Emergency shelter set to open as a temporary solution in Moncton
Emergency shelter set to open as a temporary solution in Moncton
Following multiple pleas for help and the death of a man in a washroom outside city hall, Moncton council is stepping up.
An emergency cold shelter is set to open in the coming weeks to help protect the city’s homeless population at the Moncton Lions Community Centre.
"This is one step,” said Councillor Charles Leger. "There's also in the recommendation taking a look at some tents, some portable... not portable but more industrial type tents that you can put heat in, you can put cots that would help in terms of making sure that people can find a place."
Adding, "Is it ideal? Probably not, but then maybe now we can gain a lot more traction.”
This comes at the same time as the city of Saint John has announced one of its old arenas will be used as a temporary warming shelter this winter.
In Moncton, Leger says the tents are expected to be in place no later than December 29th however, the location is still undetermined.
As for the shelter, he says it will be open and ready to go by January 1st at the latest.
“We had indicated as a city last year that it was difficult for us to operate an out of the cold shelter, we were hoping in April that we wouldn’t be a last minute again. However, the important thing is that we will have somewhere for everyone to go and stay out of the cold,” said Leger.
But will it be enough?
"It will not be enough and the shelter is not the answer unfortunately, but it's certainly going to make it such that we can accommodate as many people as possible. We don't want anyone to freeze on our streets,” he said.
However, it is still a step in the right direction according to Chris Vanbuskirk, who has been opening his church to those in need and has asked council for help.
"I think that they accomplished a lot in a very short period of time,” said Vanbuskirk. “I think it’s a very good location, I think it’s certainly a doable location.”
Adding, "if our time here could be of any help in giving people some insight, a little bit of experience in towards training, we'd love to have them."
He says the church plans to keep its doors open until the new shelter is ready to go.
The new shelter is expected to be open until May, but with things now in motion, it’s time to keep pushing for something more permeant.
"This is a beginning piece,” said Vanbuskik. “It is a stopgap. It is a Band-Aid. What we have to do now is use this to spring forward."
Looking to work as a whole, the Town of Riverview said in a statement that “it’s committed to supporting the larger issue of homelessness in the area.”
Adding, “As of now, we are unaware of municipal or private space in Riverview that would be available for an emergency shelter.”
The city of Dieppe also stated that it has received a request from the City of Moncton, adding that right now it is in the process of analyzing it.
The federal government is seeking to delay the extension of assisted dying eligibility to people whose sole condition is a mental disorder until March 17, 2024. Justice Minister David Lametti introduced a bill seeking the extension in the House of Commons on Thursday.
A gay man is taking the federal government to court, challenging the constitutionality of a policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned.
Will we see six more weeks of winter, or an early spring? Here’s what some of the groundhogs (and one human) have predicted so far, from coast-to-coast.
Nestle Canada says it is winding down its frozen meals and pizza business in Canada over the next six months. The four brands that will no longer be sold in the freezer aisle at Canadian grocery stores are Delissio, Stouffer's, Lean Cuisine and Life Cuisine.
The United States has answered President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's plea for rockets that can strike deep behind the front lines of the nearly year-long conflict with Russia. Now Russian forces will need to adapt or face potentially catastrophic losses.
Australia is removing the monarchy from its bank notes. The nation's new $5 bill will feature an Indigenous design rather than an image of King Charles III. But the king is still expected to appear on coins that currently bear the image of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The organization regulating medical care and services in Manitoba is apologizing for racism directed towards Indigenous people when accessing health care in the province.
A Quebec woman said she was very surprised to find her stolen Audi had been used in what’s being described as an “absolutely insane” Ontario mall robbery.
Ontario has released a new 'connected' and 'convenient' health-care plan aimed at shortening wait times and localizing access to care across the province.
Three Richmond Hill residents have been arrested after police seized $500,000 in fake gift cards from a “sophisticated forgery lab” while searching multiple local properties last month.
A polar vortex is descending over Ontario this week and some of the coldest weather is still to come. Wind chills will also reach dangerous levels, increasing the risk of frostbite.
Calgary's Scotiabank Saddledome was packed to the rafters with fans eager to take a look at Canadian phenom Connor Bedard and the 17-year-old did not fail to impress.
The next few nights are expected to be frigid in Montreal, with wind chill factors dropping to -30. In order to prevent anyone experiencing homelessness from ending up outdoors, the City of Montreal is announcing the opening of two emergency shelters.
A Quebec woman said she was very surprised to find her stolen Audi had been used in what’s being described as an “absolutely insane” Ontario mall robbery.
Athabasca University's board of governors has replaced the president who resisted the government's demand to double the distance-learning school's number of employees who live in Athabasca.
A large crowd of around 700 students, faculty members and Lethbridge residents came out on Wednesday to protest a planned speech by Frances Widdowson at the University of Lethbridge that didn't take place.
Highway 11 in northern Ontario is closed Thursday morning from Highway 66 near Kenogami Lake to Matheson after a collision involving several vehicles, police say.
One person has died after a two-vehicle crash in south London Wednesday night. Police were called to the scene on Bostwick Road around 7:20 p.m. and say there were five people injured in total and all five were taken to the hospital with injuries ranging from serious to life-threatening.
Wiarton Willie has predicted an early spring! The groundhog in South Bruce Peninsula didn't see his shadow at 8:07 a.m. on Thursday morning, meaning spring is on the way.
The organization regulating medical care and services in Manitoba is apologizing for racism directed towards Indigenous people when accessing health care in the province.
Ottawa ranks 45th out of 62 cities across Canada and the United States in a study on downtown recovery, with activity levels at 51 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
A former professional hockey player well-known for dropping the gloves is trying his hand at acting and will star in another season of the Canadian sitcom Shoresy.
B.C.'s Ministry of Health is continuing its multi-year trend of paying millions more dollars each year to private surgical centres for the delivery of public health care, CTV News has learned.
The over-representation of Indigenous people in Canada's justice system and the number of deaths of Indigenous people at the hands of police has the vice-chief of national Indigenous organization up in arms.
Paramedic logs from 2022 are highlighting some of the pressures Regina EMS workers have been facing for months including one instance where a patient died following offload delays at the hospital, the documents indicate.
A pair of provincial parks are being considered in the B.C. government's treaty negotiations with the T’Sou-ke and Songhees nations on Vancouver Island.
A homicide investigation is underway on Quadra Island, B.C., after a 39-year old woman was found dead in what investigators believe was a targeted killing.
