Sarnia City Council, in its January 20 meeting, voted in favour of a motion put forward by Councillor Bill Dennis, to dismantle homeless encampments.
The motion read, in full, “Given the recent Hamilton, Ontario Superior Court Decision, I move that staff be directed to dismantle all encampments immediately. Most notably the one in Rainbow Park.”
The motion passed 7-1, with only Councillor Adam Kilner voting against. Councillor Brian White was absent for the meeting.
Rainbow Park has been a heated subject of debate in Sarnia, as residents, business owners, city staff, politicians, social service providers, and police have all grappled with the issue of how best to deal with the encampment and more broadly the problem of homelessness in the city.
Up till now, a ruling in Waterloo Region by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice that cited the Charter of Rights and Freedoms as prohibitive to removing encampments has prevented the city and police services from forcibly evicting residents of Rainbow Park.
Now, a ruling by Justice James Ramsay of the Ontario Superior Court in December 2024 stated that the City of Hamilton did not infringe on the rights of encampment residents when it enforced its bylaw prohibiting tents in parks.
“Based on this new Hamilton ruling there is no longer the fear of a lawsuit to be used as a weapon against us or to be used as an excuse for inaction,” Councillor Dennis said.
Councillor Dennis said that because of the extreme weather, it was appropriate to wait until March 6 before evicting anyone from Rainbow Park. However, after fielding several complaints, he believes that an encampment along London Line in the bush near Lottie Neely Park, which he referred to as an “illegal crime camp” should be dealt with immediately.
Judge Ramsay’s ruling stated that “the life, liberty, and security of the applicants are not put at risk by enforcement of the bylaw. They are put at risk by homelessness. Encampments contribute to this risk. They are lawless, dangerous, and unsanitary.”
The Hamilton ruling does not directly contradict the previous Waterloo ruling, but focuses on the specific wording of that ruling that says they cannot prevent “overnight temporary structures.” Judge Ramsay ruled that this does not extend to staying in encampments in public parks during the daytime.
This ruling allows municipalities to evict people from municipally-owned land during daytime hours without having to prove available or accessible shelter space. In effect, any tents would have to be taken down and belongings removed during the day to allow for the use of the space by the public.
With the motion approved, Randi Kalar, solicitor for the City of Sarnia said, “We will proceed to amend the trespass notice and begin issuing those to encampment residents.”
Councillor Chrissy McRoberts stated that Rainbow Park was down from 69 residents to 10. These remaining residents, she said, are “down to the people selling drugs,” and are “the worst of the worst,” She emphasized that there needs to be a place for these people to go, including the possibility of incarceration. “Where are we directing these ten of the worst of the worst to go? Whose backyard are they going to be in next?”
Councillor Anne Marie Gillis agreed with this assessment. She said, “We are creating a criminal entity in the park.”
Councillor Gillis quoted the conclusion of Judge Ramsay’s ruling: “The public is generally sympathetic to the homeless, but tires of seeing its public spaces appropriated by lawless, unsanitary encampments.”
Though absent, Councillor White had a statement prepared, which Councillor Anne Marie Gillis read. His statement supported daytime evictions from encampments, but emphasized that pressure needs to be put on the provincial government to properly fund and provide resources to deal with “the social, health, housing, community, safety, and mental health crisis.”
Both Councillor McRoberts, Councillor Gillis, made statements regarding the inadequacy of the shelter system which houses people overnight but makes them leave during the day.
Mayor Mike Bradley suggested an amendment to Councillor Dennis’s motion, adding a request to Lambton County that they expeditiously undertake a serious review of the shelter system they control, its hours of service and capacity. The amendment was adopted and the motion passed.