Main Street Project does not support this motion and refers Coun. Nason and all City Councillors to the Kíkinanaw Óma Strategy which the City of Winnipeg was a partner in creating, along with a several others including End Homelessness Winnipeg and Main Street Project. There are many solutions-oriented recommendations in this strategy, including a guide for the public with advice on what to do if they encounter folks living unsheltered. Any formal actions that impact people living unsheltered should be taken with a human rights based approach.
Additionally, with the absence of any safe consumption sites in Winnipeg, people using substances will inevitably use in public sheltered spaces. Eliminating one or two bus shelters will not address this issue. The solution to homelessness is housing. The City can couple investments in community outreach with investments into housing to ensure there is safe, supportive housing so that our unsheltered citizens have somewhere to transition to.
