Library association says rise in violent incidents ‘not a surprise’ after Community Connections closure

A new report shows incidents at Millennium Library are on the rise this year. CTV’s Joseph Bernacki takes a closer look at the data.

A concerning rise in violent incidents at the Millennium Library came as no surprise to a group that fought to save the facility’s community resources space after its funding was cut last year.

According to an administrative report before the city’s standing policy committee on community services, incidents at the downtown library jumped nearly 70 per cent in the first three months of 2025, with spikes in assaults, harassment, and vandalism.

Kirsten Wurmann, with the Manitoba Library Association, said the rise correlates to the shuttering of Community Connections – a resource hub housed in the Millennium Library that lost its funding in the 2025 budget.

“It’s not a surprise, and I don’t think that it’s a coincidence,” Wurmann said.

Community Connections had operated in the library since 2022, offering access to librarians, library assistants, crisis workers and safety hosts trained in de-escalation.

The Downtown Community Safety Partnership (DCSP) has since moved into the space, hoping to offer similar support.

“This space gives (library users) somewhere to meet privately, in a safe space,” DCSP director of operations Matt Halchakar told CTV News Winnipeg on Monday.

“They come into the space with our staff to talk about their needs and how they can work towards them.”

Wurmann said Community Connections’ range of services are sorely missed—services that are tantamount to a library’s function within a community.

“It’s all about equity access to information and knowledge and guided by the trauma-informed and harm reduction principles and community development, as well,” she said.

“This is very much a library service. This is what libraries do.”

CTV News Winnipeg requested comment on the matter from Coun. Vivian Santos, who chairs the community services committee, but did not receive a response.

- With files from CTV’s Joseph Bernacki