Dear City of Cambridge...
(CC: Region of Waterloo)
RE: Cambridge Encampment Evictions (Heatwave June 2025)
City of cambridge Council Meeting September 23, 2025
Highlighting Motion:
“Preventing the forced removal of unhoused persons during extreme weather events"
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Motion re: Preventing the forced removal of unhoused persons during extreme weather events (Submitted in September 2 Council meet and set to be discussed in this meeting)
click here to
REad the contents of this motion Text content below has been copied from "10.2 Motion re: Preventing the forced removal of unhoused persons during extreme weather events" as was submitted to council September 2nd and pending discussion for this meeting. It is provided for your quick review on this topic. For the fuller agenda and most accurate current information please visit the City of Cambridge's website directly. (I'll of course do my best to update and colllect it here too once more readily available)
Motion re: Preventing the forced removal of unhoused persons during extreme weather eventsMover: Councillor Hamilton Seconder: Councillor Earnshaw Recommendation WHEREAS there exist systemic housing issues and crises affecting Canada, and the City of Cambridge, which are increasingly evident in the form of homeless encampments in our community; WHEREAS municipalities such as the City of Cambridge are on the frontlines of the housing and homelessness crisis, yet do not possess the financial and jurisdictional powers and resources to fully address the housing and homelessness crisis; WHEREAS housing has been declared by the United Nations, the Government of Canada, and courts across the country as a human right, as laid out in Canada’s National Housing Strategy Act, requiring municipalities to respond to persons without housing and/or living in homeless encampments through a human-rights approach that respects, upholds, and prioritizes their human rights; WHEREAS climatic change is increasing the frequency of dangerous storms, polar vortexes, blizzards, winds, precipitation, floods, heat warnings, heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, and much else that is captured in the phrase or driven by an "extreme weather event"; WHEREAS the forced removal of unhoused persons from encampments during extreme weather events may violate a citizen’s right to adequate housing; unwillingly remove citizens from their familiar space of shelter or refuge where they manage and mitigate extreme weather; may dispossess citizens of their belongings that help to manage and mitigate extreme weather; and may potentially disconnect vulnerable persons from established networks of support and outreach services; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Council direct staff to report back in the 4th quarter of 2025 on prevention of forced removals of unhoused persons during extreme weather events upon the issuance of a warning, an alert, or during the occurrence of, an extreme weather event as determined by Environment and Climate Change Canada; AND THAT the City Clerk notify the Region of Waterloo, the Waterloo Regional Police Service (WRPS), and outreach agencies working in partnership with the city and region, of this direction. |
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re: Preventing the forced removal of unhoused persons
during extreme weather events
Submitted as Correspondance on this topic:Delegates on this topic included:Delegation contents below have been posted with the permission of (and have been directly resourced from) the delegates themselves. Times of delegation as listed are proximate and apply to the Youtube video at the top of this page. Additional comments beyond these are of my own compilation from the contents of the meeting video too.
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Human Rights
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Log of mayoral interuptions
(and follow up questions posed by council members)
of delegations
(and follow up questions posed by council members)
of delegations
Please check back again later...
I am still compiling this information and will have it updated further shortly!
Delegate: Jeff Donkersgoed (00:09:07)
Delegate: Ruth Cameron (00:23:50)
Delegate: Roz Gunn (00:30:35)
Between delagates commentary from Mayor Liggett (00:35:59)
Delegate: Matthew Hilson (00:37:15)
I am still compiling this information and will have it updated further shortly!
Delegate: Jeff Donkersgoed (00:09:07)
- (00:12:39) Mayor Liggett is heard saying "I'm going to tell him to stick to the issues"
- (00:13:03) Mayor Liggett interupts to say:
- "Jeff, I'm going to interupt for a second, I need you to bring it back to the motion itself. I'm trying to be... I appreciate that I'm just trying to steer everybody tonight so... I know everybody's passionate"
Delegate: Ruth Cameron (00:23:50)
- (00:26:01) Mayor Liggett:
- "Ruth, I need to stop you for a minute here because, as the Housing Advocate has also been informed that is not happening in Cambridge, and so if you could just keep comments to the actual motion that would be appreciated, thank you."
Delegate: Roz Gunn (00:30:35)
- (00:3X:19) Mayor Liggett
- "Rosalind, excuse me please, could you stick to the motion, this is about removing people during extreme weather events, not on what encampments are for, so I'm going to have to ask you to relate to the motion please"
Between delagates commentary from Mayor Liggett (00:35:59)
- "Before I go to the next delegate, I'm trying to give everybody leaway here, a bit of leaway, because I know everybody is passionate tonight and I know everybody's not gonna stick to the wording of the motion here. I just don't want this to go sideways into a big debate about encampments because that will take everything offside and it will take away from the motion itself. So I am going to give people leaway but if I find they're going waaay too much overboard then I am going to try to bring them back to the motion itself. So everybody, I hope you can understand that"
Delegate: Matthew Hilson (00:37:15)
- No interuptions during this delegation
- (00:42:14) Mayor Liggett notes at the end of the delegation:
- "You came close there a couple of times Matthew. Thank you for going back to the motion itself. Very much appreciated, but you did stray a couple of times"
- (00:42:14) Mayor Liggett notes at the end of the delegation:
- (00:42:50) Councillor Cooper poses a question to this delegation:
- "Thank you for the delegation, obviously you're coming in from, I know you've got a business perspective in this. I'm wondering if you can just go into detail about how this has affected you from that perspective? A lot of people can move away and have issues, I know that businesses can find that more difficult. Can you just give us a little more, elaborate a little more, on how this has affected you?"
