Sault Ste. Marie amends bylaws around encampments amid rise in homelessness

In a meeting earlier this week, Sault Ste. Marie city council passed an amendment to its street and park bylaws.

The city's solicitor, Jeffrey King, wrote in a report to council that some of the changes were necessary "to ensure that parklands are safeguarded from use as encampment."

A subsection of the parks bylaw was amended to include a clause specifying that parks cannot be used as living accommodations.

The previous subsection language focused on prohibiting recreational camping.

The amendments were listed as standard housekeeping changes meant to better protect the city should it face a legal challenge in the future.

The city's legal team looked at bylaws in Waterloo and Hamilton to make the changes, as these cities faced challenges when trying to dismantle encampments over the past year.

Move draws criticism from councillor, legal expert

"To me, it was unclear as to why we would want to push this forward at this time," said Ward 3's Angela Caputo, the lone city council member to have voted against the amendment.

Caputo saidshe had a number of concerns with the proposed changes, including the safety of people experiencing homelessness in the city.

"I think the further we push them into the bush or private properties, the more trouble we're asking for," said Caputo, who also sits on the District of Sault Ste. Marie Social Services Administration Board (DSSMSSAB).

She adds that the city does not currently have an adequate number of shelter spaces.

"I think it's imperative that we shift our attention to creating and advocating for a system to end homelessness rather than enacting laws to try and police our way out of it."

The changes also drew criticism from Nuala Kenny, the executive director at the Algoma Community Legal Clinic in Sault Ste. Marie.

"I can say with certainty that the amendments although described as housekeeping in nature will have a profound impact, particularly for the vulnerable members of our community," she said.

Kenny notes that the city does have a protocol to dismantle encampments that includes police enforcement as a last resort, once social services have reached out to the people living in them.

She believes that even if the municipality is patient in its approach to remove encampments, there are still ethical issues at play.

"It's directly analogous to saying: this stick of dynamite has a really long fuse. It does, but a long fuse does not make a stick of dynamite any less explosive or any less dangerous," she said.

The DSSMSSAB tried to provide a snapshot of the homeless population in Sault Ste. Marie by carrying out a point-in-time survey in 2021. It counted 244 people experiencing homelessness.

It's a significant increase from the 93 people that were counted in 2018.

The city's by-name list also currently includes some 200 individuals.

According to a DSSMSSAB report from 2021, the city funds 42 shelter spaces and 8 transition beds.