While community frustration escalates, it will be at least the end of May before a group of community leaders drafts a protocol to help Sarnia council respond to the Rainbow Park encampment.
“I hear the sense of urgency,” says city Coun. Brian White who suggested that council delay a debate last month about evicting the occupants of a sizeable tent city in the south end park.
Instead, he successfully convinced council to call on a new leadership group dedicated to community safety and well-being, in order to develop a protocol that may guide council’s decision.
White said he pushed for development of a protocol because minutes prior to their April meeting, councillors received outside legal advice that a decision to evict the park squatters would violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and likely result in the city facing significant litigation.
While some councillors still spoke in favour of eviction, White said he wanted another strategy, in part, because of a letter from Sarnia Police Chief Derek Davis indicating Sarnia police will not enforce an eviction bylaw without a court order.
“I called for patience so the outcome can be just and legal,” White said.
Since council delayed taking action in May, a stabbing and a drug-related death have occurred at the park. Neighbours say they are fed up.
“On Friday, I saw a woman standing in the park in her underwear, bleeding all over,” says Kim Gawdunyk who lives nearby with his wife and children.
He called another neighbour to assist and asked the woman if she needed medical assistance.
“But she was high and said she didn’t want help,” said Gawdunyk. “Honestly, how many deaths are there going to be before the city does something about this?
“We’ve been living with this hell for the last six months. Creating a protocol may be a start but it is way too little, too late.”
The encampment has about 27 tents and an estimated 40 – 50 inhabitants, he said.
“We’ve been living with this hell for the last six months. Creating a protocol may be a start but it is way too little, too late.”
“We talk about the rights of the people living in the park. What about the rights of the families who want to use the park too? asked Gawdunyk.
“I want to teach my four year old how to ride a bike but I can’t even do that there.”
Gawdunyk said he is also concerned about the lack of hygiene and the absence of washrooms in the park.
“Quite honestly, the people living there have no dignity left. You have to wonder when was the last time they had access to a washroom or a shower.”
He has appeared before city council twice, asking for the encampment to be moved to another location away from residential neighbourhoods.
“I think council should be looking for property right now where we can build small cabins and provide washrooms, perhaps in an industrial or commercial area.
“We need to give them a sense of community again. We need to do better,” Gawdunyk said.
But White is convinced the bureaucratic process must be followed.
“We need to be patient and thoughtful about this because having an unenforceable bylaw and being tied up in court doesn’t help anyone.”
He said work is happening every day to develop a protocol.
The community leaders that sit on the Community Safety & Well Being Leadership group include police, politicians, social service agencies, public health and school board officials.
“We see this as urgent and know it’s a very emotional issue,” White said. “These are real concerns for the people who live right across the street.”
He said he is also concerned for the 50 or so residents living in the park without washrooms or water.
White co-chairs the Leadership Group with Sarnia Deputy Police Chief Julie Craddock and said they plan to meet with the committee May 22 for a “white board session” to brainstorm ideas. The aim is to meet again on May 29 to develop a working draft of the protocol so it will be available for council’s consideration in June.
White conceded that the committee has an ambitious timeline but he is optimistic it can be met.
Other municipalities have already developed their own protocols about what to do with park encampments. “Maybe we can borrow from the best practices already out there,” he said.
White said he believes a cluster of “low barrier cabins that can be erected quickly,” similar to neighbour Kim Gawdunyk’s idea, may be a good alternative to park encampments.
“I believe Kim’s concept is a good one. It’s the same idea I’ve been talking about for the last year,” White said. “But it needs to be some place other than a city park.”
White didn’t want to say where he thinks temporary “cabin” housing should be located but said options could include other municipally-owned land, county property or a provincially-owned site.
He was critical about the province’s lack of leadership in dealing with Ontario’s growing homelessness problem and park encampments.
“I honestly think the province has left 444 municipalities flapping in the wind, trying to come up with our own protocols when this should be a province-wide protocol,” he said.
“This is a health crisis, just like the pandemic that the province responded to so quickly, and should be treated as such.”
RELATED:
No easy answers at Rainbow Park: PART I;
No easy answers at Rainbow Park: PART II