Stabbing at park where protesters set up tent city

Victim was part of annual affordable housing protest

KITCHENER — A man was stabbed in a downtown Kitchener park on Tuesday morning where protesters had set up a makeshift tent city.

At 12:30 a.m., an altercation broke out between two people at Sandhills Park at the corner of St. George and Peter streets in the Cedar Hill neighbourhood.

One man was stabbed and taken to hospital with nonlife threatening injuries, said Cherri Greeno, Waterloo Regional Police spokesperson.

Police do not have a suspect.

The victim had set up a tent in the park as part of an annual protest meant to bring attention to a lack of affordable housing, said protester Julian Ichim.

“It’s tragic that it happened,” said Ichim of the stabbing.

“It’s an example of why there’s a need for housing. People sleeping by themselves are often victims of violence and the fact that this violence happened,

despite the fact that there were many people there, shows the need for a safe place for people to go.”

On Monday evening, the group set up tents along a hill in the small park, tucked behind a number of homes in the city’s downtown.

The protesters had just left the front lawn of a Waterloo Region building at Weber and Queen streets after they were told to vacate the property. Previous to that, they had set up camp in Victoria Park but were asked to leave by the city.

After the protesters set up camp in Sandhills Park on Monday, the City of Kitchener started to receive complaints from surrounding residents, said Gloria MacNeil, the city’s director of bylaw enforcement.

The protesters were given until noon on Tuesday to vacate.

At 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, bylaw enforcement was at the park to ask the remaining protesters to pack up and leave.

“We do have a bylaw that doesn’t allow people to camp out in parks and we also have a parks closing bylaw that doesn’t allow somebody to sleep in a park overnight,” said MacNeil, who was at the park.

There were four tents being packed after the noon deadline.

Shopping carts and suitcases were being filled by the tent city residents who said they were planning to move to Speaker’s Corner, at the corner of King and Benton streets.

As of 6:30 p.m. they still had not set up camp at the site.

ANDREJ IVANOV WATERLOO REGION RECORD Bylaw enforcement staff told occupants of a makeshift tent city in Sandhills Park in Kitchener to leave on Tuesday.

ANDREJ IVANOV WATERLOO REGION RECORD Derrick Gray packs up his tent in Sandhills Park in Kitchener on Tuesday. A group of homeless people set up camp in the park on Monday evening but was asked to leave by City of Kitchener officials.