People given eviction notices

People experiencing homelessness who have taken shelter at a Halifax Park will have until July 17 to relocate.

Residents of the tent community at Meagher Park, which has housed people for nearly a year just off Chebucto Road, were given eviction notices July 5.

The notice from Halifax Regional Municipality advises people staying at the park, also known as the People's Park, that there will be “no public entry or use of the park” as of noon on July 5.

“This includes the erection, placing or maintaining of anything for the purpose of temporary or permanent accommodation, any of which is prohibited under Halifax Regional Municipality Bylaw P-600, the Municipal Parks Bylaw, unless otherwise posted or permitted,” the notice from Halifax Regional Municipality reads.

In a statement issued following the handout of the eviction notices, Halifax Regional Municipality said the health and safety conditions of the park have "continued to decline in recent months”.

Volunteers who help support the tent community have tried to put things in place such as a storage structure to shield food and supplies from rain, dirt and rodents to prevent deteriorating conditions but were forced to dismantle it since the group didn't have a building permit.

People continuing to stay at the park isn’t possible, the municipality said, a message that is underlined by what will happen if people don’t comply.

“Failure to act in accordance with this notice is an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than one hundred dollars and not exceeding ten thousand dollars under the Municipal Parks Bylaw and/ or a fine of not more than five hundred dollars under the provisions of the Protection of Property Act,” the notice reads.

The notice to vacate/leave has people reflecting on the eviction that took place at the former Halifax library site on Spring Garden Road on Aug. 18, 2021, which ended in a protest that saw people clashing with police to stop the removal of two temporary shelters.

At the time, Halifax regional council said it was under the impression that everyone staying at the site had been provided with alternate accommodations, but that wasn't the case.

In a meeting with reporters Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Mike Savage said the city doesn't intend to fine homeless people and most certainly doesn't want a repeat of last August.

"I don't want to jump to the worse possible scenario because then you almost will it to happen," Savage said. "I think we're going to do the best we can to give people options that they can live with."

Max Chauvin, HRM'S manager of special projects, said the municipality needed to include language around fines and other repercussions if a bylaw is violated, which is required as part of its legal notice.

Chauvin said service providers will be available to help people transition to a temporary accommodation or to one of the four recently designated outdoor sheltering locations. HRM says the sites are equipped with portable toilets and garbage cans. Portable water, storage boxes, needle boxes and other additional needs will continue to be added as needed.

Calista Hills, a volunteer of the tent community, said residents who have been staying at Meagher Park were stressed when the official notice came Tuesday.

"A lot of the concern that people have with the approved tenting sites is that even though some of them are more central than others, they're not as connected to community supports as it is here," Hills said in an interview Tuesday.

Hills said the five residents who are staying at Meagher Park are willing to relocate before July 17, especially since there's been some mistrust following the Aug. 18 incident but noted the city said there would be some flexibility when it comes to moving.

For now, people at the park — both residents and volunteers — are processing the news.

"It's kind of hard to know what people need right now. People aren't so much concerned about what they need when they get there but getting and living somewhere else at this point," Hills said.

Meagher Park will be fenced off once people are vacated from the outdoor space, and reconstruction work will take place.