Drunks Force Downtown Winnipeg Business to Close

I was in picking up some pain pills at Meyer's Drugs, on William and Isabel, and was joking with the owner about his sign about no oxycontrin being available at the drugsyore. He told me that every where around the store, there were addicts. The pill is selling for $75 a pill, and I have about 40 of them from last year that i haven't used because of their after effect on me!
I took one and I wanted to go dancing with my wife, so I put them away in a drawer. Way to dangerous!.lol

DowntownBIZ wrote:

Deank wrote:"We would like to see government provide more training / education and employment to those at risk. "

at risk of what?

At risk of themselves, from living on the street...

What is the risk? That is what they want to do. You cant help people that dont want help. For the people who want help we have many programs already. But the number of people who want help are very very small in number.

Name one subject that people aren't crying for "WE NEED MORE $$$$$$$$$$$"-
It is disgusting !
It is disgusting that all these NDP er' want more money! They are such poor providers in humanitarian help, that they cannot see that the complainers are the problem. If they would stop taking their salary for 4 months of the year, there would be a lot more money to help those that don't want help.
An oxycontin pill that allows these "at risk" people costs about .45 cents and will get them high for 2 hours!
Simple solution to making their lives more enjoyable.
Those same pills are supposedly selling for around $75 on the back lanes apparently.
I have 40 pills that were issued to me for my excessive pain!
I didn't know how rich I am.
Is there a roofer or a stucco man out there that wants to trade?? lol

DowntownBIZ wrote:

Deank wrote:"We would like to see government provide more training / education and employment to those at risk. "

at risk of what?

At risk of themselves, from living on the street...

At risk of "themselves"...hmmm...that seems VERY informative...

it is NOT the responsibility of the government to help these people.
The government should provide resources that the people can use IF they choose...but if they choose NOT to use them...that is up to them.

What the government IS responsible for, is enforcing the laws and protecting the general public who are actually contributing to society.
They ARE responsible for taking the transients OFF the streets and away from the general public, as the transients are breaking numerous laws just being there...not to mention the assaults and other crimes committed by them.

Just Sunday, my family was driving up Main Street, and about a block south of Logan, we saw 4 people near a bench on the sidewalk. One was lying down, two were sitting, and the 4th was trying to jam a hotdog into the mouth of the guy lying down. ALL 4 were holding beers (even the guy lying down had one in his hand)...and at least 2 of them were OBVIOUSLY drunk. And this was at 1pm.

Now...where were the cops for this? Why weren't these 4 people arrested for public drunkenness, disturbing the public, drunk & disorderly?

Probably because they are doing more important things, like handing out tickets to people with custom cars at the local A&W? or giving tickets to ice fisherman who aren't disturbing anyone? or generally just harassing anyone who might actually pay a fine? or blaming the local vendors for selling the alcohol to begin with!!!

There's a point where individual accountability must be faced...and if these types of people aren't willing to face them...it's probably time to have them move on.

jimj_wpg wrote:

JTF wrote:I'm speaking to the issue of "revitalization".

We started to "revitalize" Main Street about 40 years ago and have only managed to shift the problems to Portage Avenue.

Now, we are "revitalizing" Portage Avenue.

Any bets on where "the problems" will go to next?

It's been expanding/shifting to Osborne Vilalge since 1999.
I set the intention that it reverse itself, and move back northwards.
We must protect the south end, at all costs.

It's too late for that. With all the "cleaning up downtown" they've been pushed all the way into Crescentwood. I've been seeing the flow steadily increase in Osbourne Village and Crescentwood for the last 10 years or so that I've lived in these 2 neighbourhoods. I'm sick of having vagrants tearing through my garbage every week looking empties. At first I thought it was strays or racoons knocking over my cans and tearing my bags open, that is untill I actually caught some of them in the act.

It is incredibly annoying every week around garbage day to see 2 or 3 vagrants rummaging around through everyones garbage cans, making a mess of the backlanes. Just this morning I was greated by a gentelman on a bike digging through my neighbours garbage. It's like this every week. If your really lucky and you have a garage you don't use (like a few of my neighbours) you might even have some use it like a motel for a few nights untill you catch them and kick them out.

I've seen literally hundreds of drunks passed out in the Village over the last decade. I've even seen them staggering across the street by Grant Park Mall. I won't even get into the panhandlers and squeegee kids on every corner in the Village and now moving over to Maryland and Stafford and further S/W.

Hold it a moment please.

Is anyone suggesting that we can be without a slum area?

I kinda' got that impression by the conversation going towards rehabbing people and that, then, the problem will disappear.

We will never get rid of all the drunks and street people. We will only be able to affect where they live, if at all.

An aside: Just how many "do-gooder" groups are actually working these same people I wonder. (Is it a growth industry?)

soilent green is the solution JTF.

Yuuuuuk....

Well it would solve the food shortage.....hehehe

I no longer go to that Y because of the dreck that hangs out around that area.

Sooner or later, someone has to stand up and acknowledge that there's a problem. Its not just a case of one business closing, or one assault, get the politicians, Chiefs and do-gooders to actually go downtown and see whats going on.

