Tent City Eviction

CAW'S Hargrove Blasts Eviction of Tent City residents

TORONTO, Sept. 25 /CNW/ - The eviction of the residents of Toronto's Tent City, yesterday, by Home Depot, its security personnel, and the Toronto Police
was totally unnecessary and callous, says CAW president Buzz Hargrove. It is true that Home Depot owns this piece of property on Toronto's waterfront, but it is important to remember that besides property rights there are other important rights which must be equally respected in a civilized society. There are the human, social, and economic rights of the citizen to adequate shelter.

The residents were homeless people who took the initiative to build their own homes, however modest and humble. They refused to risk death on the streets or the dangers of living in shelters, such as the spread of tuberculosis in the shelter system that street nurses such as Cathy Crowe have reported on repeatedly to city health officials. Home Depot must take responsibility for the fact that their eviction action has taken housing away from 110 people without making any provision to replace it.

The City of Toronto and Home Depot must find adequate, lasting, alternative housing for all the evicted residents. Before this eviction, several Toronto city councillors, notably Jack Layton and Olivia Chow, worked tirelessly on city council and with Home Depot and other agencies to find alternative housing for the people at Tent City. They looked for other ways to improve their situation in the interim. Alternatives could have been found. 

I condemn the inaction by all three levels of government on homelessness which created this crisis.

The CAW will continue to organize and work closely with the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee to bring Home Depot to account for its actions and demand real solutions from all three levels of government for the residents of Tent City and other homeless people and people on the verge of homelessness across Canada.

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The Canadian Autoworkers Union

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