‘People need it’: Millennium Library nears one-month closure mark

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This article was published 09/01/2023 (618 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Millennium Library patrons say they hope the City of Winnipeg will fully reopen the downtown gathering space, one month (as of Wednesday) after it closed following the on-site slaying of a 28-year-old man.

Almost two weeks after the Dec. 11 incident, the facility brought back limited services (pick-ups and drop-offs of library materials) and people are able to warm up in its entryway. The main area remains blocked off and security on site to redirect people seeking entry.

A full reopening, which city chief administrative officer Michael Jack has said is arriving at some point mid-January, can’t come soon enough for many.

The library was crucial for Shaylene Constant while she got her GED. She’d take out books she needed for classes and use the computers to do coursework.

“Has it been a month? Wow, that’s so long,” she said outside the library Tuesday, while dropping off books.

“People need it, they’ve got stuff to do. They have to come here, they’ve got needs.”

Constant said she has never been made to feel unsafe at the downtown library — but if more security is what’s needed to get it back to full service, so be it.

“Maybe they need more police walking in and out of the (Graham Avenue) skywalk, maybe they need more police figures, security guards, to keep us safe,” she said. “Maybe a Bear Clan patrol or something would help.”

Four male youth, ranging in age from 14 to 16, are in custody, facing second-degree murder and manslaughter charges in the Dec. 11 stabbing death of Tyree Jamal Cayer.

Mayor Scott Gillingham has said some security changes will be made before the library fully reopens.

Tristan Osler has lived downtown for five years. He called the length of the ongoing closure “shocking.”

“I was expecting maybe a week… or something for them to figure out what’s happened, investigate, make people feel safer and just make sure their plan is addressing these situations,” he said Tuesday. “But a month seems a little bit long.”

Osler said he understood the safety concerns, but called it “unfortunate” there was a gap in service caused by its closure.

“It’s a public space, and knowing that I’m able to go use that public space as part of my community is important,” he said. “Downtown doesn’t really have a community centre, doesn’t really have a sort of localized central space like other communities do.”

However, he was less open to the idea of more security measures.

“I remember when they put in the metal detectors (years) ago, and I thought that was stupid, I emailed my councilor saying that was ridiculous,” Osler said. “We can not be policing public spaces to that extreme”

Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 500 president Gord Delbridge said the Millennium Library employees the union represents have settled into the new status quo.

“I think they’re feeling more comfortable with the fact that they’re still in a soft reopening and that it’s limited access… they’re feeling safe and secure that way,” he said.

“However, with that being said, we don’t know at this point how they plan to intend on opening.”

Discussions on a full reopening were halted over the holidays, but Delbridge said the conversation would likely resume next week at a labour management meeting with the city.

“We put in a bunch of recommendations as far, as what we feel is needed to open safely. It seems they’ve heard that loud and clear. It seems like they’re working on that,” he said.

“I would think that if they were going to do it properly, that’s not just something they’re going to fix over the weekend.”

The union has pushed for increased security, but based “in-house” with investment made in keeping security on site long-term and conflict resolution training.

malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca

Malak Abas
Reporter

Malak Abas is a reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press.

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