Police have moved in on the squatters camp for the homeless located at Lake Shore and Cherry St., and are forcing residents off the property.

Tents Tense

The tension in Toronto’s Tent City has reached a breaking point. Police have moved in on the squatters camp for the homeless located at Lake Shore and Cherry St., and are forcing residents off the property. The cops are assisting security guards, who are threatening those who refuse to leave with trespassing charges.

The controversial area has long been a topic of dissension between the city and advocates for the homeless. It’s owned by Home Depot, which is based in the U.S. And it’s believed a recent article in the New York Times highlighting the camp may have embarrassed the company into demanding the people living on the privately owned land be evicted. Officials from the company called the Toronto Police Chief’s office on Tuesday morning, apparently asking them to evict those living there.

Tent City was a response by the homeless to the on-going problem of the lack of affordable housing in Toronto. Pre-fab shacks, complete with limited hydro and sewage facilities have since been added. But what will now become of those structures - and those who lived in them - isn’t clear.