September 5, 2020
City of Edmonton Interim City Manager Adam Laughlin made the following statement today about encampments.
“The City is concerned about illegal encampments and wants to be clear about the following:
- Edmonton, like many major cities, is working to address the challenge of homelessness. Approximately 1900 people are homeless and of that number, 500-600 choose not to use shelter facilities and camp outdoors illegally every night.
- The City completely understands the attraction of choosing to camp outdoors, particularly when the weather is reasonable. Outdoor encampments offer autonomy, an ability to set up a sense of community with others and a connection to the land that life in the shelter system does not provide.
- When the City dismantles illegal camps, it does so carefully and compassionately. Working with outreach workers and peace officers, our aim is to be respectful of people and property. We refute the claim that the City slashes tents or destroys property thoughtlessly. We do remove abandoned tents and we do insist that those camping illegally cease to do so. The City’s Encampment Response Team works in partnership with Homeward Trust, Boyle Street Community Services and Bissell Centre. We address encampments on public land by identifying and prioritizing high-risk encampments for closure, working with partners to engage individuals with support and connections to housing, and conducting coordinated closures and clean-ups.
- Neither shelters nor camps are the right long term solution for homelessness. What needs to be in place is permanent housing with supports and treatment available for those who are suffering from addictions, mental health issues and historic trauma. These are some of the problems that impede the ability of those experiencing homelessness to be self-sufficient. The only truly compassionate model, in the City’s opinion, is a Housing First model with appropriate supports. The City’s actions to put bridge housing in place is one interim support among others we have provided and continue to provide.
- Housing solutions are a provincial responsibility, and while the City understands that the Province is experiencing huge fiscal challenges, as are municipalities, it must share in this problem solving with the City.
- Working closely with the Camp Pekiwewin organizers, we must move towards an end date for that encampment. We owe it to the safety and dignity of those who are on the site, to the permanent residents of Rossdale who are eager for a solution and to the wider population of Edmonton who believe that a city such as Edmonton must be able to do better for its vulnerable citizens.
- The six demands of the Camp Pekiwewin organizers are broad. They are about long-term social change, and we are interested in joint problem solving towards many of their aims. But, the City cannot allow illegal camps to drive policymaking. To that end, we will be working towards a peaceful wind-down of the camp and ongoing discussions about social reform.
- The safety of those participating in camps has been, and will continue to be, our number one priority.”
