Winnipeg to delegate some responsibility to ensure checks on homeless encampments continue

The City of Winnipeg plans to delegate some of the responsibility for checking on homeless encampments, after the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service raised concerns about safety and also ended the secondment of an official assigned to the task.

In a letter to city council on Thursday morning, Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Chief Christian Schmidt said the service is rolling out new practices "in response to an escalating concern around safety in encampments."

At the same time, Steve Antle, the fire-paramedic official responsible for checking on encampments over the past 18 months, will be going back to working in fire prevention, Schmidt said.

The fire-paramedic chief initially warned council these two developments would force the city to conduct fewer of its own safety checks, and would mean it would take a full week to respond to calls about encampments.

"We will be setting up a priority system to organize encampment visits with sites under bridges or having recent fires requiring department attendance as the highest priority," Schmidt wrote.

But after several councillors objected to the idea of reducing encampment visits, Schmidt told Coun. Evan Duncan that several other fire-paramedic service officials, as well as community organizations, will pick up the slack as Antle's secondment ends.

"There's going to be a delegation of different duties now and some of that will rely on third-party groups," said Duncan, city council's community services chair.

Duncan said a report about Winnipeg's efforts to reduce the number of unsheltered people living on the streets will recommend a full-time city position devoted to working with community groups.

North Kildonan Coun. Jeff Browaty praised Antle's work in the role, stating he had a good track record.