'That's inhumane': Man forced to leave homeless encampment dismantled by region
A man is speaking out about his experience living at a homeless encampment dismantled by the region last week.
Shannon Burt said he was living in the encampment at Stirling Avenue and Charles Street in Kitchener until it was taken down by the region.
Burt said he and five others were living at the site for about two months. He claimed the residents woke up to bylaw banging on their tents at around 9:30 a.m.on Friday, Nov. 26.
“And we're being told to 'get out of the tent, move.' And it’s like...I’ve moved 100 times in three years. I don’t feel like moving today, and it was freezing cold that day,” said Burt.
That afternoon a front-end loader was used to discard the tents and shopping carts left on site.
Burt said the experience left him feeling "violated."
“They put it in the front and loader and just dumped it in the back of a truck,” Burt said. “Telling somebody they can’t sleep when all they need is to sleep. That’s inhumane. That’s torture.”
Burt is now staying at A Better Tent City on Ardelt Place in Kitchener.
A volunteer with ABTC said she went to pick-up Burt that day and said he was very shaken.
“Stuff that they’re putting in the garbage is worth gold to somebody and the shopping carts are being used to put their belongings in,” said Nadine Green with ABTC.
Over the weekend a large protest of about 200 people called out the region’s actions.
On Monday, a public apology was issued by the region’s Chief Administrative Officer.
"All residents deserved to be treated with respect and dignity," CAO Bruce Lauckner said Monday. "On Friday we failed to do that. Seeing the images from Friday hit a lot of people hard. It hit me hard. This is not who we are."
Lesley Crompton from the Social Development Centre of Waterloo Region was on site when the encampment was dismantled and says she was in shock.
Crompton claims regional officials stated they do not evict encampments at a Nov. 17 council meeting.
Regional council was told Monday that there would be ongoing discussions in December and a review would be presented at a later date.
“Any investigation into this break down with both the bylaw and housing systems should be done by an independent organization,” said Crompton.
On Monday the region said the role of police and the approval process of how it was handled will be part of the review.
It is unclear if the region or a third party will be conducting it.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.
All Alberta wildfires to date in 2024 believed to be human-caused: province
There are 63 wildfires burning in Alberta's forest protection area as of Wednesday morning and seven mutual aid fires, including one in the Municipal District of Peace.
Pilot proposes to flight attendant girlfriend in front of passengers
A Polish pilot proposed to his flight attendant girlfriend during a flight from Warsaw to Krakow, and she said yes.
Suspects waving weapons, smashing glass in Toronto jewelry store robbery caught on video
Arrests have been made after five men were captured on video rampaging through a jewelry store in Toronto, waving weapons and smashing glass display cases.