Clash in Edmonton’s homeless, transit security goals come to a head

tomtidgewellNovember 25, 2022

The Central LRT station in Edmonton on Feb. 6, 2019. Photo by Ed Kaiser /Postmedia

Clashes between some of Edmonton’s top priorities on tackling social disorder and safety, and homelessness, are coming to a head as winter approaches with potentially fatal consequences.

Boosting ridership and addressing real and perceived safety issues on public transit, and shrinking the impact of social disorder and encampments on the wider public, have been some of city council’s biggest priorities this year. Improving the lives of vulnerable, houseless Edmontonians has also been a stated priority of the mayor and some councillors since before they were elected in 2021.

How the city responds to Edmontonians sheltering in LRT stations heading into winter is a clear example of this tension.

No sheltering in LRT, camp tear-downs resume

Two warming buses, funded by the city, will be dispatched to transit hubs when temperatures drop to -10 C — up from -20 C last year, city manager Andre Corbould announced Wednesday.

Loitering in transit hubs, and not paying, isn’t allowed. People can be removed and ticketed after city council reinstated a bylaw this summer that also specifically disallows drug use.

That decision was contentious, particularly for advocates who accurately pointed out that racialized and homeless Edmontonians were disproportionately fined in the last iteration of the bylaw, according to Postmedia’s prior reporting and city data.

When a cold weather emergency is declared, however, the city offers shuttles to shelters.

But there will be at least 200 beds fewer than people who will need them until new 209-bed, city-funded shelter spaces — approved in principle on Wednesday — open in about one month’s time. Another 100 of the 450 new temporary spaces funded by the Alberta government have yet to open.

Advocates like outreach worker Judith Gale of the local Bear Clan Patrol said that the city should not evict people from LRT stations if there is nowhere for them to go.

She’s seen this happen before. In Feb. 2021, police officers evicted houseless Edmontonians from LRT stations during a -33 C cold snap and two police officers faced a disciplinary complaint as a result.

While it isn’t an optimal space, she thinks it’s better than the alternative and suggests mutual aid workers could help watch over people in shifts.

“The LRT system is a public thoroughfare for everyone — period,” she said Thursday. “I believe as a caring, loving society we have to be able to open our hearts, and when it’s extreme weather we have to open our doors to the LRT.”

Data presented to city councillors on Wednesday shows shelters reached 98 per cent capacity on Nov. 9 when temperatures dropped to -26 C overnight. On Nov. 12, they hit 96 per cent at a low of -10 C, and 87 per cent Nov. 20 when it was slightly warmer at -5 C.

Asked why people are being pushed out from transit stations into the cold without adequate shelter spaces available, the city manager said LRT stations aren’t an appropriate and safe place for a shelter, although peace officers move people along in a compassionate way and let them know where to find help.

“It is really important for people to understand that those transit stations are not a safe place for people to be all night. There are not enough bathrooms, they’re often dark and they’re often cold, and there are things going on with trains and buses,” Corbould told reporters on Wednesday.

The city’s approach to dealing with encampments has also been contentious.

At one point city council considered allowing campers to stay in a particular area, but that was not recommended by staff. Council has also faced mounting pressure from the public and some businesses to remove them.

During extreme cold snaps, however, the city doesn’t move people according to Corbould.

But tear-downs resumed Wednesday after a brief pause Nov. 9 because of shigella outbreaks. This infection has disproportionately impacted “inner-city” residents, many of whom end up in hospital.

In response, the city teamed up with Radius Community Health and Healing, formerly Boyle McCauley Health Centre, who will offer people treatment and testing for shigella. The multi-agency approach, which includes the Edmonton Police Service (EPS), will make the process smooth and as dignified as possible, acting Chief Devin Laforce said in a news release. “Our role is to keep everyone safe during encampment closures.”

‘Significant tension’: Stevenson

Coun. Anne Stevenson said she feels a “significant tension” in how council balance these competing goals. Dealing with the root causes of mental health, addictions and the housing crisis is the priority, she said.

But Stevenson said she was surprised when the city stopped allowing people to stay in LRTs during cold snaps — before she was elected. That being said, she accepts the reasoning because it those spaces became “unsafe” and lacked hygiene facilities, she said.

“I personally feel a lot of that tension when it comes down to balancing the safety and accessibility of transit for all users, and the needs and lack of options for those experiencing homelessness,” she said.

Other areas that desire for balance is expressed is through the community outreach transit teams, city funding to expand the day-use space at the Bissel Centre, and making warming buses now available at -10 C, she said.

But if the shelters are full, is it fair to kick people out of spaces when they have nowhere to go?

“That for me goes back to that conversation about how we shouldn’t be displacing people (from encampments) if they don’t have a viable alternative,” Stevenson said. “Depending on how the situation evolves, preserving life is the No. 1 top priority. It’s terrible to have to state that, but I think that comes before anything else.”

Stevenson’s understanding is that people aren’t removed from warming buses if shelters are full, nor from public transit during cold snaps.

Mayor Amarjeet Sohi didn’t directly answer the same question. But in an email, he said he’s been working hard to ensure every Edmontonian has adequate housing.

“For far too long we have left people behind and I am working hard to ensure we properly fund permanent supportive housing, affordable housing and all other forms of housing across the housing spectrum that allow our unhoused population to access a space that keeps them safe and affords them dignity. They deserve no less,” the statement reads.

“I’m working tirelessly to ensure that we have real long-term solutions in place as soon as possible. I don’t want to have to discuss shelter spaces when the weather turns every single year because I want our city to have sufficient housing and supports for our unhoused Edmontonians.”

The mayor added that funding the additional 200 emergency shelter spaces is the right thing to do.

Loitering bylaw problematic: advocate

Chris Wiebe, a member of the Criminal Trial Lawyers Association policing committee, said city council is in a tough place between making the unpopular decision of allowing people to shelter in transit spaces given the “public fear campaign” about Downtown and transit safety, but it may save lives.

“There’s this urgent need to keep people from dying from exposure outside. City administration and city council both seem pretty convinced that LRT stations are not just a solution but not even a last-resort solution, which is my theory that they should be,” he said Thursday.

Wiebe has challenged the city on loitering tickets in the past, including the decision this summer to reintroduce a bylaw. While he has yet to see the data, he fears more houseless people will be ticketed with high fines than before the new bylaw.

Analysis by Postmedia in 2019 found Indigenous transit riders were issued tickets and warnings at a rate more than seven times their share of the city’s population. As well, nearly 75 per cent of the 3,086 loitering tickets issued by transit and Downtown peace officers between 2016 and October 2020 were to people of “no fixed address,” according to city data.

Action on security and homelessness this year

In February, council topped up money for transit outreach. In June, Edmonton reinforced its crackdown on homeless encampments, hired more park rangers and outreach staff, and voted against allowing camps in a city-sanctioned site.

More transit peace officers were hired this past summer and the Downtown Safety Plan was released by order of Justice Minister Tyler Shandro in wake of high-profile instances of violence on the LRT and in the city’s core. Work began on an operations centre in Chinatown as a result of the new safety plan, and an additional funding boost for police was approved last month.

In April, council put $1.8 million toward expanding day-use space at the Bissel Centre. The city has also mulled over allowing drug-checking programs to stem drug poisoning deaths. On Wednesday, council gave initial approval to open 209 more shelter spaces for $7.5 million.

lboothby@postmedia.com

@laurby