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Aug 06, 2023

City clamps down as new tent camps pop up around Regina

"We're not just letting people die outside. We're actually taking them off sites that increase their chance of survival. It's embarrassing and it's horrific." Days after clearing a tent encampment in

"We're not just letting people die outside. We're actually taking them off sites that increase their chance of survival. It's embarrassing and it's horrific."

Days after clearing a tent encampment in front of city hall a new, smaller encampment popped up on the former grounds of Taylor Field.

According to Kale MacLellan, who volunteered at the city hall camp, approximately six people were staying at the new location, which she said was set up Sunday.

MacLellan said the residents were given notice to leave the site within 24 hours Tuesday. “They were there since Sunday doing their best to not get attention,” MacLellan said Thursday.

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“They were told that it’s private property, because the city owns it, and so they were trespassing.”

By Wednesday, the camp was no more and fences were placed around entrances to the vacant lot.

“It sounds like there isn’t any kind of chance for dialogue between people that the police and bylaw enforcement are kicking out,” said MacLellan.

The Regina Police Service (RPS) said officers were sent to the corner of Retallack Street and 10th Avenue. “City Bylaw Officers requested that our officers be on hand while Bylaw Officers and Regina Fire and Protective Services spoke with those in the area,” said an RPS spokesperson.

No police officers were involved in the removal of “any structures,” according to the RPS.

An emailed statement from the City of Regina said it “continues to monitor and prioritize public safety and the preservation of City lands for their intended use.”

The former site of Taylor Field has been vacant since the old stadium was demolished in 2017. The City did not offer an explanation as to what the intended use was for the lands that have sat vacant for more than half a decade.

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Questions about if there has been a change in tactics with respect to tent encampments, whether social workers were on site, or how many other similar camps were currently active in the city went unanswered.

Coun. Dan LeBlanc (Ward 6), speaking Thursday, said the result is predictable, that clusters of people sleeping rough and looking for safety in numbers would lead to new encampments popping up.

“I think it is inhumane that this city is again taking down their only form of shelter,” he said.

“We’re not just letting people die outside. We’re actually taking them off sites that increase their chance of survival. It’s embarrassing and it’s horrific.”

LeBlanc said the policy of the municipality has shifted from “being ambivalent” about issues around homelessness to “actually moving into bullying them when they do try to survive.”

“It’s a really ugly look,” he said.

LeBlanc said there appears to be some manner of policy shift under the current administration and the current acting chief of the RPS.

“I think we have an interim chief who is more susceptible to pressure,” said LeBlanc, describing former police chief Evan Bray and the RPS’ past enforcement of bylaws around tents in public places as “reasonable.”

LeBlanc recalled hearing crowds of people ask “if not here, then where?” as the camp was cleared Friday.

He said the message sent by the municipality’s actions is “you cannot live in Regina as a homeless person without being criminalized.”

MacLellan said small encampments have been set up periodically since the tent encampment in front of city hall was decommissioned. She said none of the subsequent camps have stood for longer than a day or two.

Volunteers from the city hall camp have tried to keep in touch with residents of the encampment, setting up a phone line for them and conducting patrols to check in on people sleeping rough.

“We’re just scrambling, doing the best we can,” said MacLellan.

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