Moncton business owners want homelessness supports removed from downtown core within 30 days
Moncton business owners want homelessness supports removed from downtown core within 30 days
The message at the forefront of Tuesday morning’s meeting was united among the group of five panelists at the front of the room: supports for unhoused people aren’t welcome in Moncton's business district
With around 20 people in attendance, business owners and residents spoke out about their concerns surrounding Moncton’s downtown and put forward an urgent call for action.
“For the past few years, the business community has been actively involved and lobbying city council to start taking action, and the request today was to remove the shelter services out of the BIA,” said Thierry Le Bouthillier, a downtown business owner.
Le Bouthillier says the Business Improvement Area, or BIA, is the heartbeat to every city and claims the current situation in the city’s downtown is now affecting their livelihood.
“This is where we do business, this is where our tourism comes in, our hotel, our hospitality, our restaurants and to inject shelter services directly into where we do business, as a downtown… does not work,” he said.
Not only did members from the business community come forward with a specific ask for the City of Moncton, but also with a specific timeline.
“The city opened up a shelter in 14 days back in December. One of our requests is for the city to relocate that shelter to a more appropriate zone in less than 30 days,” he said. “If the city can open a shelter in 14 days, they can relocate one in 30 days.”
Among those in the audience were a few city councillors, including Charles Léger, who pointed out that the province plays a huge role in the services that are available to the homeless population.
“I think that from a councillor perspective, we are waiting on the province to let us know exactly what their long-term plans are related to mental health, addictions, homelessness, and then once we have that, we’ll be in a much better position to be able to indicate what the next steps are,” he said.
Léger added that the province is expected to share their plans by the end of April, when the emergency homeless shelter is set to close.
While the province wasn’t at the meeting on Tuesday, Léger does believe this is a first step in everyone working together to find solutions.
“As a municipality, these are challenges, I admit, and I think what came out of this today is we can work together,” he said. “There have been a number of different initiatives to date, although it’s never enough, but I do believe that these types of conversations are useful.”
Also sitting on the panel Tuesday morning was Moncton resident Allain Robichaud, who tried to bring a different perspective as a person who has been living downtown for 20 years now.
“When I moved downtown, simply, the homeless population was under 50,” he said. “I would say now, the last numbers that we heard, they’re not maybe official, but I think it’s over 700.”
He adds that safety is becoming one of the biggest concerns and people definitely don’t feel as secure as they used to.
“The only thing we want is we want downtown to be a lovely place to live and place to raise your family and people that want to come downtown, but a lot of people are scared. They don’t want to come downtown anymore because of the crime rate,” he said.
Calling on all levels of government, Robichaud says both local officials and higher levels of government have a part to play.
“Obviously the province needs to step up,” he said.
“We know we need more funding for detox because that’s a huge issue right now. There is a drug addiction pandemic problem and we need the province to inject more money into mental health also and just to maybe think about relocation, decentralization, some of these services because we create an environment right now that’s a little bit toxic,” he added.
During the meeting on Tuesday, which took place at a downtown establishment, a woman experiencing homelessness came into the building. Le Bouthillier says it was a clear example of what businesses downtown are dealing with on a daily basis.
“What we’ve been living as downtown entrepreneurs is very visual and it’s hurting our resiliency and it’s starting to hurt our businesses,” he said. “Our businesses, at the end, is the heartbeat of every downtown. If we’re losing that, we have nothing left.”
An attorney for an 11-year-old Mississippi boy who was shot by a police officer after he called 911 for help said Thursday there was 'no way' the boy could have been mistaken for an adult.
Texas' Republican-led House of Representatives impeached state Attorney General Ken Paxton on Saturday on articles including bribery and abuse of public trust, a sudden, historic rebuke of a GOP official who rose to be a star of the conservative legal movement despite years of scandal and alleged crimes.
Killer whales severely damaged a sailing boat off the coast of southern Spain, the local maritime rescue service said on Thursday, adding to dozens of orca attacks on vessels recorded so far this year on Spanish and Portuguese coasts.
It is a world wrapped in mystery - the seventh planet from the sun, Uranus, seen up close just once nearly four decades ago by a passing NASA probe and still warily guarding its secrets.
Mexican authorities say they've made an arrest in the killing of a Quebec man earlier this month in the Pacific coast beach town of Puerto Escondido. The Oaxaca state attorney general says in a statement issued Friday that an arrest warrant was executed for a man in Puerto Escondido identified only by his initials in connection with the homicide of Victor Masson.
Advocates are hoping the Ontario government will consider alternatives to the use of wild animals in off-leash dog areas for the purpose of tracking as officials push forward with a proposal to expand training areas in the province.
Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley held a major rally in downtown Calgary Saturday morning, while her United Conservative rival had no public events planned this weekend after a final pitch to voters a day earlier.
Quebecers are used to congestion headaches on Highway 40, but Saturday’s hold-up was nothing if not out of the ordinary: a horse broke free from its transport container and ran free in the fast lane. Marco Lelievre, a trucker, stopped his vehicle while driving through Repentigny, Que. after he saw the runaway horse.
Those planning on travelling in and around Montreal on the weekend may want to consider public transit or a bicycle to get around as there are a more than a few construction projects that will cause major road closures.
Who is Diandra D'Alessio? She's a Montrealer, a technical writer, a history lover -- and she's last night's Jeopardy winner. The self-proclaimed trivia buff made it out on top with $3,299 under her belt.
Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley held a major rally in downtown Calgary Saturday morning, while her United Conservative rival had no public events planned this weekend after a final pitch to voters a day earlier.
Ontario Provincial Police have charged two people following reports of hitchhikers displaying aggressive behaviour along the Highway 17 East corridor in Kenora.
The president of the Ottawa-Gatineau Hotel Association says hotels in the area are near capacity this weekend, as Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend, the Ottawa Redblacks exhibition game, the Great Glebe Garage Sale and other events attract people to Ottawa.
Health Canada has issued a warning about unauthorized amoxicillin capsules seized from a Vanier grocery store, saying the product may pose serious health risks to users.
A Prince Albert man said he can start moving on, now that the woman who attacked his 89-year-old father has been sentenced. He said because of the assault, he lost both his mother and father.
The Catholic school system in Saskatchewan has a long history and is ultimately protected by the province’s constitution. Something the courts have backed up.
As more people are heading out to enjoy the city’s wilderness areas, North Vancouver RCMP issued water safety tips for those spending time at the North Shore’s rivers and lakes.
A man and a woman have been arrested and charged for last March’s murder of 41-year-old Chad Colivas of Abbotsford, the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT) said Saturday.
Everyone is experiencing sticker shock at the grocery store these days, and a new report is putting a dollar figure on how much it’s costing families, per month, to eat healthy.
British Columbia Premier David Eby has called byelections for two ridings left vacant after the resignations of the previous New Democrat premier and a former cabinet minister.
