Court challenge looms over Hamilton debate on how to deal with tent encampments

Advocates are asking Hamilton's new council to redirect funding to support - rather than evict - homeless residents living in encampments - even as a court challenge looms for the city's bylaw banning tents in parks.

Council was supposed to consider a pitch Wednesday to make permanent a response team" for encampments. The $1.3-million plan would pay for outreach workers, bylaw officers and and police, with city staff also recommending the development of a new, housing-led" encampment response strategy.

But until that new strategy is settled, bylaw officers are still expected to enforce a ban on tents in parks - a bylaw that homeless residents and supporters are challenging in court as a violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Councillors ran out of time Wednesday and pushed the encampment debate to a future meeting - but not before listening to concerned residents who asked them to reject the encampment team funding proposal.

Marcie McIlveen of the Hamilton Social Medicine Response Team said the city's current polices punish" people forced to live in tents. I am in no way saying encampments are a solution ... not one person wants to live in a tent," she told councillors.

But McIlveen argued adding more bylaw and police officers won't address the core problem of residents in need of housing or add more accessible shelter space.

Gessie Stearns, a social worker and researcher who has worked with residents experiencing homelessness, urged council to focus resources on housing, not enforcement. Stop treating homeless people as the problem," she said.

Stearns argued the lack of housing and accessible shelter options undermines the city's outreach efforts to convince homeless residents to leave encampments. It's a whole lot of gaslighting without housing at the end of it," she said.

Several delegates urged the city to spend the $1 million-plus instead on providing tent residents with access to bathrooms and showers, social supports and a more accessible, flexible shelter system.

Last year, the previous council passed a policy calling for encampments to be cleared within 72 hours. Several newly elected councillors, however, have publicly made clear they want to explore a new approach to encampments.

They'll get a chance to talk about it when the response team debate resumes Feb. 1 - just a few weeks before the next court date related to the Charter challenge of Hamilton's parks bylaw.

The court application was first made in 2021, but was amended and refiled late last year on behalf of 19 residents experiencing homelessness. It argues enforcing the bylaw violates the Charter because it deprive(s) homeless individuals of their liberty (and) security of the person."

The application reiterates the argument that evicting homeless residents from parks is traumatizing and can endanger their health if they decide to move tents into less visible locations, further from help.

Human rights lawyer Wade Poziomka said via email that the team behind the application is preparing expert evidence for the challenge but remains open to discussing a fair resolution" that protects residents forced to live in tents.

Matthew Van Dongen is a transportation and environment reporter at The Spectator. mvandongen@thespec.com