Several mayors hope that their final appeal to the province cannot be ignored.

While Premier Doug Ford was in Cambridge on Friday to tour a recently opened pharmaceutical facility, Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett took the opportunity to present him with a letter signed by several mayors.

“I hand-delivered a letter from major city mayors who have come together to request, if necessary, that the notwithstanding clause of the Bill of Rights be used,” Liggett said.

The notwithstanding clause, also known as section 33 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, gives provincial legislatures or Parliament the ability to override certain parts of the Charter for a maximum period of five years.

The clause applies to certain articles of the charter and cannot be used against provisions that protect the democratic process.

Ford used the escape clause in June 2021 to restore certain parts of the Election Financing Act but the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled the bill unconstitutional in March 2023. Ford used the notwithstanding clause again in 2022 as part of the Keeping Students in Class law. Although this use received Royal Assent, it was repealed and retroactively canceled 11 days later.

The letter

The letter was delivered to Ford less than a week after Ford asked why mayors weren’t doing something more drastic about homeless encampments.

“Why don’t they use the escape clause or something? » he asked on October 28. “That’s what they should do instead of going all the way.” Let’s see if they have the courage to do it.

In total, more than a dozen mayors took on the challenge, including Alex Nuttall of Barrie, Patrick Brown of Brampton, Ken Davis of Brantford, Jan Liggett of Cambridge, Darrin Canniff of Chatham-Kent, Adrian Foster of Clarington, Cam Guthrie from Guelph. , Rob Burton of Oakville, Dan Carter of Oshawa, Kevin Ashe of Pickering, Mat Siscoe of St. Catharines, Paul Lefebvre of Sudbury and Drew Dilkens of Windsor.

The letter reads in part: “We request that your government consider the following measures and, if necessary, use the notwithstanding clause to ensure that these measures are implemented quickly and effectively:

The provincial government is invited to become an intervener in any court case restricting the ability of municipalities to regulate and prohibit encampments, upholding the principle approved by the United States Supreme Court (town of Grant Pass, Oregon) that courts should not dictate homelessness. policy.

The provincial government is urged to strengthen the existing system of mandatory community and residential mental health care and expand services to treat people with serious and debilitating addictions.

The provincial government is called upon to implement a drug justice and diversion system across the province and secure the necessary resources to enable a meaningful focus on rehabilitation rather than incarceration.

The provincial government is urged to amend the trespassing law to include a separate provision for repetitive acts of trespass, the punishment for which should include a period of incarceration, and to further allow a police officer to arrest a person who commits repetitive acts of trespass. trespassing after receiving an order from the police officer not to engage in such activity. These amendments should also include an option for referral to diversion court for repetitive trespassing charges.

After delivering the letter to Ford, Liggett told CTV News: “We don’t have the tools right now because the courts are not aligned with the social issues we face,” Liggett said. “They look at the human rights aspect, which we need to look at, and the harm caused. Not just people living in the community as a whole.

Camp debate

Many cities across the province are struggling to balance the needs of encampment residents while keeping public spaces accessible to all members of the community.

The precedent for dismantling encampments was set in Waterloo region in 2023.. A court ruling ruled that the eviction of camp residents violated their property rights. The decision noted that the region did not have adequate shelter for the homeless population.

Advocates for people experiencing homelessness said more needs to be done to address the root of the problem.

“I find it disappointing that the mayors chose to ask the province to use the notwithstanding clause instead of looking for solutions that will actually help people experiencing homelessness,” said Shannon Down, executive director of Community Legal Services Region Waterloo.

Liggett noted that the letter includes a request to strengthen and expand mental health services. “As a community leader, I try to build a healthy community for everyone. »

As for Ford, he said his government would work with cities.

“Any municipality that ends up in court, we will be with them,” he said. “We’re going to be there to support them. We will also send our teams there. We want to help people, but we can’t let people squat in public parks.”