Guelph council to wait to make decision about public space use bylaw

Guelph councillors have voted to defer any decision about creating a public space use bylaw that would, in part, address where people can set up tents or structures for housing on city owned and operated land.

The city currently has more than 20 encampments, including one in the downtown core in a public square.

A staff report that went before council during a special council meeting on Wednesday said a bylaw would aim to "safely accommodate the needs of unsheltered individuals" while also "help to make public spaces owned and operated by the City safer for all members of the community, and to ensure that spaces are being used for their intended purposes and accessible to all residents."

Councillors heard from more than 30 people and received correspondence from nearly 50 people on Wednesday.

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, after the meeting, Mayor Cam Guthrie said council decided to defer any decision on the bylaw until after they know what happens as part of a court case in Kingston, Ont.

In Nov. 2023, a judge ruled the city was not allowed to clear an encampment in a park and called the city's ban on overnight sheltering unconstitutional. Appeals to that decision are currently  before the courts.

"That's probably going to take anywhere between, I don't know, six to eight months before that's even considered. And so council felt it best to defer our bylaw until at least we get some information from the Kingston results from that legal challenge that is happening there," Guthrie said.

In the meantime, council agreed to ask Wellington County, which oversees local housing and homelessness services, to collect data and metrics about why people aren't using the shelter system and ask about their needs. They also voted to do an education campaign for people living in tents about how to safely heat their space and tell them about services available.

As well, Guthrie said they will focus on advocacy, asking both the federal and provincial governments to listen to their concerns.

'Not a safe thing to live in tents'

Council heard from several members of the public on both sides of the issue during Wednesday's meeting.

At times, Mayor Cam Guthrie had to stop the meeting as people made noises or yelled out during delegations.

"We can't have clapping, snapping and you can't do that kind of stuff because it's distracting for the people we're actually trying to listen to," he said, adding people would be expressing their thoughts during the meeting.

"This is this arena where we have to be able to have those differences of opinions."

A number of people spoke against the bylaw, including Anthea Millikin of the Legal Clinic of Guelph and Wellington County. She cited cases in Waterloo region and Kingston where judges said the municipalities couldn't clear encampments.

If enacted, she said, "this bylaw will be challenged."

Instead, Millikin said the city needs to look for other solutions first.

"It's not a safe thing to live in tents. People do it because they don't have any alternatives, so to say we're passing a bylaw to make it OK for people to camp in certain places and that's going to enhance their safety is not true," she said.

"Solving the problem will enhance their safety."

Greg Dorval, who was previously unhoused, is currently living in a tent in solidarity with those in the downtown encampment.

He said many of the people living in tents downtown "are very angry and struggle for many reasons to express that anger."

"I'm here as an ambassador to keep the conversations going, to help everyone heal," he said.

Mik Graf of Sanguen Health Centre said she was concerned the bylaw "threatens the means of survival for many unhoused community members" and for some people, being in a tent downtown is the safest option for them.

"The location of downtown is a survival factor as people have more accessibility to resources such as meals, bathrooms, healthcare, and social services. The cost of transportation is less of a worry," she said.

Graf said not everyone living in a tent use drugs, but they often have to live with the stigma of people assuming they do.

Those who do use drugs face an "extremely toxic" supply on the streets, which saw the Wellington Guelph Drug Strategy put out a warning last week after nine overdoses happened in one day.

Graf said being downtown "most resources are walking distance," including the Guelph Community Health Centre, which runs consumption and treatment programs.

Support for bylaw

Speaking in favour of the bylaw, Ms. Meri Mak owner Denise Mansour said she's had concerns about safety for her staff and customers.

"The encampment and open drug use plaguing our neighborhood have had devastating consequences for my business and the broader community," she told council.

"My store has been broken into, vandalized, and subjected to horrifying acts of disrespect and aggression. Imagine the stress of finding a headless crow at the store, at your storefront on a bustling Saturday afternoon, or witnessing individuals defecating and engaging in open drug use right outside of your place of business."

Emma Duell owns Woolwich Fine Yarns and said since opening her store a year ago, she's watched changes along Quebec Street.

"Over the past year, I've witnessed daily visits from the Guelph police, ambulance picking up overdose individuals, firefighters putting out fires out in the square, drug deals going down and violent altercations," she said.

She said customers have told her they're nervous about walking to her store and she's taken time to walk people to and from their vehicles.

"I've invested my time and money into Guelph and I feel that the City of Guelph is not doing their part to keep the downtown safe and inviting environment," she said.

Sue Dason is a lawyer and the solicitor for the County of Wellington. She said the county owns property in the city and would want to see the municipality's lands also included in the bylaw "with the focus being safe use and enjoyment of public lands."

In his social media comments, Guthrie said he wanted people to know "everyone does care" about the people who are living unhoused in the city.

"We're all trying to come at it, maybe from different areas, but our intent and our hearts around this are united and the City of Guelph is doing the best that we possibly can in regards to this," he said.