Encampment under Algonquin Boulevard in Timmins raises questions
For the past few weeks, some people who are living rough in Timmins have set up camp in a high profile area: underneath the overpass on Algonquin Boulevard at the Spruce Street intersection.
They told CTV News that this is where they feel comfortable and police said as long as they're not breaking any laws, it's their choice.
Timmins police officials said people have taken notice of the encampment and have called it in to the police.
“Nobody that we’re aware of who is currently at that encampment is technically in crisis," said Marc Depatie, communications coordinator for the Timmins Police Service.
"So we are monitoring the situation from an arm’s length point of view. The moment that any law’s broken, the police will react and take appropriate steps to remedy the situation.”
Brian Marks, chief administrative officer for the Cochrane Social Services Administration Board, said encampments have existed in the city for decades, but were hidden in the bush.
He said people don't seem to mind homelessness when it's hidden.
“I would say this is an opportunity to learn more," said Marks. "To try to understand what goes into homelessness and see it for what it is. That every individual has a story and, you know, for the person that has chosen to sleep under an overpass in Timmins, there’s a story there.”
Samantha McWatch is a member of the group. She said she was evicted from her apartment last winter.
"I had friends and family; it was cold and in winter time and I was allowing them to come stay with me," McWatch said.
"Apparently, there was complaints by the neighbour, but that should be a reason if they were inside my home, right. I pay rent through Ontario Works.
Marks said shelters in the city are not full at this point, but for whatever reason, these people do not want to sleep there.
Officials said outreach workers have met with the people under the overpass and have offered to connect them with services in the community, but said it's their decision whether to accept assistance.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
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.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.