Final day of Kitchener encampment hearing wraps up

CTV’s Jeff Pickel has the details from the final day of a hearing that could determine the future of an encampment in Kitchener.

The fate of a longstanding encampment in Kitchener, Ont. is now in the hands of a judge.

The third and final day of a hearing regarding a Region of Waterloo bylaw was held on Monday. The bylaw is aimed at dismantling an encampment at 100 Victoria Street North in Kitchener so the site can be used as the construction staging ground for the Kitchener Central Transit Hub, which will be built at the intersection of Victoria Street and King Street.

The crux of the issue has hinged on whether the bylaw violates the rights of the people living at the encampment.

In August, Justice Michael Gibson granted an injunction that prevented the region from enacting the site-specific bylaw. His decision remains in place until the outcome of the hearing is determined.

As the final day of the hearing dawned, proceedings began early and ran late in an attempt to hear a wide range of testimonies.

The region’s case relies on who they determine to be encampment residents.

On April 23 of last year, the region issued the bylaw at the heart of the hearing. It forbids any new residents from moving onto the site. At the time, approximately 40 people called the land home, but the region said all those people have since been provided with new shelter or housing options or have otherwise moved on.

They argue that anyone who moved in after that should not be counted among the “residents.”

The region also said they have committed to building 2,500 new affordable housing spaces and tripled its housing budget within the last five years.

But lawyers speaking on behalf of the encampment residents don’t take the same view.

They claimed that limiting who is considered an encampment resident ignores the reality of the homeless issue in the city.

“The region says it needs 100 [Victoria Street] and there are no solutions. But there are solutions. In the short term, an alternative protected encampment is required,” Mercedez Perez, a lawyer representing encampment residents, said.

The region asked Justice Gibson to indicate where their efforts have fallen short if he is not satisfied by the work done so far.

After all arguments and submissions had been made, Justice Gibson said he will try to come to a decision as quickly as possible, but he noted there is a large amount of evidence to consider first.

The region has previously said they want the site cleared by June to prepare for construction.

Previous legal case

In 2023, the encampment was also thrust into the spotlight when Justice Michael Valente rejected a move from the region to evict residents from the encampment.

Justice Valente declined to declare that the people living there were in breach of a regional bylaw.

The ruling read, in part: “The region does not have adequate, accessible shelter spaces for its homeless population of some 1,100 individuals”.

The judge went on to say that the bylaw the region had used to enforce encampment orders “deprives the homeless residents of the encampment of life, liberty and security of the person in a manner not in accordance with the principles of fundamental justice and is not saved by section 1 of the Charter.”

Justice Valente’s ruling indicated the region could return to court to terminate the decision if they could prove they were no longer violating the section 7 rights of the encampment residents.