SaskatchewanEncampments are currently decommissioned if they violate City of Regina bylaws, if there is a risk of fire, a risk to public safety, or ongoing illegal activity. But critics say tearing down encampments isn’t a solution to homelessness.There were 824 people experiencing homelessness in Regina as of October 2024Alexander Quon · CBC News · Posted: Aug 27, 2025 5:25 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour agoAn encampment located at the corner of 12th Avenue and Halifax Street in Regina is shown on June 17, 2025, as the tents and structures on the private lot were being dismantled. (Matt Howard/Radio-Canada)Regina city council has directed staff to work on potential improvements to its homeless encampment response strategy, including the potential locations for a designated encampment site. The motion was introduced by Ward 6 Coun. Victoria Flores, who represents a large portion of the Heritage neighbourhood, which is where many encampments have been established in recent years. Flore’s motion was unanimously passed by council on Wednesday. “This is something that requires meaningful action and I hope we can get there,” said Flores. The motion directs staff to review the city’s current encampment strategy by analyzing the best practices of other Canadian municipalities.Staff will also recommend locations for designated encampment sites, and potential operational models and community partners. They’re directed to provide estimates on capital and operating costs, as well as give information on the required bylaw amendments and the creation of a community engagement plan. Currently, encampments are decommissioned if they violate City of Regina bylaws, if there is a risk of fire or risk to public safety, or ongoing illegal activity. Critics say tearing down encampments isn’t a solution to homelessness.They say encampment residents are often not provided with supports and have nowhere to go. Residents often just move their belongings to another location where another encampment is soon established. It’s a pattern that has played out repeatedly in recent years. Mandla Mthembu, a community organizer, said many people who live on the street feel abandoned by the provincial and city governments.”They think that the City of Regina and the residents here and the government care more about aquatic centres and local festivals and things like that than providing actual services and housing and compassion for those that are suffering on the streets,” Mthembu told council on Wednesday. WATCH | Encampment in downtown Regina dismantled: Encampment in downtown Regina dismantledAn encampment of about 30 homeless people in Regina’s Heritage neighbourhood was disbanded on Tuesday, the day after the people staying there were told they had to leave.Rebecca Granovsky-Larsen, another community advocate, said encampment residents are often left traumatized when their homes are torn apart during the decommissioning process. “People are continually not being able to stay anywhere in the city and not having a response from the people [who] are taking down the encampments [and] don’t know where to send people,” said Granovsky-Larsen. Homelessness has continued to dominate headlines in Regina as the issue has only worsened in recent years. A point-in-time count carried out in October 2024 found that there were 824 people experiencing homelessness. That was a 255 per cent increase from the count carried out in 2015, which found 232 people experiencing homelessness at the time. Support not universalSupport for the review was not universal among delegates who spoke to city council on Wednesday. Angelica Barth said she works in the shelter system and was speaking on behalf of multiple residents who’ve had encampments established next to their homes. Barth said the encampments brought increased loitering, vagrancy and petty theft. Barth said she had to have someone home at all times to ensure no one broke in or set fires nearby. She urged council to continue to shut down encampments across the city. “Encampments are not civil, sane, safe or sanitary for the encampers or for anybody,” said Barth. Kale MacLellan, another community organizer, offered a rebuke to Barth’s comments. She said the current process used by the city is “inhumane.””Sending out bylaw and police to evict people from parks or empty lots is insane. Repeating this process a few days or even a few hours later is equally insane,” said MacLellan.”We are wasting so much money sending out bylaw and police when we already know there is nowhere else for them to go.”The additional information will be presented in a report to the city’s executive committee on Nov. 12, 2025. ABOUT THE AUTHORAlexander Quon has been a reporter with CBC Saskatchewan since 2021 and is happy to be back working in his hometown of Regina after half a decade in Atlantic Canada. He has previously worked with the CBC News investigative unit in Nova Scotia and Global News in Halifax. Alexander specializes in municipal political coverage and data-reporting. He can be reached at: alexander.quon@cbc.ca.FacebookTwitter
Regina to review encampment strategy, potential locations for designated sites
