The City of Toronto has cleared a longstanding homeless encampment in Little Norway Park.
In a social media post, Deputy Mayor Ausma Malik said the encampment was removed as of March 6.
Malik said the city worked closely with neighbours, city staff, community partners and emergency responders to "provide access to indoor space and services to people in the park."
Now, city staff members are completing an immediate five-day clean up of the park to assess the space, as well as remove litter and any sharp objects.
Over the next 30 days, there will be continued encampment prevention, Malik said, meaning case workers will remain onsite to refer potential arrivals to shelters and services.
This spring, the city will begin turf remediation to "re-green" the park and assess repairs to the location's fountain.
The Little Norway Park camp was removed using the city's latest approach for tackling homeless encampments, which calls an enhanced outreach model to quickly connect people with shelters, income supports and social services.
Using this strategy, Malik said the city has completed 87 indoor referrals and has seen 111 encampments resolved. Twenty people were also supported by the city in obtaining identification to file taxes and obtain access income supports, both of which are a requirement for housing and ensure eligibility for benefits.
Malik also said 39,895 kilograms of waste has been removed from the city's parks thanks to the enhanced encampment outreach model.
In a letter to the Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood Association Board, Malik said clearing the Little Norway Park has been an over four-month long effort.
The city sent out a washroom closure notice for the park in September 2024, claiming the encampments made it "too dangerous for public" and that damages to the facilities were being done daily.
In place of the washroom, the city established portable toilets at the site.
Some residents have criticized the effectiveness of the city's new encampment strategy.
At a January consultation with Davenport Coun. Alejandra Bravo about the Dufferin Grove homeless encampment, tensions flared between neighbours.
Though some residents expressed gratitude for the new push to remove the encampment, others said the city wasn't taking the right approach.
One Dufferin Grove encampment resident, Victoria Christopher, said at the consultation that all the city's shelters are full and there is nowhere safe for her and her partner to go.
“There are no choices,” she told the councillor.
In her statement this week, Malik said "we know that the most effective way to address encampments for the long term is by creating permanent solutions to our city’s housing crisis."
The deputy mayor added that she continues to work with city council colleagues to "use every lever" for investment into affordable and supportive housing.
Malik said support from other levels of government is needed to make meaningful, lasting change.
