Charlottetown mayor pushes back after province moves to keep shelter, outreach centre on Park Street

Thinh Nguyen · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 28, 2025 10:22 AM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Charlottetown Mayor Philip Brown says the metropolis hasn't ruled retired a ineligible situation aft the state stepped successful to guarantee the exigency overnight structure and Community Outreach Centre would proceed operating astatine its existent determination — contempt the city's opposition.

On Tuesday night, Charlottetown assembly rejected the province's petition for a zoning alteration to screen the operations connected Park Street successful Charlottetown. Approving it would person allowed some services to stay successful the country indefinitely, though the state had antecedently insisted the determination would beryllium temporary.

Days later, Housing Minister Steven Myers announced regulatory amendments to make a peculiar readying country taking successful a ample crippled of onshore that includes the Park Street spot connected which the structure and outreach centre are located.

Brown told CBC's Island Morning connected Friday that helium wants the Federation of P.E.I. Municipalities to measurement successful arsenic the province's determination has acceptable a precedent.

"This is not conscionable astir Charlottetown. This is astir the state and each the municipalities that marque this land a large spot to live, work, play and rise a family," helium said.

"I deliberation the City of Charlottetown needs to person that discussion, and the Federation of Prince Edward Island Municipalities has to look astatine this arsenic possibly a tribunal challenge."

'I find that's precise disrespecting'

Brown besides pushed backmost astatine disapproval from Myers pursuing council's vote.

"Through each the negotiations we've had with the metropolis and each the conversations we've had with the city, it turned retired to beryllium a full batch of lies, truthful it's not truly worthy engaging them immoderate further," Myers told CBC News: Compass big Louise Martin.

"We person to bash what we tin to support susceptible radical … They had a accidental to bash the close thing, and they chose not to instrumentality it. They took the coward's mode out, and I fixed it for them."

In Friday's interview, Brown described Myers' comments arsenic a "sandbox fight" and took contented with the minister's prime of words.

"When I look at, you know, utilizing words similar 'coward' and 'lies,' I find that's precise disrespecting to a assemblage of elected officials," Brown said.

"I don't privation to spell down that roadworthy wherever he's going to propulsion soil successful my look and I'm going to propulsion it back. I'm not going there. I privation to instrumentality the precocious road. But we person to beryllium cautious with our language."

Brown said Myers's connection was directed not conscionable astatine elected officials but besides astatine the city's nonrecreational planners, who person years of acquisition and are liable for making improvement decisions that enactment champion for the city.

The city's determination was not astir opposing the province's efforts to code lodging and societal needs, Brown said, adding that metropolis planners person determined that the Park Street determination was not a "permissible use" nether established assemblage plans and bully readying principles.

Alternative location

When asked wherever susceptible populations should spell if the exigency structure and outreach centre were to beryllium relocated, Brown pointed to the caller intelligence wellness and addictions field successful Charlottetown, which is inactive a enactment successful progress.

"It's an due site, but that tract is inactive successful development. So we are trying to enactment with the state and again, we volition enactment with the province," helium said.

Meanwhile, the state has said it already bought immoderate houses successful the Park Street area. Brown, however, said that buying retired a neighbourhood is not the solution.

"That's not however nationalist argumentation should work. Public argumentation should enactment to make and fortify communities, and that's what we are liable to bash arsenic a municipal government," helium said.