Greater Sudbury’s Paul Lefebvre has joined nine other Ontario mayors in signing an open letter calling on Premier Doug Ford to take stronger action on homeless encampments.
Following their list of requests, municipalities would be free to shut down homeless encampments, while those who set up camps could be charged with trespassing and arrested.
Further, the public use of drugs would be prohibited in the same manner as open consumption of alcohol.
The letter requests the premier invoke the notwithstanding clause as deemed necessary to ensure measures to help municipalities with issues related to mental health, addictions and homeless encampments are implemented “in a timely and effective manner.”
The notwithstanding clause prevents a court from declaring that legislation is of no force or effect when it’s inconsistent with the Canadian Charter of Rights And Freedoms.
In response to an encampment eviction case in Kitchener-Waterloo last year, Justice M.J. Valente said clearing encampments without sufficient shelter spaces would infringe on the constitutional rights of those living there.
This sets a precedent which effectively means that erecting encampments would be allowed “when the number of homeless persons exceeds the number of available accessible shelter beds in the region,” according to Valente’s ruling.
The mayors’ letter seeks to nullify this ruling via the notwithstanding clause.
This year has seen encampments grow to record levels in Greater Sudbury and not enough accommodations available to house everyone. Homelessness is up 25 per cent from 2021 in Greater Sudbury, according to the Oct. 8 point-in-time homelessness count, hitting 500.
Sudbury.com reached out to both city communications staff and the mayor’s office for comment on Thursday afternoon, but have not received a response.
A follow-up story will be published in the event these interview requests are granted.
The key points of advocacy within the 10 mayors’ open letter include asking the province to:
- Become an intervenor on any court case that restricts the ability of municipalities to regulate and prohibit encampments, in that courts should not be dictating homelessness policy.
- Strengthen the existing system of mandatory community-based and residential mental health care and expand service to treat those who have severe and debilitating addictions.
- Implement a drug and diversion court system throughout the province and ensure the necessary resources to allow a meaningful focus on rehabilitation as opposed to incarceration.
- 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.
- Enact legislation providing clear guidance regarding the open and public use of drugs being prohibited in the same manner as the open consumption of alcohol.
Other signatories alongside Lefebvre include Alex Nuttall (Barrie), Patrick Brown (Brampton), Ken Davis (Brantford), Jan Liggett (Cambridge), Rob Burton (Oakville), Dan Carter (Oshawa), Kevin Ashe (Pickering), Mat Siscoe (St. Catharines) and Drew Dilkens (Windsor).
In response to the mayors’ letter, the premier’s office issued the following statement to The Trillium:
"We have been clear that we will explore every legal tool available to the province to clear encampments and restore safety to public spaces. While cities remain at the forefront of issues relating to municipally owned lands, we are examining which additional tools the province can provide to help municipalities effectively manage these ongoing challenges.”
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has denounced the proposed use of the notwithstanding clause to violate Charter-protected rights.
"The notwithstanding clause was never intended to be used – and should never be used – to weaken or harm legal protections for marginalized and vulnerable communities," association director Harini Sivalingam said earlier this month.
Recent months have seen Greater Sudbury city council take several actions on homelessness, including the purchase of 307 Cedar St. for use as an emergency shelter and/or transitional housing, and a warming centre expansion effort using the old supervised consumption site, which shuttered earlier this year due to a lack of provincial funding.
In August, the city’s elected officials unanimously backed a motion to have the city push for the federal and provincial governments to do more to work collaboratively to address the homelessness crisis.
It’s also anticipated that upcoming 2025 budget deliberations will see city council members vote on items relating to their $350-million plan to bring a functional end to homelessness by 2030.
~With files from The Trillium
The full letter to Premier Doug Ford from the 10 mayors
Mr. Premier,
As elected mayors from across the Province of Ontario, we have heard your invitation for a clear request for provincial action to help municipalities with issues related to mental health, addiction, and homeless encampments.
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.
The Provincial Government is requested to enact legislation providing clear guidance regarding the open and public use of drugs being prohibited in the same manner as the open consumption of alcohol.
We ask for your immediate attention to this matter and look forward to working with the Government of Ontario to realize positive changes to very complex issues.
