The details are contained in thousands of pages obtained by activists through the Freedom of Information Act.
The city documents, released to the Canadian press, reveal the scale of the liquidation effort for Trinity Bellwoods Park – an operation that took place last June and eventually turned violent.
Homeless camps began appearing throughout Toronto in March 2020, as hundreds fled the shelters for fear of being infected by COVID-19.  Some residents said they felt safer in the countryside and sought out the sense of community created by the camps.
By the end of 2020, there were more than 50 campsites across Toronto, documents show.  The city had won a court battle that ratified a statutory law banning camping in Toronto parks and began focusing on taking action against what it called the “Big Four” camps – including the Trinity Bellwoods.
In December 2020, documents show that the city made efforts to negotiate with the camp residents and their supporters, hoping to set up a “discussion table for the camp”.
Chris Brillinger, executive director of Family Services Toronto, acted as a volunteer mediator between the two sides and wrote to city staff on December 29, 2020.
“You need a full-time ombudsman / ombudsman for a period of two to three months to go through this,” he wrote.  “The community needs help to get organized.  It consists largely of first-line staff and volunteers who are exhausted, physically and emotionally. “
Tracey Cook, the city’s deputy director, responded within an hour.
“There is definitely one thing I immediately see that we all have in common – the city’s staff is also emotionally and physically exhausted.”
In early January 2021, bureaucrats began making plans to clear the four large camps.
On January 7, 2021, Mayor John Tory’s chief of staff sent an email to Cook, saying that she and her colleague “hoped to meet with you in the next two weeks to discuss the camps and, in particular, our plan for spring.  The Mayor started asking … “
On January 22, Cook emailed the mayor’s office and city manager a PowerPoint presentation entitled “Inclusion Tasks – Suggested Next Steps.”
He noted that the city planned to work in “parallel bins” – with the residents of the camps and their supporters, while also planning to clean the parks in April.
“We are all concerned about the camps in the spring,” the presentation said.  “We have identified the highest priority parks based on risk and impact and we need to create a plan and timetable for how we will act in these parks.”
Talks between the city and homeless supporters broke down in February when the city announced it had filed a lawsuit against Khaleel Seivwright, a carpenter who was building “tiny shelters” for the homeless.  The lawyers felt betrayed, the emails show.
Meanwhile, the settlement plan was gradually coming to the fore.
City documents show that staff planned to issue breach notices to the camps that would be enforceable within 72 hours.
“We are working on the idea of ​​providing a softer communication with the people of the camp and continuing with a legitimate post after we have moved several means voluntarily,” wrote Dan Breault, the town’s file manager, to the mayor’s chief of staff at March 2, 2021.
The city also had information about each resident of the camp in a confidential document entitled “Trinity Bellwoods Analysis”.
A resident of the camp was considered “likely to escalate”, with the archive noting that “he is always on the spot and has a lot of clutter around the camp with which he claims to be making art”.
Another resident said he was “not confrontational and will probably leave when told”, while the file stated that a different person “will not respond well if he is raped, however he will leave the area if he is told to leave in time”.
Several others were considered violent, the city said, and would pose a risk to staff.
A note in the business plan stated that one person “often escalates verbally towards city staff.  He walks carrying a stick (long pole).  and has told many city officials that he knows karate and “is not afraid to use it.”  This person, the city said, “speaks very strongly about the ‘war’ against the city.”
In a statement this week, spokesman Brad Ross said the city was keeping up-to-date records of the camp’s residents “to ensure they provide the right services that meet their unique needs along with indoor access”.
The city also compiled aerial maps of all the park scenes, each of which was identified by a number and related to each resident.
AJ Withers, co-founder of FactCheckToronto.ca, the homeless defense team involved in the release of the documents to the Canadian press, said the records show the city was negotiating with the homeless in bad faith.
“The mass evictions planned at Trinity Bellwoods were really organized to fail,” Withers said in an interview.
“They had this huge surveillance program for the people of Trinity Bellwoods Park that really makes it clear that they knew people would respond badly if they were in a hurry. They set up a powder keg and, as expected, it went out.”
The town finally took action at Trinity Bellwoods in June, weeks after a failed clearing operation at Lamport Stadium Park, where large crowds showed up to support camp residents in a confrontation with police.
On June 22, 2021, staff showed up early in the morning at Trinity Bellwoods with more than 100 salaried security guards and fences erected around two camp sites.  Residents, many of whom said they were living with mental health disorders and substance abuse, said they had two hours to pack their things and either get a quote at a hotel or leave.  Some were in crisis that day.
Several clashes eventually broke out between the police and the homeless and their supporters.  A battle broke out over a fence that supporters tried to lower as police struggled to keep him upright.  Another clash erupted when police fired pepper spray, which accidentally hit several security guards, the documents say.
The rioters entered near the end of the day, as soon as most of the crowd had dispersed, and cleared the park.
Ross said the fence had been erected to protect city workers and said protesters had prevented staff from doing their job.  These protesters were warned, he said, and when they did not leave, the city called Toronto police to clear the area.
The city, Ross said, has taken “emergency measures to help those homeless” and is trying to strike a balance between the homeless and the community.
“The city’s response to the camps takes into account the health and well-being of those living outside and the needs of the wider community,” he said.  “The city can not force people to come in and take advantage of the many services the city has to offer, but living in a camp in a city park is unhealthy and illegal.”
This Canadian Press report was first published on May 1, 2022.
–with files by Paola Loriggio and Chris Young

title: “Toronto Has Been Planning A Settlement Clearing Operation For Months Building Residents Profiles Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-08” author: “Warren Gates”

