Future of Park Street Emergency Shelter a concern for some MLAs

Some P.E.I. MLAs are pressing the provincial government for answers about the future of the Park Street Emergency Shelter.

The 50-unit shelter opened in December to help those experiencing homelessness and people sleeping in tents around the city — but a temporary permit the city issued to operate the shelter is set to expire in October.

Liberal MLA Gordon McNeilly wants to know if a new permit will be issued to keep the shelter operating.

"Is it becoming a permanent facility?" asked McNeilly in the legislature on Friday.

Minister of Housing, Land and Communities Rob Lantz couldn't provide answers.

"I'm not here to commit to anything on the floor of the legislature," he said. "This is an important issue. We have partners to consult, we've got the community to consult."

Safety concerns

McNeilly also raised concerns that the shelter's sprinkler system isn't working, which is a requirement to keep the facility up to code.

"Our unhoused community deserves to know … that we've taken every precaution to keep them safe in the unfortunate situation if there was ever a fire."

Lantz confirmed the sprinkler system is in place, but isn't operating.

"I commit that if the facility becomes a permanent facility then we'll make sure it's got an operational sprinkler system," Lantz said.

A statement from the city said the shelter met fire code before permits were granted, and the Charlottetown Fire Department hasn't issue any warnings since the shelter opened.

"Any extensions to occupancy would require a fire inspection and additional items required would be determined based on any such inspection report," the statement read.

'We need to know'

McNeilly pressed the province to come up with a plan for the shelter, and the residents who rely on it.

"We have to make sure the people, the unhoused community, are able to rely on this system. It has been operational for six months," McNeilly said.

"We need to know and we need to know very soon what the scope and what the plan is for our provincial government to help our unhoused community."

District 12 MLA Karla Bernard said Park Street was always considered a temporary location

"This is basically a concrete jungle that's on contaminated land," she said. "They can't dig there, they can't build anything new."

Residents have complained the provincial government hasn't done enough public consultation in the district — mainly surrounding a proposed supervised injection site on Belmont street, said Bernard. She hopes the province engages with the community if there are any changes to the shelter.

"In the throne speech, it talked about having one kind of centralized area for unhoused services. I don't know what that means, none of us know what that means and we can't get any answers," she said.

Decision expected in the fall

Lantz said he met with city officials recently and discussed the future of the shelter.

"We've agreed that it is time to get the process rolling," he said.

"They have a role to play here. They were great partners in helping us get the temporary use and set that up last year, but going forward there is a decision for city council to make about the land use on that property and that's whether this temporary use can be extended into a permanent use."

He said a decision is expected in the fall.

Last month, city officials held a public meeting with residents, businesses and community organizations about how to support the unhoused in the province.

"The city is happy to continue working with our counterparts in the province and in the community to build upon the strategies discussed at the recent mayor's conversation on unhoused encampment," said an emailed statement from the city.

According to the latest numbers from the province, an average of 49 people accessed services nightly through March. The shelter's capacity is 50.