Multiple downtown property and business owners are "screaming for help" from all levels of government amid a growing addictions crisis and public safety concerns.
"The situation is getting worse and worse every single day," said April Desjarlais, owner of the downtown Finn Hansen building. "We have people that are screaming for help in our community and they're lost."
SA国际影视传媒 contacted multiple downtown businesses following the city's report on how to improve public safety. Each of them, either on or off the record, cited incompetence from all levels of government, a distrust or disbelief in the 's efforts at deterring or preventing crime and a general belief that nothing will change.
Desjarlais said she's been vocal about these issues for decades, but the situation has only gotten worse. Whether it's the city, the territorial government, or the SA国际影视传媒� a federal service SA国际影视传媒� each will pass responsibility onto the other in terms of who's in charge of improving public safety downtown, she said.
"Nobody is actually addressing the actual challenges that we're facing," said Desjarlais.
She added that she's noticed an uptick in people using harder drugs downtown.
"There is not a day that goes by that we do not see somebody on our back step, sitting there, sitting on our employees' or our tenants' vehicles, smoking crack, doing lines of cocaine off of our stoop, our actual entrance," she said.
According to the city, Yellowknife has a homeless population of about 330 people. Among those surveyed last year, nearly three-quarters of respondents reported facing challenges related to substance use.
Desjarlais said she calls almost every day.
"My life has been threatened. I've had tenants get assaulted," she said.
Despite these hardships, Desjarlais said she's not looking for sympathy.
"This is a bigger issue. It's systemic, it's huge. We have a problem. My heart is absolutely just so saddened as an Indigenous person myself, to see all the people that are lost and have nowhere to go, and nobody to turn to."
About 85 per cent of the city's homeless population is Indigenous.
'No accountability'
John Williston, owner of the building that houses Subway, said he was attacked by a homeless person a little more than a month ago. He said he was struck in the back of the head and fell. and when he landed he fractured his hand.
Williston said police came and arrested the individual. A few weeks later, Williston said he saw that same person back on his parking lot.
"The elephant in the room is that there is no accountability for the lawlessness," he said.
Calling seems to have little effect, according to Williston. It's a problem other businesses can relate to, he added.
"If somebody's new to the area, they're going to be calling the all the time. After a while, they just quit doing it," he said. "People either get discouraged and disgruntled, or they think, 'Well, why bother? Number one, by the time you get here, it's over. Number two, if you come and do anything, there's no consequences.'"
Williston said he'd like to see more police presence, but what he's looking for in the long-term are opportunities and pathways for homeless people SA国际影视传媒� or people struggling with addictions SA国际影视传媒� to get themselves out of their current cycle.
In July, the city released a report detailing what it heard from local businesses when broaching issues like public safety downtown.
As it turns out, the municipality offered an apology. Communications advisor Saxon Chung said one business owner left prior to the start of the June session and the city apologized for any misunderstanding about the purpose and format of the session, which attracted 43 participants representing 39 businesses. The report was based on what was discussed during that gathering.
Williston said he was at that meeting for the first 45 minutes before he decided to leave.
"I'm not going to stick around because the questions that have been established here were done by somebody that has no concept of what's going on downtown," he said, explaining why he left.
