Amidst Edmonton encampment sweep controversy, Calgary embraces ‘compassionate’ approach

Plans to fully clear out the final encampment deemed high risk in Edmonton have been delayed as residents living there demand to stay.

The city has been embroiled in a battle over what to do; last month a court injunction was granted to stop the city’s actions unless certain conditions are met.

The City of Calgary, on the other hand, has no plans to take a more aggressive approach like their neighbours to the north.

“When we approach encampments, our teams try to balance compassion, dignity, and safety for those experiencing homelessness in the community,” Sue Wall, Calgary’s inspector of community safety, explained. “We also try to listen to the surrounding community on their concerns around encampments.”

She says the city doesn’t have any large encampments right now like Edmonton does, but there are around 200 smaller ones throughout Calgary.

Wall adds it’s important for people to report encampments by dialing 311, which alerts officials who then connect people living rough with housing, medical, and other supports.

Criticism of Edmonton’s response to homeless encampments has been rampant among many, including from people like Jim Gurnett with the Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness.

He was a guest on CityNews’ Now You Know With Rob Snow radio show on Tuesday.

“The city says, ‘Oh well, they can just go to the emergency shelter facilities.’ But there are many reasons why the shelter facilities aren’t adequate for everybody. So a lot of people will not go to those facilities. Once their community is destroyed at a site, they just have to try to start over again,” Gurnett said.

The Edmonton injunction expires on Thursday and the court is expected to hear an application on a lawsuit that targets the City of Edmonton’s encampment removal policy.

“If there’s a criminal living across the street, the police deal with that criminal, they don’t throw all of us on the block that are living there to go somewhere else,” Gurnett added. “I think these are being used as excuses to really just go after people that they believe to be unsightly.”

Wall says Calgary has removed encampments in the the past, but there are no plans to take a more aggressive approach like in Edmonton.

“We’ve never taken an aggressive approach towards encampments, we’ve always taken a more compassionate approach with our partnerships,” she explained.