Some of Winnipeg’s most vulnerable people will soon have a little more reprieve from the extreme cold.
The city said Thursday the Millennium and St. Boniface libraries will act as temporary daytime warming spaces.
Jay Shaw, the manager of Winnipeg’s emergency operations centre says there is an urgent need as the city remains in the grips of a stretch of extreme cold weather.
“We are going to be following proper safety and occupational health and safety rules and doing our best to provide a safe space during the day,” Shaw said.
“Our stakeholders at End Homelessness Winnipeg have said there is still additional need during the day and on weekends.”
The Millennium Library will open on a daily basis starting Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for a few weeks, while the St. Boniface Library will open Friday and Saturday, before closing on the weekend, and then reopening on a daily basis starting Tuesday.
The libraries will not open to the public for any additional services and the current holds pickup and returns only policy will continue, the city says.
Winnipeg and the entire province have been under an extreme cold warning since late last week.