Three Cambridge councillors are among a growing list of municipal leaders who hope to pressure the Ontario Big City Mayors into rescinding a letter asking Premier Doug Ford to use the notwithstanding clause to bypass courts and clear encampments.
Cambridge councillors Ross Earnshaw, Scott Hamilton and regional councillor Pam Wolf have joined 41 councillors in 23 municipalities across the province so far in asking the mayors to stop efforts to criminalize homelessness and instead follow evidence-based solutions to the humanitarian crisis affecting their communities.
Last month Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett was among 13 OBCM mayors who signed a letter asking Ford to invoke the notwithstanding clause and pass legislation to give cities the power to move homeless people out of encampments while protecting municipalities from Charter challenges.
The mayors contend municipalities have been left to deal with the crisis without adequate resources, legal authority or support all due to a 2023 Ontario Supreme Court decision.
That decision made it illegal for the Region of Waterloo to evict a homeless encampment at Victoria and Weber streets in Kitchener because it violated the inhabitants' Charter rights to life and security of the person.
The ruling effectively required all Ontario municipalities to provide adequate shelter space for residents of encampments before any action can be taken to remove them.
Councillors were not consulted before the mayors' letter to Ford was made public on Oct. 31.
The move angered councillors like Scott Hamilton who said he was motivated to sign the coalition's letter opposing the mayors' request. He said as a democratically elected politician he must uphold Canada's Charter ensuring a person's rights and freedoms, regardless of whether they have a home or not.
"History shows us time and time again that it's an incredibly slippery slope for politicians to remove the rights of any Canadian citizen in order to suit a political goal or objective — especially when persons losing their rights are part of the most vulnerable and marginalized segments of our society," Hamilton said in an emailed statement.
"I personally feel that invoking the notwithstanding clause is not the route to take, and we, as a city, province, and country, should not go down this dangerous path and open this Pandora's Box."
Diana Chan McNally, a crisis worker in Toronto's downtown east side, is helping to spread awareness about the coalition letter.
She said it's expected to gain more support over the next few days and will be re-circulated to media again Friday with more councillors expected to lend their names to the cause. Ultimately they hope to pressure the premier to not give serious consideration to the request to use the nothwithstanding clause.
Chan McNally said circumventing the court system to remove encampments without sufficient resources in place to help the people living there is a clear violation of their Charter rights to life.
It essentially uses the Charter to undermine the very rights that the Charter protects, she said.
"That's a dark door to open up. So, even if this isn't about homelessness or encampments more specifically, it is about preserving the integrity of the Charter."
"I think the councillors who signed onto this letter, I think a lot of Ontarians don't think that this is going to address homelessness and instead will just harm people without giving them the resources they actually need."
What's also telling about the mayors' request to use the notwithstanding clause is how closely it models US legislation "from Trump-appointed judges," she said.
Known as the Grant's Pass homelessness bill, it gave US cities the right to clear encampments even when there is no shelter space available.
"I know this from working on the front line for 10 years," Chan McNally said. "If you clear an encampment, it will spring up again somewhere else, likely on public land."
"I'm certain it will continue to be an ongoing problem in Cambridge as it is in every other municipality in Ontario."
Regional councillor Rob Deutschmann, who also signed the coalition letter, said the most vulnerable members of our society deserve protection and support rather than further marginalization.
"The provincial government should work collaboratively with municipalities, health experts, and community organizations to develop comprehensive strategies that address the root causes of homelessness, mental health challenges, and addiction, while upholding the Charter rights of all citizens,” he said in a press release.
