As ban on encampments takes effect, Hamilton council beefs up staffing to enforce it

Desmond Brown · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 06, 2025 1:19 PM EST | Last Updated: 9 hours ago

A prohibition connected tents successful parks takes effect Thursday successful Hamilton, with four municipal instrumentality officers to beryllium reassigned to enforce the bylaw afloat clip arsenic a mode to "manage and modulate municipal parks," metropolis unit said this week.

Councillors voted 13-2 Wednesday successful favour of enacting their January decision to rescind the city's encampment protocol successful Hamilton parks. It was introduced successful 2023 and allowed impermanent shelters successful groups of nary much than five. 

The January determination noted the recent Ontario Superior Court of Justice finding that clearing encampments from parks doesn't interruption Charter freedoms.

City officials said successful Hamilton there are astir 1,600 radical experiencing homelessness and 200 successful encampments. At this time, determination are astir 76 encampment sites that volition necessitate investigation, though this fig fluctuates daily, the metropolis says.

The metropolis says determination are presently 25 full-time municipal instrumentality enforcement officers successful its Municipal Law Enforcement section. Eight of those officers are assigned to supply enforcement for council-approved peculiar programs including vacant buildings and encampments. Four volition present beryllium dedicated to enforcing the encampment ban.

At Wednesday's meeting, councillors besides approved the transportation of 1 full-time task manager astatine an estimated outgo of $110,223 from Housing Services Division, Healthy and Safe Communities, to the Licensing and Bylaw Services Division.

Councillors reminded of their quality rights obligations

A last-minute effort by Ward 2 Coun. Cameron Kroetsch to hold the ballot did not find favour with Coun. Tom Jackson.

"All astir the satellite [there are people] who admit that erstwhile we determination radical forcefully they volition endure harm. We cognize radical person died successful situations similar that, and truthful I'll proceed to basal connected the broadside of that not being a happening we should bash nether immoderate circumstances — to make that benignant of harm for individuals successful our assemblage who [are] deprived of housing," Kroetsch said.

"People who recovered themselves without housing, without structure successful our communities didn't program for this, didn't inquire for this,  and punching down connected them isn't going to marque the concern immoderate amended for them... Housing is the lone solution here."

Kroetsch also work from a missive from national lodging advocator Marie-Josée Houle, who expressed sedate concerns astir "the projected program to follow a strict by-law enforcement attack to stateless encampments successful Hamilton erstwhile the Encampments Protocol comes to an extremity connected March 6, 2025."

In the letter, Houle urged councillors to bespeak connected Hamilton's quality rights obligations earlier voting.

"A quality rights-based attack calls connected municipalities to guarantee that they are doing each that they tin to support radical surviving successful encampments from harm and violations of their quality rights portion besides moving connected solutions that volition connection capable lodging and supports," the missive reads.

"Before you ballot this week, I impulse you to reappraisal my study and recommendations truthful that you are afloat alert of my recommendations and your quality rights obligations."

Citing Houle's letter, Kroetsch questioned whether metropolis unit had "considered the ineligible implications" of the enforcement earlier bringing it guardant to councillors.

"She's saying to america that metropolis unit oregon the metropolis should beryllium reaching retired and speaking to her earlier we ballot this week … and truthful not taking that step, I think, puts the municipality astatine successful a risky position," Kroetsch said.

But Jackson said helium recovered it "fascinating" that the lodging advocator "at this precocious hour, 24 hours distant from enacting the rescinding of the protocol" is trying to intervene.

According to Jackson, removing encampments and cleaning up metropolis parks is "what our citizens crossed the metropolis overwhelmingly person begged and pleaded for."

"I americium not going to enactment immoderate absorption to further perchance hold the... rescinding ballot post-protocol to supply relief, happiness, joyousness and information for the 568,000 different Hamiltonians that are looking guardant to it," Jackson said.

City 'already making' investments successful housing: councillor

Coun. John-Paul Danko was among councillors who voted successful enactment of the metropolis moving forward with the encampment ban.

He said advocates "conveniently ignore" that the City of Hamilton is spending astir $200 cardinal successful the 2025 fund to enactment lodging and homelessness. 

"We are doing that contempt a important deficiency of enactment from some the national and provincial governments, wherever I judge this twelvemonth we'll beryllium spending astir $130 million, 67 per cent from municipal spot taxpayers, connected this problem," helium said. 

"So, each of those things that these paid advocates accidental that we request to do, we're already doing them. We're already making those investments. We're already putting hundreds of millions of dollars each twelvemonth into solving these problems." 

Danko also said advocates ignore the interaction connected neighbourhoods, communities and businesses. 

"We walk an inordinate magnitude of time, arsenic we astir apt should, talking astir the needs of stateless individuals, but what is ignored is the needs of the residents, of the community, of the businesses, and of the greater city, Hamilton," helium said.

The manager of the city's bylaw division has been directed to study backmost to the wide issues committee aboriginal this year with an interim appraisal of encampment enforcement, on with quarterly reporting.