Edmonton police cleared two more homeless camps Tuesday bringing the total to four following a court order in December.
Court of King’s Bench Justice Kent Davidson approved an interim order to dismantle eight camps deemed high risk for fires and crime.
Davidson also ruled there must be space in homeless shelters for the displaced people and camps must by notified prior to the evictions. Without available shelter beds, the judge said police may only close those camps a risk to public health and safety.
The evictions began during the last week of December when police closed two camps.
On Tuesday, two more camps near downtown Edmonton were closed.
Rachelle Gladue, co-founder of Tawaw Outreach Collective – an Indigenous-led street outreach group – was worried about the speed of the police action. She is concerned there won’t be enough shelter beds for everyone.
“The [police have] given [only a few] days notice…[how] do they know a couple of days ago that there is enough shelter space today? It can change in an instant,” she said.
Floyd Laboucan, who has stayed in shelters and lived in camps, would like to see affordable hotels built so everyone has a warm place to sleep.
“When you are homeless and you are poor, you should at least have a place,” he said. “They have shelters, but you have to be in at a certain time and they fill. They fill up right away.”
The Edmonton Police Service declined to speak to APTN News, promising an update in the future.
More evictions were expected Wednesday and in the coming days.
Meanwhile, the judge is expected to hear an application on Jan. 11 to stop further homeless camp closures.
