Allan Gardens is our urban poverty prison

By John Rider, Op-ed –

No one moves to Cabbagetown/Regent Park/The Garden Dis­trict/Moss Park without know­ing it’s beautiful, historic and charming. Also, no one moves here without knowing this area is challenged by huge numbers of people struggling with ad­diction, mental health and food/home insecurity.

Toronto, Queen’s Park and Ottawa have used our area as a poverty prison for the most needy, for decades. We have the highest concentration of social services and supportive housing in Toronto. Residents support these folks through numerous agencies and com­munity groups trying to make their lives as comfortable as possi­ble.

Truly, we see the impact of income and resource inequality on our society more clearly than any neighbourhood … but we have limits. Our lim­it may have been reached with the City’s abandonment of the neighbourhood over the more than two-year encampment in Allan Gardens.

Allan Gardens should be a showcase for Toronto. The conservatory’s glass domes and spectacular gardens should be a must-see for tourists. The outdoor gardens and art instal­lations should continue to draw people to the park. It should be an accessible area for everyone.

Instead, Allan Gardens is a blight on Toronto. Someone exiting College Station recently asked a neighbour (in Italian) for Allan Gardens. She vig­orously said NO! DANGER! DON’T GO. The tourist looked shocked, and returned into the subway. Even people who live here tell people to stay away. What a disgrace!

Allan Gardens now has more than half of Toronto’s encamp­ment residents. The camps were removed from other, most­ly wealthier, neighbourhoods. While the city ombudsman and media correctly decried how that was done, no new encamp­ments have returned.

What have they done for Allan Gardens? Our city councillor told us in April that $500,000 had been spent on the encamp­ment, providing garbage removal, medical treatment, food, washrooms and security. The city speaks with campers regular­ly to coax them to leave, but a large number won’t. Bureaucrats are so afraid to act that they won’t remove even abandoned tents, because ac­tivists take videos and post them online.

There have been three stab­bings in the park, two have caused injuries and the other a murder, plus numerous assaults, vandalism and other crimes. What will it take before the problem is solved? Does a child have to be attacked or mur­dered? An elderly person?

Does anyone care, or are we being written off as long as the “problem” doesn’t spread into tonier neighbourhoods?

The park’s encampment pop­ulation dropped to one resident last year. The person refused to move because she wanted a placement outside Toronto. Her continued presence encouraged several more campers to settle.

While numbers fluctuate (currently almost 65), the total will likely expand during the summer because officials say they cannot remove anyone not wanting to leave nor stop any­one new moving in .

On that basis, I’m planning to take several friends and camp in Nathan Phillips Square. I guar­antee that police will arrive in minutes to remove us. But the police have informed our coun­cillor that they will take no part in encampment removal. They are stinging from bad press. This police force, receiving well over a billion annual tax dollars, is afraid to peacefully remove about 65 campers.

Has the city gone mad or is it me? Because I’m mad. I’m mad that governments think it’s okay for thousands of people to live rough on our streets. I’m mad that Toronto refuses to enforce its bylaws. I’m mad that I reg­ularly call 911 to help our most needy, left unconscious and dy­ing on the streets.

And yes, I’m mad that I can’t use a beautiful park in my beau­tiful neighbourhood because governments can’t find homes for these people.

I am not the only mad person. Close to 100 families joined a recent call with the city and Councillor Chris Moise (the one politician trying to help, by set­ting up a task force) and close to 2500 have signed a petition ask­ing for homes for these people. The answers regarding removal were ridiculous, even comical – excuse after excuse. The ulti­mate solution: there is no solu­tion.

Not good enough. Not good enough for the campers living rough, and not good enough for local residents who can’t use Allan Gardens. City Council, MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam, MP Marci Ien, Premier Ford and Prime Minister Trudeau, shame on you for abandoning this great neighbourhood. We all deserve better. No, WE DEMAND IT