Hamilton town hall on encampment alternative shut down after 'aggressive behaviour' breaks out

Bennetto Community Centre can be seen above. (City of Hamilton/website)

A planned community open house in Hamilton Monday evening had to be called off after some attendees broke out in physically and verbally aggressive behaviour, the city said.

The meeting, which was scheduled to start at 7 p.m., was put on at the Bennetto Community Centre to discuss a proposed alternative to encampments in Hamilton, the proposed Strachan HATS Village. The event attracted “several hundred attendees,” according to a release issued by the city Monday.

A spokesperson for the city told CTV News Toronto that some attendees became physical with security staff, which prompted city officials to inform attendees and those outside the venue that the meeting could not proceed due to "serious" safety concerns.

Mayor Andrea Horwath posted on social media that she was disappointed that the meeting was cancelled.

“I was looking forward to hearing from Hamiltonians on this tough issue. We need to be able to discuss hard topics without threats & violence. Thank you to those who attended to calmly share their point of view,” Horwath said.