New BrunswickFrustrated Saint John councillors pressed city staff on its encampment ban strategy Monday night, asking for more data on why some residents weren’t leaving tent sites. The city aimed to remove encampments from the areas of the city deemed as “red zones” by Nov. 17, but it is facing challenges because some people have more specialized needs.City aimed to remove encampments from red zones by Nov. 17 but is now facing challengesNipun Tiwari · CBC News · Posted: Dec 02, 2025 6:39 AM EST | Last Updated: 2 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 5 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Cara Coes, Saint John’s community support services manager, presented the update to council and said that the city is facing challenges removing some people with greater needs from encampments. (Nipun Tiwari/CBC)Saint John staff faced frustration from city councillors Monday evening while presenting the challenges in removing homeless encampments from parts of the city. The councillors said they want to see more urgency. The city officially launched its encampment “red zone” plan in late September with a goal of removing tents from these areas by Nov 17. Now, two weeks past that deadline, a staff report submitted to council says that while nine encampments have been successfully relocated out of prohibited areas, 18 remain — containing roughly 38 people. Red zones are a part of the city’s Housing For All strategy launched in July 2024, which aims to reduce the number of homeless encampments visible in the city. “Green zones” will house structured sites for homeless people, “yellow zones” allow tents at certain times of the year and red zones are areas where unsheltered structures of any kind are not be permitted. Cara Coes, Saint John’s community support services manager, presented the strategy update to council at Monday night’s meeting, which included removing specific deadlines for encampment relocations.“Challenges with our strategy is that there’s an increase in the number of high acuity and complex needs that require provincial solutions,” Coes said.”And this is a gap that the Housing For All strategy does not address.” The staff report says there has been progress with many people having been moved to the two green zone transition housing sites launched this year or to the areas labeled as yellow zones.But Coes said that the homeless population in the city has also grown by 61 people since August. The staff report says that the city, outreach workers and the province’s Department of Social Development are working with those still living outdoors but that relocations will depend on the “needs of the individual and available resources.”However, some councillors criticized the city for a lack of hard data on why some encampments weren’t able to move and a lack of clear target dates.Coun. Gary Sullivan pushed to reject the city update and said the red zone implementation was a failure. He and some other councillors wanted to see more concrete data about why some people were not leaving encampments. (Nipun Tiwari/CBC)Coun. Gary Sullivan successfully pushed for the recommendation to be denied and for the city to continue with the plan approved in September with its clear deadline.Sullivan said he recognized that some people might need more specialized arrangements but ultimately called the red zone implementation a “failure.”The staff recommendation, Sullivan said, changes what councillors approved in September with its November target.“A goal without a date is just a dream,” he said.“Goals and deadlines can be changed. They can be rearranged with new information. But the accountability to this council of a plan that we instituted isn’t here if we just remove the dates.”According to the Human Development Council’s most recent numbers for Saint John, there were 250 people experiencing chronic homelessness in October.Councillors want to know why encampment residents can’t leave Coes said the city’s two transition home sites — opened in August and November — have been seeing success. The staff report also said 15 people have relocated out of red zones.The sites, one on Thorne Avenue and the other on Egbert Street, have 27 units each, with six vacancies each.Councillors questioned why some of the units were empty at all when there were still people sleeping in tents and why there wasn’t more specific information available on why some encampment residents weren’t leaving tent sites. The staff report says that there are still people who haven’t been able to move because of a shortage of available beds or housing that meets specific individual needs, such as mobility issues or health-care needs, which require them to be closer to services.Coun. Gerry Lowe said the strategy had some visible positive results, pointing to Garden Street, which had a number of tent structures in September but has since been largely cleared. A staff report submitted to council says that while nine encampments have been successfully relocated out of prohibited areas, 18 remain containing roughly 38 people. (Graham Thompson/CBC)The red zone plan is being implemented through outreach workers from community group Fresh Start Services who approach sites and work with residents to relocate. Lowe suggested the city accompany outreach workers to sites to get more hard data on why some encampment residents were not relocating. But Coes said city staff couldn’t accompany outreach workers to encampments because of resident privacy and confidentiality concerns.“If Fresh Start said ‘no, they can’t go,’ then I’d cancel [the city’s] contract with Fresh Start,” Lowe said. “We’ve got to see it ourselves.”In a statement, Fresh Start’s executive director Melanie Vautour said the group continues to work with the city and province towards safe alternatives — outside of red zones — for those sleeping in encampments. “We, and our partners, recognize the urgency; balanced with the need to ensure people’s safety, as well as the ability to access services and supports that are critical for this vulnerable population,” her statement said.Coes said the city is in contact with Fresh Start to get more concrete data.CBC News requested an interview with Coes following the meeting, but Lisa Kennedy, the city’s communications director, denied the request. Mayor Donna Reardon expressed sympathy for staff saying it is “not an easy file” and that the city needs money and support, especially from the province.Reardon said that staff and councillors didn’t sign up for how much homelessness has grown in recent years.“But we do have it,” she said. “And we are the closest government to the people. So it’s up to us to advocate on their behalf as well. “ABOUT THE AUTHORNipun Tiwari is a reporter assigned to community engagement and based in Saint John, New Brunswick. He can be reached at nipun.tiwari@cbc.ca.
Saint John staff pressed by frustrated councillors on encampment ban strategy
