Councillor says affordable housing an ‘all hands on deck’ situation ahead of Manitoba election

A bus stop in St. Boniface has been removed after it was damaged by fire. It is one of 20 awaiting replacement in the City of Winnipeg and some who have called the shelter home, say they’ll be put at risk if the structure does not return soon.

Samantha Thomas has lived in the area for two years. With the shelter gone, she’s set up a make-shift camp until it can be replaced.

Even without the physical shelter, the site is familiar and a regular stop for many. “Everyday, everybody goes by at a certain time,” explained Thomas.

Samantha Thomas has called a bus shelter in St. Boniface home for two days and she hopes it’s replaced soon, before the snow arrives. (Photo Credit: Morgan Modjeski, CityNews)

Now, she worries what will happen if it’s not replaced before the snow flies.

“If I have to move, then if I go somewhere, they’ll take more advantage of me. It does keep people together, instead of living in back lanes or somewhere scarier. It does protect us a little bit,” said Thomas.

With the Oct. 3rd election looming, the issue of homelessness, alongside hunger and poverty, will be debated Tuesday evening at an event hosted by Make Poverty History Manitoba, allowing parties to detail their strategies to end poverty.

St. Boniface Councillor, Matt Allard, says he hears from constituents that homelessness and addictions is a main issue. He is looking forward to seeing what other levels of government plan on bringing to the table.

Matthew Allard, St. Boniface city councillor, says he’s eager to hear from the new government on their plan to address homelessness saying it’s an ‘all hands on deck’ scenario. (Photo Credit: Morgan Modjeski, CityNews)

“Whether its through regulation, whether its through subsidies, whether it’s through promises to work on as a priority issue, and I would like to see that from the provincial and federal parties and I expect that I will see that,” explained Allard.

Dougald Lamont, St. Boniface candidate and leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party, said if elected, the MLP would work to implement a “same-day” program getting people into housing quickly.

Dougald Lamont, Leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party, says his party would introduce a same day housing strategy. (Photo Credit: Morgan Modjeski, CityNews)

“We want to say: ‘If you are homeless, that same day, we’re going to find you housing and we’re going to try to find you support.’ Because at the end of the day, it’s much much cheaper to have a plain roof and support over someone’s head, than it is to somebody in jail cell or an ER or a hospital, which is where they end up,” said Lamont.

The Manitoba NDP’s Nahanni Fontaine, running to maintain her seat in St. Johns, says chronic homelessness in Winnipeg is the result of the PCs cuts to social housing, mental health supports and a failure to fund grassroots groups supporting the unsheltered.

Nahanni Fontaine, NDP candidate for St. Johns says chronic homelessness in Winnipeg is the result of the PCs cuts to social housing and programming. (Photo Credit: Morgan Modjeski, CityNews)

She says the NDP are ready to step up if elected.

“All of our team, in one way or another, has been looking to uplift and bring more attention to the issue of homelessness. The reality is is that this is a crisis and you can’t just turn a blind eye to a crisis, you have to have a team that is willing to do the work, that is committed to doing the work, that understands the works and works in partnership with community – and all levels of government to deal and tackle this issue head one.”

CityNews also reached out to the PC party for a comment, and have not heard back at this time.