City to spend $17,000 this year on overgrowth and homeless camps, and aiming for $20,000 twice the next two years
St. Catharines city council voting to spend $17,000 to clean up Fairview and John Gage Parks this year of overgrowth and homeless camps.
It's also voted to ask the mayor to look into spending $20,000 twice a year over the next two years.
City staff say police report it's not necessarily the people living in camps causing problems, but people who don't live there, who prey on people by committing theft, drug use or sexual assaults.
When asked what trumps the other, community safety or the rights of the homeless, Director of Municipal Works Darrell Smith admitted that's a tough question. "Because of all the court decisions, that are getting placed in various jurisdictions in the province, the courts are very quick to point out what we can't do. But there's very little in there concerning what we can do."
He added clean up will be done multiple times, while the camps will simply return.
Councillor Robin McPherson noted these parks aren't cleaned on a regular basis, such as Montebello Park.
She added there are businesses and residential areas beside the parks. "That's where the encampments are, and they regularly will walk through accesses in the fence, and this undergrowth, and unsafe nature is making it difficult for them. There's a lot of seniors, a lot with small children, there's new Canadians."
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