In 2016, weeks after the last tenants were forced out during Timbercreek’s first mass demoviction campaign in Herongate, Ottawa Police blew up their homes for “negotiations” training. The police were overjoyed to have this opportunity, at a familiar site of regular criminalization. “It’s not everyday that we have a venue like this where we can actually, for lack of better words, destroy it,” police officer Paul Burnett told CTV News.
The police were happy to show off for the cameras. The media got to show homegrown explosions on the 6 o’clock news. The child’s art on the fridge door tells a different story. The water damage and mould around the ceiling fan, a reminder of strategic neglect.
