People who occupy public spaces in Winnipeg should be allowed to stay briefly: poll

More than one-third of Winnipeggers believe people who have occupied public spaces in the city should be allowed to stay there briefly, according to a recent poll.

More than one-third of Winnipeggers believe people who have occupied public spaces in the city should be allowed to stay there briefly, according to a recent poll.

A poll, commissioned by Probe Research for CTV Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Free Press, shows 36 per cent of people surveyed last month believe that people occupying public spaces, such as parks and the Manitoba Legislative grounds, should be allowed to remain there for a period of time.

The poll also showed 30 per cent of those surveyed said it depends on the group when it comes to what happens, while 25 per cent believe those occupying the spaces should be removed immediately.

Seven per cent of people responding said people should be allowed to stay indefinitely, while two per cent had no answer.

Support for remaining for a certain amount of time had fairly equal support across supporters of all three political parties. It was highest for Manitoba Liberal voters at 40 per cent, followed by 38 per cent for the Progressive Conservatives and 33 per cent for the NDP.

Supporters of the Progressive Conservatives were more likely to want the groups evicted immediately, with the poll showing 41 per cent, while 40 per cent of NDP supporters who responded said it would depend on the group for what decision would be made.