A bylaw in the City of Kingston is raising human rights concerns.
The Ontario Human Rights Commission’s (OHRC) Chief Commissioner Patricia DeGuire called on Mayor Bryan Paterson to reconsider the new bylaw targeting the Belle Park homeless encampment in a May 1 open letter published on the OHRC website.
The OHRC is concerned the bylaw—banning encampment residents from setting up tents during the day—violates residents’ right to life, liberty, and security of the person, as enshrined in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and the Ontario Human Rights Code.
The bylaw disproportionately impacts individuals who are already marginalized and experiencing homelessness, DeGuire said in the open letter.
READ MORE: Changing City bylaws keeps Belle Park encampment community in a constant state of flux
“Demonstrating insufficient daytime shelter spaces is not the only way to establish discrimination,” DeGuire’s letter said. “Adverse effects based on disability and sex, among other grounds, can result from having to take down shelters, pack up and store belongings or carry them around and then re-establish adequate shelter from the elements every night.”
The City of Kingston should tackle the root cause of encampments by meeting housing needs, DeGuire suggested. The OHRC recommends starting with investments in transitional housing, housing-focused services, and rent supplements for homeless individuals.
Despite the OHRC’s recommendations, the City doubled down on its decision to prohibit daytime sheltering at public parks.
“The City of Kingston takes its obligations under the Human Rights Code very seriously. It is committed to engaging with persons affected by the Park’s By-Law’s prohibition on daytime camping in parks prior to any enforcement action,” the City of Kingston said in a statement to The Journal.
The City will investigate individual cases of human rights violations caused by the bylaw, the statement added.
Since the encampment’s inception in 2020, the City has made several attempts to dismantle it due to safety concerns. In spring 2023, the City filed a Superior Court injunction to prohibit unapproved camping in city parks at all times.
The Court ruled the City’s ban on overnight camping unconstitutional and dismissed the injunction. Presently, the City’s bylaw is enforced under the premise that prohibiting daytime sheltering is constitutional, as this part of the bylaw wasn’t criticized by the Superior Court.
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authenticity, belle park, Belle Park encampment
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