Losing homelessness adviser disappointing, but new role ‘positive development,’ premier says

Manitoba’s premier says he would have preferred that his hand-picked adviser on homelessness stay in her role, after she resigned less than a year into the job.

But a day after Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud confirmed she had submitted her resignation, Wab Kinew said he remains confident his government’s Your Way Home strategy — aimed at ending chronic homelessness by 2031 — will stay on track.

“Tessa is somebody that I have a ton of respect for, and that I am very close to, personally,” Kinew said at an unrelated event Friday afternoon. “To see her move to the (Collaborative Housing Alliance Real Estate Investment Trust) gives me confidence that you’re going to have that crucial part of the equation — getting more housing units built — that we’ve got a very capable hand at the wheel there.”

Kinew appointed Blaikie Whitecloud in January to lead the NDP government’s effort to end chronic homelessness, at a starting salary of $177,745. Her mandate included moving people from encampments into stable housing supported by social services.

“I would have loved it if Tessa would have continued to work with us going forward, but to see her at a partner organization, still working in common cause to get people out of tents into housing units, is a positive development,” he said.

When asked why Blaikie Whitecloud left the position, Kinew said only that he believed the real estate trust’s vision spoke to her. She will become the organization’s new CEO after leaving the province at the end of November.

Blaikie Whitecloud had worked in the non-profit sector serving homeless people since 2013, first as the executive director of 1JustCity and, before taking on her current role, as the chief executive officer of Siloam Mission.

Your Way Home is focused on creating a new stream in the Manitoba Housing system that dedicates 20 per cent, or 2,500 residential units, to the estimated 700 people who were living in about 100 encampments two months ago.

So far, 89 people have been successfully housed, with plans to move an additional 70 out of encampments into supported housing in the coming weeks.

Blaikie Whitecloud said in a prepared statement it’s been “amazing to work with (Housing) Minister (Bernadette) Smith to get processes of collaboration with the sector and the province in place…. She has a bold vision and has taken immediate action to bring housing units online to support people moving up the housing ladder.”

She added that she plans to carry the lessons learned from Smith into her new role “building and revitalizing housing across the continuum to ensure deeply affordable units, with the right supports in place, are available for those in need.”

In a statement Friday, Smith said Blaikie Whitecloud “is moving on to help build more housing in Manitoba.”

“Tessa’s leadership is instrumental in bringing partners together and setting our strategy on the right path,” the statement said. “Thanks to her efforts, 100 people who were living in encampments now have homes, and we are in a strong position to keep building on that progress.

“We are grateful for Tessa’s dedication to ending chronic homelessness and look forward to continuing to work alongside her as she takes on this new role focused on expanding Manitoba’s housing supply.”

Mayor Scott Gillingham said Friday that he doesn’t believe the shuffle will impact the province’s homelessness strategy.

“And the city’s commitment to partner with the province remains solid,” he said. “Tessa Blaikie Whitecloud is not leaving the work of homelessness. She is just moving to a new, very important aspect of making sure housing is available for people who are currently homeless. We all continue on with this work.”

Gillingham said he’s not satisfied with the speed at which the province is addressing the homeless crisis in the city, but added he doesn’t think anyone is.

He also said he believes Blaikie Whitecloud’s resignation, tendered on the same day the city released its policy and protocol to implement new homeless encampment rules, was just a coincidence.

In September, city council voted to prohibit encampments from transit shelters, playgrounds, pools, spray pads, recreation facilities, schools, daycares, adult care facilities, medians, traffic islands, bridges, docks, piers, rail lines and rail crossings, as well as wherever the camps obstruct traffic or pose a “life safety issue.”

Gillingham said he never directly spoke with Blaikie Whitecloud about the city’s plan.

scott.billeck@freepress.mb.ca