Sudbury's unhoused used this space to keep warm, until the city covered it with a trash can

The City of Greater Sudbury says a garbage bin was screwed on top of the sidewalk grate on Elgin Street as it was a space repeatedly used for encampments and it "posed a significant risk to those staying there during snowplow operations."

But some unhoused people tell CBC they don't believe this was done for their safety.

Colleen Wabanosse has spent several cold winter nights on top of the grate, capturing the warmth coming out of the vent. 

"It used to be the warmest, safest place to be," she said. 

"It almost felt like being in an apartment, that's how warm it was. It would heat your tent right up." 

Wabanosse has been experiencing homelessness and a drug use disorder for years. She'll sometimes go to the shelter, if there are free beds – but she'd rather be outside in a tent. 

"It's my own space. I can do my drugs and I'm more comfortable, not stressed about people stealing my stuff or bothering me," she said. 

Wabanosse and other unhoused people say they were distraught to find that a trash can had been installed in that spot. 

"There's barely any heat coming out of it now… We won't be able to stay there, the garbage can covers the whole vent." 

She says she doesn't understand the city's reasoning. 

"Our tent always had orange tarp over it… the snowplows knew we were there," she said, adding that they spoke with operators, and shoveled the space they were using themselves. 

"They didn't seem to have a problem with us there. This is about more than that." 

The sidewalk grate is located in front of Laurentian University's McEwen School of Architecture, an institution that has supported and published work advocating against the use of design to exclude certain people from public spaces. 

Christopher Baziw is a graduate of the program who has researched hostile architecture.