The noon Thursday eviction deadline for a woman living in a tent at Milligan’s Pond has come and gone.
As of 4 p.m. Thursday, Ash Wolf (not her real name) was still set up in her space near the woods of Milligan’s Pond. Despite a 72-hour deadline that Wolf was given by city staff on Monday, that deadline is long gone and with no bylaw officers appearing to enforce the move.
She did not have to face the deadline alone as she was joined at the site by a group of supporters.
“I had some people who heard about this situation that came out to support and make sure my rights were upheld,” said Wolf. “The issue now is I have to sit here and wait to see if anyone listens to my plea to stay or if they're going to enforce something I don’t feel they should.”
On Tuesday, Wolf showed BarrieToday the notice of eviction she received that states the violation was “camping in a public park without authorization.”
Wolf said then and again today, she is not camping.
“Not only am I not camping, not hurting anyone except housed people who can’t mind their business, but I also help others here with things they need,” said Wolf. “I help with water, food and even comfort.”
Among the 20 or so people attending the site today to show support was Sarah Tilley. She said there are times when bylaw officers do not show up when they say, and that is not fair to the people the eviction impacts.
“We hear different things from low staffing to an extension being given, but what it comes down to is that it creates an environment where people are constantly concerned that they are going to be at loss of their housing,” said Tilley. “It continues trauma because people are in a constant fight or flight state. It is also just not kind.”
Bylaw officers respond to a homeless encampment whenever a complaint is lodged, which can be for a variety of reasons, say officials.
Jennifer Van Gennip was on hand to make sure Wolf was treated fairly and was heard. She believes each case should be handled individually.
“Other municipalities are making the decision to not enforce this bylaw right now. That is something we are seeing in Kingston and in Peel,” said Van Gennip. “That is absolutely a choice that council can make.”
City officials were asked about today's situation.
“Response to all enforcement matters is triaged based on the circumstance and available officers at the time. If there is a continuation of the violation identified in the notice, there is no expiry until compliance is achieved,” said Dawn McAlpine, the city's general manager of community and corporate services.
“While the office is closed at 4:30 p.m., officers are on duty beyond 4:30 p.m. The safety of all parties is always taken into consideration as part of Enforcement Services' response.”
Wolf said she saw the hypocrisy of the events today and hopes others do as well.
“The city came by a few times since giving me the notice of eviction on Monday, just to see if I had started packing up. They were rude at times and were upset I had my literature up on my tent stating my rights,” said Wolf.
“So they came down here before today, to see if I had made progress, which they felt important to do. But now they’re not showing up when they said? So I guess they can choose when and who to evict and when to enforce. The fact they’re not here right now says they aren’t that concerned about me being here," she added.
A city official did confirm that enforcement officers had attended in previous days to see if progress was being made towards vacating the site.
The official said this was standard practice, “and the individual was made aware on Monday that there would be check-ins each day.”
Wolf also said while she is upset at being asked to leave, she is equally upset that bylaw officers did not show up when they said they would.
“I feel they knew I had people here to support and maybe are waiting until they left, which scares me. I don’t think they should come under the cloak of darkness, or need me to be alone,” said Wolf. “I plan on disputing this, for sure. It's not right.”
