Saint John councillors urge city staff to prioritize encampment site 'zones'

Saint John council approves new housing strategy The city council in Saint John, N.B., has approved a new strategy to tackle homelessness.

Saint John, N.B., city councillors approved a new three-year housing strategy on Monday night, with several calls for encampment sites “zones” to be identified immediately.

The zones are one part of a 28-point plan titled “Housing For All,” with sections about resource coordination, emergency support, prevention, and housing.

One part of the strategy includes three designated zones within Saint John: a ‘green zone’ allowing for structured unhoused sites, a ‘yellow zone’ permitting tents at certain times of the year, and a ‘red zone’ banning unsheltered structures of any kind at any time.

Melanie Vautour, the executive director of Fresh Start Services, was consulted for the strategy and said much of its success would depend on different levels of government participating.

“At the same time, (the city) can let our unsheltered people feel safe in ‘green zones’ that have access to resources like water, heat, washrooms. That’s a good place to start,” said Vautour.

“And it also gives outreach an opportunity to connect with people.”

No areas in Saint John have been designated as a ‘green zone’ so far.

Barry Ogden, the only councillor who voted against the strategy on Monday night, said his opposition was based on what he called a lack of details about the zones and strategy in general.

City staff have indicated it may take months for zones to be identified.

“It needs to happen now, it should’ve happened six months ago,” said David Hickey, councillor and chair of the city’s public safety committee. “We need to make sure we’re managing where encampments are happening in this community, so people can be assured, people can recognize the impact on community, and we can also make sure we’re getting better and more frequent resources to folks in encampments.”

Councillor Paula Radwan said encampment ‘green zones’ could be identified in weeks, not months, if prioritized.

“I think (city staff) probably have a really good idea of where it’s working better, and where it’s not working so well,” said Radwan. “We have front line agencies right now that are going to the encampments all the time. They would be great to recommend where the ‘green zones’ should be, where the absolute ‘red zones’ should be.”

Brent McGovern, the city’s chief administrative officer, gave an example of areas in and around school buildings falling within ‘red zone’ criteria.

Council’s prioritization of encampment zones came after a discussion about what could be completed immediately within the strategy, and what would require long-term work.

Councillor Joanna Killen said the city should fund some long-term parts of the strategy now, and request provincial reimbursement later. Housing, poverty, and health care are provincial government responsibilities.

“We need to take the money we have now in reserve and use it in the meantime,” said Killen. “I think we can get creative with our finances.”

For more New Brunswick news visit our dedicated provincial page.