Bylaw to clear Kitchener encampment passed by Region of Waterloo council
'I do not want to see a bulldozed encampment,' Coun. Colleen James said during debate
Regional councillors have voted in favour of a site-specific bylaw that paves the way for the municipality to clear an encampment at 100 Victoria St. S. in Kitchener by Dec. 1.
The region says the property is needed by Metrolinx as it makes plans to raise tracks for a new transit hub that will be built at the corner of King Street and Victoria Street.
The bylaw was passed Wednesday night during the council meeting, but not before council heard from more than 20 people who were concerned about what would happen to the people who call the encampment site home.
One of the speakers was Sid MacDonald of Kitchener, who said council needed to consider what role the bylaw would have on women and gender-diverse people in the community. MacDonald said there aren't enough shelter beds for this demographic in Waterloo region.
MacDonald said the bylaw prohibits people from moving their tents without permission from the region "restricting free movement with serious safety implications" and argued the bylaw was not "trauma informed."
"For women and gender-diverse individuals, the ability to move a tent is a way to increase visibility, have a light over their heads at night or distance themselves from someone who makes them feel unsafe," MacDonald said.
Erin Dej of Cambridge, who has done research in homelessness for 15 years, supports the region's plan to end chronic homelessness.
But Dej said the new bylaw "does not adhere to that plan that you endorsed" and asked councillors to reject it.
"One of the reasons the plan [the end chronic homelessness] is so exceptional is because it outlines both the process and the outcomes to addressing homelessness. The bylaw in front of you fails on both these counts," Dej said.
Tara Jones is a planning student at the University of Waterloo who has also experienced homelessness "so this is not only an academic issue for me but a deeply personal one."
Jones said the encampment provides stability for the people who live there and the bylaw would displace people and it would limit outreach workers' ability to connect with people experiencing homelessness.
"This bylaw undermines the region's commitments to compassion, equity and homes for all," Jones said.
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'I do not want to see a bulldozed encampment'
Coun. Chantal Huinink said she supported the bylaw because it would actually serve and support the people living there, especially as she has heard people have died there because they were lacking supports.
"I really don't think that the best way to support our most vulnerable members of the community is to maintain the encampment indefinitely," she said. "I think the suite of services that are offered in the plan is good and we definitely need to be vigilant in making sure that people living at 100 Vic currently don't fall through the cracks but I think that we can do that as the caring council and community that we are."
Coun. Colleen James said she wanted to ensure the process to move people "ensures humanity."
"I do not want to see a bulldozed encampment. I do not want to see other levels of government come in and dehumanize you all in any capacity," James said to people who attended the council meeting. "With the approach that this is taking right now, the other option is not an option I want to see happen ever again. So I will support this bylaw, I am putting trust in a process right now, because the other option to me is a dehumanizing option."
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Councillors debated whether a person who contravenes the bylaw could be fined up to $5,000, and whether it was fair to fine people who are experiencing homelessness. A vote to amend the bylaw to remove the fine was defeated. Councillors decided to leave it in the bylaw because it's similar to other bylaws including the region's Code of Use bylaw.
Peter Sweeney, commissioner of community services, says regional staff will work with people who are currently living at the site to help them find alternative housing.
"Both regional staff and partners across the community have been working together to support folks who have been residing there. In the last number of months, we have continued to increase our visits from our unsheltered workers," he said, noting they are licensed social workers.
"They are all trained in this space. They are professionals and they focus on building those one-on-one relationships."
Council voted 13-1 to pass the new bylaw. The lone vote against was from Coun. Pam Wolf, who represents Cambridge. Two councillors were absent.
Region will need to go back to court with bylaw
Tents at the 100 Victoria St. encampment first went up in early 2022. The number of people living at the site has changed depending on the time of year, with more people there during the warmer months.
The region previously tried to clear people from living on the site in 2022. In January 2023, a Kitchener judge ruled the region couldn't evict people from the site unless they gave them another place to live.
The region tried to argue the encampment went against a bylaw on public conduct on regionally owned properties.
Justice M.J. Valente cited the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, and said the region's plans to move people off the site at the time went against the person's rights to life, liberty and security of the person. That's because, Valente said in his ruling, the region lacked enough shelter space for everyone who was homeless.
Last week, acting regional solicitor Fiona McCrea said once the bylaw is passed the region could go back to court to get guidance on how to move forward.
"Once we have a decision from council, then we'll make a determination on the timing for the court proceedings," McCrae said, adding she expected the region to return to the judge "as soon as is reasonably practical" after council approves the bylaw.
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