Could Sarnia-Lambton improve its emergency shelter system to the point Sarnia could legally shut down an encampment in Rainbow Park?
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Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley is asking that and, if so, would county officials back the city in seeking a court injunction?
“Then, we could start to look at the serious nature of taking back parts of our community that have been lost,” he said.
Dozens of people have been camping in the park for monthsmany with mental health and addiction needs, officials have said.
Sarnia has unused emergency shelter spaces, but recent court rulings in Waterloo and Kingston, and a third-party legal opinion obtained by the citysay such beds aren’t enough to justify removing people from public parks, in violation of Charter rights to life, liberty and security.
Truly accessible shelter spaces — allowing couples to stay together, people to bring in pets or drugs, and ensuring safety from violence and sexual predation — are needed.
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Bradley is bringing a motion to county council Wednesday, asking if the county has looked at addressing those shelter system shortcomings, and whether Lambton would support Sarnia as a co-applicant, or with affidavit evidence, in an injunction.
Neighborhoods have to be respected and cities need to make sure people have shelter, he said, calling for community members to work together with empathy on solutions in the interim and noting managing the issue has been a concern in municipalities across the province.
Meanwhile, Sarnia recently paid $90,000 for the first month of security and sanitation measures at Rainbow Park, including fencing between a playground and tents, security guards, and washrooms.
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“We need to bring some care and control to our costs and also the operation of that site,” Bradley said.
“But we also can’t do that without a plan.”
In June, faced with warnings the court battle would be lengthy, costly and unlikely to succeed, Sarnia voted against seeking an injunction.
City police won’t remove people from the park without a court order, Chief Derek Davis said.
At least two motions from councilors, on the agenda for Sarnia’s next council meeting Sept. 9call for reconsidering council’s injunction decision, while another calls for giving neighbors adjacent the Rainbow Park encampment a break on taxes.
Meanwhile, Sarnia’s recently approved encampment protocol that limits sanctioned encampments to sections of city research and business parks, and parcels along London Line near Modeland Road, may have had an effect after it was introduced earlier this month, Bradley said.
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Council also voted to hand out trespass notices at Rainbow Park.
“I’ve heard from some residents that it has made an improvement,” Bradley said.
Reports about new encampments in areas of the city come in daily, he said, noting police and mental health officials respond to speak with people.
“In most of the situations we have dealt with, they move on, whether they go to Rainbow or not” he said. “But we’re trying to keep it contained in the other areas.”
Lambton County has the funding and mandate for social services in Sarnia, and Sarnia paying for security measures at Rainbow Park isn’t sustainable, Bradley said.
“Even though we are looking and we’ll probably get money from the feds or the province, we can’t continue for more than a few months,” he said.
Bradley also renewed his call for the provincial government to take action, noting the issue wasn’t adequately addressed at the recent Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference in Ottawa.
“And that has left all these 444 municipalities struggling with what to do,” he said.
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