Advocates address Kitchener councillors after camp-out in Victoria Park
Advocates addressed the homelessness crisis in Kitchener at a city council meeting Monday night.
This comes after a camp-out in Victoria Park that happened amid a warning from the city and under the watchful eye of bylaw officers.
The event was called "The Unhoused Experience: 24hr Challenge.”
Tents went up in the park but the group left the area just after midnight on Friday after bylaw asked them to up.
Ahead of that event, the City of Kitchener warned that fines or trespass notices would be handed out if tents were put up and if the event went later than 11:00 p.m.
On Monday, the city said no tickets were issued and those taking part complied with the bylaws.
The event was organized in response to a clash in the park last month, where three demonstrators were charged after the city closed off access to Roos Island in an effort to get those living there to leave.
The incident stirred up some controversy. A lawyer representing the encampment residents in court called for the Region of Waterloo to take a new approach to the housing crisis.
"That foundation makes the actions on April 26 and 27 feel like a train that has jumped the tracks," said David Alton of the Social Development Centre of Waterloo Region at the Monday night council meeting. "It is bumpy and messy right now, but the track is right there and we have the tools to get back on.
"With the help of community partners, it is quite possible to meet this standard going forward."
Organizers say the Unhoused Experience event stayed peaceful.
“It was taking up space in the park, being visibly present. We had a tent up – it was in defiance of the city’s order that there are no more campers allowed in the park,” said Jamie Stief a co-organizer of the event.
Stief told CTV News their interactions with bylaw were not unpleasant.
“So, it wasn’t that they were rude or aggressive. Again, I have the privilege of most of my interactions with law enforcement are not rude or aggressive, but it was clear they were asking us to leave and eventually we did,” Stief said.
The city said they’re working on securing housing for the two remaining campers on Roos Island, with access to the island expected to reopen in phases late this summer.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Bob Cole, veteran CBC broadcaster and former voice of 'Hockey Night in Canada,' dead at 90
Bob Cole, legendary CBC broadcaster and former voice of Hockey Night in Canada, has died. He was 90.
Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction overturned by N.Y. appeals court
New York's highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction, reversing a landmark ruling of the #MeToo era in determining the trial judge improperly allowed women to testify about allegations against the ex-movie mogul that weren't part of the case.
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
MPP Sarah Jama asked to leave Ontario legislature for wearing keffiyeh
MPP Sarah Jama was asked to leave the Legislative Assembly of Ontario by House Speaker Ted Arnott on Thursday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that is banned at Queen’s Park.
CTE: Researchers believe widespread brain injury may contribute to veteran suicide rate
Researchers are working to better understand if some Canadian military veterans may be suffering from Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, also known as CTE -- a disorder previously found in the brains of professional football and hockey players after their death.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
New deep-water channel allows first ship to pass Key bridge wreckage in Baltimore
The first cargo ship passed through a newly opened deep-water channel in Baltimore on Thursday after being stuck in the harbor since the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed four weeks ago, halting most maritime traffic through the city's port.