A citizens group is demanding an encampment in Clarence Square Park be cleared after what it says have been two years of threatening and unsanitary conditions
A press conference to demand that the city clear the encampment in downtown Toronto’s Clarence Square Park was preceded hours earlier by a visit from a city crew which removed enough debris and garbage for four truckloads on Tuesday.
The park commonly looks like “a war zone” according to some of the 56,000 residents and businesspeople who belong to the Downtown Concerned Citizens Organization (DCCO) calling on the city to restore the park to a safe, family-friendly state. The clean-up reveals how the city is only concerned about bad press, they said during the press conference.
One local resident, Sabrina Capone, says she has been assaulted twice. “Women are afraid to walk in the park in the afternoon.”
Victoria Curcio, another local resident, recounted an attack against her. “A woman lunged at me and tried to steal my dog.” The woman grabbed the leash but then stumbled, allowing Curcio and her dog to get away.
Otherwise, Curcio says, there have been incidents of vandalism in her building’s parking garage. And steel plates have been installed on entry doors because “crowbars have been used to pry them open.”
David Kelly, general manager of the nearby Soho Hotel, spoke as a representative for local business owners. “We were asked by our city councillor to show compassion,” he says, but after two years, there is so much crime in the area that the hotel locks doors — even during the day — to protect staff and guests.
“Why are hundreds of us held hostage by a group of ten with no respect for us or our laws?” he asked.
DCCO members have “constantly complained, vehemently” to (Ward 10 Councillor and Deputy Mayor) Ausma Malik, (Mayor) Olivia Chow, Gordon Tanner of Toronto Shelter and Support Services and Toronto City Council “to no avail,” says McKiel.
Instead, he says, Malik sends a weekly email claiming she has “addressed the Clarence Square encampment” by hiring more security, planting a shipping container used as an office for security, park clean-up and an assortment of other assets with costs to the taxpayer.
“There are approximately 10-15 hardcore people that will not leave,” he adds, and estimates security costs billed to taxpayers are $80,000 per month.
The DCCO has been contemplating legal action aimed at the city and the Toronto Police Services Board, looking for restored order in the Spadina-Wellington. If Malik commits to immediate removal, then the DCCO won’t go ahead with contemplated legal action, says McKiel.
The National Post reached out to Malik for a comment but did not receive a response by press time.
If the application goes forward, the DCCO will request a court declaration that the encampment is illegal, as well as an injunction to restrain people from erecting tents or engaging in illegal activity.
At this point, DCCO is not looking for any compensation.
“Obviously, a great many ratepayers are fed up with the city’s inaction and the descent of our city and their neighbourhoods into lawlessness and squalor,” says the DCCO’s lawyer, Gavin Tighe, a partner with Gardiner Roberts LLP.
One recent positive sign in the battle against encampments was the city clearing several tents and structures from Allan Gardens on Oct. 18. According to the city, last summer there were 90 structures and about 60 people living there. Last week the number of people was down to 11.
It states that Enforcement Notices leading to clearance of an encampment will only be issued when: “Circumstances in an encampment or encampments pose a public safety or health and safety risk to people living in encampments, other members of the public and/or surrounding communities.”
The DCCO argues Clarence Square reached that crisis point many months ago.
“We are encouraged by the City’s action in Allan Gardens,” says Tighe. “However, it seems the City’s tolerance and facilitation of encampments and drug use ensure that other unlawful encampments simply pop up in a never-ending game of whack-a-mole.”
The bottom line, Tighe says, is that city parks “are not campgrounds. They are public spaces for the enjoyment of all and the beautification of our City. When public spaces are squatted on by a group of individuals it deprives all of us of these valuable common assets.”
He says the DCCO is “hopeful that a solution will yet be found and resort to the Courts will not be necessary.”
But, ultimately, he adds, “the City of Toronto Act provides a mechanism whereby a ratepayer can seek to compel the City to enforce its own laws when it fails to do so.
McKiel argues against the City’s enhanced outreach model. “They’ve been using it for the past two years. It has completely failed.”
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