Eco-fascism in Alberta

This morning, I watched a video clip shared on X/Twitter which showed the Edmonton Police Service tearing down homeless encampments along the Edmonton river valley. The justification given by the police was that the homeless population living in the park were causing environmental destruction (like littering) and therefore they needed to be evicted.

Imagine blaming the homeless for this situation instead of the systemic injustices — such as a lack of affordable housing — that push people into homeless encampments in the first place. Where are these people supposed to live? Kicking these people out doesn’t reduce homelessness. The only thing the police video accomplishes is to further dehumanize and villainize the poor.

Remember back in January when the Edmonton Police Service tore down homeless encampments during the coldest period of the year? Maybe those evictions actually pushed the unhoused population into the park. Who is to blame then? Couldn’t we equally argue that the police actually pushed these people into the river valley in the first place? This “mess” is on their hands as well.

This is a blatant act of eco-fascism where the power of the state is used to terrorize a marginalized group under the guise of “environmentalism.” Homeless people aren’t responsible for this mess. We need to stop blaming individuals for systemic issues and we shouldn’t allow ourselves to be misguided by police propaganda.

This is also a great example of how settler colonial beliefs (which are a product of the western European enlightenment — see “Cartesian dualism”) have reinforced the idea of a “pristine” nature that is distinct and separate from human society. This is the same perspective that was weaponized against Indigenous Peoples to dispossess them of their traditional lands and livelihoods when Canada created the National parks system. As if the urbanization of Edmonton itself isn’t a bigger environmental threat to the river valley than a few homeless people living in tents.

It’s amazing how much of the public discourse around homeless encampments revolves around fear of drugs and/or weaponry. While I recognize that those fears are valid (i.e., seeing a sword can be scary for people), we need to remember that people who live in houses also use (and abuse) drugs, probably just as frequently as the homeless, and housed people also own plenty of weapons. The issue isn’t really about the weapons or the drugs, people just hate having to see it.

As always, ACAB.