the community. So we have to answer the question...where would "somewhere else" be?

[drew]

Originally Posted by pspeid

I was in contact with someone from End Homelessness Winnipeg about the question of the origins of Winnipeg's homeless. According to them, the "vast majority of the people who are unsheltered in Winnipeg have called Winnipeg home for many years."

"called Winnipeg home" is a telling statement.

More effective information would be where individuals are born and the circumstances that brought them from their home to the streets of Winnipeg.

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by drew

"called Winnipeg home" is a telling statement.

More effective information would be where individuals are born and the circumstances that brought them from their home to the streets of Winnipeg.

That's true. I'm not sure if that information was asked for, though "called Winnipeg home for many years" (my italics) is a bit more telling.

[bon_vivant]

Originally Posted by Biff

The people that do not want to advance in their attempt to contribute to society should be not provided the tools to permanently live on the streets. All of that energy should be targeted towards people striving to get off the streets.

Exactly. Help the people who want help, including the mentally ill who don't think they need help. The rest will have to be content with living a nomadic life, constantly being uprooted and told to move along. They have no right to claim public spaces as their own.

[optimusREIM]

Originally Posted by bon_vivant

Exactly. Help the people who want help, including the mentally ill who don't think they need help. The rest will have to be content with living a nomadic life, constantly being uprooted and told to move along. They have no right to claim public spaces as their own.

It isn't compassionate to allow people to degrade themselves, nor is it compassionate to let the mentally ill rot on the streets.

I would agree that we need to help all the people who want to be helped, who genuinely have come on hard times and have the ability to bounce back given the right supports. Of course, the goal should always be to graduate them out of the support programs.

The "problem" will never be solved, but perhaps things can be improved.

[Wpg_Guy]

Winnipeg on track to reject managed encampment pilot
Front-line agencies disappointed; report estimates program would cost up to $1.39 million
Wednesday, Apr. 15, 2026


MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
The burned out remains of an encampment at the Joseph Royal Park off of Tache Avenue next to the Provencher Bridge.

In a small park nestled against the Provencher Bridge, the burned-out remnants of a new encampment are blocked off by caution tape.

The Joseph Royal Park camp has been deserted — or taken down by city bylaw officers — but on Wednesday, the acrid smell of smoke hung in the air. Charred items are scattered on the ground, proof that people once called the St. Boniface park home: food and drink containers, clothing, bicycle parts, naloxone kits, a mattress.

A sign that warns loitering isn’t allowed remained upright — one of the steps in the city’s encampment response protocol — and a laminated note attached to the caution tape says the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service has deemed the site vacant and officers would make arrangements to clean the space if no one returned.

As the weather warms up and more people pitch tents and hang tarps in public areas, city council has been advised to abandon the idea of a “managed encampment” pilot project owing to time constraints and high operational costs.

In December, city council requested a report to determine the feasibility of running a temporary managed encampment this spring and summer. It could include portable washrooms, garbage bins and on-site service providers to offer resources to the homeless.

The public service recommends the city drop the idea. Its report is on the agenda at council’s executive policy committee meeting on April 21.

“Given the time constraints to operationalize a managed encampment site before spring, the significant operational costs, the current work of the province, which limits its ability to support this pilot, and the need to engage the community related to site selection, design and operations, the public service is not recommending that the pilot move forward at this time,” the report reads.

“To proceed, further analysis is needed, including community engagement related to site selection, a comprehensive legal review on the project, and a more detailed cost evaluation.”

The report suggests the site, which could host 24 to 60 people, based on size and the number of staff needed, could cost from $707,168 to $1.39 million to operate from April to August. The estimates don’t include security, wrap-around supports or other on-site staff.

Coun. Cindy Gilroy put forward the motion to open up an immediate safe place for people who haven’t yet accepted housing or had gone back to the streets. She called it a “revolving door” situation that has happened to some people in her Daniel McIntyre ward.

“It’s upsetting that we’re not trying to find some kind of solution over the summertime. I’m starting to see people that have been housed that are coming back out,” Gilroy said.

“As the weather warms up, some people are coming back out, and I’m also really starting to understand how difficult it is to house some of the people that are experiencing a lot of trauma, addictions and mental health (issues).”

This is the first spring since the city implemented its encampment policy in November, which bans tents in a number of public spaces and includes steps the city must take to contact people in encampments and offer housing and other supports.

