Gondek seeking change after encampment broken up outside Calgary homeless shelter

The removal of an encampment outside of the Calgary Drop-In Centre has sparked a larger conversation inside city hall and disappointment from Mayor Jyoti Gondek.

The removal of an encampment outside of the Calgary Drop-In Centre has sparked a larger conversation inside city hall and disappointment from Mayor Jyoti Gondek.

Calgary bylaw officers along with police began removing the tents from the area along Dermot Baldwin Way and Riverfront Avenue S.E. on Tuesday, with efforts continuing into Wednesday outside the Drop-In Centre.

“It’s something that has been deemed a cleanup, which is not acceptable,” Gondek told reporters Wednesday. “That is not how we characterize looking after people in positions of vulnerability, when we take down the only home they have.”

Homeless care advocates said the camp has grown significantly in recent weeks with incoming colder weather.

According to Calgary Bylaw, there has been a “shelter-in-place” strategy for homeless encampments in the city since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning those tents wouldn’t be removed if there was no risk to public safety or the vulnerable people inside.

However, Calgary chief bylaw officer Ryan Pleckaitis said the encampment around the Drop-In Centre had “significant safety risks” to those inside the tents and the public, which prompted complaints from the surrounding business community.

“There’s so many encampments that sometimes they encroach and block access into the Drop-In Centre, which creates significant challenges for EMS, for fire and for Calgary Police Service personnel,” Pleckaitis said.

“There’s the use of propane heaters, candles (and) other sources of open flame, which obviously create risks not only to the individuals who are using those sources of heat, but to all the other individuals in that area.”