Thunder Bay City Council approves Kam River Heritage Park as shelter village site

CBC News

· Posted: Apr 30, 2025 11:58 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

After much than 4 hours of statement connected Monday, Thunder Bay City Council approved Kam River Heritage Park connected the city's southbound broadside arsenic the determination for a caller impermanent structure village.

At a erstwhile meeting, councillors directed medication to re-consider the Kam River parkland site, arsenic good as a batch on Fort William Road that's owned by the Lakehead Region Conservation Authority, arsenic sites for the projected village, which volition yet see up to 80 mini cabins for usage by the city's unhoused population.

Administration came backmost with a proposal for Kam River parkland connected Monday, citing a fig of advantages to putting the colony there, said Rilee Willianen, the city's encampment effect lead.

"The spot [is] municipally-owned, which expedites timelines and there's nary request to question immoderate benignant of outer agreements," Willianen said. "The timeline ... is truly important due to the fact that the entree to $2.8 cardinal successful backing is contingent connected gathering definite timelines, and those timelines are beauteous choky now."

To person the funding, Willianen said the metropolis indispensable commencement operation by July, and implicit the colony by December; the metropolis has budgeted $5.5 cardinal to physique the village, and $1.5 cardinal a twelvemonth for operations.

"The tract is besides successful much-closer proximity to supportive services that radical who are experiencing homelessness are apt to access," she said. Having the metropolis hallway autobus terminal nearby, with entree to 9 autobus routes, was besides a affirmative origin for the location. 

"The tract is and has been an encampment implicit the past mates of years, truthful that helps with the familiarity of folks and indicates that there's a beauteous beardown likelihood that if idiosyncratic was offered a abstraction successful the colony that they would beryllium apt to judge it," Willianen said.

In addition, the metropolis believes a colony astatine the site — which is located on the Kaministiquia River — won't person a antagonistic economical interaction connected the surrounding area. 

Willianen said if assembly ratifies the determination connected Monday, requests for proposals would beryllium issued for the operation of the village, and its operation.

"I deliberation there's a fearfulness that it volition beryllium conscionable a full clump of tents, which is surely not the constituent of the village," she said. "So to assistance folks to amended recognize what it is that we're doing, determination volition beryllium immoderate nationalist engagement opportunities offered, infographics, different sorts of connection tools to truly assistance radical recognize that this is simply a supported, managed situation that has rules and supports and services connected site, truthful that folks are capable to stabilize."

The village, she said, would person 24/7 information and different supports, and a obstruction would beryllium built to forestall entree to the river.

In a media release, the metropolis said the colony volition see up to 80 private, powered and heated mini-cabins, with shared washrooms, showers and laundry. Renderings of the colony were posted connected the city's Facebook leafage connected Wednesday.

"The occupancy could instrumentality a spot of a phased approach," Willianen said. "There could beryllium immoderate folks that are taking up residence successful the colony successful October and doing a spot of a brushed motorboat to assistance radical get acquainted with the village, assistance the unit to familiarize themselves with however things are going to enactment astir there, earlier scaling up to the afloat capableness successful the future."

Council voted 8-5 successful favour of the tract connected Monday.

"What we've seen twelvemonth implicit twelvemonth are beauteous drastic increases successful the fig of radical surviving successful encampments successful our community," Willianen said. "Folks don't person anyplace to go, truthful determination needs to beryllium places for them to go, which is wherefore it's truthful important for the metropolis to bash thing due to the fact that a batch of encampments extremity up connected nationalist lands."

"As a municipality, we person a a legislated work to attraction for assemblage information and well-being nether the Police Services Act," she said. "And we cognize that nationalist wellness and nationalist information risks are heightened by encampments, and truthful we besides person a work to negociate those arsenic well."

Westfort Councilor Kristen Oliver said the supports astatine the colony volition apt see intelligence wellness and addiction counselling and job training.

"I americium successful enactment of this decision," Oliver said. "I admit that the impermanent village, to beryllium successful, needs ... the wrap-around services, and mostly those are delivered successful the southbound core.

"It's the walkability portion wherever radical tin travel and spell and get their healthcare services that they require."

And portion the colony is contentious, Oliver said, "I deliberation it's conscionable the fearfulness of the unknown."

"We admit archetypal and foremost that these are quality beings," she said. "We're looking astatine this with a human rights lens. How bash we enactment radical truthful that they person the champion outcomes possible?"

"This will hopefully acceptable the way guardant for galore people."

Oliver besides noted that the village — which the metropolis intends to run for 5 years — volition besides spot further improvement instrumentality spot astatine Kam River park, including bringing sewer, water, and powerfulness to the area.

That, she said, volition let for further opportunities to make the parkland aft the colony is removed.