The NWT’s premier, three cabinet ministers and Yellowknife’s mayor have met to discuss how to handle a tent encampment that has moved between various sites in the city’s downtown.
The encampment recently moved from a site near a hotel to a privately owned lot across from a high school, then to a paved lot owned by Housing NWT.
Occupants have said they are searching for a location “where we can be seen and we’re out of the way at the same time.”
Some people in the vicinity of each encampment site to date have complained about some of the consequences of its presence.
For example, Adrian Bell – a realtor who owns the lot opposite Sir John Franklin High School – said nearby residents had reported people at the encampment “harassing passersby, using drugs and defecating near neighbouring properties.”
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A woman identifying herself as a concerned parent, and asking for anonymity to discuss the matter for reasons related to her employment, told Cabin Radio she worries the latest site is “too close for comfort” to a Montessori school and playground.
Pointing to cases in which some encampment occupants named in recent media coverage have been charged with or convicted of crimes, she said her children are “pretty-much living in fear at our house.”
Encampment members have said the actions of a minority of people are giving the group a bad reputation.
Santana King, one of the encampment members, previously told Cabin Radio: “We’ve got addictions and we’ve got our problems but we’re not bad people, and we’re not all thieves and we’re not all liars.”
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Advocates for people without homes in the city, meanwhile, have pointed to another factor: the onset of winter in the near future.
Encampment member Craig Strachan told Cabin Radio last week the group hopes to stay at its current location “as long as we possibly can … until it gets too cold.”
Speaking at the same time, Yellowknife deputy mayor Garett Cochrane said the city would be “working with the GNWT to come up with some form of solution” before winter.
In a Tuesday news release, City Hall said Mayor Rebecca Alty had met with Premier RJ Simpson, housing minister Lucy Kuptana, health minister Lesa Semmler and communities minister Vince McKay late last week “to discuss the recent tent encampment established in downtown Yellowknife.”
The city said the municipality and GNWT had “affirmed their commitment to ensuring the encampment population, as well as neighbouring residents and businesses, are safe and supported.”
“Both governments recognize the temporary nature of the current encampment site and steps are being taken to find another solution,” the news release stated, without elaborating on what the solution might look like.
The city said officials will meet with the GNWT, RCMP, Salvation Army, Yellowknife Women’s Society and Home Base youth charity to “share information and coordinate efforts with respect to the latest encampment.”
“The city would like to assure residents that it is working within its authorities and resources to keep all residents safe,” the news release concluded.
Caelan Beard contributed reporting.
