People living in tents near Summerside school told to leave by police

Occupants of a tent encampment near a Summerside, P.E.I., school have been told by the authorities to leave the premises.

Summerside police asked people in the encampment — located near Three Oaks Senior High — to leave the area ahead of the beginning of the school year next week, officials with the city confirmed Tuesday. 

J.P. Desrosiers, deputy chief administrative officer with the City of Summerside, said police met a couple of people on the site Tuesday morning.

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"They were given an additional 24 hours to pack up and move along," he said. "I'm assuming police services will go back tomorrow and check in with them to see how they're getting along with packing up, and kind of take the situation from there."

Desrosiers said the occupants were offered supports, including transportation to the Park Street Emergency Shelter in Charlottetown.

"The reality is ... there are no great options in Summerside right now if you're unhoused," Desrosiers said. 

"We continue to desire 24-hour, low-barrier shelters in Summerside. We continue to put that request forward to the provincial government so that we aren't forced to ask these people to be transported to Charlottetown, which is not their home community, to find shelter."

The province said in an emailed statement that staff, along with city police, visited encampments in Summerside last week to "better understand the needs of individuals and the city" and give people information about shelter resources.

It said no decision has been made on a shelter at this point, but that it continues to discuss options with the city.

The Park Street Emergency Shelter was at 88 per cent capacity last month, according to the province's website.