Hay River library removes seating over loitering concerns

Staff at Hay River’s Centennial Library say removing all public seating has made the facility a safer place that residents are more likely to visit.

In a Facebook post last week, staff said they removed the seats to discourage loitering and ensure people could access library materials and programs “in a safe and pleasant environment.”

Anyone who wants a seat can ask for one, staff wrote.

“We would like your library experience to be as positive as possible,” the post stated.

Head librarian Christine Gyapay told Cabin Radio the library had increasingly become more of a day shelter. Gyapay said that made it difficult for some people to comfortably access library materials, space and programs.

“There was a lot of traffic in and out and people hanging out in the library, and then everything that’s associated with that. There could be arguments, there could be disturbances,” she said.

“It was getting past the point where the library was able to cope with it.”

Gyapay said the library considered hiring security but questioned the logistics. She said staff ultimately decided that removing seating would prevent anyone not using the library’s services as intended from hanging out.

“That has significantly improved the situation,” she said.

“Now we have parents and grandparents saying, ‘I’m going to come back to the library. I’m going to bring my children,’ because they feel comfortable being in that space once again.”

Gyapay said a longer-term solution is required. A library committee has written to local MLAs, the town council and the Kátł’odeeche First Nation with its concerns, she said.

Yellowknife’s public library previously hired full-time security in 2019 following concerns about safety related to issues such as fighting and public intoxication.

The Town of Hay River, police, the Hay River Health and Social Services Authority and other groups in the town are currently working to address a range of social issues.

Cpl Matt Halstead, a spokesperson for NWT RCMP, said in a statement that police in Hay River have received an increase in calls for service related to intoxicated people loitering around businesses. He said RCMP have been working with the town to respond to those complaints.

A November report by Hay River Protective Services indicates municipal enforcement received seven complaints of loitering and 12 complaints of public disturbance last month, five of which led to fines or enforcement and seven of which ended in “other actions.”

The report said the town was working with RCMP on a joint strategy “in an effort to reduce unwanted behaviour in business entrances and public areas that offer programming for young children and other adults.”

Halstead said police are conducting daily patrols of affected areas and encouraging people who are intoxicated to move to different locations when complaints are made. He said the town is also working on a number of long-term solutions, including seeking funding for a wet shelter.

“The RCMP recognizes that this is a complex issue that will take agencies working in partnership to resolve,” he stated.

Authorities search for options

In October, Hay River’s town council passed a public behaviour bylaw making it an offence to fight, urinate, defecate, spit, loiter or litter in public spaces and prohibiting public intoxication. If convicted, people can face fines of up to $2,000 or up to six months in jail.

Some residents expressed concern the bylaw would further marginalize people affected by intergenerational trauma from colonization and residential schools, or criminalize homelessness and addictions. Others supported the legislation as they felt it would increase safety, particularly in the downtown.

Town councillors said they wanted a “soft-hands approach” to implementing the bylaw, adding it is one of several tools to address social issues.

A day shelter opened at the Soaring Eagle Friendship Centre in Hay River in late 2020.

The Hay River Committee for Persons with Disabilities, which runs an overnight shelter, has since taken over operation of the warming centre, which is now located on Industrial Drive. The Hay River Health and Social Services Authority provides funding for the service.

Pravina Bartlett, executive director of the council, said the centre is “well used.”

The previous warming shelter did not permit people who were intoxicated. Bartlett said people who are under the influence of drugs or slightly intoxicated are allowed to use the Industrial Drive centre, which has safety guidelines.

“We allow that to help them sober up and be able to provide other support services for them when they’re feeling better,” she said.

The centre offers food and services like help filling out applications for income support, employment literacy and life skills.

“Whatever they state that they need support with, we try to work on it,” Bartlett said.

Hay River and the nearby Kátł’odeeche First Nation face a housing shortage. In the past two years, many homes and businesses were damaged by flooding or fires. The town and First Nation were evacuated three times.

Even before that, dozens of residents had been displaced in March 2019 after a fire broke out on the 11th floor of the Mackenzie Place apartment building, more commonly known as the Hay River highrise. While new owners took over the building last year, it has not yet reopened.

Meanwhile, the town has seen an increase in issues related to illicit drugs.

In January, the territory’s chief coroner and chief public health officer held a press conference to warn residents after Hay River recorded six drug poisoning deaths in a year.