A residents’ group has questioned whether the Winnipeg Police Service’s use of a warrant to search a homeless encampment in Point Douglas could set a “troubling” precedent.

Amy Robinson, the Point Douglas Residents Committee’s housing chair, is concerned the warrant process inadvertently validated the encampment as a residence.

“Such a designation is deeply problematic, as these structures are in clear violation of City of Winnipeg bylaws,” Robinson wrote in an email to police Chief Gene Bowers, Mayor Scott Gillingham and Premier Wab Kinew on Tuesday.

“Treating them as lawful residences risks undermining existing enforcement mechanisms and sets a troubling precedent.”

WPS charged two men after executing a search warrant on a temporary structure at the encampment, located on the bank of

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