Toronto showed 'significant unfairness' in controversial encampment clearings, report finds

Toronto showed "significant unfairness" when it cleared encampments in the summer of 2021 and chose to act quickly despite there being no urgency to do so, an investigation into the controversial moves has found.

In a report released Friday, Toronto Ombudsman Kwame Addo says the city chose "speed over people" when it forcefully cleared encampments in Trinity Bellwoods, Alexandra and Lamport Stadium parks.

"Our investigation found the City displayed insufficient regard for the people it moved out of the parks," Addo said.

"It failed to live up to its stated commitments to fairness and a human rights-based approach to housing."

Addo's office launched an investigation in September 2021 following the encampment clearings which saw police officers in riot gear clear the sites of residents and their supporters, and resulted in dozens of people facing charges.

The investigation focused on how the city planned the encampment clearings, engaged stakeholders and communicated with the public. It found a number of problems, including that the city treated the clearings as a "top priority" and chose expediency and enforcement despite there being no evidence to suggest the encampments were an emergency requiring an urgent response.

Addo found the city chose to clear encampments quickly rather than focusing on the needs of those living in them. As well, it said the city was aware people living there had complex mental health needs, "yet failed to include plans to address those needs.

"Encampments and supporting the people living in them are complex. But the City owes a particularly high duty of fairness to these residents," he said.

Longtime street nurse Cathy Crowe called Addo's report a thorough one.

"It essentially demonstrates that homeless people were treated like an infestation ... the efforts were to stomp them out and never have them come back, as fast as possible," said Crowe.

"It tells the tale of malpractice that led to violence and injury."

Report findings 'validating' for advocates

Addo also found that the city failed to foster meaningful engagement with people living in them, but rather communicated in a way that was "confusing, lacked transparency and showed a lack of understanding about their reality." 

They also did not provide any dedicated onsite staff for people living in temporary dwellings in local parks to speak with, despite the city knowing they had questions which had gone unanswered, the report adds. 

In an interim report released last July, Addo concluded that city staff rely on an outdated and inconsistent approach when it comes to dealing with unhoused people in public parks.

"I think it's validating for a lot of people who were doing advocacy around the encampments who were struggling to get the truth out," said Zoë Dodd, a community scholar at MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions.

"The one thing the ombudsman talks about is harm and trauma, but it wasn't just harm and trauma, it also led to people's deaths." 

Recent city data shows Toronto saw an average of more than three deaths per week among people experiencing homelessness last year, totalling 187 deaths in 2022.

Former street pastor and longtime advocate for homeless people Doug Johnson-Hatlem said he thought the report was "well done" and "thorough." But he also hoped it would acknowledge that the city's shelter system is overcrowded,
and that people stayed in encampments because there was nowhere else to go, he said.

"Because the city dismantled those spaces it led to people dying to frost-bitten limbs, to lost limbs, to really severe outcomes," he said.

"The report had a mandate, different categories that it investigated but that could have fit into multiple places."

Final report includes 23 recommendations

The final report includes 23 recommendations in addition to the eight made in the interim findings.

Some of Addo's recommendations include: 

• Formalizing the creation of a group of city divisions with a "diverse set of skills and expertise" to collaboratively lead its encampment response.
• Prioritizing the needs of those living in the encampment, if it determines it is necessary to move them out.
• Creating a detailed plan outlining how it will support access to physical and mental health services for those living in encampments.
• Creating a strategy for engaging with people living in encampments, including specific strategies for Indigenous communities, and racialized and equity-deserving groups.

"While my recommendations will not solve all the challenges of encampments," Addo says, "it is my hope they will ensure that, from now on, the City responds to encampments and treats the people living in them with fairness, transparency, and accountability."

In a statement, the city said it "accepts the recommendations" of the final ombudsman's report and thanked those involved, but did not respond to specific criticisms of its handling of the encampment clearings.

"The City is committed to the use of a people-first, client-centred approach to help connect those living in encampments with services including shelter and housing," it said.

Dufferin Grove Park clearing should be 'blueprint' for city

The ombudsman noted that an encampment clearing between August and December 2021, in Dufferin Grove Park, marked a significant improvement. The city took a gradual, "housing-first approach" that allowed staff to build trust with encampment residents and offer housing and mental health supports without the use of enforcement, he said.

"I strongly encourage the city to formalize the Dufferin Grove initiative and make it the blueprint for the city's encampment response," he said.

At the time of the encampment clearings examined in the review, there were some 370 encampments in 58 "greenspace" locations citywide.

"Although encampment activity is often seasonal, as of March 23 the number of park encampments is 75 in 23 City greenspaces."

The city also said it is reviewing the ombudsman's final report "in detail" and staff will respond to questions when the report is presented at council.

In December, the Ontario Human Rights Commission said ongoing consultations revealed desperate situations — including a lack of affordable housing, economic inequality and gaps in mental health and addiction care — are leading to people living in encampments.

It urged that solutions to homelessness and encampments be grounded in human rights-based approaches, and be delivered with respect and compassion.

Federal housing advocate Marie-Josee Houle launched a review of homeless encampments in Canada in February, calling the situation a human rights crisis fuelled in part by the failure of all levels of government to provide adequate housing.