St. Stephen declares state of emergency over homelessness

St. Stephen has declared a state of local emergency over community homelessness, just days after a death in a public space, which came to light in an emergency council meeting Monday night.

The district's declaration cites a failure and "lack of response" by the New Brunswick government for the homelessness crisis.

The province has failed to provide adequate resources to house, support and care for its citizens in St. Stephen, the declaration says.

"The Municipal District of St. Stephen has neither the jurisdictional authority nor the financial resources to appropriately address the consequences of the Government of New Brunswick's failure," the declaration says.

St. Stephen Mayor Allan MacEachern declared a state of emergency for the municipal district on Monday night. The vote was unanimous. (Submitted by Allan MacEachern)

The declaration said that on Dec. 1 of this year, emergency services in the region responded to the death of a resident in a public space, which it says is "a situation which will only become more likely as winter weather conditions worsen."

Sgt. Scott MacKenzie with the St. Stephen detachment of the RCMP told CBC News that the death was actually in the early hours of Dec. 2. He said a 41-year-old male was found needing immediate medical attention in a municipal park in Milltown and later died at the Saint John Regional Hospital.

MacKenzie said RCMP will not be releasing the individual's name and the investigation is closed as there is no suspected criminality. The cause of death will be determined by the coroner's office, he said.

Mayor Allan MacEachern said the Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure has previously rejected a community-based proposal to address the situation.

CBC News requested comment from the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure and the Department of Social Development, but did not get a response before publication.

MacEachern told Information Morning Saint John on Tuesday that after a meeting last Wednesday, staff started looking into whether this would qualify as a state of emergency under provincial regulations.

He said there are between 70 and 100 people experiencing homelessness in St. Stephen, and while there is a temporary warming shelter in the park with a heater, MacEachern said around 30 people are rotating in and out of the 10-by-10 shelter to try to keep warm.

The motion at Monday night's meeting passed unanimously by council.

MacEachern says around 30 people rotate in and out of a 10-by-10 temporary shelter in the park to try and keep warm. (Holly Johnson/Facebook)

After the vote, MacEachern said it was a decision that was not taken lightly.

"We're doing the right thing. They're human beings and we've gotta take care of them," he said at the meeting.

Holly Johnson, a resident of St. Stephen, said she got around a two minute heads up about what was going to happen at council and immediately went to watch the livestream.

"My jaw just dropped," she said.

Holly Johnson, a resident of St. Stephen, says she's proud of the municipal council for declaring the state of emergency. (Submitted by Holly Johnson)

"They really did catch us by surprise by calling for this, but we're just so incredibly proud of them and just blown away by what this means."

Johnson has spearheaded efforts in the past to get a senior who was sleeping in an alley into an apartment and to establish a food bank in St. Andrews.

She said while she wants to know more about what this decision will mean for provincial action, as a community, "it makes us feel that we actually truly do care about these people that are living rough in the community."

The declaration from council called on several ministers in different provincial departments, ordering immediate help including funding, resources, immediate housing, transportation options and special attention on the senior citizens currently experiencing homelessness.

MacEachern said action could include making a spot in the community a safe, warm place for people experiencing homelessness, or transporting individuals to somewhere with more resources.

Liberal leader questions minister

In question period in the legislature Tuesday, there was a back-and-forth on the issue between Liberal Leader Susan Holt and Minister of Social Development Jill Green.

Holt asked Green to explain what tangible actions the government was taking to help the people of St. Stephen.

In her response, Green said the province explored 20 different properties in St. Stephen for an emergency out-of-the-cold shelter, but was turned down for various reasons, "many stemming from 'not in my backyard.'"

Social Development Minister Jill Green says the province has been unable to find a location for an out-of-the-cold shelter in St. Stephen due to various reasons "many stemming from 'not in my backyard.'" (Jacques Poitras/CBC)

She said it's important to "be supportive of individuals that are experiencing homelessness," and to do that, "we need the community to collaborate with us. And I think we can see last night that they're not feeling very collaborative."

Holt said she was "stunned that the minister has just gotten up and blamed the people of St. Stephen ... saying that they're not taking the problem seriously."

The Liberal leader repeated her original question, to which Green said there is a plan for St. Stephen, and trailers ready to go but they need somewhere to put the trailers.

Green also said she gave the St. Stephen mayor her personal cellphone number but she hasn't heard from him in a week.

Holt responded: "I'm going to change topics because I don't want to hear another person in St. Stephen get thrown under the bus for this."

CBC News also contacted the cities of Fredericton, Moncton and Saint John to ask if those cities considered similar measures, and to ask how many individuals are experiencing homelessness or sleeping rough.

The City of Saint John responded with an emailed statement that a spokesperson said could be attributed to Cara Coes, senior manager of community support services. It said the city was "aware and very saddened, to have heard of the news of the passing of a St. Stephen community member experiencing chronic homelessness."

The statement did not address the question of whether Saint John had considered a state of emergency and it directed CBC News to a dashboard that said 237 total people are experiencing homelessness in the city, 166 of those being chronically homeless.

MacEachern said recognizing a state of emergency in St. Stephen doesn't take away from other regions where it may be a similar situation.

"I'm not denying that it's an emergency in Saint John or Moncton either. It's just someone had to step up. And I guess, I guess we're it," said MacEachern.

"Maybe we'll start something, I don't know. But I got a job to look after our community, and then we'll see where it goes from here."