City of Winnipeg opens splash pads from noon to 8 p.m. through June 12 to provide heat relief

The City of Winnipeg is opening spray pads to provide relief from the extreme heat that has blanketed most of southern Manitoba.

The provincial government had announced on Wednesday that it would temporarily relax public health orders to allow municipalities to open facilities to help residents cool off. 

At a news conference Thursday, Mayor Brian Bowman and Jay Shaw, the city's assistant manager of emergency management, announced that splash pads would open from noon until 8 p.m. until June 12.

Bowman and Shaw said the facilities are being opened strictly for the purpose of cooling off and are not meant to be used recreationally.

"If you are able to get relief from the heat at your personal residence, because you are fortunate enough to have access to air conditioning or you have a sprinkler or pool in your own backyard, we are asking you not to use these spray pads at this time," Shaw said.

Environment Canada has issued heat warnings for much of the Prairies, including southern Manitoba.

CBC Manitoba meteorologist Jon Sauder forecasts the high Thursday will reach around 32 C, while Friday could break a record with a possible high of 36 C. 

There is a chance of a shower or thunderstorm by Sunday afternoon. 

People using the city facilities are asked to limit their time to 30 minutes. Health orders limiting people to gathering only with members of their household remain in effect.

City staff who had been deployed to parks to help inform people about public health orders are being reassigned to help monitor the splash pads. 

The open spray pads include:

• Central Park.
• Fort Rouge.
• Freight House.
• Gateway.
• Jill Officer Park.
• Lindenwoods.
• Lindsey Wilson Park.
• Machray Park.
• Provencher Park.
• Park City West.
• River Heights.
• St. Norbert.
• Shaughnessy.
• St. James Assiniboia Centennial Pool.
• Sturgeon Heights.
• Valley Gardens.
• Vimy Ridge Memorial Park.
• Waverley Heights.
• Westdale.
• West Kildonan.

The city will also have water bottles available at all library branches, as well as at a cooling tent set up at Central Park. As well, water tanks are being delivered to the Salvation Army and West Broadway Community Centre to provide people with drinking water.

Extreme weather compounds other issues

Community activist Mitch Bourbonniere says he's concerned for people experiencing homelessness, who will have to again face extreme weather like they did in the winter.

For a couple of weeks last February, Manitoba was hit with a major cold snap that dropped temperatures to 40-below. During that period, three people living on the streets died from the cold, as emergency homeless shelters could only allow so many people due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Even though temperatures will be on the plus side, Bourbonniere says people experiencing homelessness will still be at risk.

"We have extreme weather, we have COVID and we have these people in our community who need our support and our love," he said, adding that many people experiencing homelessness are Indigenous and some are suffering from trauma left by residential schools.

"People die in Winnipeg every year because they're unsheltered," he said.

Bourbonniere applauds grassroots organizations, such as Mama Bear Clan and Anishiative, and the larger homeless organizations such as Main Street Project for planning ahead to help during the heat wave.

"We are prayerfully working so that no one dies in these next five days. But we have to be ready for it," he said.

"It might happen."