Kingston plans to seek court order to clear encampment at Belle Park

The City of Kingston says it plans to seek a court order to evict the people living at an encampment inBelle Park.

A news release issued Thursday said the move comes at the direction of city council and aftertrespass orders were issued back in March.

"There is capacity to accommodate individuals remaining in the encampment, but some have declined offers of shelter and support," the release said. "The city is seeking guidance from the court to address this situation."

In an email to CBC, a spokesperson for the city said the timing of its application will be determined once it's filed in court "in the coming weeks."

The city said its legal team has been in contact with the Kingston Community Legal Clinic, which is representing several encampment residents, and has told them of its plans to seek a courtorder.

The clinic's executive director, John Done, said he wasn't yet in a position to respond to questions about the city's announcement.

The tents and other makeshift shelters in the woods near the Integrated Care Hub were initially supposed to be removed in January, butcouncil voted to push that to the spring.

Despite the trespass notices,some of those living in the encampment indicated they planned to stay, sayingproximity to the hub and supervised injection siteprovides them with supportand a sense of community.

Advocatedescribed evictions as'dangerous'

Justine McIsaac, the co-ordinator forConsumption Treatment Services, previously said evictions would push people deeper into the woods, not closer to housing.

"It's just dangerous and we're literally putting people's lives at risk byforcing this eviction," she said in January.

The city describedits approach to the encampmentas focused on a "peaceful transition" rather than forcibly removing people.

Still, Ruth Noordegraaf, the city's director of housing and social services, said a court injunction would give officials that ability.

"Ultimately, that will give us that power. We don't obviously want that as the ultimate outcome, we would rather have people actually finding other solutions," she said.

"It absolutely is that balancing act of what is the best solution for everybodyin our community."

The city said officials have"strongly encouraged" people to move to newly createdlow-barrier shelter spaces that are available for women-only,couples and people with pets.

Encampment residentscan also access supports including free transportation and storage for belongings, it added.

Most of the people living left the Belle Park encampmentafter the trespass notices went up, according to the news release.

'We are a different community'

A Superior Court decision blockedthe Region of Waterloo fromcarrying out a similar evictionin January stating itdidn't have enough shelter capacity. This hasraised questions about whether other cities could proceed with evictions at all.

Noordegraaf said the rulingopened up a conversation about the systemic issues behind housing and poverty, but shebelieves the circumstances in Kingston are different.

"We are a different community, we have a different situation," she said. "We have been looking at providing as many different solutions as possible."

Some of those living and working at the hub have suggested the city's shelters aren't truly low-barrier as people don't have access to substances there and anyone found using could be kicked out.

Council declared a mental health and addictions crisis earlier this year and the city said it is committed to addressing homelessness, though safety for all residents is the top priority.

The news release also stated there have been "serious incidents occurring at the encampment" that pose health and safety concerns.