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Realizing the Right to housing: Municipal Policy Responses to EncampmentsRethinking Municipal Responses to Encampments: Building a
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Acknowledgements
Thank you to the Realizing the Right advisory team: Shabeeh Ahmad, Mauleek Bhatt, Regan Sunshine Brussé, Erin Dej, Jammy Lo, David Alton and Sidney Macdonald for their invaluable work, as well as insights contributed by Wren Wombwell and Dee Furman. We deeply appreciate the work of research assistants Valentina Ornelas and Sebastian McPherson, who supported this work. Thank you to the Social Development Centre Waterloo Region, HAMSMaRT, and Keeping Six for your partnership in this work. This research is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Council of Canada (SSHRC) though an Insight Development Grant.
Researchers working on this project are located in Hamilton on the traditional territory of the Mississauga Haudenosaunee, Erie, Attawandaron, and Wendat peoples, and in Waterloo Region, on the traditional territory of the Haudneonsaunee, Anishinaabe, and Chonnonton peoples. Both places are home to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples from across Turtle Island who continue to shape these communities. Taking a housing justice approach requires us to recognize that contemporary housing precarity and homelessness are inseparable from the ongoing impacts of settler colonialism: land dispossession, the reserve system, the residential school system, the destruction of housing and governance systems, and policies that have constrained Indigenous peoples’ ability to live safely, self-determine, and maintain connection to land. These structures continue to produce disproportionate rates of homelessness for Indigenous peoples. Acknowledging this context means committing to research practices that challenge colonial assumptions and centre Indigenous rights in the development of policies and responses to homelessness.
Researchers working on this project are located in Hamilton on the traditional territory of the Mississauga Haudenosaunee, Erie, Attawandaron, and Wendat peoples, and in Waterloo Region, on the traditional territory of the Haudneonsaunee, Anishinaabe, and Chonnonton peoples. Both places are home to First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples from across Turtle Island who continue to shape these communities. Taking a housing justice approach requires us to recognize that contemporary housing precarity and homelessness are inseparable from the ongoing impacts of settler colonialism: land dispossession, the reserve system, the residential school system, the destruction of housing and governance systems, and policies that have constrained Indigenous peoples’ ability to live safely, self-determine, and maintain connection to land. These structures continue to produce disproportionate rates of homelessness for Indigenous peoples. Acknowledging this context means committing to research practices that challenge colonial assumptions and centre Indigenous rights in the development of policies and responses to homelessness.
Summary
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This report is part of a project called “Realizing the Right: Municipal Policy Responses to Encampments” a multi-year community engaged project focused on understanding how municipalities in Ontario are responding to encampments.
The goal of this report is to provide guidance on what a human rights-based approach to homeless encampments might look like at the municipal level, as well as assess to what extent existing municipal policy responses reflect a rights-based approach. To do so we explored neo-vagrancy bylaws and encampment protocols in all Ontario municipalities over 70,000 residents, in 2023 and 2024. There are some important limitations to assessing municipal encampment approaches through written policy documents. Bylaws and protocols do not tell us about the enforcement and implementation of policies, or the lived impacts of policies on people experiencing homelessness. However, bylaws and protocols are an important starting place as they are key documents that guide local responses to encampments and are important places where a human rights approach should be reflected
To assess municipal bylaws and protocols, we used existing human rights documents on homelessness to develop a human rights policy framework that is built on five pillars: decentring policing and law enforcement, addressing conditions in encampments and meeting basic needs; equitable and accessible service provisioning; meaningful participation of people living in encampments; and recognition of Indigenous rights.
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We found that all single tier and lower tier municipalities we examined had some form of neo-vagrancy bylaw in place that criminalized survival behaviour of people experiencing homelessness, including those living in encampments. In contrast, only 13 municipalities had publicly available encampment protocols, limiting transparency and public accountability.
Among municipalities that have published encampment protocols, the adoption of a human rights–based approach is uneven, both between municipalities and across the five pillars of this framework. Some municipalities are beginning to implement innovative, rights-aligned strategies, such as multi-sectoral outreach teams and new models of service delivery, to better support people living in encampments. However, more work needs to be done to approach encampments as a human rights issue, rather than a bylaw enforcement issue. Many protocols rely on enforcement-based responses which can undermine trust and relationship building with people staying in encampments, making it more difficult to connect individuals with housing and resources. Across most protocols, there is limited attention to meaningful participation of encampment residents in designing and implementing approaches as well as recognition and reconciliation of Indigenous Rights, leaving significant gaps in realizing a truly rights-based approach.
Among municipalities that have published encampment protocols, the adoption of a human rights–based approach is uneven, both between municipalities and across the five pillars of this framework. Some municipalities are beginning to implement innovative, rights-aligned strategies, such as multi-sectoral outreach teams and new models of service delivery, to better support people living in encampments. However, more work needs to be done to approach encampments as a human rights issue, rather than a bylaw enforcement issue. Many protocols rely on enforcement-based responses which can undermine trust and relationship building with people staying in encampments, making it more difficult to connect individuals with housing and resources. Across most protocols, there is limited attention to meaningful participation of encampment residents in designing and implementing approaches as well as recognition and reconciliation of Indigenous Rights, leaving significant gaps in realizing a truly rights-based approach.
Background: What are Neo-Vagrancy Bylaws
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Research Methods: Identifying Municipal Bylaws and ProtocolsWe examined all municipalities in Ontario with more than 70,000 residents, irrespective of whether they were upper or lower tier, or designated housing service providers. The only category of municipality we excluded was counties, because we found that they have few bylaws and a limited role in land regulation or social service provision.
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