HRM fences off Victoria Park
Municipality steps up eviction efforts
Kathryn Jones Cleroux returned to the place she’s called home for the past seven months, only to find it fenced off Monday morning.
Workers for Halifax Regional Municipality had fenced off Victoria Park in downtown Halifax while Jones Cleroux was out getting her free breakfast.
It’s the latest move by the municipality in an attempt to vacate people from five encampments that were recently de-designated as homeless encampment locations.
The municipality gave eviction notices to people on Feb. 7, with a deadline to vacate by Feb. 26.
But when Feb. 26 arrived, there were dozens of people still living at the five sites: the Geary Street green space, Saunders Park, Victoria Park, Grand Parade and Correctional Centre Park in Lower Sackville.
“There’s nothing on those eviction notices about being fenced in,” Jones Cleroux said in an interview Monday morning.
Jones Cleroux said that after trying to find a way through the fence, she was eventually let in.
Jay Campbell, who has been living at Victoria Park since last April, said he was woken up at about 8:30 a.m. on Monday by someone who told him to gather his belongings and move along.
A few hours later, Campbell had already started moving his tent and belongings to another location.
"I'm not going to be staying in a temporary shelter," Campbell said.
"Those options for me personally are not going to be adequate, just for safety reasons and privacy."
Campell said some of the other people at Victoria Park were also relocating to the same area as him but didn't specify where.
Steve Wilsack, who has been staying and volunteering at Grand Parade since December, said that while the province and municipality claimed they had provided alternate options, they were not acceptable for those seeking shelter.
“Nobody is going to leave. They have no place to leave to,” Wilsack said on eviction day.
And Wilsack’s prediction was correct.
As of last Friday morning, a dozen people remained at Grand Parade.
That’s when the municipality escalated its attempts to drive people out of Grand Parade by cutting the electricity to the tent site.
According to a statement issued by HRM on Monday morning, there are six people experiencing homelessness who remain at Victoria Park but “can no longer remain in this de-designated location.”
“People in this location are being advised to immediately pack their belongings for transportation or storage and vacate the de-designated location,” the municipality said in its statement.
Bill Moore, executive director of community safety, said the municipality has given people “lots of time” since it closed the park to the public on Feb. 7 and most have since moved on to another location.
He acknowledged the makeshift shelter at the Forum isn’t an option for everyone but said the province has reassured the municipality that there are other options such as the Pallet structures and other shelters. HRM has also offered to store people’s belongings for up to 30 days while they relocate.
But why the fence? Moore said it will allow the municipality to “control the area” as it looks to remediate the site, which he said will most likely become a construction zone.
As of Monday afternoon, Moore said all but one person had agreed to relocate. He said outreach workers will continue to work with the people who have relocated to try and find them shelter that meets their needs.
“What we’re basically asking is that if you want to sleep rough, then we’ll provide another location but it can’t be this location,” he said.
But Jones Cleroux said she has no intention of leaving Victoria Park.
“We can’t afford to pay rent. We’re criminals now?” she shouted as she walked back to her tent.
Moore, who wasn’t employed with the city during the evictions in August 2021, said the city has tried to take a different approach with its encampment evictions this time around.
“We’re trying to take a very measured approach, trying to maintain their dignity,” he said.
When asked how the municipality would deal with people who refused to vacate, Moore said they would “cross that bridge when we get there.”
“People who want to remain? We’ll have a conversation. The park has been closed. We do have legal mechanisms in place if we have to use them, but that’s not where we want to go.”
Moore said he believed out of the 55 people who received eviction notices at the five sites, only one person has stayed put.