GOLD: Touring the decline of our city’s riverbanks

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For years, property owners and renters in Point Douglas near the river pleaded for help with the squalor and crime caused by homeless encampments.

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As the problem spread, voices from St. Boniface were raised. Then recently, Fort Rouge Councillor Sherri Rollins confirmed to CBC that, “Residents contact my office every single day about encampments, their concerns, the impacts that they have experienced…”.

I wanted to find out just how extensive the encampments are in Winnipeg. But the City has no meaningful data about where they are located, how many have been removed, how many people are living on our riverbanks, or how many times fire or police units have responded to calls.

I enlisted the help of local guide Captain Rob to see for myself. He could not wait to take me on a three-hour tour that showed the ugly truth about the complete deterioration of public safety for residents around Winnipeg’s downtown waterways.

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But as he explains, the City’s ongoing neglect is also affecting the safety of boat operators and accelerating the decline of Winnipeg’s recreational boating tradition.

“The river system, in general, has been in steady decline for 20 years,” he said, reeling off numerous locations where public access to boat launches such as Alexander Docks, Louise Bridge, and Frobisher Park is gone. “So now all you have is the launch at the North Perimeter and in St. Vital Park. When it’s busy the boat launches are jammed.”

Then, there’s navigating the waterways.

At the turn of the century, Captain Rob said, “the garbage and debris on the banks wasn’t there.” But now, “coupled with the actual garbage, the encampments are just chucking their stuff in the river.”

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Then, add in the shopping carts, toppled trees, and busted trunks and branches on the river’s edges.

“When you get a big storm, or the river rises, all that flows down the river and there is no one I know with the City of Winnipeg who is tasked with removing the literal garbage you see.”

We first motored westbound on the Assiniboine from the Forks towards the Donald Bridge. There was no apparent camping near the Forks but people were seen washing items in the river, so you know there are more camps hidden among the trees.

There are remnants of abandoned encampments along River Avenue to the Donald Bridge. From there to the Maryland Bridge on the south side, there was plenty of evidence to back up the concerns of Fort Rouge residents. The graffiti is the least of it.

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A flash of colours between the green leaves and branches, a blue tarp or bright yellow tent peeking through. In behind apartment building back windows, in and near the parks that kids use, there’s plenty of evidence of encampments.

While most of the campers were hidden from view, clothes, belongings and bike parts were scattered on the shore. Shopping carts and junk were dumped on the banks and into the river. There were a few individuals making use of piers to do some fishing and watch the occasional boat go by.

Cruising parallel to Wellington Crescent, it was startling to see a large encampment in Munson Park, and tents erected behind 529, the poshest steak house in Winnipeg.

On the north side of the Assiniboine, the danger and disorder faced by residents in West Broadway and downtown near the Legislature cannot be overstated.

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There were overlapping encampments of more than 10. I saw bags and some gear set under a giant rotted tree. A cluster of City blue bins in a clearing, overturned, with a busted pallet and dresser drawer. There’s a significant presence behind Balmoral Hall on either side, stretching all the way to the Granite Curling Club and up to the Osborne Bridge.

Behind the Legislature from the steps to the riverbank, there’s territory marked. No wonder people don’t use the river walk. There’s a big new-looking orange tent pitched beside a beautiful stone staircase, and going east many other hints of campers nearby, with a large encampment behind 300 Assiniboine.

The situation on the Red River was no better.

One camp was under the Promenade in St. Boniface with lots more along Tache Avenue between the hospital and Fort Gibraltar. Waterfront Drive is heavily populated with 17 tents visible among the trees from the old Alexander Docks and stretches all the way to Five Roses.

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Heading back, there was a larger camp behind Poulin’s, one small one behind the Rowing Club, a camp behind Mulvey Market with visible debris. It’s depressing and disgusting.

Overall there were dozens of tents and makeshift lean-tos. I’d guess we saw 80 locations populated by the “unhoused.”

A handful appeared well-kept and orderly, but there was an intimidating level of disorder overall.

It’s a far cry from the glory days when five cruise ships travelled the Red River. The City doesn’t dredge on any regular basis, further degrading safe access for boaters.

“The Pony Corral Pier 7 on Pembina invites boat traffic but the rest of what goes on discourages it,” Captain Rob said.

He mentioned the yellow Winnipeg Waterways boats on-boarding people from the Forks.

“What are they seeing, what do tourists experience? All they’re seeing is garbage trash and encampments. It should be a beautiful view of the river, but it’s not anymore.”

The City will only assess whether an encampment should be vacated if there’s “an immediate risk to public or personal safety.”

It’s obvious from the state of our river banks, that they’re missing the boat.

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