Thunder Bay Councillor Wants to Cancel Shelter Village Plan in Favour of Permanent Housing
A Thunder Bay city councillor is bringing forward a motion next week to cancel plans for a temporary shelter village and instead focus on building permanent housing.
The shelter village was supposed to be part of the city’s 10-point Human Rights-Based Community Action Plan, and would include around 80 small sleeping cabins with supports to help people move into permanent homes. The project had a budget of $5 million to build and $1.5 million per year to operate for five years.
Coun. Rajni Agarwal says the money would be better spent on permanent housing, especially with a new $13-billion federal housing program recently announced. She believes Thunder Bay could receive about $60 million from that fund, compared to the $20 million the city already received through the federal Housing Accelerator Fund.
“The request to remove the temporary village is so we can focus on long-term, permanent housing instead of sheds,” Agarwal’s motion states. She added that for this winter, the city will rely on existing shelter beds, hotels, and spaces provided by organizations like Urban Abbey and PACE, which together have already added more than 150 units.
The temporary shelter village was being planned for the Hillyard site at the end of Alloy Place. The city has already awarded contracts for its construction and operation, and it could also receive about $2.8 million in provincial funding if it moves forward.
But McKellar Ward Coun. Brian Hamilton, whose ward includes the Hillyard site, says cancelling the project now could create big problems. He warned that the shelter village is a cornerstone of the city’s 10-point homelessness strategy, and without it, the city may need to come up with a whole new plan.
Hamilton also questioned whether the new federal funding will actually support the type of housing Agarwal is pushing for. “I see the need for supportive housing every day,” he said. “We don’t just need affordable housing, we need deeply affordable and transitional housing for people who are living on the street right now.”
He added that cancelling the project could damage the city’s reputation, since contracts for the work have already been awarded.
Agarwal says the idea could always come back later if council chooses. For now, she believes Thunder Bay should lobby Ottawa for funds to build permanent housing with proper supports, instead of temporary cabins.
