WARMINGTON: Standoff at Trinity-Bellwoods Park

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City intent on evicting encampment that’s intent on staying put

Author of the article:

Joe Warmington

Publishing date:

Jun 22, 2021  •  31 minutes ago  •  1 minute read  •  Join the conversation Activists link arms to prevent the removal of an encampment at Toronto’s Trinity Bellwoods Park on Tuesday, June 22 Photo by Joe Warmington /Toronto Sun Article content

The stage is set.

For what no one is quite sure.

What is known as the city of Toronto has made it clear they plan to evict the illegal encampments and its occupants today.

Trinity Bellwoods park has been walled off into two zones.

There is temporary fencing around a homeless encampment in the northwest end of the park closer to Dundas St. and a larger closed-off portion near Queen St.

Inside these two zones sit dozens of tents and homeless squatters, buoyed up by up to 100 activists.

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Every time a city bylaw officer or security person starts to move, protesters stand up and lock their arms and circle tents and structures that have been in the park for more than a year.

There is a large police contingent on the perimeter, along with dozens of private security hired by the city.

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With the fencing it has a similar feeling to the ‘kettling issue’ from the 2010 G20 debacle, but in this case authorities have — at least at the outset — prevented people from leaving or returning.

At issue here is the people who have been camping here have been told for weeks that they need to leave and accept alternative arrangements, including a temporary hotel stay.

But several of the occupants say they are not comfortable with that And consider this their home.

At 11:15 a.m., a City Of Toronto official went through the park telling people to “please leave the area,” along with a change in the rules preventing those who’ve voluntarily left the park to return.

Officials insist the occupiers will have to leave today, but so far there’s been no movement to force their hand and the people here are unwilling to budge.

There is a soft standoff underway and time will only tell how it works out.

The stage is set.