Encampment residents resist eviction as advocacy group loses bid to stall tent removals

An advocacy group that accused the City of Edmonton of failing to ensure there is adequate shelter spaces to accommodate people evicted from homeless encampments has lost its latest bid to halt the evictions.

The Coalition for Justice and Human Rights alleges the city and the Edmonton Police Service have breached an interim injunction by failing to ensure there is adequate shelter space to accommodate people being evicted from the encampments.

The Edmonton-based coalition argued its case before Court of King's Bench Justice Kent Davidson Tuesday. Chris Wiebe, a lawyer representing the coalition, told CBC News that Davidson denied the group's request for a pause.

The decision came as police officers and city crews arrived to begin clearing a central Edmonton homeless encampment a few blocks away from the Law Courts building.

The cluster of makeshift shelters, in the area of 95th Street and 101A Avenue, makes up the eighth and final camp earmarked for removal by the city and police.

At the centre of the makeshift shelters, a tent was painted with the words "These are our homes."

Some camp residents, wrapped in blankets, huddled around a fire and refused to leave as officers began patrolling the area. Camp resident and Elder Roy Cardinal closed his eyes and shouted, "We're standing our ground. We'll be peaceful as much as we can.

"Be humble to us and hear our prayers."

Cardinal said has been living in the camp for six months, He said the encampment has become home to a tight-knit community of people who care for each other. He said he decided to hold his ground the moment he saw officers move in Tuesday morning.

"We're going to be here and we're going to stay here," Cardinal said, adding that residents simply want a safe place to take shelter.

"We all want the same thing. We want our streets to be safe."

Eviction notices were issued to camp residents Monday. Bright yellow removal notices were pinned to tents and tarps.

As of noon Tuesday, as a heavy snow began to fall, some camp residents were still refusing to leave, and a cluster of tents at the site remained standing as police officers watched on.

Wiebe, who represents the coalition, said seeing the city go ahead with the camp closure was troubling and frustrating.

"We have grave concern about them going ahead with this closure despite the cold weather and we think this encampment closure will cause great harm and should not be going ahead," he said in an interview.

Police and city workers were prepared to clear an encampment in central Edmonton Tuesday morning but some residents have refused to leave. (Natasha Riebe/CBC)

The interim injunction, granted last month, set a series of conditions to be met before eight homeless encampments deemed risks to public safety can be cleared, including a requirement for adequate shelter space.

The coalition argued that the city is relying on provincial estimates for Edmonton's shelter capacity and that the reports don't accurately reflect the number of available emergency beds. Displacing people from encampments is flawed, harmful and ineffective, the coalition said in a statement Monday.

"The interim injunction states that, when there is inadequate shelter space, closures should only proceed where there is an imminent risk to public health/safety," the coalition said.

"People in encampments have not been told the reasons for their clearance, and they question if an imminent risk exists."

The order is set to expire Thursday, when court will hear an earlier application from the coalition, which has launched a lawsuit against the city over its policy of removing homeless camps.

The city has maintained that the encampments are too dangerous to remain standing and that it continues to abide by all conditions of the court order.

In a statement, the city said it will continue to defend its approach to camp removals at Thursday's hearing.

"The city unequivocally rejects the suggestion that our actions over the past two weeks have been non-compliant with the December injunction," the statement said.

"All decisions on encampment closures have occurred in careful compliance with the terms of the order. Justice Davidson directed this morning that any concerns or applications regarding the city's compliance with the injunction will be dealt with at a later date."

Police and city workers at an encampment near 101A Avenue and 95th Street on Tuesday. (Natasha Riebe/CBC)

In its statement Tuesday, the city reiterated its stance that its removals policy is justified due to the public safety risks pose by encampments.

Camps threaten the safety of the community at large, and people who sleep rough outside face "severe dangers," including the risk of injury from crime and cold weather, the city said.

"Evidence will be presented of examples of gang victimization, armed robbery, physical and sexual assault, sexual exploitation, sanitation issues leading to disease, frostbite and cold-weather injuries, and fatalities caused by tent and encampment fires.

"These risks will be shown to be attributable to outdoor sheltering, not the removal of encampments."

The statement said that in the last five years in Edmonton, at least seven people have died and 26 others have been injured in 276 tent or encampment fires.

A cluster of tents stood at the camp Tuesday before city workers and police arrived. The camp is the eighth site deemed high risk by the city. (Natasha Riebe/CBC)

Complaints about encampments have continued to increase, the city said. Between Jan. 1 and Oct. 22 last year, there were 13,683 complaints from members of the public.

The city said it has relied on provincial data to ensure there is adequate shelter capacity for encampment evacuees, and that capacity has remained below 95 per cent during the removals.

"A person seeking indoor shelter in Edmonton will never be left without an indoor place to shelter," the statement said.

According to the city, 79 people have been displaced from seven different encampments since the evictions began two weeks ago.

The city said it couldn't confirm how many people went to shelters and how many moved on to other encampments.

Police declined to comment on the alleged breach of the court order and referred questions to the city. Deputy Chief Warren Driechel was holding a news conference on the encampment removals Tuesday afternoon.