London is ending regular food and water distribution, garbage pickup and portal washroom service at a riverside park that’s become home to more than three dozen people.
City council voted 9-6 Tuesday in a heated debate, both within council and from the public gallery, to close what’s called a service depot at Watson Park, and instead move to mobile delivery of basic goods.
“No way! It’s basic human rights, they’re not going to be able to go to the bathroom and be fed. These are their basic needs,” yelled one woman from the gallery, who was eventually escorted out of council chambers after repeated warnings from Mayor Josh Morgan to stop disrupting the meeting.
Watson Park, located across the Thames River on Wellington Road South, has 36 people living their permanently, according to the city. Earlier this month, there was a propane tank explosion in the encampment that firefighters called suspicious.
It’s one, in a series of safety concerns, that Coun. Hadleigh McAlister, whose ward covers the park, said prompted him to call on council to make changes. Nearby homeowners have also expressed their concerns with the encampments as it’s become a more permanent fixture in the neighbourhood.
“There have been violations of protocols and we need to bring Watson Park back into compliance in the interest of public safety,” McAlister said at council.
“There has been a proliferation of tents and structures, well in excess of what we currently allow, and the recent fires raise serious questions about the level of fire safety being exercised in the encampment itself. The explosion of the propane tank at the encampment was a serious incident and we cannot ignore it.”
The city’s rules say that tents must be at least 100 metres away from private property, there be no open fires, violence or human trafficking.
City staff have now been directed to crack down and relocate those who break these rules. As for the service depots, they were already set to wind down on April 30, after two years of operations. Tuesday’s decision sees the closure moving ahead by one week.
Any extra money, or resources saved by closing the permanent depot, will go toward helping people find shelter, McAlister said.
‘We might be making a bad problem worse’
The decision was met with opposition, with some in the gallery, including some people who live in the Watson Park encampment, saying that removing the service depot violates human rights.
“This is inhumane,” said Tanja Zientara, a high school teacher who volunteers helping people in encampments. “Our hearts melt for these people who are suffering, can you imagine living outside for the entire winter not being able to eat or shower, you might lose your mind.”
Some councillors said there shouldn’t be a gap between the closure of the permanent service depot and the start up of the mobile unit, one that will continue to provide essential services to people, not only at Watson Park, but at other city encampments.
“We might be making a bad problem worse. We might be putting people who are in danger, in greater danger. We may be subjecting our adjacent neighbourhoods to the types of complaints that I’m sure we all get in terms of people prowling around and looking for things, so I think this is a bad idea,” said Coun. Sam Trosow.
The portable washrooms, part of the service depot, will be removed when the service ends. Although there will be public washrooms at four parks near Watson Park, they won’t open until early May, said Craig Cooper, the city’s director of housing stability services.
City staff estimate there are about 63 encampments throughout the city.
