Ontario anti-encampment law punishes the homeless, avoids long-term solutions: critics
A new provincial law that aims to clear encampments from public spaces does not address the root causes behind homelessness and punishes people who have no access to affordable shelter, critics say.
The Safer Municipalities Act, which passed last Tuesday in the Ontario Legislature, gives municipalities and police "enhanced tools they need to end encampments and clean up our parks and public spaces," according to a provincial news release from April.
But the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), which represents all 444 municipalities in the province, says the law does not provide longer-term, permanent solutions for homelessness — an issue municipalities across the province have described as a top concern in recent years.
"It doesn't really focus at all on the root causes of homelessness ... the lack of deeply affordable housing, the lack of mental health and addictions services at the levels that we need them, as well as some of these basic issues around income support," said Lindsay Jones, the AMO's director of policy and government relations.
Under the legislation, the province will spend $50 million to help create 1,239 additional housing units, and $20 million to create 971 additional shelter and temporary accommodation spaces.
It will also put $5.5 million toward the Canada-Ontario Housing Benefit to "immediately free-up emergency shelter spaces for people living in encampments" by helping around 1,000 people living in shelters move into longer-term housing, the news release said.
While Jones called the spending encouraging, she said its "a drop in the bucket" compared to the nearly $2 billion the AMO estimates is needed to end encampments in Ontario.
More than 80,000 people in Ontario were homeless last year, according to an AMO report. The association previously found there were about 1,400 encampments across the province in 2023.
CBC Toronto has reached out to the province for comment.
Law misdiagnoses problem: community workerJones said the Safer Municipalities Act is particularly focused on enforcement. The law strengthens penalties for people who "deliberately and continually break the law by adding the new aggravating factors of continuous trespassing and the likelihood to reoffend," the provincial news release said.
People convicted of a trespass offence may face a fine of up to $10,000, according to the bill.
The legislation also allows police officers to issue a ticket or arrest people who do not comply with an order to stop using illegal substances in public and to leave the public place.
People found guilty of violating the legislation may face fines of up to $10,000 or up to six months in prison. The province will explore "judicial approaches" that provide rehabilitation as an alternative to jail time for minor or non-violent drug crimes, the provincial news release said.
When Ontario Premier Doug Ford first introduced the Safer Municipalities Act in December, he said encampments "are taking over public spaces, with illegal drug use happening out in the open, creating huge safety risks for people and communities."
"Enough is enough, this has to stop and it will stop," Ford added.
But Diane Chan McNally, a community worker in Toronto who works with people who live in encampments, says the Safer Municipalities Act is punishing those who have no access to affordable housing.
"We're misdiagnosing the actual problem. We're suggesting that the issue is people using drugs in public when the issue is actually that people have nowhere affordable for them to live," she said.
McNally said there is a stereotype that people who live in encampments are heavy drug users involved in criminal activity. The reality is that "every kind of person" lives in encampments because they cannot afford housing, she said.
The people she has worked with include an 84-year-old woman who started living in an encampment after her spouse died and she could no longer afford housing.
Many people who live in encampments are concerned they will be targeted under the new legislation regardless of whether they use drugs or not, McNally said.
Catherine McKenney, NDP MPP for Ottawa Centre, said the legislation could also fuel a cycle where people who have been imprisoned will struggle to get housing once they're released because they have a criminal record, McKenney said.
"Prison beds are not housing," McKenney said.
Law could violate people's rights, CCLA saysThe legislation may also infringe on the rights of people who are trying to seek shelter, said Harini Sivalingam, director of the equality program at Canadian Civil Liberties Association.
In Ontario, there is strong case law — meaning law based on previous judicial decisions — that establishes people have a right to seek shelter when there are no available shelter options for them overnight, she said.
"'The government can't deprive them of that right by evicting them overnight when they have nowhere else they can go for safety and security," Sivalingam said.
Last year, before the act was introduced, Ford pledged to use the notwithstanding clause that would override the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms if the courts were to "interfere" with the legislation. He made the pledge in a letter to 12 mayors who asked him to use the clause to clear encampments.
In April's provincial news release, 16 mayors across the province indicated their support for the Safer Municipalities Act.
Community groups and advocates in the province are exploring legal avenues to stop the enforcement of the Safer Municipalities Act, Sivalingam said.
"The government is trying to seek shortcuts that will impact important rights and freedoms," she said.
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