Homeless encampments have become part of the urban landscape in many cities across Canada. In several of them, notably in Montreal, the authorities almost systematically dismantle these tent groups, while elsewhere, municipalities advocate tolerance. This is particularly the case in London and Saskatoon, where, rather than chasing away campers, attempts are made to improve their living conditions.
Last week, federal housing advocate Marie-Josée Houle called for an immediate end to encampment dismantling and asked the federal government for a national plan to tackle the issue, which she describes as “a rights crisis.” of the person “.
As part of her investigation, Marie-Josée Houle noted that, in many cities across the country, the police were quickly dispatched to the sites of the camps to remove the tents, but without offering any real alternative solution for housing the people. campers. “Even in the absence of excessive use of force, the dismantling of a camp is an intrinsically violent act,” she emphasized. She hopes that with a national plan, all governments in the country will ensure that people living in camps have access to basic necessities, not only to “survive”, but also to “live in dignity”.
Last fall, The duty had also noted that more than 4,200 camps had been dismantled in the five largest cities in the country. In Montreal, at least 460 makeshift camps were dismantled last year, reported The Press . On the other hand, Longueuil will continue to demonstrate tolerance by relying on Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and case law which stipulate that, if a city cannot house all homeless people, it cannot dismantle the encampments.
Different approaches
Elsewhere in Canada, strategies also differ from one city to another, observed Marie-Josée Houle. Rather than dismantling the camps, the City of London, Ontario, set up mobile teams to link social services and campers so that they could have access to health care, noted Mme Swell. The municipality has even installed portable toilets and washing stations near the camps. This empathetic approach, however, arouses criticism from citizens, who criticize the City for normalizing these camps, reported the Globe and Mail in November.
In Saskatoon, the head of the Fire Safety Service also advocates tolerance. Beyond the inspections carried out to ensure the safety of the installations, the teams deployed by the service visit the camps on a regular basis in order to put the homeless in contact with social services and the housing assistance service. This did not, however, prevent the authorities from dismantling, last November, a camp where a fire had broken out.
In Halifax, Nova Scotia, authorities do not allow encampments to exist, but they do allow occupants to remain in their makeshift shelters until suitable housing has been found and offered to them.
The Montreal Support Network for Single and Homeless People deplores the rigid attitude of Montreal authorities. “We are directly targeting the dignity and safety of the campers when we force them to move and hide even further away in a camp which, they hope, will not be dismantled,” believes Jérémie Lamarche. The Ville-Marie district alone was the scene of 420 dismantlings in 2023, he recalls. “That’s more than one dismantling per day. »
The housing crisis that the country is going through is closely linked to that of homelessness, underlines François Gosselin, general director of Ensoleilvent, an organization in Drummondville. “If we want to solve the problem of homelessness, we have to stop beating ourselves up. People need to have housing,” he summarizes. “In the meantime, can we at least leave everyone in their tent? »
When the courts get involved
On several occasions in recent years, the courts have been called upon to rule on the question of encampments. In 2008, the Superior Court of British Columbia concluded that cities cannot by regulation prohibit homeless people from sheltering at night in order to protect their lives and safety when they are unable to offer a number enough shelter places, recalls Marie-Ève Sylvestre, dean and full professor at the Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa. Other decisions followed, notably in Vancouver, Waterloo and Kingston.
Mme Sylvestre believes that Marie-Josée Houle’s report, which invokes international law in favor of the right to adequate housing, will fuel appeals before the courts. “I think it’s significant support for these litigations. This will strengthen the arguments presented before the courts and which try to put an end to the dismantling. »
The case involving the City of Saint-Jérôme will be important, she said, especially since in Quebec, no decision on the merits has been rendered by the courts in these cases. However, she deplores this recourse to the courts. In light of judgments rendered elsewhere in Canada, cities should have renounced punitive measures, she believes.