Manitoba

St. Boniface warming centre reopening in city-owned building during cold snap

A city-owned building in St. Boniface will reopen as a warming shelter Tuesday evening as Winnipeg deals with another cold snap.

Building first opened earlier in December after woman died in bus shelter

A large, single-storey brick building building is shown, with snow on the ground in front and vehicles parked by the door.
A city-owned building at 604 St. Mary's Rd. will reopen as a warming shelter Tuesday evening, with staff from St. Boniface Street Links. (CBC)

A city-owned building in St. Boniface will reopen as a warming shelter Tuesday evening amid another cold snap.

The city partnered with St. Boniface Street Links to open the makeshift shelter earlier this month, after a woman was found unresponsive inside a bus shelter on Dec. 5 and died.

Street Links executive director Marion Willis told CBC News the city has made the building at 604 St. Mary's Rd. available whenever it's needed.

Temperatures overnight are expected to fall –26 C, with a wind chill of –34.

The temporary shelter on St. Mary's Road will primarily serve people on the east side of the Red River, Willis said.

Mayor Scott Gillingham, speaking to reporters after announcing funding for community centres on Tuesday, said other shelters in the city have flex capacity to expand their spaces during extreme weather.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cameron MacLean is a journalist for CBC Manitoba living in Winnipeg, where he was born and raised. He has more than a decade of experience reporting in the city and across Manitoba, covering a wide range of topics, including courts, politics, housing, arts, health and breaking news. Email story tips to cameron.maclean@cbc.ca.