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Toronto planned encampment clearing operation for months, built profiles of residents – Toronto


TORONTO – Facts City of Toronto Internal documents reveal it spent months coming up with a plan to free about two dozen people from a homeless camp in a popular park last summer, building profiles of people living there. and attracted the participation of hundreds of city workers.

The details are in the thousands of pages obtained by activists through freedom of information legislation.

City documents, shared with The Canadian Press, reveal the size of the clearing effort for Trinity Bellwoods Park – an activity that took place last June and turned violent in the end.

Homeless detention centers began springing up across Toronto in March 2020 as hundreds of people fled for fear of contracting COVID-19. Some residents said they feel safer outdoors and seek out the sense of community created by the camps.

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The documents show that by the end of 2020, there were more than 50 detention centers across Toronto. The city has won a court battle in favor of a law banning camping in Toronto parks and has begun focusing on action against what it calls the “big four” – including Trinity Bellwoods.

In December 2020, documents showed that the city was working to negotiate with the planters and their supporters, in the hope of forming a “plantation discussion table”.

Chris Brillinger, executive director of Family Services Toronto, acts as a volunteer mediator between the two parties and wrote to city staff on December 29, 2020.

“You need a full-time coordinator/mediator for a period of two to three months to get this going,” he wrote. “Communities need help to organize themselves. It consists largely of frontline workers and volunteers, who are exhausted, both physically and mentally. ”

Tracey Cook, the city’s deputy superintendent, responded within an hour.

“Surely there is a point that I immediately see that we all have in common? The city’s employees are also mentally and physically exhausted.”

In early January 2021, officials began planning the release of the four major prisons.

On January 7, 2021, Mayor John Tory’s Chief of Staff sent an email to Cook, saying she and her colleague “hope to see you in the next few weeks to discuss plantations and specials.” especially our plans for spring. The mayor has begun to ask…”

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On January 22, Cook emailed the mayor and city manager’s office a PowerPoint presentation titled “Renovation work – suggested next steps.”

It noted that the city planned to work in “parallel teams” – involving garrison residents and their supporters while also planning to clean up parks in September. Private.

“We are all worried about the packing coming in the spring,” the presentation said. “We have identified the highest priority parks based on risk and impact, and we need to create a plan and schedule for how we will act on these parks.”

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Negotiations between the city and homeless advocates broke down in February when the city announced it had filed an injunction against Khaleel Seivwright, a carpenter who makes “small shelters” for the homeless. homeless people. Supporters feel betrayed, the emails show.

Meanwhile, the plan to clear the plantations is gradually coming into focus.

City documents show employees planned to post trespassing notices at the plantations that would go into effect within 72 hours.

“We are working on the idea of ​​providing a softer communication for people living in the area and following up with a legal post after we have voluntarily moved some people inside, ” Dan Breault, the city’s head of this area records, wrote to the mayor’s chief of staff on March 2, 2021.

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The city also has information on each of the plantation’s inhabitants in a confidential document titled “Trinity Bellwoods Analysis.”

One resident of the camp was deemed “highly likely to escalate”, with the filing noting that he was “always on site and there was a lot of mess around the camp which he claimed was for crafting”. art.”

Another resident is said to be “non-confrontational and will likely leave on notice”, while the filing says another individual “would not respond well in a hurry, however will leave the site”. point if told he must leave in time.”

The city said several others were considered violent and would pose a risk to employees.

A note in the operational plan states that an individual “regularly escalates verbally with city employees; Walk around carrying a staff (long pole); and has told numerous city employees that he knows karate and ‘doesn’t mind using it.’ “That individual, the city said,” spoke very strongly of the ‘war’ against the city. “

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In a statement this week, spokesman Brad Ross said the city maintains documented records of residents in the area “to ensure that they are providing appropriate services that meet their unique needs.” them along with access to indoor space.”

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The city also compiled aerial maps of all the tents in the park, each identified with a number and associated with each resident.

AJ Withers, co-founder of FactCheckToscape.ca, the homeless advocacy group involved in sharing the documents with The Canadian Press, said the records show the city negotiated with homeless people. reside in bad faith.

“The massive evacuations they planned at Trinity Bellwoods were actually staged to fail,” Withers said in an interview.

“They had this large-scale surveillance program in place on the residents of Trinity Bellwoods Park to make it really clear that they knew that people would react poorly if they were in a hurry… They set it up. a barrel of powder and no wonder it disappeared.”

Finally, the city took action at Trinity Bellwoods in June, weeks after a cleanup operation failed at Lamport Stadium Park, where a large crowd turned out to assist residents in the surrounding area. clash with the police.


Click to play video: 'Toronto resident shares painful experience after cleaning up Lamport Stadium park area'







Toronto residents share painful experience after cleaning Lamport Stadium Park fence


Toronto residents share painful experience after cleaning Lamport Stadium Park fence – July 23, 2021

On June 22, 2021, staff showed up early in the morning at Trinity Bellwoods with over 100 security guards hired and fences erected around the two campsites. The residents, many of whom said they live with mental health and substance abuse disorders, were told they had two hours to pack up and make an offer to the hotel. or leave. Some were in crisis that day.

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Several clashes eventually broke out between the police and the homeless and their supporters. A battle broke out over a fence that supporters tried to knock down while police fought to keep it upright. Another skirmish broke out when police used pepper spray, accidentally hitting several security personnel, the documents said.

The riot squad moved toward the end of the day, when most of the crowd had dispersed and cleared the park.

Ross said the fence was erected to protect city workers and said protesters prevented employees from doing their jobs. Those protesters were alerted, he said, and when they didn’t leave, the city called Toronto police to clear the area.

The city has taken “special measures to help those experiencing homelessness,” Ross said, and is trying to strike a balance between the homeless and the community.

“The city’s response to the prisons takes into account the health and well-being of those living outside and the needs of the broader community,” he said. “The City cannot force people to come inside and take advantage of the many services the City provides, but living in a park within a city park is unhealthy and illegal.”

–With files from Paola Loriggio and Chris Young


Click to play video: 'Questions of police tactics in the Toronto park relocation'







Questions about police tactics in the Toronto park relocation


Question about police tactics in Toronto park eviction – July 22, 2021

© 2022 Canadian Press





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