In several parks near my house in Toronto, small tent encampments have popped up this summer, occupied by people experiencing homelessness. Some of my neighbours have signs on their lawns condemning the forced eviction of park dwellers. Others would love to see people in tents go elsewhere. They worry about their kids finding needles in the playground and elderly people feeling unsafe walking the neighbourhood. Encampments are a hotly contested issue in communities across the country and, with rising housing costs, crowded shelter systems and a rampant opioid epidemic, they’ll likely keep popping up for the foreseeable future.
The city of Hamilton is trying something fresh. It has introduced new rules for encampments to allow the park dwellers some autonomy while also taking measures to keep everyone safe. The city now allows encampments of five or fewer tents in parks and public spaces, provided they are more than 100 metres away from schools, daycares or playgrounds. Outreach workers (not law enforcement) will be the first point of contact in the case of infraction. The plan is pretty radical and will be closely watched by other municipalities across the country. In this Q&A with Maclean’s, Hamilton’s mayor, Andrea Horwarth, explains the thinking behind the new rules. “Are they perfect?” she says, “No, but we can adjust as we learn.”
—Sarah Fulford, editor-in-chief
