MEDIA RELEASE:

WINNIPEG June 29, 2006 - Today, Mayor Sam Katz joined members of the Winnipeg Police Service, Downtown Watch, and the Exchange District Business Improvement Zone (BIZ) patrol to speak to media and citizens about the City’s 2006 strategy on panhandling. The Downtown BIZ, the Exchange District BIZ, the West End BIZ, and the Osborne BIZ are partners with the City in various panhandling programs this year, as are six downtown social agencies.

“Today, I’m here with our partners in this strategy to tell citizens about how we’re cooperating this year,” Katz said. Citizen education will be a major component of this year’s campaign, “With a renewed ‘Change for the Better’ campaign, City organizations are working to help citizens help panhandlers in a constructive, compassionate manner,” said Katz. “We’re educating citizens about panhandling, and we’re helping City relief agencies by promoting them as a positive alternative to giving change on the street.” Katz noted that money given to street panhandlers often ended up spent on substance abuse, which achieves exactly the opposite result of what compassionate citizens are trying to do by giving change.

Katz noted that the second part of the strategy – enforcement of Bylaw 7700/2000, the Obstructive Solicitation Bylaw – was on firm ground after a year of warnings, tickets and other enforcement actions. In the Downtown/Exchange area, over 60 tickets have been issued for contravention of the bylaw since it was passed. In related incidents, offence notices were issued for 80 liquor-related offences, and over 100 charges made under the Intoxicated Persons Detention Act. In Osborne Village, and over 30 incidents were resolved with warnings by police.

“Remember, this bylaw only applies to aggressive panhandlers in threatening situations,” said Katz. “Just as poverty and substance abuse are serious problems that we must address honestly, we also have to be honest about the fact that aggressive panhandlers put citizens into threatening situations, and the number of warnings and tickets issued under this bylaw to date supports that concern.”

Katz was joined by Winnipeg Police Service representative Bud Guest, who is responsible for coordinating the City’s participation in the programs. Guest noted that enforcement through warnings had generally been effective to date, but that public education on the panhandling problem and the need for a positive approach to assistance for panhandlers was most important in the long term.