Homeless people and supporters have a stand off and refuse to leave the encampment as police prepare to clear homeless encampments in Edmonton, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson.
EDMONTON – Police in Edmonton say they found several weapons during the recent removal of a homeless encampment.
Police say in a social media post that officers discovered 60 weapons – including Samurai swords, machetes, knives, axes and imitation firearms – at the Dawson Park encampment in the city’s river valley last week.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith says in a post that the weapons discovery is a reminder that encampments are a risk to not only the most vulnerable, but to the community at large.
The posts come as the eighth and final encampment deemed by police to be “high risk” was set to be taken down – a move a local human rights group says breaches an emergency injunction order by not considering a cold snap in the forecast.
In December, Court of King’s Bench Justice Kent Davidson heard lawyers with the Coalition for Justice and Human Rights argue for a temporarily stop the city’s dismantling of encampments.
The judge agreed with the city that some encampments are affiliated with organized crime, pose a risk to community safety and need to be taken down immediately.
Chris Wiebe, a lawyer representing Edmonton’s Coalition for Justice and Human Rights, says the city relies on provincial data to determine if there is adequate shelter space but there is often not enough available.
The coalition brought its concerns to court Tuesday. Wiebe says Davidson deferred any further interim decision until he hears the coalition’s official injunction application starting Wednesday.
Edmonton police Deputy Chief Warren Driechel was scheduled to deliver a briefing Tuesday afternoon on the service’s response to the encampments.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on Jan. 9, 2024.
