encampment

A Saint John woman is calling for stronger protections for property owners after an encampment was found on her north-end property.

Megan Goguen said the city should consider implementing protocols for landowners who did not consent to encampments on their properties.

“Everybody that owns property in Saint John is at risk for this happening, and then you are out of a thousand of dollars for something you had no control over, somebody needs to speak out,” she said.

Goguen, who first shared her story in a lengthy social media post on Sunday, said she became concerned after finding needles, human feces, burned items, trash and personal belongings scattered throughout a wooded area behind her property that connects to Rockwood Park.

The mother of two said the conditions raised concerns about her family’s safety.

“There is needles everywhere, I can’t let my kids out to play, so I’m angry. But I still have compassion for these people,” she said. “If they had just set up a tent in my backyard and were clean, I wouldn’t have said a word.”

Goguen said a restoration company estimated the cleanup would cost more than $100 an hour per worker due to the need to remove biohazardous waste.

She said she first learned of the situation last Thursday after a neighbour spotted someone living on the property. Goguen believes the encampment extends through neighbouring land and toward Rockwood Park.

Goguen said she contacted the city, Saint John police and Fresh Start seeking answers.

While the city didn’t address Goguen’s concerns until Monday, she said Fresh Start did visit the site but according to Goguen did not provide any solutions.

“You try to get answers from anybody, and to me Fresh Start is supposed to help these people,” she said. “But I couldn’t get any answers for them, it’s like they dismiss everything that I say.”

Fresh Start is a poverty-related community agency that works with unhoused people or soon-to-be-homeless in the city to help them find housing solutions.

Goguen said that after assessing the site, Fresh Start concluded the encampment had been abandoned and the area had since become a dumping site for waste left behind by teenagers and tourists using the area for temporary camping.

However, Goguen said she believes someone is still living there.

“I been up there every day now since last Thursday and every day there’s something new moved,” she said.

Acadia Broadcasting reached out to Fresh Start for comment, but the organization did not respond.

City says property owners generally responsible

Following Goguen’s request for service on, the city’s director of community services and parks David Dobbelsteyn said the city’s outreach team visited the site three times to check if someone lived in the area, and one more time on Aug.10, where it determined it was in city owned land.

As a result, the city will be responsible for cleaning up the encampment.

Dobbelsteyn said property owners are generally responsible for dealing with unauthorized encampments on private land, although the city can provide support in certain situations.

Under Saint John’s Housing for All Strategy, encampments are prohibited in designated “Red zones” in the city and permitted in “Green zones,” and in some “Yellow zones”, as long the landowner allows it, and the individuals adherence to site standards set by the city.

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In cases where a property owner did not give permission for an encampment, Dobbelsteyn said residents can seek assistance from the city or police.

“They can contact the city to get assistance, if they are scared they are welcome to contact the police, who will be happy to assist them, so there are various options to homeowners,” he said.

Dobbelsteyn said Goguen’s situation falls into a grey area because her property backs onto city-owned wooded land connected to Rockwood Park.

“In most cases, properties are relatively small, and people tend to know whether someone is sleeping on their property or not, but I understand how in wooded areas that a little bit can be more difficult,” he said.

The city has developed a plan to address the site and has communicated it to Goguen, Dobbelsteyn said. However, cleanup cannot proceed until officials determine whether someone is living there and, if necessary, relocate them safely.

“We can’t just force people out,” he said. “Courts have rule that you can’t do that sort of thing in Canada, so we are very cognizant that our policy is reflective of that.”

Goguen said she is pleased the city is addressing the issue but would have liked to see action sooner.

She said council should review the policy to better protect landowners whose properties are used without consent.

“I’m sure there are people that wouldn’t mind having people on their property. But it’s the mess,” she said. “It would be the same as a landlord, if you are going to rent to these people, is the landlord responsible to clean up the disaster or damage? I don’t know, but it shouldn’t be that way.”

Dobbelsteyn said the city is always taking feedback from the community and that, while the policy is clear, the city will continue supporting private property owners where possible.