Breaking: City of Toronto currently attempting to evict AIR Collective at Dufferin Grove Park
Written by: Aidan Jonah
At 9 a.m. this morning, Toronto police attempted to evict the residents of the Afro-Indigenous Rising Collective, a police abolition collective, at Dufferin Grove Park. They also practice community care, and feed the homeless. The City of Toronto justified this on the basis on an eviction notice which they had sent days ago. The city had previously evicted the group at Nathan Phillips Square.
Nearly fourty police officers surrounded the encampment, while members of the collective came out to defend their space. The officers were eventually rebuffed due to members of the community coming out to support the AIR Collective, leaving at 10:10 a.m.
Jonathan Taylor-Brown, an organizer with the AIR Collective said at the time “we are incredibly proud of this resistance, and to the community members who came out to support us.” He confirmed that the collective would defend the encampment, and many were willing to risk arrest.
NDP MPP Marit Stiles came to the encampment around 10:50 a.m., and spoke with both the community and a group of officers who had came back to the area. She urged the police to not evict the collective, and said that she would be reaching out to Toronto City Council about the matter.
At 11:40 a.m. police returned to the encampment, with the intent to evict the collective. There is currently an ongoing standoff.
Anonymous sources indicated that there werere up to 50 police officers on a nearby street, who planned to arrest all protesters who refused to leave, at 2 p.m.
Police have not arrested the protesters at this time, though they have repeatedly came back to the encampment.
The far-right “news outlet” Rebel Media has just entered Dufferin Grove Park, as of 2:30 p.m.
In exchange for the police leaving, the encampment lost their electricity source, water source, generator and a tarp.
For now the encampment seems safe.
More updates will be provided as events occur.
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