Tent gets family kicked off beach
Desire for a bit of shade for children lands visit from police
All Courtney Jackson wanted was a relaxing day on the beach with her family Monday.
Instead, as a Niagara Regional Police officer escorted them off the beach, her daughter was left wondering: “Mommy, are you going to jail?”
All because Jackson wanted to provide her son some shade with a small tent.
Jackson, the owner of Claws Nail & Beauty Bar in St. Catharines, says the day went sour shortly after she arrived at Crystal Beach at about 12:30 p.m. Monday. After her bags were checked for alcohol and glass containers, and paying admission for the first time, the Niagara-on-the-Lake family sat down and was interrupted by a man who pointed at the half-moon pop-up tent she brought.
“He just came up to me in a random way and said, ‘Did anyone tell you about this?’ ” she says. “He said, ‘You’re not allowed to have tents on the beach.’ ”
The small tent was for her children in case they needed a break from the sun. Sure enough, 30 minutes later “my son was already whining, looking for some kind of comfort.”
All along the beach, Jackson spotted huge umbrellas tilted sideways to provide shade. She didn’t think a half-moon tent for her kids would be a problem. But no sooner was the tent up than the same man who approached her earlier — who she later learned was a bylaw officer — was back.
“All he said was, ‘Didn’t I tell you about this? Take it down.’ That’s what threw everything off, there was no proper communication. And no respect from the very minute this random person approached me.”
The tent was not taken down, and the man returned about 40 minutes later with a Niagara Regional Police officer. That’s when Jackson was told she had to leave. A video posted to her Facebook page shows the family, along with three other kids they were with, being escorted out.
“He said, ‘Is this your tent?’ I said, ‘Yes.’ Then he’s like, ‘Pack it up … you’re all out.’ ”
Jackson was stunned, especially because no one around her on the beach was complaining.
“No one around us was offended or bothered.”
Contacted Tuesday, NRP Const. Phil Gavin said officers “requested the tent/structure be taken down,” as it didn’t comply with beach rules.
“When it was refused, the persons were asked to leave the beach under the authority of the Trespass to Property Act for engaging in a prohibited activity.”
On the Town of Fort Erie website, updated rules on Crystal Beach state “any mounted material on supports” is disallowed. Umbrellas with a centre pole no taller than seven feet six inches with a shade diameter of nine feet are permitted.
When she got home, Jackson vented her frustrations on Facebook. Her post quickly racked up thousands of views, generating nearly 800 comments by the next day.
Many of them blaming her. Among the feedback: “Even when you were told the rules, you still broke them.” “Don’t break the rules and you won’t have issues.” “Don’t like it, go somewhere else.”
But Jackson says her post was meant to draw attention to the “large gap” in bylaw and law enforcement. As a business owner on St. Paul Street, she says she is frustrated by “aggressive” panhandlers and drug addicts surrounding her storefront — among other issues — driving business away. She has shared her concerns with Mayor Walter Sendzik and the downtown BIA, but the problems persist.
She feels like her beach tent was a bigger concern for police than “real issues” affecting her business and community.
“On my one day off, I go to the beach and this is treated like I want to see serious crimes treated. That’s what I wanted to shed light on.
“I take ownership that I wasn’t aware of the bylaw, and when told I couldn’t have it up, I still put it up. (But) the police should be working with bylaw officers … ‘What is the actual problem, how can we help the family enjoy their day?’ ”