Halifax, police should apologize for handling of 2021 encampment eviction: review

HALIFAX — An independent review of actions taken by the municipality of Halifax and city police during evictions of homeless encampments that turned violent in 2021 says both parties made mistakes in their handling of the incident and should issue an apology.

The civilian review conducted by a team of Toronto-based lawyers was commissioned by Halifax in spring 2023, and came with 37 recommendations that will be presented to a Board of Police Commissioners meeting Wednesday.

More than a hundred protesters clashed with police on Aug. 18, 2021 as city officials forcibly cleared tents and wooden shelters at a homeless encampment downtown, with several demonstrators pepper sprayed and arrested.

The review says the event was traumatic for all involved, particularly “the unhoused who lived in encampments and were evicted from their homes; those who witnessed the evictions; the protesters who were subjected to police use of force, violence and pepper spray; and the officers who were subjected to threats, personal attacks, and violence.”

The recommendations include calls for Halifax and its police force to publicly acknowledge flaws in the decision-making process that led to the encampment eviction and publicly apologize for those errors.

The mistakes include failing to provide encampment residents with adequate notice or a publicly announced date of the eviction, and “the unplanned” decision to clear the encampment at the old Halifax Memorial Library in the city’s downtown.

The review said because three other encampments were cleared out before 8:30 a.m. that morning “without serious conflict,” a last-minute decision was made to clear out the downtown encampment site as well.

“The clearing of the encampment at the Memorial Library proved disastrous for the city and the residents of Halifax,” reads the report.

Another mistake was choosing to persist with that site’s eviction despite multiple opportunities to withdraw, and some city staff and police officers suggesting the clear out should not proceed. As well, using chainsaws to destroy and remove a remaining wooden shelter after a large crowd had formed around the encampment “was a poor decision and aggravated the situation,” said the report.

The review says these mistakes were significant contributing causes of the escalating events of that day, which resulted in arrests and injuries.

The review says Halifax Regional Police should review and revise its sensory irritant policy to ensure that only “properly trained” officers carry pepper spray.

It also says both police and the municipality should be commended for the “more progressive and compassionate” approach taken to homeless encampments since that day, and it urges the city to keep designating public spaces to be used as homeless encampments.

Halifax has six approved homeless tenting encampments that are open for use and has another seven the municipality has designated for encampments that are not officially operational yet — even though people are already sleeping in them.

The Affordable Housing Association of Nova Scotia says that as of Wednesday about 1,280 people in Halifax self-reported as being homeless, and many encampments that have not been designated by the municipality can be seen throughout the city.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 1, 2024.

Lyndsay Armstrong, The Canadian Press