Experts say Ontario cities that move to evict homeless encampments can expect to see a wave of legal challenges after a precedent-setting ruling.
For the first time in the province, a judge in Kitchener, Ont., ruled last week that there is a constitutional right to shelter outside when there are no accessible and available indoor spaces.
Estair Van Wagner, an associate professor at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School, says Toronto is “extremely vulnerable” to a legal challenge in light of that decision.
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She says Ontario courts have until now been slow to follow the lead of courts in British Columbia, where judges have recognized that before a city can carry out an eviction, shelter spaces must be accessible given the varied needs of people experiencing homelessness.
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Kaitlin Schwan, the executive director of a national housing and homelessness network, says the case is a critical first step for Ontario to recognize that the human rights of unhoused people supersedes some bylaw enforcement.
But she also calls it a complicated victory for encampment residents and their allies, since the ruling does not place any obligations on municipalities to provide shelter or housing.
