Greater Sudbury crews cleared to work with people in Memorial Park encampment to clean up garbage

Overflowing garbage bins and piles of trash have become a common sight for Marc Rivet in downtown Sudbury's Memorial Park.

"Now it's a mountain of garbage," said Rivet, who has asked the northern Ontario city to clean up the park.

Rivet, who drives by the park regularly for work, said he did not see a noticeable difference a week after he emailed the city.

"The people that are in the park with tents have to be held accountable to their garbage," he said. "I don't think that's an unreasonable request."

Stefany Mussen, the city's manager of corporate security and bylaw services, said they were waiting for directions from city council on how to proceed with cleanup in the park, which has been home to a tent encampment.

"The individuals that are residing in Memorial Park have been there for quite some time; they have complex needs," Mussen said. "It's a requirement of time and trust to ensure that their needs are met."

She said city staff were now clear to work with the people in the encampment and help clean it up. A crew contracted by the city was there Nov. 3 and is scheduled to return again on Nov. 10.

Cleanup before Remembrance Day

Mussen said Nov. 10 was chosen to get the grounds in order ahead of Remembrance Day.

Memorial Park has traditionally been the main site for Sudbury's Remembrance Day ceremonies. But a spokesperson for Royal Canadian Legion Branch 76 confirmed to CBC News, the event that was planned would be moved to two separate locations.

Still, Mussen said, a clean space will allow individuals who wish to pay their respect to Canada's veterans to visit the veteran's memorial in the park.

"We value the sacrifice of our veterans who have served," she said. "We want to remind our community members that the park's a place for everyone, so we have asked the people in the park, as well as our community partners to assist us in cleaning up the park in preparation for Remembrance Day on Nov. 11." 

Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini said a better long-term solution is needed to manage garbage at the park.

"I do believe that we have to definitely have a better way of collecting the garbage. People do want to keep the area clean."

Vagnini said having a large trash bin in the park or planning regular pickups to transport garbage directly to the city landfill could be possible solutions.

"There's one fella that's in the park that gets up in the morning and he starts raking," Vagnini said. "He goes around and picks up garbage. But if you look at some of the bins that are located around the park, they're overflowing."