Ottawa councillors push for encampment data system
City will implement standardized reporting framework to track unsheltered homelessness supports while protecting resident privacy.
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Ottawa will create a standardized reporting system for encampments to improve data collection and coordinate services for unsheltered residents, after city council unanimously backed the plan Monday, June 29.
Rideau-Rockcliffe Coun. Rawlson King's motion calls on city staff to implement the framework as part of its unsheltered homelessness outreach model, rolling out in the fall. The system will track service requests and response actions while maintaining privacy, and councillors will receive regular updates on encampment-related activity.
"Behind every data point and every reporting channel we'll discuss today are people — unsheltered residents living in encampments across the city, often in unsafe and precarious conditions," King told the community services committee. "They face real risks to their health and safety."
The move comes as municipalities across Ontario navigate uncertain legal ground following a May 21 court ruling in the Waterloo region. Justice Michael R. Gibson quashed a proposed bylaw to clear the downtown Kitchener encampment, finding it violated Charter rights. The judge suggested establishing designated lawful encampment zones instead, pointing to precedents in London and Thunder Bay.
Ottawa's unsheltered task force has been receiving legal guidance since the first Kitchener-Waterloo ruling in 2023. City staff say enforcement will not proceed "until all other supportive solutions have been exhausted."
