The Deputy Grand Chief of the Mushkegowuk Council wants the City of Timmins to do a re-think on the site for transitional housing for the homeless.
Natasha Martin says the location on Pine St. S. near the Deloro landfill site is traumatic to Indigenous people – who, she says, make up half of the Timmins homeless population – because of the ongoing search in landfills in Winnipeg for missing and murdered Indigenous women.
Environmental hazards from Deloro are also a concern.
“I’m not asking them to start over, but to reconsider that space,” she says of city council. “Would you live there? And that’s a serious question. I wouldn’t want to live there.”
Martin understands the time constraints for funding for the site, but maintains the decision should be reconsidered.
She says a meeting with Mayor Michelle Boileau was a great starting point. The mayor provided the list of other sites that were considered.
“I want to evaluate these sites properly, and the pros and cons. There’s so many cons with the Pine St. S. site. And you know what the thing is too? Accessibility. There’s no access and that’s a long, dark, lonely road.”
With no sidewalk, Martin says it’s dangerous night and day.
Here is audio of our entire interview:
