When Thompson’s new Liquor Mart opened last year, the long-time problems in the area of the old store moved east with it, a letter to city council says.
Heather Todd, council chair of the Lutheran-United Church of Thompson, within a couple of blocks of the old Liquor Mart location on Public Road, said the difference since that location closed has been night and day.
“We predicted that when the new location opened our problems would lessen, but we were not prepared for such an instant and drastic change,” Todd wrote. “We literally have had no issues since the Liquor Mart moved and while this has lessened the pressure on our organization, it has only moved the problem elsewhere. Our issues began with the warmer weather and we knew that on days when the Liquor Mart was closed, which was not often, there was much less activity. Before the Liquor Mart moved, the number of months we had to monitor our property more closely had increased to about half the year.”
Todd noted that the church had written to three mayors and councils about the problem over the years, at least as far back as 2011, when it was still St. John’s United Church, and was supportive of the city’s efforts to find solutions to issues caused by homelessness and addiction.
“We, as part of the community, want to be supportive in any way we can and realize that there are no quick solutions and that we all need to work together to keep Thompson as a positive, welcoming community and a hub for the north,” Todd wrote.
Coun. Earl Colbourne, owner of the Northern Inn & Steakhouse just down the road from the old Liquor Mart, confirmed that the problems he faced for 16 years have essentially disappeared.
“The last eight months has been a blessing,” he said. “I looked for 16 years to find solutions. There was nobody with solutions. I don’t know solutions. It’s moved away from us. It’s still there but it’s moved away. It’s still a problem.”
Intoxicated persons and creating a disturbance calls were up 34 per cent over the first two months of the year, according to a municipal policing report the RCMP provided at the last city public safety committee meeting on March 12.
Over the first three months of this year, overall calls for service to the Thompson RCMP detachment have increased by 11 per cent from the same period last year, says Staff Sgt. Chris Hastie.
The issue of people loitering near Walmart and the liquor store has generated further attention since the COVID-19 pandemic began due to health concerns and public health orders recommending social distancing.
Thompson Mayor Colleen Smook* said at the April 13 council meeting that community safety officers and RCMP have increased patrols in the downtown area and that the city is working with the province to identify alternative shelter options for homeless people while also speaking with Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries about reducing Liquor Mart hours.
“We’re in regular communication with the province about the liquor store,” she said*. “We’re regularly asking for tighter restrictions.”
Without alternative locations to house homeless people, however, there are limits to what the city can do to deter loitering and drinking in public.
“We don’t have the capacity to perpetually detain 30 to 40 people for the entire pandemic,” she said*.
“We are asking for shortened hors for the liquor store and vendors,” said Smook at Monday’s meeting. “It’s on a continuing basis that we advocate for this.”
Council also voted April 13 in favour of a resolution to obtain an additional $200,000 from the federal government’s Reaching Home homelessness strategy to support additional responses to homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The city recently inspected buildings at the old University College of the North campus on Princeton Drive to gauge their suitability as possible shelter locations.
“They require more extensive work than we hoped,” said McInnis.
Discussions with hotels, which have greatly reduced occupancy as a result of pandemic travel restrictions, are also being held.
McInnis also said the city has let the federal government know that it expects additional funding in the future.
“We’re in an emergency situation and we will do what has to be done,” said McInnis, adding that not doing anything isn’t really an option.
Deputy mayor Les Ellsworth concurred and said additional efforts to reduce homelessness and addiction-related issues need to be maintained once the COVID-19 pandemic ends or becomes less severe.
“We need to make sure that we’re doing something with a problem that existed for many, many years not just during this pandemic,” he said.
*The original versionof this story mistakenly attributed these comments to city manager Anthony McInnis. The Thompson Citizen apologizes for the error.
