Saskatoon encampment removal resumes to address ‘safety concerns,’ city says

The process of removing an encampment in Saskatoon began Thursday morning after previously being paused by the city due to protests.

The clearing of the site, which sits on private property at 20th Street and Avenue K South, began Thursday. It has the city’s support, as well as that of community, Indigenous and provincial government organizations, Yvonne Raymer, deputy fire chief at the Saskatoon Fire Department, told reporters at a news conference Thursday after the work began.

Police officers and firefighters were witnessed at the site by Global News crews on the ground.

It comes after an injunction application was dismissed last week at Saskatoon Court of King’s Bench over a lack of standing from the applicants. A second injunction attempt was originally supposed to be heard in court on Thursday, but the interim application was denied with a court hearing still set for Oct. 27.

Global News has reached out to Lawyers with Community Legal Assistance Services for Saskatoon Inner City, the party involved in the second injunction request, for comment.

“Encampments are removed because they begin to become unsafe for both the residents living in them, the schools, services, businesses and neighbourhoods around them,” Raymer said.

Clean-up work at the encampment included representatives offering available supports to those who live there. Encampment residents who reject those offers are told they must move out, she said. The deputy fire chief was unsure if the residents are being given a deadline for when their belongings must be removed, as Saskatoon police officers are also at the scene to support fire department staff and ensure safety.

Encampments in general present significant fire, public safety and sanitation risks – and the site being removed Thursday is no exception, according to a City of Saskatoon news release.

“Safety concerns increase as encampments grow,” Raymer said, adding since Monday the city’s fire service has been called to four fires at various encampments.

Two of those fires spread to trees in Optimist Park, another destroyed a makeshift shelter in the backyard of a vacant property and the fourth was said to have become out of control in a park off Idylwyld Drive.

The city also alleged possible gang activity, domestic violence, assaults and open drug use have been observed or reported at the 20th Street encampment.

“While we recognize the challenges people face, we also have an obligation to address significant wider community safety risks and work towards safer, more sustainable alternatives,” Raymer said.

Saskatoon Tribal Council (STC) Tribal Chief Mark Arcand described the encampments as having “too much violence and gang activity, including drugs and sex trafficking,” in the city’s news release.

“In the last few weeks, we have seen an escalation of violence throughout that neighbourhood and seen that relatives who had been interested in supports are now refusing them,” he continued.

“The real solution is for people to access the supports they need, to get housing, addiction treatment, medical care, and connection to culture, in a safe environment. This won’t happen as long as they are at an encampment.”

He said help is available through the STC – including its housing outreach program and outdoor washroom project.

The exact cost of this removal project is not yet available, according to the fire chief.