Windsor mayor supports notwithstanding clause to clear homeless encampments

A homeless encampment in downtown Chatham, seen on April 8, 2024. (Chris Campbell/CTV News Windsor)

Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens is joining forces with eleven other Ontario mayors in urging Premier Doug Ford to empower municipalities to take stronger action against homelessness, including the potential use of the notwithstanding clause in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In a letter sent to Premier Ford Thursday, mayors from municipalities including Chatham-Kent, Brampton, and Oshawa are calling on the provincial government to override a recent court ruling that restricts municipalities from removing encampments without providing shelter options.

They are asking the province to act as an intervener in any court cases that may impede local efforts to regulate encampments and to strengthen existing systems of mental health and addiction services.

“You can’t let people who are not making sound decisions for their own lives continue to just do what they want to do and take over public spaces,” Dilkens stated in an interview with CTV News.

He emphasized what he sees as a need for urgent action as Windsor aims to prevent the encampment situation from escalating, as it has in other cities.

In addition to the authority to clear encampments, the mayors are advocating for the establishment of a province-wide drug diversion court system and amendments to Ontario’s Trespass to Property Act.

They are also pushing for enhanced mental health care services to support individuals facing severe addiction challenges.

“We need to help coax people into the pathways that will get them into the treatment they need, the recovery treatment that will help them reintegrate as productive citizens,” Dilkens said.

Premier Ford recently called on Ontario's Big City Mayors to show “backbone” by formally requesting the use of the notwithstanding clause if they want to see improvements in the homeless situation.

In response, Dilkens and his fellow mayors have emphasized that without additional powers and resources, their hands remain tied.

“Not all mayors across Ontario support the premier using the notwithstanding clause in this situation, but they don’t have another solution except to say, put more money in the system, just pile a whole bunch of more money, and hire more people and do more of what you’re doing,” Dilkens stated.

“And that’s going to make it all better.”