An individual in Edmonton without a permanent residence is requesting a court to hold the City of Edmonton accountable for confiscating and discarding his personal items during a cleanup of an encampment two years ago.
Dwayne Cardinal, aged 55, is pushing for a prompt decision in his legal action against the city, contending that the proof indicates city employees unlawfully removed his tent, tarps, sleeping bag, bicycle, stoves, clothing, and other possessions and sent them to a waste disposal site.
The city refutes this assertion, claiming that its workers were within their rights to take away the belongings under Alberta’s Municipal Government Act due to potential health and safety hazards posed by the items.
The arguments were presented during a summary judgment proceeding on August 18, a legal process that allows a case to be resolved without a full trial if there is enough evidence to do so.
Cardinal asserts that a full trial would be financially burdensome for him.
The focal point of the dispute revolves around Section 610(1) of the Municipal Government Act, which stipulates the protocol for handling lost or unclaimed property acquired by a municipality.
According to the provision, unclaimed property in a municipality’s possession should generally be retained for at least 30 days. However, items can be disposed of earlier if they are deemed unsafe, unhygienic, or perishable.
Cardinal argues that this law is not applicable in his case as his belongings were neither lost nor unclaimed. He contends that he was in the process of gathering his possessions when he was separated from them due to being detained by the police, not because he had abandoned or misplaced them.
Furthermore, Cardinal maintains that city workers were aware that the belongings belonged to him and witnessed his detention by the police nearby.
The city’s counterargument is that the term “lost” can also encompass property that is simply not in the owner’s possession. Since Cardinal was arrested and removed from the site, his belongings were no longer under his control.
Additionally, the city argues that its workers considered the property unclaimed since they did not directly interact with Cardinal and were informed by the police that the site needed to be cleared.
The city contends that requiring workers to investigate the reasons behind each item left behind would create an impractical standard for municipal cleanup crews.
Cardinal also contests the city’s failure to demonstrate that his specific belongings were hazardous or unsanitary enough to warrant immediate disposal.
His legal representative, Chris Wiebe, asserts that city workers followed a standard cleanup procedure that assumed materials at encampments were contaminated without inspecting Cardinal’s individual items.
In response, the city asserts that the conditions at Cardinal’s encampment justified the immediate disposal, citing the discovery of drug paraphernalia, including methamphetamine pipes and used foil, along with 48 needles at the location.
Additionally, the city references a police report documenting another individual defecating near the tent and the existence of a Shigella outbreak among Edmonton’s homeless population at that time.
The city has submitted court documents stating that materials from encampments could be contaminated, posing risks if stored and potentially leading to cross-contamination for municipal workers and the public.
Cardinal further argues that the confiscation of his belongings constituted an unreasonable seizure under Section 8 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
He contends that he was not informed prior to the cleanup and was actively packing his belongings when he was detained by the police, subsequently leading to the removal and disposal of his possessions by city workers.
The city disputes the applicability of Section 8, asserting that the Charter provision safeguards reasonable expectations of privacy rather than an absolute right to property.
Cardinal’s encampment was situated on a public, multi-use LRT pathway, and was visible to pedestrians and cyclists, according to the city.
Even if Section 8 is deemed relevant, the city maintains that the seizure was lawful and carried out to safeguard public health and safety.
Cardinal is seeking $7,000 in compensation from the city: $1,000 for the value of his belongings, $1,000 for general damages due to the hardship of losing his shelter, and $5,000 in Charter damages.
While Cardinal’s lawsuit also includes former Edmonton police chief Dale McFee and constables Mathew Bruno and Levi Clarke, the claims against these police defendants, such as allegations of battery, false arrest, false imprisonment, negligence, and violations of his Charter rights during his arrest, are not part of the current summary judgment application.
The judgment on Cardinal’s application is pending.
