Council to discuss overnight camping ban along city thoroughfares

“I saw in about a matter of two minutes, I saw two fights. I saw bottles of vodka or whatever drinks they were pounding back, and there they sat,” he said.

“They weren’t just there for two minutes, and that’s a problem.”

Edwards also raised concerns about people sleeping on sidewalks and gathering for extended periods.

“Every single day there’s people sleeping, crashed right out on the sidewalks for hours on end and nobody seems to be paying attention to them,” Edwards said.

During the discussion, Edwards asked the city’s Community Safety and Well-being Co-ordinator, Anna Dinsdale, for an update on homelessness, shelter use and calls handled by the mobile complex needs team.

Dinsdale said the emergency shelter at the exhibition grounds has been nearly full throughout the summer.

“We do get a breakdown of capacity every month and I think it’s been fully utilized except for one night per month,” Dinsdale said.

She said that meant there were a maximum of two nights over the summer when one bed was available, while the shelter was otherwise at full capacity.

Edwards asked whether the city had numbers for people camping on the streets, noting that not everyone gathering in public is necessarily unhoused.

Dinsdale said the mobile complex needs team received 903 calls in July. Of those, 16 — or 1.7 per cent — involved people who were housed but drinking in public.

“Of those 16 calls, they actually relate to a core group of eight individuals that are housed, but are drinking and socializing in public spaces,” Dinsdale said.

Laewetz said his proposed motion would allow administration to determine whether a bylaw could be established in designated areas.

“I’d like to give notice of motion that administration investigate and report back to council on the feasibility of establishing a bylaw regulating or prohibiting overnight camping in specifically designated areas of the city, including but not limited to riverbank camping, one block east and west of the entirety of Second Avenue West and the Cornerstone area,” Laewetz said.

The motion does not establish a camping ban. Administration will first report on whether such a bylaw is feasible.

For now, members of the public who see activity they believe violates a bylaw can contact bylaw enforcement during business hours or submit a complaint online. Dinsdale said online complaints appear on bylaw officers’ tablets in real time, allowing officers to respond when they are able.

People can also contact the Prince Albert Police Service non-emergency line so community safety officers can respond.

Dinsdale said community safety officers are generally better suited to situations involving higher-risk or belligerent groups or public drug use, while bylaw officers can also respond.

Edwards said he remains frustrated by complaints from residents and visitors about activity along areas such as Second Avenue West.

“It’s very clear from the people that are camped out right on those specific areas almost every day. It’s — I don’t know the word to use — it’s frustrating,” he said.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

by Susan McNeil

Council to discuss overnight camping ban along city thoroughfares

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