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In June, city staff presented a one-year review of Hamilton’s encampment protocol to a full committee of Hamilton City Council.  The protocol has been in place since August 2023. Council approved the following changes:

1. A minimum distance of 100 m between an encampment and funeral homes and an encampment  and long-term care residencies as well as spaces that are designed and programmed for children;
2. No encampment within 5 m from sidewalks, walkways and pathways all months of the year and
3. Establish a minimum 25 m distance from active construction sites and encampments.

Council requested that staff report back in August 2024 on the implications of further amendments to the protocol, including:

1. Private Property Line minimum distance increase from 10 m to 25 m
   • (ii) Construction Site minimum distance increase from 25 m to 100 m 
   • (iii) Funeral Home minimum distance change from the classification of funeral home to active business 
   • (iv) Pathways minimum distance increase from 5 m to 50 m
   • (v) Heritage Designation distance increase from 5 m to 50 m and add monuments & memorials to the classification.

Additional Investments for 2024

Hamilton Council also asked staff to report on the costs of more emergency shelter beds, specifically, 110 single men, 50 single women, and 55 couple spaces (110 beds), with 25% being pet-friendly. The inability to accommodate pets is often a barrier to shelter use.   

Currently, there are 345 permanent and 20 temporary shelter beds in Hamilton, and the beds are full 99% to 100% of the time. Shelter agencies provide all beds.

The City is also calling for applications to create 200 additional family sector beds. Until those spaces are secured, the City continues to fund 52 hotel overflow rooms. 

Council also approved spending an additional $1.842 million on housing and homeless support, including more paramedic services, for the remainder of this calendar year.

How the Protocol Works

As stated publicly by me and other Councillors, no one wants tents in public parks.  The visibility of people deprived of housing, sometimes matched with apparent signs of mental health challenges and/or substance use, has generated many feelings and, on occasion, unwanted experiences for both housed and unhoused residents. 

 The protocol did not cause homelessness in Hamilton, and it will not solve it. The protocol is an effort to manage a crisis caused by housing market conditions and decades of underinvestment in public housing. 

The case law governing what cities and towns can and cannot do with encampments on public property is changing.   All municipalities await clear legal delineations of rights, restrictions and responsibilities.

In the meantime, the protocol outlines areas across the city where encampments are not permitted and outlines a series of steps to be followed in the event of a confirmed breach.

Hamilton Police Services and Encampment Protocol Enforcement

Across the city, housed residents have expressed concern and frustration with the timeliness of enforcement when there’s a protocol breach. 

Additional concerns have been raised about unlawful activity within and around some encamped areas, as well as the health and safety of all residents.

As previously reported, City bylaw staff can issue a notice of trespass should an encampment violate the protocol; however, only Hamilton Police Services has the legal authority to remove individuals from city-owned property should there be a protocol violation.  Currently, two HPS officers oversee encampment protocol enforcement across the city.  Funding for these HPS resources is in addition to the HPS annual operating budget submitted to Council each year.  

Core Police Services – Illegal Activity at encampments

Hamilton Police Service representatives at June’s Council meeting confirmed that the HPS will continue their core policing duties should criminal activity be suspected or reported in and around encampments, regardless of whether an encampment meets the requirements of the encampment protocol.

Sanctioned Sites

At this same June meeting, the Hamilton Police Service reported that while the City’s encampment protocol is well intended and part of the municipality’s effort to manage a crisis and adhere to recent court decisions on the use of public property, HPS suggested sanctioned sites as an alternative or in addition to the protocol. HPS stated that the number of encampments in public parks and spaces is contributing to feelings of being unsafe. They added that many people living unhoused are also feeling unsafe. Garbage, a lack of bathrooms and supports, along with the lifestyle of some encamped people, are contributing to safety concerns and unsafe conditions for all.

Hamilton City Council asked City staff to report back in August on the resources required to implement sanctioned sites. At the time of writing, HATS (Hamilton Alliance for Tiny Shelters) has not provided Council with any updates.

Conclusion

The number of people without a secure place to sleep is growing. The depth and complexity of the need are enormous, as is the cost. 

The city has a plan, and progress is being made with this new term of Council. However, no municipality can solve this crisis independently, and the amount of property taxes directed at this crisis is not sustainable. 

Hamilton needs full and active partners at the table, including the Province (for supportive housing with wrap-around health services, as health is a provincial responsibility, along with income supplements) and the Federal Government (funding for non-market, non-speculative housing). 

Affordable, appropriate housing is critical to our city’s economic progress, social development and financial sustainability.  It's also vital to Ontario and Canada's future.

This edition of the Ward 1 newsletter includes:

• It's Friday, but School Starts Tuesday
• Updates From the Last Newsletter
• Hold the Dates Ward 1
• Truck Route Violation Reporting Tool
• HSR Expanding Evening and Weekend Service
• Barton Street Functional Design Study
• Strathcona Screen on the Green Returns
• Lights Out
• Garbage Day Reminder
• Events

In June, city staff presented a one-year review of Hamilton’s encampment protocol to a full committee of Hamilton City Council.  The protocol has been in place since August 2023. Council approved the following changes:

Encampments are outside spaces where residents are living temporarily in tents or other makeshift arrangements. I have written about encampments in a previous letter to Ward 1 residents. 

The purpose of this Ward 1 letter is to account for my vote at the August 9, 2021, special meeting of Hamilton City Council, which concluded with the City's cancellation of the Encampment Response Protocol.  

There have been encampments across the lower City of Hamilton for years. 

Before COVID-19, most if not all the encampments in Ward 1 were hidden from public view – in ravines, under highway overpasses or adjacent to railway lands. 

The growth of encampments caused the City of Hamilton to adopt a protocol of response in 2018. Once identified, a team of public health and housing services workers from the City of Hamilton make contact with those living rough to begin the process of determining the health, housing, and social needs of encampment residents. When accommodation and supports were in place, the encampment was cleared and cleaned.