Protesters begin fight against destruction of green space and affordable housing in The Junction
Protesters say the poor are being driven out while affordable rental properties dwindle in the low-income neighbourhood.

thestar.com
By SCOTT WHEELER
Aug. 26, 2017

Inside the fence lies two community gardens, a play structure, cement pathways and a banner that reads, “Friends of Watkinson Park demands a nature park for the people. Down with gentrification.”

Outside the fence, community organizers in the Junction, which sits in between St. Clair Ave. W. and Bloor St. W. just north of High Park, worry about the rapid development of their west-end neighbourhood and the loss of its green space.

On Saturday, their fight was expected to bring roughly 200 people to the Dundas-Watkinson Parkette for a sleepover protest.

Development of Keele St. has been encroaching on what has always been a low-income area, driving out the poor and reducing access to affordable rental spaces, they say.

“Gentrification is spreading from Toronto’s downtown core to outlying neighbourhoods,” said Angela Browning, the spokesperson for Friends of Watkinson Park, a collection of community organizers attempting to preserve one of the last green spaces in the area.

In recent months, the group has stewarded two gardens in the park in its ongoing efforts to work alongside Six Nations elder Donna Powless.

“Watkinson park is an important restorative space for the low-income community who do not have yards,” Browning said. “We want to network with people who are environmentally concerned with the global warming issue and take up a movement.”

The protest is just the first step in a movement to empower low-income communities to take ownership of their neighbourhoods, added Browning.

“The Junction is being gentrified at a rapid rate,” she said. “There are condos going up. People are being evicted from rental housing.”

The Ontario Coalition Against Poverty, or OCAP, is among the other organizations working with Browning.

“They were having issues with poor people in the park facing harassment from police, mainly for being told they couldn’t smoke in the park at that point,” said spokesperson Randy McLin.

“Since then we’ve been collaborating specifically around issues of access to public space.”

This weekend’s sleepover was inspired by the controversial campout OCAP organized at Toronto Mayor John Tory’s condo last April.

“It was really important for us to support this action because we need similar actions and resistances happening across the city,” McLin added.

After the city redesigned the parkette last year, Browning and other community organizers were disappointed that the final plans opted for cement and a playground, rather than the “nature-based” space they petitioned for.

Browning said the group wishes it had more support from the police and their local councillor.

They were unsure how police were going to respond to the campout.

“We’re just going to have to play it by ear,” Browning said ahead of the protest.

The campout was scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. on Saturday and run until Sunday morning.