Gilroy said the policy doesn’t affect everyone in need and she expects a “really high volume of homelessness this summer.”

Some Canadian cities have versions of managed camps that offer amenities ranging from basic washroom and water facilities to tiny homes, laundry and internet.

Organizations that help the homeless in Winnipeg have different opinions about the managed encampment model.

Investing in a managed camp often means cutting services in other areas, and works against one of the ways vulnerable people are able to keep themselves safe — being able to pick up and move when a situation becomes dangerous, said Kate Sjoberg, the executive director of Resource Assistance for Youth.

“In this policy environment, people are already pressuring folks who are in places where they’re allowed to be, to move away from those places. So the moment that a managed encampment exists, the very existence of that encampment increases the pressure that campers feel in other areas to get out of the spaces they’re in,” she said.

“In other words, it curtails people’s ability to move to the places where they feel safest.”

East of the Red River, Marion Willis leads St. Boniface Street Links, whose staff have counted 11 new camps in their area since the weather started warming up.

Willis said she supported the managed encampment pilot idea and is frustrated with the city’s handling of the homeless file.

“The managed encampment-to-housing site would have really supported that, that would have been the game changer here in Winnipeg. But the city is not interested, in my view, in doing much of anything,” she said.

“They put it all on the province, and think it’s their responsibility … it’s a very uninformed, unintelligent approach to ending homelessness on this side of the city, quote me on that.”

Street Links currently doesn’t receive funding from the City of Winnipeg, Willis said.

Main Street Project is Winnipeg’s sole provider for 24-7 homeless outreach. Without support, Willis said she expects the summer to be dire in her community.

“Normally it’s not like this, and I’m expecting one of the worst encampment seasons that we’ve ever seen over here.”

Mayor Scott Gillingham said he plans to support the recommendation to axe the managed encampment pilot at the EPC meeting, adding the city would continue to partner with the province on its Your Way Home strategy for people who are chronically homeless.

Council asked city staff to consult with the province about funding options for a managed encampment, but the report said the government responded by saying it wouldn’t boost funding or divert existing services this summer.

The province suggested supporting a pilot project would force it to reduce resources on the Your Way Home strategy and its “navigation centre” on the Disreali Freeway, which it said would offer many of the supports suggested in the managed camp proposal.

Sjoberg said her concerns about managed encampments apply to the navigation centre.

“There’s a lot of wisdom, benefit, and frankly, best practice to ensuring that the services that people who are living unsheltered need are available in a multiplicity of spaces throughout the city,” she said.

The city’s encampment policy co-ordination team is ramping up inspections in line with the warmer weather, and has cleared 20 sites since the policy was approved in November.

— With files from Scott Billeck and Nicole Buffie


MIKE DEAL / FREE PRESS
Trash is all that remains of an encampment on the Red River along Waterfront Drive.

Winnipeg Free Press

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

Winnipeg on track to reject managed encampment pilot
Front-line agencies disappointed; report estimates program would cost up to $1.39 million
Wednesday, Apr. 15, 2026

In a small park nestled against the Provencher Bridge, the burned-out remnants of a new encampment are blocked off by caution tape.

The Joseph Royal Park camp has been deserted — or taken down by city bylaw officers — but on Wednesday, the acrid smell of smoke hung in the air. Charred items are scattered on the ground, proof that people once called the St. Boniface park home: food and drink containers, clothing, bicycle parts, naloxone kits, a mattress.

This is the main issue that gets lost in the 'homeless' narrative, they are drug users. There are enough supports that exist for truly homeless individuals or women/families fleeing domestic violence. Many of the funded programs in the pipeline will continue to help this demographic.

There should be zero tolorence for these drug encampments.

[wags_in_the_peg]

Originally Posted by wpg_guy

there should be zero tolorence for these drug encampments.

^^ 100% ^^

[bon_vivant]

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

There should be zero tolorence for these drug encampments.

Hear! Hear!

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by Wpg_Guy

There should be zero tolorence for these drug encampments.

What does zero tolerance look like? Do the encampments get removed and the addicted people just set up another encampment somewhere else? Do the addicted people get hospitalized or entered into involuntary addictions treatment?

[trueviking]

^ I always wonder, if they have no other option but to live in encampments, where do they live for the seven months that it’s too cold to camp?

It makes me feel like it’s a preference.

