A Chatham-Kent councillor believes CK’s council ought to condemn any use of the however clause by the Ontario authorities.
Rhonda Jubenville is fearful the province will use the clause to permit it to bypass any courtroom rulings in an try and filter out homeless encampments.
“If we begin choosing or selecting whose rights we are able to trample on it will find yourself in a catastrophe,” she instructed CK Information In the present day.
Throughout CK council’s assembly on Monday, Jubenville introduced ahead a discover of movement asking councillors to denounce using the clause. Will probably be mentioned at council’s subsequent assembly on December 16, 2024.
Her movement comes a number of days after Premier Doug Ford introduced his authorities would use the clause if new laws it plans to introduce to dismantle homeless encampments is legally challenged.
It additionally comes after 13 Ontario mayors requested the provincial authorities to make use of the clause. This included CK mayor Darrin Canniff, who beforehand instructed CK Information In the present day he supported the request as he believes the province wants as many instruments as potential to handle the homeless disaster.
Jubenville famous she “most likely would not” have launched her movement if Canniff wasn’t a part of the letter. She did, nevertheless, agree that the province must take care of the disaster however added the clause just isn’t an answer.
“These individuals can have no the place to go, so if they don’t seem to be allowed on municipal property then they’re going to find yourself occurring personal property. It is simply gonna exacerbate the issue,” she mentioned.
Together with the ethical difficulty, Jubenville additionally has considerations with the province contemplating violating the Canadian Constitution of Rights and Freedoms.
In her opinion, the provincial authorities could be higher off wanting into higher psychological well being and drug dependancy helps.
In the meantime, CK’s council accredited a movement from Councillor Brock McGregor to ask the federal authorities for funding to assist handle the rising variety of encampments and folks experiencing homelessness.
By doing this, council is bypassing the provincial authorities because it was one in all three provinces to reject funding from the federal authorities.
“[The province is] performing like they received their head within the sand. They don’t seem to be serving to us and they should begin,” mentioned Jubenville in help of McGregor’s movement.
It isn’t assured that Chatham-Kent will get any federal funding as the present focus is on supporting bigger communities Toronto.
