Stop calling 911 about unhoused people on Public Utility Commission property: CK police

CBC News

· Posted: Jul 17, 2025 12:03 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

The Chatham-Kent Police Service is asking radical to delight halt calling 911 astir unhoused radical camped connected the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) spot connected Grand Avenue.

Calling 911 is for emergencies only, the unit said successful a quality merchandise issued Thursday.

"The Chatham-Kent Police Service is alert of the beingness of unhoused individuals choosing to structure astatine the PUC property, which is municipally-owned and is wrong the guidelines of the municipality's encampment protocol," constabulary said.

"Unhoused individuals are permitted to structure astatine this spot nether existing guidelines."

Outreach workers from R.O.C.K., Reach Out Chatham-Kent, person been moving with the municipality to assistance relocate residents of an encampment successful the downtown parkland connected the borderline of the Thames River.

City officials accidental they needed radical retired of the parkland by the commencement of this week due to the fact that a operation task requires the tract for instrumentality retention into adjacent year.

Unhoused tin campy if there's nary capable alternative

The eviction has led to disorder among unhoused radical and their advocates over where they tin legally camp.  

Courts person ruled that Ontario municipalities cannot evict encampment residents without offering adequate, accessible structure spaces.  

"This means that the Municipality of Chatham-Kent cannot region radical who are experiencing homelessness unless alternate options are provided oregon determination are compelling information concerns," the municipality says connected its website. 

"Chatham-Kent's existent exigency structure (Victoria Park Place) operated astatine 99 per cent capableness connected mean successful 2024, illustrating that determination are simply not capable beds for the astir 200-plus individuals experiencing homelessness successful Chatham-Kent."

The municipality's encampment argumentation prohibits encampments successful the pursuing areas.

• On oregon wrong 100 metres of municipal playgrounds, h2o parks, splash pads, beaches oregon sports fields.

• On oregon wrong 100 metres of immoderate simple school, childcare facility, assisted surviving installation oregon different wellness oregon societal services installation providing enactment oregon attraction services to younker oregon susceptible populations.

• Within 10 metres of immoderate backstage spot line.

• On oregon nether bridges.

• On oregon wrong 5 metres of sidewalks oregon pedestrian paths.

• On oregon wrong 25 metres of immoderate cemetery.

• On oregon wrong 5 metres of an off-leash canine area.

• On oregon wrong 5 metres of immoderate assemblage garden.

• In immoderate actively utilized parking lot.

• In oregon connected immoderate public-use gathering oregon structure.

• In areas that artifact the escaped question of different idiosyncratic connected a street, nationalist pathway, sidewalk oregon different way of nationalist travel.

• On municipal onshore wherever individuals person a backstage easement oregon ownership involvement oregon wherever the municipality owes a work to support the onshore to the payment oregon partial payment of backstage individuals (i.e. beach access).

• On municipal lands successful areas obstructing operation oregon attraction activities.

Structures indispensable beryllium freestanding and capable to beryllium moved arsenic necessary, the rules say.

The argumentation besides expresses zero tolerance for unit oregon different transgression acts and demands that sites "maintain a level of tenable cleanliness."

That includes nary used, uncapped needles successful oregon astir the tract and nary unreasonable amounts of garbage, clutter, oregon uncontained debris.