Members of an encampment at Dufferin Grove Park have made a list of demands to the City of Toronto as they continue to push back against eviction notices.
The demands come almost two weeks after residents at the encampment, which is located across from Dufferin Mall, were served trespass notices and told to vacate Dufferin Grove Park by Sept. 17.
Over the weekend, members of the encampment posted a list of nine demands on the encampment’s Instagram page.
Some of the demands include permanent affordable and social housing, 800-square-foot one-bedroom units, four plots of land or green space for unhoused people in Toronto, and increased fines for housing developments that don’t meet affordable housing requirements.
In addition, the encampment is also demanding that the city redirect funding used for evictions to create and provide more affordable housing. They’re also demanding that supportive housing come with no more mandatory rules and restrictions.
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The encampment has given the city a deadline of Oct.1 to meet the deadlines.
According to media reports, only a few people remained in the encampment as of Sept. 19.
Last week, the encampment called on community support to help raise awareness about their demands, with protests being held on Sept. 17 and 19.
According to the encampment’s Instagram page, some supporters have also been issued trespass notices.
The City of Toronto says it is reviewing the list of demands, according to media reports.
On Monday, the encampment organized a rally to help the remaining members of the encampment, and to once again make their demands clear.
“Our tents are safer than city shelters, if the city wants us to leave we need permanent housing,” the encampment said in a notice for the rally. “But until they engage in good faith, we keep us safe.”
This comes as the Shelter and Housing Justice Network and the Toronto Underhoused and Homeless Union prepare to launch their ‘Shelter is For Everybody’ campaign on Tuesday.
The campaign is meant to call on the city to audit the accessibility of their systems and address inadequate conditions in the city’s shelter system and services which are often at capacity.
In a media advisory, the SHJN and TUHU say the campaign is crucial heading into the winter months.
