'Criminalization of homelessness': Churchyard encampment remains after City eviction deadline passes
The 14-day notice to vacate an encampment outside a downtown Toronto church has passed — but instead of people packing up and leaving, a defiant demonstration was held on Thursday, organized by the reverend of the church.
“No one should have to sleep in a tent in a churchyard, we need good, safe decent indoor accommodations,” Reverend Maggie Helwig of Saint Stephen-in-the-Fields Church told CTV News Toronto Thursday.
“When ‘dwelling in street’ is considered an offence for people who have nowhere else to dwell, I think there couldn’t be a clearer statement of the criminalization of homelessness,” Helwig said.
The trespass notice issued to the encampment two weeks ago by the City suggested the encampment was violating bylaws, committing infractions for dwelling in the street and obstruction.
It instructed the occupants of the encampment to vacate in 14 days. After that, the city warned they would enforce the notice by removing the tents.
The churchyard is partially a city right-of-way.
“We know we have a huge housing crisis in the city and we know the Novotel project is closing, so there are more people on the streets,” Bishop Andrew Asbil of the Anglican Diocese of Toronto told CTV News Toronto. “We have a duty to be present, to provide the care because they are here.
Some neighbours, however, say the encampment has caused issues.
Davida Walker runs Westside Montessori school two doors down from the church. She says while she wants to support people living in encampments to find permanent homes, there is also a question of safety.
“We have people defecating in our parking lot, in front of our school—needles, crack pipes, meth pipes, people fighting in different areas around the school,” she said, adding it can be hard to find a balance between respecting the space of people who don’t have permanent housing while also advocating for the safety of the children in her care.
Some occupants of the encampment dispute that claim, saying it’s not the residents leaving the mess.
When CTV News Toronto first visited the encampment in October, a man who identified himself as Danny said he routinely cleans the outskirts of the encampment of debris and says most of it is left nearby by people who don’t live in the encampment.
Toronto Mayor John Tory says there are no immediate plans to enforce the trespass notice, but he remains adamant that encampments are unsafe and illegal.
“What we’re trying to do is make sure we’re following the law,” he said on Friday, “but at the same time, continue our work – hundreds of visits will continue to happen.”
“I hope we can persuade the people that are there to seek safe indoor housing.”
Some of the encampment residents, however, say they feel unsafe in shelters, adding the respite services they are offered are only night to night—leaving them little option but to hunker down where they are, despite a precarious future.
In 2021, the City of Toronto spent at least $1.5 million clearing homeless encampments.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.