The details are contained in thousands of pages obtained by activists through the Freedom of Information Act. The city documents, released to the Canadian press, reveal the scale of the liquidation effort for Trinity Bellwoods Park – an operation that took place last June and eventually turned violent. Homeless camps began appearing throughout Toronto in March 2020, as hundreds fled the shelters for fear of being infected by COVID-19. Some residents said they felt safer in the countryside and sought out the sense of community created by the camps. By the end of 2020, there were more than 50 campsites across Toronto, documents show. The city had won a court battle that ratified a statutory law banning camping in Toronto parks and began focusing on taking action against what it called the “Big Four” settlements, including the Trinity Bellwoods. In December 2020, documents show that the city made efforts to negotiate with the camp residents and their supporters, hoping to set up a “discussion table for the camp”. Proponents of her case have been working to make the actual transcript of this statement available online. Evan Mitsui / CBC
Chris Brillinger, executive director of Family Services Toronto, acted as a volunteer mediator between the two sides and wrote to city staff on December 29, 2020 “You need a full-time ombudsman / ombudsman for a period of two to three months to go through this,” he wrote. “The community needs help to get organized. It consists largely of first-line staff and volunteers who are exhausted, physically and emotionally.” Tracey Cook, the city’s deputy director, responded within an hour. “There is definitely one thing I immediately see that we all have in common,” he wrote. “The city staff is also emotionally and physically exhausted.”

City began plans in January 2021 to clear the camps

In early January 2021, bureaucrats began making plans to clear the four large camps. On Jan. 7, Mayor John Tory’s chief of staff sent an email to Cook, saying she and her colleague “hoped to meet with you in the next two weeks to discuss the camps and, in particular, our plan for the spring.” The mayor has started asking … “ On January 22, Cook emailed the mayor’s office and city manager a PowerPoint presentation entitled “Inclusion Tasks – Suggested Next Steps.” He noted that the city planned to work in “parallel bins” – to engage with camp residents and their supporters, and also planned to clear the parks in April. “We are all concerned about the camps in the spring,” the presentation said. “We have identified the highest priority parks based on risk and impact and we need to create a plan and timetable for how we will operate these parks.” Talks between the city and homeless supporters broke down in February when the city announced it had filed a lawsuit against Khaleel Seivwright, a carpenter who was building “tiny shelters” for the homeless. The lawyers felt betrayed, the emails show. A camp supporter is being held by police as city officials work to clear the Alexandra Park Camp in Toronto on July 20, 2021. (Chris Young / The Canadian Press)
Meanwhile, the settlement plan was gradually coming to the fore. City documents show that staff planned to issue breach notices to the camps that would be enforceable within 72 hours. “We are working on the idea of ​​providing a softer communication with the people of the camp and continuing with a legitimate post after we have relocated several people on the inside voluntarily,” wrote Dan Breault, the camp’s chief of staff, to the mayor’s chief of staff. on March 2, 2021. The city also had information about each resident of the camp in a confidential document entitled “Trinity Bellwoods Analysis.” A resident of the camp was deemed “likely to escalate”, with the archive noting that “he is always on the spot and has a lot of clutter around the camp with which he claims to be making art”. Another resident said he was “not confrontational and will probably leave when told”, while the file stated that a different person “will not respond well if he is raped, however he will leave the area if he is told to leave in time”. Several others were considered violent, the city said, and would pose a risk to staff. A note in the business plan said that a person “often escalates verbally towards city staff, walks carrying a stick (long pole) and has told many city officials that he knows karate and” is not afraid to use it, “she said. city, “speaks very strongly of the ‘war’ against the city.”

The city representative defends the records kept for the residents

In a statement this week, spokesman Brad Ross said the city was keeping up-to-date records of the camp’s residents “to ensure they provide the right services that meet their unique needs along with indoor access”. The city also compiled aerial maps of all the park scenes, each of which was identified by a number and related to each resident. AJ Withers, co-founder of FactCheckToronto.ca, the homeless defense team involved in the release of the documents to the Canadian press, said the records show the city was negotiating with the homeless in bad faith. “The mass evictions they planned at Trinity Bellwoods were really organized to fail,” Withers said in an interview. “They had this huge surveillance program for the people of Trinity Bellwoods Park that really makes it clear that they knew people would respond badly if they were in a hurry … They set up a powder keg and, as expected, it went out.” The town finally took action at Trinity Bellwoods in June, weeks after a failed clearing operation at Lamport Stadium Park, where large crowds showed up to support camp residents in a confrontation with police. Police officers on horseback appear in Trinity Bellwoods Park before police evict campers on June 22, 2021. (Evan Mitsui / CBC)
On June 22, 2021, staff showed up early in the morning at Trinity Bellwoods with more than 100 salaried security guards and fences erected around two camp sites. Residents, many of whom said they were living with mental health disorders and substance abuse, said they had two hours to pack their things and either get a quote at a hotel or leave. Some were in crisis that day. Several clashes eventually broke out between the police and the homeless and their supporters. A battle broke out over a fence that supporters tried to lower as police struggled to keep him upright. Another clash erupted when police fired pepper spray, which accidentally hit several security guards, the documents say. The rioters entered near the end of the day, as soon as most of the crowd had dispersed, and cleared the park. Ross said the fence had been erected to protect city workers and said protesters had prevented staff from doing their job. These protesters were warned, he said, and when they did not leave, the city called Toronto police to clear the area. The city, Ross said, has taken “emergency measures to help those homeless” and is trying to strike a balance between the homeless and the community. “The city’s response to the camps takes into account the health and well-being of those living outside and the needs of the wider community,” he said. “The city can not force people to come in and take advantage of the many services the city has to offer, but living in a camp in a city park is unhealthy and illegal.”