Homeless man appeals Tamarind Square ruling

Homelessh man Hugh Bernard has appealed the judge’s ruling that he had no right to sleep in Tamarind Square.

In October, Justice Eleanor Donaldson-Honeywell ruled that the Port of Spain City Corporation had no duty to provide accommodation or facilities to displaced people, particularly at the square.

Bernard took the corporation to court, lost and was ordered to pay the corporation’s legal fees. He has been seen periodically at the square, where he lived for about four years.

Lawyers, representing Bernard free of charge, on Friday last filed an appeal of the judge’s ruling. In his lawsuit, Bernard claimed the homeless were adversely affected by the corporation’s decision to put locks on the gates to deny them and other members of the public, entry into the square. In her ruling, Donaldson-Honeywell said there was no evidence from the corporation that it had decided to lock the gates to the square at night.

She also found the corporation did not limit the use, by the public, of Tamarind Square in a manner that was unlawful.

Donaldson-Honeywell also held that Bernard did not present any evidence to prove his presence in the square was solely due to homelessness and did not involve any unlawful act of loitering. She also pointed to evidence from the corporation’s witnesses that there were obstructions on the pathways of the square posing danger to passers-by, and added that the prosecution of any offence committed by the homeless would be left to the discretion of the police.