Regina mayor says homeless camp was reaching 'critical point' before teardown
Regina's mayor says the city's fire department had growing concerns about the health, safety and well-being of those living in a homeless camp that was dismantled on Wednesday morning.
Around a dozen people were staying at the encampment on the 1800 block of Halifax Street when it was bulldozed following calls from the property owner.
While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Sandra Masters said the city wasn't involved in the teardown, although Regina firefighters and police were on-scene to provide support.
“We understand that mobile crisis was on site to offer forms of housing," Masters said.
According to Masters, police and the fire department had been monitoring the encampment for "some time."
“It was the Regina Fire and Protective Services which flagged that we were reaching kind of a critical point as it related to health, safety and well-being issues. [Police] had been checking regularly as well with regards to the safety of the folks in the encampment,” Masters said.
The owner of the property eventually gave notice that he would be coming in to clear his land of the encampment, Masters said.
“Then there was a coordination amongst our public safety agencies as well as a community-based organization like mobile crisis being on site to make sure folks were connected with services and that things were done with compassion and safety,” Masters said.
Masters said she believes the general consensus is that an encampment is not a solution to homelessness.
Regina police and the fire department will be working on how to move forward when it comes to homeless encampments, Masters said.
She said city administration would have more information in the next couple of weeks.
“I believe what we’ve learned from across the country and North America is that while again, encampments are not a solution, they also create significant risk who stay there once it reaches a particular critical mass.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.