Kingston, Ont. encampment residents lawyer up against city trying to evict them

Signs at a temporary campsite at Belle Park in Kingston, calling on the City to find proper housing solutions for the campers. (Kimberley Johnson / CTV News Ottawa)

People living in a tent encampment in Kingston, Ont. have retained legal representation amid efforts to evict them.

Earlier this year, trespass notices were issued to those camping on city property. The city said anyone living in parks and trails would need to move. Council voted to pause the evictions over the winter and told residents to move in late March.

Many individuals went elsewhere, the city says, but some remained in Belle Park, and about a month ago, the city asked the courts to evict them.

"There is capacity to accommodate individuals remaining in the encampment, but some have declined offers of shelter and support," the city said in a statement June 1. "The City is seeking guidance from the Court to address this situation."

Now, 14 people remaining in Belle Park have retained the services of the Kingston Community Legal Clinic (KCLC) to represent them.

"We believe the application of the parks bylaw and the Trespass Act on the most vulnerable individuals in our society is unconstitutional, and will be making submissions to the court on the behalf of our clients to this effect," the KCLC said in a news release Tuesday.

Lawyers John Done and William Florence will be representing the clients, the KCLC says.

"The City of Kingston has chosen to fight the residents of the homeless encampment, rather than work with them, as other cities are doing. The people living in the encampment do not choose to be homeless. They live there because they cannot rent a home with their disability pension," Done said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.

"Kingston’s shelters do not have enough beds for Kingston’s homeless population. And among Kingston’s homeless, the encampment residents have special needs. Most are addicted to fentanyl. Fentanyl is dangerous and street fentanyl is often laced with sinister ingredients. In Kingston, there is a single safe injection site, and this is located next to the encampment. The encampment residents live there so they can be close to health care workers and paramedics who can save their life if they overdose.

"The problems Kingston’s encampment residents experience are common to cities across Canada. Other cities, like London, Ontario, have chosen to work with encampment residents so they have the services they need to live with dignity. Kingston’s City Council has chosen to pay a Bay Street law firm to evict people with nowhere else to go. We urge the City of Kingston to suspend its litigation and work with the encampment residents to find a solution that works for everyone."

Done says one of the principal arguments will be around charter rights. 

"We are arguing that removing the encampment, and the laws applicability to the residents, would violate their rights under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, s. 7 and 15," the KCLC said in its press release.

Section 7 guarantees the right to life, liberty and security of the person. Section 15 guarantees equal benefit under the law without discrimination.

The legal clinic argues that there is limited space for unhoused individuals in the city of Kingston, and that many have reasons for avoiding the shelter system, including discrimination, feeling dehumanized, and the desire to have one's own space, which the encampment helps provide. It also notes that many encampment residents have substance use disorders, and group monitoring at the encampment aids in harm reduction.

The city of Kingston says it has a court date set for July 10.

"The City of Kingston remains committed to finding safe, supportive housing for those experiencing homelessness in the City of Kingston and will continue to offer services and supports to those residing in the encampment," it said in a statement. Lawyers from the law firm Lenczner Slaght are representing the city.