When we first married 34 years ago, we lived downtown for the first 2 years. It was handy to work for both of us, no kids (not even a thought of kids at that time) I used to walk to work up Portage from Carlton to Vaughan, and there was a couple of regular beggars, and the parade from the bus depot to Main Street, other than that, it was generally fine. Then came Portage Place was built. PP started out as a bit of a showcase, but that has certainly changed over time.

In the evenings, downtown is a shithole and its time to face up to it and deal with it.

There may be social problems, but calling the downtown a shithole is being blind to the all great stuff thats happening downtown, and not really fair.

It's a very real perception DowntownBIZ. We may hate to see it, and MAYBE it's unfair, but it cannot be denied that many people believe it.

I know you peeps are working hard to overcome the perception but much much work still needs to be done.

Like get rid of the gang bangers, drunks and beggars. That would be a positive start.

Goth_chic wrote:Like get rid of the gang bangers, drunks and beggars. That would be a positive start.

....and don't forget the roofers.

GOM. I thought I'd save you the trouble of posting your obscure/weird/irrelevant reference.

Yes they are theives too

Just like electricians and plumbers and Rona workers and nurses and construction estimaters and engineers and cab drivers and....you get the point yet?

You forgot cops your slipping

Well, that goes without saying.

grumpy old man wrote:It's a very real perception DowntownBIZ. We may hate to see it, and MAYBE it's unfair, but it cannot be denied that many people believe it.

I know you peeps are working hard to overcome the perception but much much work still needs to be done.

I agree.
There is always work to be done. There always will be. Social issues, bad planning, and bad political decisions cannot be corrected that easily. We have more then our fair share of this, even currently, unfortunately.
But you know what? I had a great time tonight, downtown. The play was awesome and Earls was packed. People were having fun on a great summers night, downtown. I am sure many people felt the same way. There is much good and vibrancy happening downtown. No one should take this fact away from our downtown.
This does not mean anyone should be satisfied with our downtown. There has been much progress, but yes, much more is needed.
Tonight the BIZ with the support of the police also had to deal with a dozen intoxicated people. People with no hope, causing problems.
The BIZ will be the first to promote the downtown, but we are also out there on the front lines dealing with most of the issues. And we also champion for progress, as much as we can.
The publics voice needs to be fair, but also much louder when expressing a desire for quicker progress.
We hear you.

So, when y'all refer to "downtown" --> specifically what part of Winnipeg constitutes "downtown" ? When my newbie mind envisions d/t Winnipeg, I'm thinking of the Exchange District, and I'm getting the impression that this isn't the area. Is it the environs just beyond it?

Your patience with the newcomer is greatly appreciated. It aides in my assimilation process.

The problem areas downtown are all around the hotels that have the aboriginals as permanent residents, just south of Portage Avenue, I believe.

DowntownBIZ wrote:There may be social problems, but calling the downtown a shithole is being blind to the all great stuff thats happening downtown, and not really fair.

Exactly the attitude I was referring to. Yesterday, my wife and I made a trip to MEC. We parked on Hargrave in front of the Wagon Wheel and saw one of your Biz Watch guys with a drunk beside theAir Canada building. We walked the block to MEC, and the smell from the lane that runs northof Portage was enough to make you gag. How many of the buildings on the north side of Portage between Hargrave and Donald are vacant?

While in MEC, one of the "social issues" asked us where the washrooms were. As we left we had to run the gauntlet of beggars who had assembled on the concrete flower planter in front of what used to be A & B Sound (note that building is vacant) Of the 6 of them sitting there, 2 of them asked for money. Across the street in front of the MTS Centre, another of your Biz Watch guys was trying to coral another drunk before he fell into traffic. As we got back into our car, the first Biz Watch guy was waiting with the first drunk, I assume for the cops to take the guy to either Emergency or the Project.

So, theres my experience with downtown, tell me again that my calling it a shithole is not a fair comment based on my experience.

DowntownBIZ wrote:

grumpy old man wrote:It's a very real perception DowntownBIZ. We may hate to see it, and MAYBE it's unfair, but it cannot be denied that many people believe it.

I know you peeps are working hard to overcome the perception but much much work still needs to be done.

I agree.
There is always work to be done. There always will be. Social issues, bad planning, and bad political decisions cannot be corrected that easily. We have more then our fair share of this, even currently, unfortunately.
But you know what? I had a great time tonight, downtown. The play was awesome and Earls was packed. People were having fun on a great summers night, downtown. I am sure many people felt the same way. There is much good and vibrancy happening downtown. No one should take this fact away from our downtown.
This does not mean anyone should be satisfied with our downtown. There has been much progress, but yes, much more is needed.
Tonight the BIZ with the support of the police also had to deal with a dozen intoxicated people. People with no hope, causing problems.
The BIZ will be the first to promote the downtown, but we are also out there on the front lines dealing with most of the issues. And we also champion for progress, as much as we can.
The publics voice needs to be fair, but also much louder when expressing a desire for quicker progress.
We hear you.

What more is needed?

Are you in discussion with the Aboriginal community to address the social issues you refer to?

As a consumer, given a choice of spending my money for food, goods and entertainment where I am accosted by beggars, sujbected to filth, witness to social ills vs not, where to you think I'm going? I won't be guilted into going downtown because thats a solution to a problem that I didn't create.