[Wpg_Guy]

Originally Posted by pspeid

Do the addicted people get hospitalized or entered into involuntary addictions treatment?

Those with addictions should not be hospitalized, the modern medical system is good at treating acute physical conditions like broken bones, heart attacks, or infections—but it is poorly equipped to handle mental health and substance use disorders.

The city should have zero tolerance for encampments, public land is not to camp, strip stolen bikes and consume drugs, where they go i don't know but it can't be here. The province needs to get tough on drugs and make involuntary addiction treatment mandatory for those who refuse the help or don't leave and individuals like the article below, where drugs have caused irreversible brain damage need to be institutionalized, not left to wonder the streets as a threat to themselves and others.

‘He hears voices’: man who shattered bus windows with head gets 60 days
Dean Pritchard
Wednesday, Apr. 15, 2026

A mentally ill Winnipeg man has been sentenced to 60 days jail after admitting to smashing the windows of four city transit buses over the course of a single day.

The 30-year-old man was released from jail Friday having already served the equivalent of 135 days in custody. He pleaded guilty to one count of mischief and an unrelated charge of uttering threats to a hospital security guard.

Court heard the man has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, struggles with an addiction to methamphetamine, has an IQ of approximately 70 and is a ward of the Public Trustee.

“Until he gets that substance abuse in check, he does present a risk to the public,” Crown attorney Courtney St. Croix told provincial court Judge Robert Heinrichs.

Police arrested the man Jan. 11 after security video captured him smashing the windows on four different buses with his head between 1:36 p.m. and 8:15 p.m., causing an estimated $3,000 in damage.

“He hears voices, it’s distressing to him and he wants them to stop,” said defence lawyer Jesse Blackman. “Unfortunately, it’s the windows on Winnipeg Transit that suffer the violence. Also, his head.”

The man applied to have his case dealt with in mental health court, but he was denied admission due to his history of substance abuse, court was told.

“This is ultimately someone with mental health issues who, in part because of a lack of support in the community, ends up in a cycle of addiction and that directly contributes to the offences before the court,” Blackman said.

The man has a prior history of identical offences and at the time of his arrest was still bound by an order banning him from Winnipeg Transit until August 2027.

“You need to understand that if you are back on a bus when you are not supposed to, even if you are not hearing voices and smashing windows… you could be back in custody,” Heinrichs told the man. “I’m hoping you will figure that out and not get on a bus.”

In August, the man pleaded guilty to four counts of mischief to property and related offences and was sentenced to 105 days served and two years probation, during which time he was banned from riding on Winnipeg Transit.

On six days between October 2024 and March 2025, the man was sitting in a city bus when he forcefully and repeatedly banged his head or hands against a window, breaking or shattering them.

At the time, Winnipeg Transit had banned the man from riding on city buses after he pleaded guilty to three identical mischief charges in 2023, but he was not bound by any court prohibition.

The man “is well known to Winnipeg Transit officials,” a transit manager said in a victim impact statement provided to court in August. “When he rides the bus, he will use his head to break bus windows… This is emotionally disturbing to see for other bus riders, bus operators and transit inspectors who deal with him.”

The man was arrested and released three times, only to reoffend again and again.

City of Winnipeg spokesperson Pam McKenzie said there were 219 bus windows broken by vandalism last year at a cost of $35,239.58, or about $161 per window.

“Generally speaking, buses are out of service for 24 to 48 hours while we complete window repairs,” McKenzie said, noting spare buses are used so there is no impact to service.

James Van Gerwen, president of the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505, said incidents like smashed windows take a toll on bus drivers and are scary for passengers.

“They do affect our members mentally,” he said. “It is tough to continue on after that. But we see incidents more often than you think on buses. People bring some type of psychological problems and drivers see it on the buses.”

Winnipeg Free Press

[bon_vivant]

^ This is so sad. Society has failed him. He needs medication and care. Not to be continually re-released into a world that has no idea what to do with him.

[ColdRain&Snow]

^Good on the Free Press for actually reporting on these kinds of cases. You don't see stories like this in other news outlets. Clearly, some people are not capable of caring for themselves or working a full-time job. Certain people, such as the person described in the article above, cause harm to both themselves and the general public. These people should be placed in institutional care. There can be checks and balances, such as interviewing family members and friends, to make sure that institutional care is the right choice. As others have mentioned on this forum, letting mentally ill individuals harm themselves is not compassionate.