Councillor requests meeting with Salvation Army over shelter
The councillor for Ottawa's Vanier neighbourhood has reached out to the national head of the Salvation Army directly to voice concerns about a controversial shelter complex.
Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury sent a letter last week to the charitable organization's territorial commander, Susan McMillan, warning that the 350-bed facility slated for Montreal Road will be delayed by as much as two years as the appeal process takes its course.
In that letter — which he posted online today — Fleury proposed a partnership between the two sides as they wait for a hearing date to be set.
He also suggested that, in the meantime, they come up with "alternative options" for tackling the city's homelessness problem.
"During this waiting period, services and living conditions of our shelter users are not improving," wrote Fleury in the letter.
"I would like us to work together as a community and as a city to find alternative options that would be better for our most vulnerable. The options could also be less costly, less divisive and even carry the support of the community."
In the letter, Fleury also suggested looking at other sites for the shelter.
"There are a number of sites in the City with the appropriate zoning for a shelter, and we are willing to help find alternative solutions. The City of Ottawa's real estate department would be able to work with you to review viable locations that are government owned."
Appeal filed in November
In November 2017, five business owners opposed to the proposed facility filed an appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) in an effort to overturn Ottawa city council's approval of the 103,000-square-foot project.
Council had voted in favour of the facility only days earlier, following a heated debate and days of public meetings.
The appeal targets a city report that recommended council approve the rezoning of 333 Montreal Rd. to allow the multipurpose facility, which would reserve 140 beds for emergency use.
Since the appeal was filed, the OMB has been refashioned as the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal.
The appeal will nevertheless take place under the old rules, a tribunal spokesperson confirmed Monday.
'Simply outdated'
Fleury said Monday he felt compelled to go beyond local Salvation Army officials because he felt they weren't doing what was best for the city's homeless and marginalized populations.
Opponents of the project have questioned the ramifications of concentrating social services in Vanier, while also arguing the focus should be on getting vulnerable people into housing rather than shelter beds.
"I'm the chair of Ottawa Community Housing. I'm invested in offering our most vulnerable population some proper housing, and I believe that the model that they've proposed simply is outdated," Fleury told CBC News.
"If the locals can't look at it and reconsider, then you have to go up."
In the letter, sent on April 18, Fleury pitched a meeting with McMillan for early May.
He said Monday that he was still waiting waiting for a response.
"Nothing will be built until the [board] reviews our appeal. And for that time, there's an opportunity to do something," he said.
George Street shelter would close
The organization's national commander will hopefully see the shelter debate through fresh eyes, said Drew Dobson, a local pub owner and the spokesperson for SOS Vanier, the group opposing the complex.
"One of the tenets of the Salvation Army is to do no harm to the communities that [they're] trying to help," Dobson said.
"I think if it's pointed out to them, they'll reconsider the actions they're going to take."
The Salvation Army has said that — if everything goes according to plan — the new facility would be in operation by roughly 2022.
The charitable organization has a deal in place to buy the Montreal Road property, which currently houses the Concorde Motel. The Salvation Army also leases space on the site for a thrift store.
Once the Montreal Road complex — which would also provide a variety of addiction and life skills services — the Salvation Army plans to shut down its George Street emergency shelter.
CBC News asked the Salvation Army for a response Monday afternoon but has not yet heard back.
