Spring is fast approaching, and so is the deadline for people living in homeless encampments near the Integrated Care Hub in the north end of Kingston, Ont.
The city intends to evict the campers in less than two weeks.
If there’s been a change in that position, the mayor isn’t saying, after getting a legal briefing on the matter this week.
One of the campers, Benjamin Simon-Dixon, is no stranger to dealing with evictions.
“I’ve been out here since Belle Park when we were there and evicted out of there,” he says. “And then placed downtown at Artillery Park and then taken out of there.”
He’s since settled at the Integrated Care Hub, a spot he likes because of its central location.
“Here was pretty good, you know what I mean,” says Simon-Dixon.
“Down the path you’re at No Frills, Food Basics, you can get groceries, you know what I mean? Whatever you have to do is right there.”
Despite the approaching eviction deadline, there is still no word on the local impact of a ruling by the Ontario Supreme Court that deemed a planned eviction of an encampment in Waterloo “unconstitutional.”
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According to mayor Bryan Paterson, the focus has been on providing low-barrier alternatives.
“Making sure that all the barriers that have been identified can be addressed,” says Paterson. “That’s really where the focus is, so right now, that I think is the solution.”
That focus on not just shelters, but accessible shelters — which are important, according to the court ruling in Waterloo region.
“It’s not just a mathematical formula,” says Sherry Aiken, associate professor of law at Queen’s University.
The math, she says, might suggest “there’s shelter spaces over here, there are people living in encampments over there, that means we have a right to evict them.” But, she says, that isn’t how it works.
The shelters have to be tailored to the needs of the individual, whether those needs are including a person caring for a pet, or someone with an addiction.
But even if the planned new shelter location has all those tools, for Simon-Dixon, there’s one element it can’t replace.
“You grow close to your neighbours, and we’re kind of like a family, you know?” he says.
Eviction day is March 21. Until then, there could be a lot of anxiety among the campers as they wait for a decision from city council.
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