Mayors call on the province for help dealing with encampments

Several mayors are hoping their latest plea to the province is one that can’t be ignored.

While Premier Doug Ford was in Cambridge on Friday to tour a newly opened pharmaceutical facility, Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett took the opportunity to hand him a letter signed by several mayors.

“I hand delivered a letter from the Big City mayors that have come together to ask for, if necessary, the notwithstanding clause from the Charter of Rights to be used,” Liggett said.

The notwithstanding clause, also known as Section 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, gives provincial legislatures or Parliament the ability to override certain portions of the Charter for no more than five years.

The clause applies to certain sections of the charter and can’t be used against provisions that protect the democratic process.

Ford used the notwithstanding clause in June 2021 to restore parts of the Election Finances Act but the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled the bill was unconstitutional in March 2023. Ford used the nothwithstanding clause again in 2022 as part of the Keeping Students in Class Act. Although that use received royal assent, it was repealed and retroactively nullified 11 days later.

The letter

The letter was handed to Ford less than a week after Ford asked why mayors weren’t doing something more drastic about homeless encampments.

“Why don’t they use the notwithstanding clause or something like that?” he asked on Oct. 28. “That’s what they should be doing rather the just kind of going up to the edge. Let’s see if they have the backbone to do it.”

In all, more than a dozen mayors rose to his challenge, including Alex Nuttall of Barrie, Patrick Brown of Brampton, Ken Davis of Brantford, Jan Liggett of Cambridge, Darrin Canniff of Chatham-Kent, Adrian Foster of Clarington, Cam Guthrie of Guelph, Rob Burton of Oakville, Dan Carter of Oshawa, Kevin Ashe of Pickering, Mat Siscoe of St. Catharines, Paul Lefebvre of Sudbury and Drew Dilkens of Windsor.

The letter reads in part: “We request that your government consider the following measures, and where necessary use the Notwithstanding Clause to ensure these measures are implemented in a timely and effective way:

The Provincial Government is requested to become an intervenor on any court case that restricts the ability of municipalities to regulate and prohibit encampments, advocating for the principle endorsed by the US Supreme Court (City of Grant Pass, Oregon) that courts should not be dictating homelessness policy.

The Provincial Government is requested to strengthen the existing system of mandatory community-based and residential mental health care and to expand service to treat those who have severe and debilitating addictions.

The Provincial Government is requested to implement a Drug and Diversion Court system throughout the entire province and ensure the necessary resources to allow a meaningful focus on rehabilitation as opposed to incarceration.

The Provincial Government is requested to amend the Trespass to Property Act to include a separate provision for repetitive acts of trespass, the penalty for which should include a period of incarceration, and to further permit a police officer to arrest a person who commits repetitive acts of trespass after having been directed by the police officer not to engage in such activity. These amendments should also include an option for referral to a Diversion court for charges of repetitive trespass.”

After handing Ford the letter, Liggett told CTV News, “We don’t have the tools for ourselves currently because courts are not aligned with the social issues that we are facing,” Liggett said. “They look at the human rights aspect, which we have to look at, and the harm being done. Not just the people living in the community as a whole.”

Encampment debate

Several cities across the province have struggled with how to balance the needs of encampment residents while also keeping public spaces accessible for all community members.

The precedent for dismantling encampments was set in Waterloo Region in 2023. A court decision ruled evicting encampment residents infringed on their Chater Rights. The ruling noted the region did not have adequate shelter spaces for the homeless population.

Advocates for people experiencing homelessness said more still needs to be done to address to root of the problem.

“I find it disappointing that the mayors have chosen to ask the province to use the notwithstanding clause instead of looking for solutions that will actually help people that are experiencing homelessness,” Shannon Down, executive director for Waterloo Region Community Legal Services said.

Liggett noted the letter does include a request to strengthen and expand mental health services. “As a leader of the community, I’m trying to build a community that is healthy for everybody.”

As for Ford, he said his government will be working with the cities.

“Any municipality that ends up going to court, we’re going to be with them,” he said. “We’re going to be there supporting them. We’ll send our teams in there as well. We want to help people, but you can’t have people squatting in public parks.”