Berczy Park Encampment Narrowly Escapes Eviction

On Friday, September 6th, residents of the encampment at Berczy Park in Barrie waited anxiously in the rain to see if the City would follow through with evictions after being served by-law infractions for camping in a public park earlier in the week.

The City of Barrie did show up, but only for garbage removal as the park is on their scheduled route. A man walking his dog, along with a woman pushing her baby in a stroller, walked through the path at the park seemingly unbothered by the residents in the park.

Although the City of Barrie has stated the encampment is making the park unsafe for children to play, the actual encampment where the residents live is nowhere near the playground, but farther down the park path out of view of the children.

Christine Nayler, an advocate for the unhoused and director of Ryan's Hope, camped in the park with residents in solidarity.

"What I am doing is camping, my friends are not," states Nayler.

Nayler has secured legal counsel for the residents of the encampment who say this eviction infringes upon their charter rights.

"It's against the highest law in this country. It's against the Charter of Rights and Freedom, and we're going to stand together," says Nayler.

Also at the encampment, was an unhoused Metis man who said he was having trouble accessing the Metis Nation of Ontario's housing services since his citizenship card expired. 

If you are Metis and experiencing unstable housing, you can contact housingstabilization@metisnation.org.

The encampment residents have escaped eviction for the time being, but sources tell us the city plans to take action early this week.