Ontario, Waterloo appealing court block on encampment removal
Region and province challenging ruling that found site-specific bylaw violated residents' Charter rights.
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The Ontario government and the Region of Waterloo announced Tuesday they will appeal a recent court decision that prevented clearing the Victoria Street encampment in Kitchener.
Last month, Ontario Superior Court Justice Michael Gibson ruled the region's site-specific bylaw to clear the encampment violated the Charter rights of residents and could not be enforced. Gibson's 88-page decision found the core problem: there simply isn't adequate shelter space to accommodate the residents. With camping bylaws in place on regional property, some evicted residents would have nowhere to go.
The encampment sits at 100 Victoria St. on land slated for the Kitchener Central Transit Hub, which the province calls "critical infrastructure needed to improve transit options."
"Our government is appealing this decision in order to provide the certainty and stability needed to advance critical infrastructure projects here in Waterloo Region and across Ontario," Attorney General Doug Downey said in a release Tuesday.