Housing NWT will not provide encampments with fire extinguishers

The head of the NWT’s housing agency says it will not provide fire extinguishers to encampment residents but is working to make shelters more accessible.

Peter Adourian, a lawyer who has been representing some Yellowknife encampment residents in discussions with the city and NWT governments, had asked officials in September to provide his clients access to potable water, fire extinguishers, and fire-retardant tarps and tents.

Adourian repeated that request late last month following a fire caused by heating equipment that destroyed a tent at an encampment near the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre. He argued the fire could have been prevented had the GNWT provided the support he requested.

“My clients remain committed to keeping this issue alive until the government sees the wisdom of our request: support encampments temporarily now until all the wonderful things you have promised for the homeless come to fruition in the future. Basic community safety standards demand nothing less,” he wrote in an October 23 letter.

“I am urging you: do not leave it up to luck. We narrowly avoided a serious disaster. Not because of sound policy or diligent risk management – by pure luck.”

Asked if the GNWT would reconsider Adourian’s request, Erin Kelly, president and chief executive officer of Housing NWT, told Cabin Radio in a statement that “it is the personal responsibility” of anyone using the land in the NWT to take necessary steps to prevent fires.

“Housing NWT’s priority remains connecting individuals to programs and supports and breaking barriers to already funded available shelter spaces while ensuring compliance with safety regulations,” she wrote.

According to Kelly, Yellowknife currently has 103 overnight emergency shelter beds. She said in recent weeks, the average occupancy rate of shelters in the city has been 83 percent, meaning there have been an average of 17 unused beds a night. In October 2024, she said the average occupancy rate had been 87 percent.

A shift in approach

Last summer, the GNWT had provided portable toilets and a garbage bin for residents staying at an encampment on property owned by the territory on 51 Street.

Yellowknife councillors, in June 2025, passed a resolution committing that the city would provide waste and sewage collection at an encampment, if requested and paid for by the GNWT. The resolution further called on the territorial government to provide oversight of encampments, including ensuring occupant safety and access to basic needs such as waste removal, portable toilets and other necessities.

Kelly said that in 2024, “unique circumstances required immediate intervention.” She said the GNWT provided temporary services to de-escalate tensions between a private property manager and non-governmental organization that had relocated encampment residents to that property, while working toward a resolution.

Kelly said the GNWT has shifted its approach in 2025 to “better support individuals experiencing homelessness in ways that prioritize safety, dignity and choice.” She said that includes promoting dispersed camping as a safer alternative to concentrated encampments, and balancing immediate needs with safety and long-term solutions.

“We do not sanction encampments and our experience is that larger encampments lead to increased illegal activity and heightened vulnerability for those living in them,” she wrote.

Housing NWT working to address shelter barriers

Kelly acknowledged there can be barriers that make it difficult for some people to access shelters, such as not being able to store belongings, being separated from a partner, bans, and rules around drug and alcohol use.

“These are real challenges and Housing NWT is committed to working with partners to address them,” she said, adding the agency’s goal is to make shelters more accessible and inclusive.

“Change takes planning and resources and, right now, resources are limited. Even so, we are putting interim solutions in place.”

Kelly said, for example, that the sobering centre is an all-gender facility and the GNWT is exploring options for secure storage for people to keep their belongings.

Kelly said the GNWT also continues to work on transitional housing options.

The NWT’s housing minister recently said a transitional housing facility that can accommodate 25 people near Yellownife’s airport, and was originally expected to open by the fall, may now open in December.

The GNWT has said the project is its response to “a significant increase in unsheltered homelessness” in the NWT over the past four years. In particular, the territory described “a notable increase” in people living in camps and informal encampments in Yellowknife in 2024, with 30 to 60 more people experiencing homelessness than there were shelter beds in the city last year.

The territory attributed that increase to the Covid-19 pandemic, wildfire evacuations, substance use and enforcement activities that have resulted in evictions and reduced access to informal housing arrangements, such as staying with friends.

A collaborative encampment policy

Kelly said while dispersed camping has long existed in Yellowknife, organized encampments are relatively new.

“We continue to learn from our responses,” she said.

Housing NWT is currently working on an encampment policy, which the minister has pledged to deliver by spring 2026.

Yellowknife Centre MLA Robert Hawkins, who has strongly opposed encampments, has called for the policy to be expedited.

Kelly said “the challenge with rushing development of a standard operating procedure” is that Housing NWT needs to work with other GNWT departments, the City of Yellowknife, RCMP and non-governmental organizations.

“Collaboration is key,” she wrote.

“This collaboration will ensure that the actions found within any set of procedures or guidelines are agreed upon by all parties and that all parties are aware and support their commitment to the issue.”

Asked whether Housing NWT would engage encampment residents while developing the policy, Kelly said staff would “continue to provide outreach” and seek input through an integrated service delivery team, which “provides direct on-the-ground support to people living in encampments.”