Homelessness researcher says court ruling could change Sudbury's approach to encampments

A Sudbury researcher says northern municipalities should pay close attention to a recent court decision out of southern Ontario. 

An Ontario judge found that Waterloo Region wasn't legally allowed to evict those living in a large homeless encampment in downtown Kitchener because local shelters didn't have room for everyone. 

The case was brought to court by the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, which sought to evict a homeless encampment of 40 to 70 tents in a gravel parking lot owned by the regional government near the Kitchener train station. It was on the grounds the encampment posed a risk to the health and safety of its residents. 

Carol Kauppi is the director of the Centre for Research in Social Justice and Policy at Laurentian University. She's been studying homelessness in northern Ontario for more than 20 years.

I see in the decision that there was a recognition that people live in encampments because they need a place to stay and be safe.— Carol Kauppi, director of the Centre for Research in Social Justice and Policy at Laurentian University

"The decision pointed out that many people cannot access those beds because of their particular characteristics," she said.

"I think that's very important and relevant to Sudbury because it's my opinion that Sudbury doesn't have enough accommodations for people living with homelessness." 

Kauppi used community members dealing with addictions as an example of those who may require diverse needs when accessing shelters in Sudbury. 

"It is a very important ruling," she said. 

Kauppi served on a committee advising the Greater City of Sudbury on how to address an encampment in Memorial Park, in the city's downtown. She resigned last March because she said the city wasn't willing to take action on the recommendations she made. 

"The committee, I felt, was not attending to the same kinds of issues that have been raised in this court decision, now." 

"[The] committee did give more attention to the public pressure to close the encampment and to return the park fully for public use, and so they were paying more attention to the requests and demands of the general public than to the needs of the people who were living in the encampments and needed a place to live," she said. 

To address the encampment issue, Kauppi said government needs to tackle housing affordability. She added that both the provincial and federal governments need to provide funding to municipalities to create more housing.

"I see in the decision that there was a recognition that people live in encampments because they need a place to stay and be safe." 

Kauppi echoed sentiments by made by North Bay councillor Mark King and Sault Ste. Marie councillor Angela Caputo on the need for provincial and federal governments to step up. 

The court ruling is on the minds of councillors and advocates across the province including Kingston, Ont., where the city has had plans to remove an encampment where approximately 70 people live in tents.