Jason Unrau
Northern News Services
Wednesday, April 4, 2007

YELLOWKNIFE - The safety of people living in makeshift shelters around Yellowknife is being questioned after two youths destroyed a homeless couple's tent pitched in Tommy Forest Park.

Doug Gillard, municipal enforcement manager for the city, said his department is charged the task of evicting people from these sites when they are reported. The reasons are four-fold; safety for the community at large, for those occupying the sites, for emergency responders called to these out-of-the-way locations and environmental damage.

"Obviously sleeping in those conditions in the winter creates the possibility of (people) succumbing to the elements," said Gillard. "And most of these sites are located in areas zoned parks and recreation or nature preserves so depending on how long they've been there it can end up to be a real mess."

While Gillard said he has no idea how many squatters sites are in Yellowknife, the past 14 years he has been with municipal enforcement, it has dealt with approximately 10 evictions annually. As for the tent destroyed in Tommy Forrest Park last week, Gillard said he was informed of the location March 5 following an ambulance dispatch there.

On March 26, the couple said they saw two youths fire a pellet gun at the tent, which subsequently burned, destroying all the couple's belongings.

Chucker Dewar, deputy fire chief, told Yellowknifer that in addition to the risk for emergency crews attempting to access people in these locations, the sites can pose a fire risk to the surrounding area.

"Occasionally a fire that is lit will be left unattended and that's how we find out about the location," he said. "But even trying to get emergency equipment to the site can prove very difficult."

This and the trees felled to make fires can be a recipe for disaster. But for Yellowknife Homelessness Committee chair Lydia Bardak, the real disaster is people forced to live rough in such a prosperous city.

"First of all it's incredibly sad that somebody in Yellowknife lives in a tent," said Bardak, adding that while progress is being made to deal with the issue, such as the Bailey House for homeless men currently in development, there are still gaps in the system.

Bardak also expressed her hope that police were taking the matter seriously.

"That was their home so it was every bit as significant a loss as me losing my home," she said. "The perpetrators of this kind of thing, how very thoughtless is that? It just shows a complete lack of understanding and compassion for fellow human beings and I wish I could have the opportunity to educate them on what a reckless thing that was to do."

But with few leads for the police, who still do not know the identity of the two youths, it appears that Bardak is not going to get her wish anytime soon. On Monday, Const. Roxanne Dreilich said the couple whose tent was destroyed had yet to make a statement to police.

"As soon as the fire department advised the tent owners the RCMP were coming, they left," said Dreilich. "And the pair have not been forthcoming to speak to the investigating officer."She said police would continue their efforts to get in touch with the couple.