John Howard Society Exec. for Supportive Housing Following Ontario Ruling on Homeless Encampments

Last week's Ontario court decision was a moment of reckoning for municipalities in Ontario. The Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled that clearing an encampment constitutes a violation of the Charter rights of the people living there.

The court rejected a request by the Region of Waterloo to evict roughly 50 people from a Kitchener encampment. This decision showed that municipalities like Barrie cannot strong arm their vulnerable population into invisibility by dismantling their encampments.

This decision follows a similar ruling from the Supreme Court of British Columbia last year.

The Ontario decision is viewed as a major victory for people who are dealing with homelessness and municipalities that have been disregarding the issue.

Barrie has been issuing similar eviction notices in the past and will now be forced to adopt a more compassionate approach.

To gain insight into the implications of the ruling on homeless populations and expectations from the city and county, Barrie Community TV reporter Deepak Bidwai spoke with Executive Director of the John Howard Society of Simcoe and Muskoka, Hayley Murdoch-Fyke. 

Hayley Murdoch-Fyke said that Barrie doesn’t have the capacity to support its homeless population. The Busby Center has been able to open up temporary shelter for the winter and provide 50 extra spaces for homeless people in the area. However, this is still not enough beds to accommodate everyone. Homelessness is a broad issue that affects people of all walks of life and can be caused by various factors. There is also a misconception that all homeless people are drug addicts or come from criminal backgrounds but this is not necessarily true.