Removing encampments from public lands when there is no alternative shelter space for encampment residents has been found to violate the Charter right to life, liberty and security of the person. Encampments are legal if indoor spaces unavailable: Ontario & BC Superior Courts. Cam Guthrie is not complying with the Charter right to life.
Cam and many people seem to be uneducated inexperienced and naive so believe that people experiencing homelessness had a choice in the matter and should be invisible and Because of this false premise, promote “anti-homeless” laws that criminalize people in public spaces These laws keep homeless people out of sight and deprive them of access to basic medical and social services that could improve their lives. Rejecting stigmas is a crucial first step in addressing the issue of homelessness. To do this, we must engage with people who are experiencing homelessness to further understand the context surrounding their situation. Understanding their context will allow us to approach the problem realistically rather than relying on stigma-based assumptions. Healthcare and subsidized housing are crucial to the survival of our loved ones. It is inhumane not to provide this and to take this away.
Removing encampments from public lands when there is no alternative shelter space for encampment residents has been found to violate the Charter right to life, liberty and security of the person. Encampments are legal if indoor spaces unavailable: Ontario & BC Superior Courts.
So sorry to hear of your struggles. This is another example of how the Guelph Subsidized housing has failed us. Unfortunately the discrimination against low income and our loved ones with disabilities is epidemic. I am ashamed to say That Guelph is my hometown. You have to be a university student to get housing in this city. So sorry for your loss. Hope Ottawa treats you better.
Cam, YOU need to actively participate in solving the lack of affordable housing for our Guelph residents before housing overenrolled students Being “disappointed” is not effectively finding a solution. Strong mayor powers are useless if it’s all talk no action during our unaffordable housing crisis. Admitting ignorance on the universities decisions and asking to be informed after the fact is not going to change anything. I am disappointed in you again.
The mayor definitely jumped the gun without thought on this one. After evicting, tearing down and confiscating their only possessions, threatening and criminalizing and segregating with police force to remote areas away from their essential services of the closing safe injection site, community health Center, O.W. Services, the Mission, and Hope House, he expects to gain their trust with a future proposed Hart Hub if it actually goes through as planned, if his NIMBY voters approve of it, if the funding actually goes there and if it is actually a safe supportive site, if they survive over the freezing winter till then; it still is not a safe supportive home which is the basis for recovery.
Guelph’s homeless encampments are part of a national human rights crisis.A growing number of people in Guelph are having to live in tents or informal shelters to survive due to a lack of affordable housing, limited support services, and nowhere safe to go. For ourloved ones living in these encampments, every day is a matter of life and death so encampments represent an effort by people who are unhoused to claim their human right to housing and meet their most basic needs for shelter. First, encampment residents are at dire risk of harm due to the failure to uphold their basic rights.Second, the encampments exist only because of a larger, systemic failure to uphold the right of all people to adequate housing without discrimination.Forced evictions are a violation of human rights, as contained in section 7 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the right to adequate housing under international law.
Drug addiction is not a choice Shirley. It is a genetic disease and the person with it acquires it in the womb the same as allergies and other hereditary disease. The addict needs to be treated with the love and compassion the same as any sick person. The first step of treatment is affordable and supportive housing. Then see the transformation to hope and recovery. “Out of site” segregation instead of developing tiny homes and safe supportive housing is the mayor’s choice in developing the new bylaw so yes he is responsible for those that die in tents
BGi, so true, exactly right that our vulnerable loved ones are being victimized by political bullies who do not abide by or respect the Charter of human rights. Criminalizing a disease, mental illness, and poverty is not the solution. Affordable and supportive housing is.
I am disgusted with Guelph council and the Mayor of Guelph on how they dismiss our homeless as dispensable. These are our children, our pensioners, our veterans, our paramedics, ours brothers and sisters, OUR LOVED ONES, with either mental illness such as PTSD, Depression, bipolar, etc or simply the lack of income to pay the greedy prices of housing in a city that has their entitled heads buried in the ground. We need a new mayor and all new council. Maybe we can borrow Kitchener’s Mayor
There are a lot of reasons why sharing is not an option for people with disabilities. Social anxiety, sensitivities to sound, inability to communicate, etc are often barriers. It’s important to see each persons needs met individually and that is why supportive housing is needed
I agree that tiny homes are the solution for many people in Encampments and living rough on benches. The housing first approach…“ideally it would be a housing first solution where people are housed, possessions are secured, people feel a sense of security and then they can work towards treating their substance use issues.” Security of possessions and Personal Safety is one of the challenges of a shelter. Just a reminder that not all unhoused have addiction challenges, some are already in active recovery on waiting lists for housing and/or have disabilities, lost their jobs, are unemployed or unemployable, Reno evicted, on minimum wage or just can’t afford rent. Recovery and independence begins with housing and education. Tiny homes are a necessary beginning.
The notwithstanding clause is a violation of human rights. History has proven that Segregation, victimization, prejudice and robbing people of their freedom and shelter is also a violation and the reason the Charter of Human Rights was implemented. We are all equal. No one is above the law. It may be a small number of councillors who want it rescinded but they are growing and it’s the right thing to do. No court of law or judge would have taken the Charter of Hunan rights away from our most vulnerable people. Love your neighbor as yourself.
Runningrebel…There are homeless people being evicted from their tents and being turned away at lineup's for shelter, loved ones with disabilities without assisted housing and you are worried about taxes on your comfy home ? Shame