The landlord of a Wolseley property, his neighbours and even the local councillor have repeatedly implored the City of Winnipeg to remove squatters who have been living in a camper that’s been parked behind his apartment since June — all to no avail.
Firefighters were called to the site on Fawcett Avenue on Sunday and entered the trailer, a neighbour said. She said its occupants use propane to heat the camper, which is behind a three-unit apartment building.
“Somebody’s going to die here. It’s cold outside,” said a neighbour who didn’t want to be named by the Free Press.
JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS
People living in an RV parked beside a garage behind 48 Fawcett Ave. have been asked to vacate.
“Either the people inside (the apartment) are not letting these people come and live inside, or they’re renting it, I don’t know what’s going on.”
She said she had repeatedly asked the city to intervene, beginning in June, because she believed the squatters had been involved in unsafe activities and she never expected the camper would still be in use in winter.
She and other nearby residents, as well as Coun. Cindy Gilroy, say they’re frustrated because City of Winnipeg bylaw officers refuse to order the squatters to vacate the camper.
The situation contravenes the city’s neighbourhood livability bylaw, which disallows a camper to be used as a residence unless it is parked in a campground.
The owner of the building, who does not live on the property, said the camper belongs to a tenant and he confirmed people were living in it.
He said he is aware its use violates city bylaws and he has told the tenant multiple times to have the camper removed, but the tenant has refused to comply.
He said bylaw enforcement was called to the building in November, but never followed up.
“They came by, and they haven’t been by since… I’ve called them twice, and I haven’t even received a return call,” said the owner, who requested anonymity because he’s a corrections officer.
The Free Press was not able to talk to anyone who lives in the camper.
Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) said she’s “surprised” nothing has happened since she asked the bylaw office to get involved back in the summer.
“I would hope that somebody is looking into this further, whether it’s the Winnipeg Police Service or the Winnipeg Parking Authority or bylaws. It’s been reported from a resident, it’s also been reported from the area councillor, so our bylaws should be followed,” she said.
“Right now, it is in the middle of winter, so there shouldn’t be somebody living in a camper right now.”
Earlier this month, city spokesperson Adam Campbell said officials were “aware of this situation and are currently investigating it.”
Ten days later, after the Free Press asked why no action had been taken despite multiple reports from residents and a city councillor, Campbell said the city was “continuing to investigate the situation.” No further details were provided.
“It is in the middle of winter, so there shouldn’t be somebody living in a camper right now.”–Coun. Cindy Gilroy
The landlord said he asked bylaw enforcement to provide him with some kind of order that he could use to convince the tenant to move the camper, but never received one. He’s not sure how he’s supposed to move the camper without one.
“I’ll have all bark, no bite, because what am I going to do?” he said.
“I don’t have anybody that can throw this thing off of there. So I can threaten them all I want. Who’s going to move it?”
He stressed that typically, bylaw officers have been a helpful resource and he questions why this situation is allowed to continue.
“What can I do if bylaw (officers) can’t do anything?”
Public works committee chair Coun. Janice Lukes said that while she wasn’t familiar with the case, she isn’t surprised to hear there had been a long delay in addressing it.
“We can barely keep up with the amount of complaints that come in,” she said.
According to Lukes (Waverley West), the bylaw enforcement branch receives around 16,000 service requests a year that result in more than 30,000 inspections, and issues 8,000 orders and in excess of 3,000 tickets annually.
If people are living in the camper, it complicates the issue beyond simple enforcement, she said.
“Honestly, I can see them probably turning a blind eye to it because they’d sooner have them live in a trailer than on the riverbank,” she said.
malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca
Malak Abas
Reporter
Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak.
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