SA国际影视传媒

A key figure in last summerSA国际影视传媒檚 homeless encampment is predicting a similar story this year. 

Craig Strachan helped organize Yellowknife's first major organized homeless encampment last August by Fraser Tower. He's now helping assemble the newest encampment in a parking lot behind the Outpost building in the alley between 49 and 50 Streets.

On Monday, Strachan told SA国际影视传媒 what he thinks people need to know about this situation.

"I can see it going the same way it did last year," he said. "If not, bigger."

Strachan said there are about six people currently living at this new encampment.

"We're trying to keep everything contained to one area," he said. 

The new encampment has so far been around for three weeks, Strachan added, predicting it will last throughout the entire summer. 

And just like the encampment last year, the GNWT owns the lot it's situated on. 

With multiple GNWT vehicles parked in front of the encampment, Strachan said the government's employees have been helpful during this process.

"We told them, 'we're keeping an eye on your vehicles, nothing's happening here,'" Strachan said, noting that building owners across from the encampment have been reasonable too, so long as homeless residents keep their stuff on their side of the fence. 

Asked how long the GNWT predicts this encampment to last, Erin Kelly, president and CEO of Housing NWT, could not give a definitive answer.

Kelly told SA国际影视传媒 that GNWT staff spoke to the first person who set up at this location and offered help with moving to a safer location. 

"Since then, the structure has grown and now has more people living in it. GNWT staff continue to speak with everyone there, offering them shelter space and suggesting other safer locations," said Kelly.

Mayor Ben Hendriksen also spoke to SA国际影视传媒 about the situation on Monday. He said that both he and city manager Stephen Van Dine have met with a lawyer representing some of the encampment residents about two weeks ago.

That lawyer is Peter Adourian, who said he's been retained by the residents of the encampment to work with city and GNWT on encampment-related issues.

Hendriksen said there are going to be people who camp in the city. It's not ideal, but he added the city has a responsibility to public health and safety and, as such, would provide services like solid waste and cleanup support to the encampment.

Hendriksen also said the city has no timeline as to how long this encampment could last, leaving that up to the GNWT. 

On Sunday, the GNWT issued a public statement acknowledging the new encampment, which Hendriksen said set the right tone.

The statement reads that since October 2024, emergency shelters in Yellowknife have been 87 per cent full on average and have not gone over capacity.

"While shelter spaces are available and encouraged, we recognize that some individuals may choose not to access them," the statement read. "We are actively working with partners to identify and address the barriers that prevent people from doing so."

The GNWT relocated last year's encapment from private property to one of its parking lots as a temporary solution, but the plan didnSA国际影视传媒檛 go as expected. The encampment remained well past its original deadline last year.

The GNWT also added a portable toilet and temporary fencing to the encampment, but later removed them. At one point, it even cut power to the parking lot, which has outlets for charging electronics.

As the weather got colder, the encampment began to shrink, though it never completely disappeared. Two residents - Russell Hamilton and Toni Tobac - stayed at that encampment all winter.