The GNWT will not offer an alternative encampment site for homeless people living in a parking lot near Aspen Apartments, who are required to vacate by Tuesday, according to a government spokesperson.
Adetoyeke Adedipe, a senior communications officer for the Department of Finance, stated that "the encampment residents will not be moved as a group."
Aspen Apartments will soon be renovated, which is a pressing reason for the tent dwellers to relocate.
In early September, residents of the encampment, alongside a group calling themselves "friends of the encampment residents," wrote and signed an open letter highlighting their needs and priorities. It was directed towards MLAs, city council, and Premier R.J. Simpson. At the top of that list is for the city and GNWT to provide a list of suitable locations where they can relocate.
The open letter also notes that encampment residents, numbering in the dozens, intend to fully comply with their deadline of Sept. 10.
Hannah Ascough, one of the friends of the encampment residents, signed the open letter. The conflicting municipal and territorial statements pertaining to the encampment don't come as a surprise to her.
"This tracks with the level of communication that I think everyone's been receiving, which is to say virtually none," said Ascough. "And [it's] inconsistent when you do receive it."
She said there wasn't much of a response to the open letter, which disappointed her.
"They did take the time to write us back, which we appreciate," she said, adding that she found the reply to offer little more than the status quo.
"The government says that there are shelters available to people and it's first come, first serve. What we were trying to emphasize in the letter was that we know there are shelters available, everyone knows that. It's that there's not enough room in the shelters for people."
The response, Ascough added, came with a signatures of the likes of Simpson, members of the legislative assembly and Mayor Rebecca Alty.
In August, Alty told Yellowknifer that the GNWT is "looking at a number of options, looking at a building."
Where these encampment residents will now go is up to them, Ascough said.
"To us, what that looks like is a failure on the government to follow through on promises that were made to encampment residents, as well as a failure to follow through on this commitment to ensure there is safe and accessible housing for everyone."
Earlier in the summer, homeless residents were living in tents near Sir John Franklin High School, on the corner lot by Crestview Manor. That lot was privately owned, so the GNWT helped move people to the parking by Aspen Apartments in mid-August.
Adedipe previously stated that the GNWT's overarching goal is to create more housing-based solutions and avoid creating more emergency shelter spaces. On Sept. 9, she said GNWT and staff from non-governmental organizations will work with encampment residents and other homeless people to ensure they can access wait-lists for existing and future resources.
She also said the territorial government encourages encampment residents to access existing shelters and check in with case management resources to ensure they can be contacted when spaces in more permanent housing options become available.
Speaking to Yellowknifer in August, Alty said of the homelessness crisis: "It's a race against time to have something ready, and we're really stressing [that] a decision needs to be made and start actioning it because perfect can be the enemy of good."
