Judge delays police's plan for large-scale operation to close Edmonton homeless camps

A judge has ordered Edmonton Police Service to delay plans to begin a large-scale homeless encampment takedown Monday morning until he can rule on the outcome of an urgent court application made by advocates for the people who live in tents in the city's core.

Court of King's Bench Justice Kent Davidson granted an "interim, interim injunction" late Friday, requiring Edmonton police to wait until at least noon to begin any planned camp removals at eight sites that police have deemed high risk.

Davidson is set to make a ruling Monday morning on an application by the Coalition for Justice and Human Rights, which is seeking to stop or limit the EPS plan.

Lawyers for the coalition said the group decided to intervene Friday because the scale of the removal plan is unprecedented and could happen before an injunction hearing scheduled for January.

"We're hopeful on the evidence and the facts that the court will agree with us that this is unnecessary. This could have waited, and it is not in the spirit of humanity to evict people from their only homes, from the only protection they have from the elements, so close to Christmas," co-counsel Avnish Nanda said Friday. 

The coalition filed its application after being made aware of an email that EPS Staff Sgt. Michael Dreilich sent to social agencies on Thursday, notifying the groups that EPS plans to take down 134 structures at eight "high-risk" encampment sites.

On the doorsteps of shelters and social agencies

Several sites are on the doorsteps of shelters and social agencies near the downtown core, including the Hope Mission's Herb Jamieson Centre and the Bissell Centre.

Other locations are 95th Street and 101a Avenue, 94th Street and 106th Avenue, 95th Street and 105a Avenue and the Dawson and Kinnaird ravines. The five-day operation will run until Friday, Dreilich said in the email.

During the court application, lawyers for both the City of Edmonton and Edmonton police argued the camps marked for removal are dangerous. Furthermore, that some camps have been the site of two fatal fires in November and sexual assaults have been reported at some of the camps.

The lawyers for the city and police also presented an affidavit from Hope Mission program director Tim Pasma, who said that he believed about 140 to 150 people would be displaced and that Hope Mission has the capacity for 150 new people.

Boyle Street Community Services staff told CBC they believe between 300 and 400 people will be displaced. During the hearing, Nanda argued that criminal events and urgent safety issues in camps should be addressed, but it doesn't make sense to displace dozens or hundreds of other people while doing it.

He also argued that many homeless Edmontonians who live in camps will not go to shelters because of previous bad experiences, concern about religious programming and safety issues.

Spokespeople for the city and the Edmonton Police Service said they will not comment on the removal plan until there is an outcome in the court application.

Sharp criticism

News of the plan sparked sharp criticism from some social agencies and politicians.

In a news release, the Bissell Centre warned that targeting over 130 tents for teardown will leave people out in freezing temperatures, at risk of frostbite and amputations.

"This will disproportionately affect Indigenous people and negatively impact our community's efforts towards reconciliation," the news release said.

In a statement, Alberta NDP Leader Rachel Notley and housing critic Janis Irwin called on the provincial government to stop the EPS plans.

They said the province must be able to guarantee a safe place for every person impacted before police take action.

"Wholesale razing of encampments puts lives in danger," Notley and Irwin said.

"We know that encampment sweeps lead to greater risk of overdoses and more people needing medical care as they experience frostbite, hypothermia, and other effects caused by exposure to the elements."

A spokesperson for the minister of Seniors, Community and Social Services said the province won't get involved.

"This action is an initiative of the Edmonton Police Service and Alberta's government does not direct or interfere with law enforcement agencies," Heather Barlow said in a statement.

Outreach workers told to stay away

In his email, Dreilich told the agencies that people living in the tents might be seeking help because they had already been served closure notices.

He said police are asking service providers to stay out of the area where the tents are being removed.

"During site closures, we ask that outreach agencies remain out of the work site area and on the periphery of public property for safety purposes," he wrote.

"If there are any concerns about a citizen in encampment (i.e. in the queue for housing, medical needs, etc.) please let us know and we will evaluate and discuss options before closure."

That particular directive and the whole operation concern Jordan Reiniger, executive director of Boyle Street Community Services.

"I think that's an odd request," Reiniger said Friday. "I would be curious as to why they feel like people shouldn't be witnessing the encampment clear-outs.

"I think that if we're going to do something like this, at the very least, it should be a transparent process, and it should be as compassionate as possible."

EPS spokesperson Cheryl Voordenhout said in an email Friday that the intention was not to bar service providers from assisting people and the email was meant to inform the agencies and get their help. 

It's cruel at this time of year and heading into winter in the holidays​​​​​.- Jordan Reiniger

Reiniger said the police operation would be a significant setback as outreach workers would lose track of people working on housing applications and otherwise being connected to services.

He said it's counterproductive to do the removals because there isn't enough shelter capacity for every one homeless.

"It's cruel at this time of year and heading into winter in the holidays."

In an interview with Edmonton AM earlier this month, Edmonton police Chief Dale McFee said he believes encampments are unsafe, pointing to the deaths of two people in fires in November and the camps also create criminal and public health issues.

He said he thought a new strategy was needed, acknowledging that the current policy of taking apart camps leads to them popping up elsewhere.

"You've got to take them down and keep them down," he said.

Reiniger said that in the past, social agencies have been part of figuring out the best way to respond to encampment issues.

He's not sure why they've suddenly been shut out of the decision-making and wonders if the EPS plan is really about risk or if it's about trying to get homeless people out of particular areas of the city.

Mayor Amarjeet Sohi said Friday he had also just learned about the operation and directed questions back to Edmonton police. Sohi said he understands EPS has requested the city's help with clean-up support after the camps have been cleared.

The province and city had set a goal of having 1,700 shelter spaces available in the city by Nov. 1 but haven't reached it.

According to Homeward Trust data up to Dec. 7, there were more than 1,120 beds, with 934 spaces in use. However, the Friday statement from the Ministry of Seniors, Community and Social Services said there are currently 1,388 shelter spaces.

"Shelters in Edmonton are currently under-capacity and not turning people away," the statement said. "Shelter utilization numbers are monitored daily and if capacity becomes an issue, our government will take immediate action to make sure people are not turned away."

The Mustard Seed, which is operating a new shelter space in central Edmonton, said it has fewer operating spaces than are listed in Homeward Trust's data.

In emails Friday, Homeward Trust staff explained that it pulls numbers from the province's system and the total reflects the number of funded beds. Because of that, they said it's possible the numbers wouldn't reflect temporary closures. Or, in the case of the Mustard Seed's newly opened Central Seed facility, beds are funded but still under renovation.

Hope Mission operates most of the shelter spaces in the city. Tim Pasma, director of programs, said they have room for about 850 people per night and have seen 750-780 come in. He said they have the staffing and resources to expand to take in up to 1,000 people as needed. 

Pasma said more shelter spaces across the city are expected to open up in January and February. 

The Coalition for Justice and Human Rights will be in court on Jan. 11 for a previously scheduled injunction hearing. It hopes to stop the City of Edmonton from dismantling homeless encampments.