KENORA, ONT. -- The lakeside community of Kenora, Ont., a popular summer getaway for cottagers and boaters, is divided over a proposed loitering bylaw that advocates say specifically targets the city’s largely Indigenous homeless population.
The draft bylaw, which many in the homeless community call racist, would give police officers the authority to ticket anyone found loitering on public property.
The ticket carries a fine of $100.
Local city councillors who support the bylaw say new rules are necessary to address situations such as when a person is found asleep on the sidewalk.
But advocates and members of the homeless community say the bylaw isn’t fair because Kenora does not have enough affordable housing options, and proposed shelter projects are still months away from completion.
“Since I moved here I’ve been looking for safe, suitable housing, and it’s nearly impossible,” Robert Kearley, who moved to Kenora to work at a fishing lodge and later ended up homeless, told CTV News.
Kearley says the city is attempting to brush homeless people under the rug rather than provide real, lasting solutions, such as greater supports to get people off the street permanently.
“If nothing changes, nothing will ever get fixed.”
More than 220 homeless people live in Kenora, according to a report published last year. Many of those individuals live with disabilities, mental health conditions and addictions.
Elder Tommy Keesick spoke to CTV News outside the Kenora Fellowship Centre, which offers food and shelter for the homeless community. He said it’s one of the few places where homeless people can seek refuge.
“There is nowhere to go. We’re lucky to have this place,” Keesick said, adding that he sees the draft bylaw as one piece in larger system of racism and discrimination against Indigenous people in Canada.
“We’re being targeted, yes. There’s no excuse for that.”
Jeremy Sahora, an Indigenous man who's been living in the community for five years, pointed out that the new bylaw could be used to restrict homeless people from using the same public waterfront areas as tourists.
“Can’t sit in the benches in town, can’t cool off by the lake,” he said. "They're telling us to get lost."
The local Indigenous community has firmly denounced the proposal. A group of Indigenous chiefs comprising nine First Nations in the surrounding region spoke out Friday saying they were not consulted on the bylaw, and a powwow was held in protest.
Legal advocates say the bylaw, which loosely defines loitering as “any activity which is contrary to the property,” may break the Ontario Human Rights Code.
“The bylaw could be enforced in a way that adversely affects these populations and actually could be, at the end of the day, discriminatory,” said lawyer Erin O’Hara.
But Chris Van Wallegham, a Kenora city councillor who intends to support the bylaw when it goes to vote next Tuesday, sees things differently.
“We have to straighten this out, and doing nothing is not an option. We can’t leave it like it is,” Van Wallegham said.
Whether or not the rule will come to pass is unclear. City council is evenly split on the issue, with three councillors in favour and three opposed. Kenora Mayor Dan Reynard said he is still reviewing information ahead of the vote next Tuesday.
