Drugs and homemade weapons seized, 15 arrested in clearing of Robert-Guertin shelters, police say [Video]

Police in Gatineau, Que., say they seized drugs and homemade weapons, and arrested 15 people, during an operation Thursday to clear a site near the Gîte Ami service centre and shelter.

People have been staying in tents near the former Robert-Guertin arena for more than a decade, before the number of people without a steady home skyrocketed in the region. The arena became a temporary shelter in 2020 early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

People continued to take up shelter around the building in the months that followed, drawing complaints. By late September 2023, more than 80 structures occupied the site, the city’s mayor said at the time.

Police said Thursday they had to move the remaining structures to a nearby park to make way for the arena’s demolition and to set up dozens of converted shipping containers to be used as temporary homes on the property.

Thirteen trailers were removed on Thursday after their occupants refused to cooperate, according …