Thunder Bay, Ont., city staff delay report on designated encampments to assess feedback

After receiving an overwhelming amount of public feedback, Thunder Bay, Ont., city staff have delayed their report to council on designated encampment sites.

If approved, these spaces would provide on-site support for people living outdoors in designated areas — including access to water, portable toilets, handwashing stations, and regular garbage collection. 

City staff are recommending council approve up to three sites out of a list of six potential options:

A report was supposed to be presented at a special committee of the whole meeting on March 31. However, that meeting has been cancelled as city staff spend more time reviewing public comments, completing preliminary environmental assessments, and further studies where needed.

“A new meeting date and time will be determined and presented to city council for approval,” the city said in a news release on Tuesday.

City staff have more than 3,000 comments to review, said Rilee Willianen, encampment response supervisor.

Members of the public completed 864 surveys, while service providers and people with lived and living experience of homelessness provided about 150 responses on top of that.

“It's certainly one of the highest engagement response rates within the city's engagement efforts,” Willianen said.

As well, 125 people attended an in-person public drop-in session about the proposed sites at the Intercity Shopping Centre last week, and had the chance to rank the sites from most to least preferred.

“It takes a long time to get through that feedback in a meaningful way. We've also gotten some information from our internal analysis and from outside partners that needs to be further considered as well,” said Willianen.

“This delay just helps us to get the best information in front of council to help their decision.”

City council declared homelessness as a humanitarian crisis last month. Meanwhile, the latest point-in-time count conducted in the fall recorded more than 650 people who were known to be experiencing homelessness in Thunder Bay — though advocates say the actual number could be double that.

In addition to designated encampments, the report going to council will also assess a proposed use of public spaces bylaw. This would establish how public spaces are to be used by all community members, including people living in encampments.

While there’s no set date for when the report will be presented, Willianen said city staff recognize the influx of people that will be staying outdoors as seasonal out-of-the-cold programs end in the coming weeks.