Workers clear an encampment at Dufferin Grove Park in Toronto's west end on Friday.Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press
A homeless encampment in Toronto’s west end was cleared by the city Friday morning after a small group of remaining residents said they wouldn’t leave until they got permanent housing.
City vehicles were seen removing tents and people’s belongings from Dufferin Grove Park, with city security and police officers on scene. The encampment area was surrounded by caution tape as city staff erected a fence around it.
Tensions had been high between encampment residents and municipal staff over the past couple of weeks after the city issued trespass notices as it stepped up pressure to clear the park.
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Mark Anthony Lindsay, one of about seven remaining encampment residents, said members of the group began negotiating with the city on Sept. 12, when it said tent removal would start. That culminated in city officials telling the remaining residents to leave with their belongings on Friday or have their things taken away, he said.
“They said, ’You have 15 minutes.’ This was not a dispute. This was not a question,” said Lindsay, who noted that officials didn’t use force.
“This was law. And because I am a person that has no legal rights, I complied,” he said. “We’re all human. Let’s act this way. This is not human.”
Lindsay said the city offered him a hotel room, but the only available one was in north Etobicoke, far from downtown Toronto.
“This is how we solve problems. We shift it someplace else,” said Lindsay. “That’s why we continually have problems. We don’t solve them, we pass it on to somebody else.”
Security and police stand by in Dufferin Grove Park. Tensions have been high between encampment residents and municipal staff.Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press
Supporters and advocates have been present at the park in an effort to deter the city’s eviction efforts. Among them Friday morning was Monroe Clermont, who said she woke up to find out that police and security had walked into an encampment member’s tent and gave them 15 minutes to leave.
“I had to rush down here and try and help as best as I could,” she said. “It’s devastating. I don’t know where these humans are going to go or how I’m gonna keep in contact with them or if they’re going to be safe.”
Another supporter, Fatima Hussain, was also in the park Friday morning and she said that indoor spaces offered by the city are “absolutely not a long-term solution.”
Hussain said many encampment residents feel unsafe in the shelter system due to reported violent incidents.
“It makes sense that a lot of people feel safer in encampments than they do in shelters, especially because you have autonomy, you have space,” said Hussain, who is part of advocacy group Encampment Support Network.
Hussain said the city has been talking about a “housing-first, human-rights based approach” to end encampments, but it still wants people to accept shelter spaces that are not adequate or right for them.
City staff remove tents and people’s belongings from the park.Sammy Kogan/The Canadian Press
Gord Tanner, the city’s general manager of shelter and support services, said more than 70 encampment residents at Dufferin Grove Park have been referred to a shelter since February, and nine more were housed.
City staff “have continued to reiterate offers of shelter, housing and services” to the remaining residents, he said in a statement Friday, and those shelter spaces remain available to them.
“Every effort has been made to care for the people encamped in the park, ensure the park is available to the broader community, and avoid enforcement,” Tanner said.
“The city remains committed to addressing the homelessness crisis and ensuring communities can access their parks.”