- Delegate Matthew Hilson replies - (00:43:15)
- (00:44:40) Councillor Schwery poses a question to this delegation:
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breakdown of Council & Staff Discussions
Inclusive solely of discussions held in regards to highlighted motion (Video time span of XXX to XXX)
Motion is introduced by Mayor Liggett: (02:57:10)
Motion is read by Councillor Hamilton: (02:57:25)
Councillor Hamilton speaks to the Motion: (02:59:15)
Mayor Liggett calls for questions from council of staff in relation to the motion brought forth: (03:05:59)
Councillor Cooper brings forth a question (03:06:11)
Motion is read by Councillor Hamilton: (02:57:25)
Councillor Hamilton speaks to the Motion: (02:59:15)
- Mayor Liggett requests that Councillor Hamilton "wind things up" : (03:04:50)
- Councillor Hamilton expresses that he has ample time remaining given that according to procedural bylaws he is to be given 10 minutes to speak, and continues.
Mayor Liggett calls for questions from council of staff in relation to the motion brought forth: (03:05:59)
Councillor Cooper brings forth a question (03:06:11)
- Asks for staff to provide commentary on the core issue of IF we are in fact moving people in times of extreme weather :
- Byran Boodhoo, the City Solicitor for the City of Cambridge replies ...
View also:
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Although I currently live in Kitchener, for many years I lived in Cambridge and have often proudly referred to it as my hometown. My youth brims with memories at places like Churchill or Soper Park and the Riverbluffs. I treasure these places.
This issue in particular is important to me, as I was myself not only once a homeless youth, but also specifically so in Cambridge. I have slept in places like Riverside park, panhandled at the Delta, and struggled to survive like so many of our local unsheltered population do. This was before landing safely at Safe Haven and experiencing the services of oneROOF. This was long ago and things were very different. I was fortunate and found support. Not everyone is so lucky... |
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This summer, I witnessed the destruction of some of these people’s homes and possessions myself. Some may say that this destruction was not an eviction. Irrespective of the wording selected, the fact remains that visible enforcement actions and municipally-led displacement efforts occurred.
As reported by local media, the Federal Housing Advocate wrote to the City of Cambridge to express concern with the treatment of people living in encampments during heat waves this summer, specifically the issuing of eviction notices during heat waves. |
Domicide (though dressed up as due process): Definition: "... the deliberate destruction of housing by humans in pursuit of specified goals. It includes the widespread destruction of a living environment, forcing the incumbent humans to move elsewhere..." (Source: Wikipedia)
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The City of Cambridge’s ongoing approach to encampments imposes an increased risk to the health and safety of many vulnerable residents. By initiating encampment evictions during periods of extreme weather, there is a display of clear disregard for public health guidance and the well-being of City of Cambridge community members.
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Continue Reading...
Portion of eviction notice as served on June 20, 2025 by the City of Cambridge.
Identifies the bylaws alledged infracted upon.
It is entirely reasonable—and even necessary—to expect that the City of Cambridge adhere to a Human Rights Approach in its policies and actions, particularly when responding to homelessness and housing insecurity. This expectation is not arbitrary; it is grounded in a framework already endorsed by our local housing service managers (The Region of Waterloo), reflected in Canada's ratification of multiple United Nations human rights treaties, and supported by so many expert recommendations and academic research publications.
These are not simply "issues" to be managed—they are people whose choices, voices, and lived experiences must be respected
and meaningfully included in any decision-making process.
and meaningfully included in any decision-making process.
Upholding human rights is not only a legal and ethical obligation—it is also in the best interest of our community. A rights-based approach promotes dignity, equity, and long-term well-being for all residents, and it offers a more sustainable set of outcomes than reactive or punitive measures
During extreme weather events like heat waves, the City of Cambridge 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.
Forcing displacement disrupts critically needed services and provisions, creating new barriers to service access and housing following relocation. Evictions deplete local available resources that could instead be redirected toward other areas by all involved.
Navigating these situations in crisis moments can be, quite frankly, re-donkey-ulous. Strengthening coordination is essential if our community is to respond effectively. This motion is a prime opportunity for the municipality, the City of Cambridge, to step decisively in a more positive direction and lead us in together forging a more humane path forward. Yet, we must choose this direction for ourselves, and I urge Council to do so by approving the motion at hand.
PDF of letter as submitted to Cambridge Clerk for Agenda / Mayor and Council on September 15, 2025:
| Letter as submitted- Motion re: Preventing the forced removal of unhoused persons during extreme weather events |
We cannot continue to claim we are pursuing a human rights-based approach if, at critical moments like these, we refuse to take responsibility for
meaningful change and fail to act in accordance with
the very principles we proclaim ourselves wishing to uphold.
meaningful change and fail to act in accordance with
the very principles we proclaim ourselves wishing to uphold.