Thunder Bay City Council approves Kam River Heritage Park as shelter village site
Decision still needs to be ratified
After more than four hours of debate on Monday, Thunder Bay City Council approved Kam River Heritage Park on the city's south side as the location for a new temporary shelter village.
At a previous meeting, councillors directed administration to re-consider the Kam River park site, as well as a lot along Fort William Road that's owned by the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority, as sites for the proposed village, which will eventually include up to 80 mini cabins for use by the city's unhoused population.
Administration came back with a recommendation for Kam River park on Monday, citing a number of advantages to putting the village there, said Rilee Willianen, the city's encampment response lead.
"The property [is] municipally-owned, which expedites timelines and there's no need to seek any sort of external agreements," Willianen said. "The timeline ... is really important because the access to $2.8 million in funding is contingent on meeting certain timelines, and those timelines are pretty tight now."
To receive the funding, Willianen said the city must start construction by July, and complete the village by December; the city has budgeted $5.5 million to build the village, and $1.5 million a year for operations.
"The site is also in much-closer proximity to supportive services that people who are experiencing homelessness are likely to access," she said. Having the city hall bus terminal nearby, with access to nine bus routes, was also a positive factor for the location.
"The site is and has been an encampment over the past couple of years, so that helps with the familiarity of folks and indicates that there's a pretty strong likelihood that if somebody was offered a space in the village that they would be likely to accept it," Willianen said.
In addition, the city believes a village at the site — which is located along the Kaministiquia River — won't have a negative economic impact on the surrounding area.
Willianen said if council ratifies the decision on Monday, requests for proposals would be issued for the construction of the village, and its operation.
"I think there's a fear that it will be just a whole bunch of tents, which is certainly not the point of the village," she said. "So to help folks to better understand what it is that we're doing, there will be some public engagement opportunities offered, infographics, other sorts of communication tools to really help people understand that this is a supported, managed environment that has rules and supports and services on site, so that folks are able to stabilize."
The village, she said, would have 24/7 security and other supports, and a fence would be built to prevent access to the river.
In a media release, the city said the village will include up to 80 private, powered and heated mini-cabins, with shared washrooms, showers and laundry. Renderings of the village were posted on the city's Facebook page on Wednesday.
"The occupancy could take a bit of a phased approach," Willianen said. "There could be some folks that are taking up residence in the village in October and doing a bit of a soft launch to help people get familiar with the village, help the staff to familiarize themselves with how things are going to work around there, before scaling up to the full capacity in the future."
Council voted 8-5 in favour of the site on Monday.
"What we've seen year over year are pretty drastic increases in the number of people living in encampments in our community," Willianen said. "Folks don't have anywhere to go, so there needs to be places for them to go, which is why it's so important for the city to do something because a lot of encampments end up on public lands."
"As a municipality, we have a a legislated responsibility to care for community safety and well-being under the Police Services Act," she said. "And we know that public health and public safety risks are heightened by encampments, and so we also have a duty to manage those as well."
Westfort Councilor Kristen Oliver said the supports at the village will likely include mental health and addiction counselling and job training.
"I am in support of this decision," Oliver said. "I recognize that the temporary village, to be successful, needs ... the wrap-around services, and largely those are delivered in the south core.
"It's the walkability piece where people can come and go and get their healthcare services that they require."
And while the village is contentious, Oliver said, "I think it's just the fear of the unknown."
"We recognize first and foremost that these are human beings," she said. "We're looking at this with a human rights lens. How do we support people so that they have the best outcomes possible?"
"This will hopefully set the path forward for many people."
Oliver also noted that the village — which the city intends to operate for five years — will also see further development take place at Kam River park, including bringing sewer, water, and power to the area.
That, she said, will allow for further opportunities to develop the park after the village is removed.
On Wednesday, the Province of Ontario announced $75.5 million for homelessness prevention and to provide people living in encampments with access to alternative accommodations.
The funding breaks down as follows:
- $50 million to help create 1,239 additional housing units, including 815 long-term affordable and supportive units, in the province;
- $20 million for 971 additional shelter and temporary accommodation spaces, including modular units, which provide alternative options for people living in encampments, and
- $5.5 million to top up the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit, which will help about 1,000 people living in shelters move into longer-term housing, and thereby free up shelter spaces.
The province also announced Wednesday it was re-introducing legislation that will "provide municipalities and police with the enhanced tools they need to end encampments and clean up our parks and public spaces."
The legislation, known as the Safer Municipalities Act, 2024, includes amendments to the Trespass to Property Act, the Office of the Premier said in a media release.
"These amendments, if passed, will enhance penalties for people who deliberately and continually break the law by adding the new aggravating factors of continuous trespassing and the likelihood to reoffend," the release states. "In cases where these factors are present, these new tools will be applied by the court during sentencing."
Further, the province is also introducing the Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act, 2024, which, if passed, will allow police officers and other provincial offences officers to direct anyone using illegal substances in a public space to leave that public space. If the person doesn't comply, the officer will be able to issue a ticket or make an arrest.