City ending temporary funding to expand homeless day shelter space
Temporary funding by the City of Edmonton to expand day shelter spaces at the Bissell Centre and Boyle Street Community Services is running out.
The city last year approved additional money for the shelters. The city's funding was originally brought in during the pandemic.
During a private meeting last week, city administration reminded councillors the funding was running low.
No one made a motion for additional support.
Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said the funding was always meant to be a temporary emergency measure and falls outside the city's jurisdiction.
"Dealing with houselessness, dealing with shelter spaces, which have increased over the last few months, are provincial responsibilities, and we filled that gap during (the COVID-19 pandemic)," Sohi told media on Wednesday.
"I think at this time it is very difficult to continue to take on the responsibilities that the province should be meeting under their constitutional obligations."
Heather Barlow, the press secretary for the minister of seniors, community and social services, told CTV News Edmonton in a statement the Alberta government "does not fund daytime drop in services and has not historically provided direct funding to Boyle Street Community Services or the Bissell Centre."
"Significant funding is allocated to shelters that provide overnight accommodations and are funded to remain open 24/7 to provide supports for people experiencing homelessness," Barlow said.
"In 2024-25 funding for homelessness initiatives in Edmonton is $84 million that will support up to 1,800 shelter spaces. Neither Boyle nor Bissell have requested operational funding from the province."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.