City aims to remove encampment in Barrie park
Barrie bylaw officers issued a violation notice to an individual who had set up an encampment in the vicinity of Milligan's Pond on Monday.
CTV News obtained a copy of the notice, which notes that the individual broke the bylaw prohibiting camping in a public space without a permit and mandates that the individual address the matter within 24 hours.
"They gave me a notice thing saying I have 24 hours to pack up all my stuff and move," said Sasha, the woman who received the notice.
However, Jeff Schlemmer, the executive director of the Community Legal Clinic Of York Region, argues that such bylaws may not be lawful.
He explained that municipalities must be equipped to provide adequate accommodations to anyone evicted from public spaces.
"So it's far beyond just providing a shelter bed," said Schlemmer. "The courts have made it very clear in Ontario that the standard is that unless the municipality can provide all these things, then they cannot exclude people from public parks, and this issue was voted on last night in Sarnia, where the council had voted to shut down an encampment in a park. They agreed to hold off pending getting legal advice."
Christine Nayler, the co-founder of Ryan's Hope, has supported Sasha and the other people who have been at the encampment since September. She says eviction situations like this are extremely troubling.
"It's very traumatic for people that are already living in trauma modes, survival mode. Like they can't ever like make themselves a place where they feel comfortable, where they feel like this is my home now because they are always waiting for that you know notice to come."
In a statement to CTV News, the City of Barrie clarified the notice issued was not an eviction in light of recent court decisions.
The statement reads in part, "The Notice of Action Required is intended to identify the matters that are contrary to the city's bylaws."
In years past, Barrie police and bylaw officers ticketed and evicted Milligan's Pond residents. The city has received complaints from neighbouring residents/property owners concerning the debris and activities occurring in Milligan’s Park and Pond that are contrary to the city’s By-laws.
Earlier this week, a temporary shelter on Rose Street that housed roughly 40 people during the winter closed its doors for the summer months, leaving many with no where to turn.
The temporary shelter was in place to address the overflow situation plaguing local services.
With files from CTV's Dana Roberts.
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