Dear City of Cambridge...
(CC: Region of Waterloo)
RE: Cambridge Encampment Evictions (Heatwave June 2025)
More of my thoughts and ramblings on this topic... Convieniently posted and published in no particular order!
Eviction Notice components
Identified within noticeCity of Cambridge Regulations
Governing Provicial Act |
Indicates Cambridge Parks Bylaw 162-10 as being infracted upon
Section 3: "No person shall in any park:"
*** This also identifies The City of Cambridge as being able to, in theory, instead offer to the individuals being evicted, permission to stay.
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A bylaw may be a tool available to us, but it should never be used as a substitute for the inclusion and accountability such as that needed here.
The City could also simply forgo forcing eviction under these bylaws, even if it is not willing to explicitly permit the encampments themselves. Choosing not to enforce displacement is not the same as condoning their use of the spaces and could at least avoid layering on further harm, disruption, and trauma to the individuals who are already in highly vulnerable situations.
The objective ability to choose from clear alternatives—including the option to at a minimum forgo enforcement—makes eviction unnecessary.
While it’s true that these individuals are in breach of the bylaw the only reason this becomes an infraction at all is through the choice to enforce the bylaw itself. Why are we not better accounting for the broader context of these situations in our decisions of "when" to enforce local regulations?
Case LAw Referenced by outlined approach
City of Kingston: The Corporation of the City of Kingston v. Doe, 2023 ONSC 6662 (CanLII)
- Superior Court rules against City of Kingston on encampment case - Kingstonist.com
Also Relative in case law: The Valente Decision (Region of Waterloo)
The Regional Municipality of Waterloo v. Persons Unknown and to be Ascertained, 2023 ONSC 670
COURT FILE NO.: CV-22-717 DATE: 2023-01-27 - The Public Record
COURT FILE NO.: CV-22-717 DATE: 2023-01-27 - The Public Record
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"Neo-vagrancy bylaws are any regulation made by a municipal government that criminalizes survival behaviours commonly used by people experiencing homelessness. Neo-vagrancy bylaws commonly include anti camping bylaws or anti loitering, They may also include prohibitions on cooking in parks etc. These regulations have a direct impact on the day to day lives of people living in encampments."
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Other "nickels"in this "JAR":
City of Cambridge initiating
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