WATCH: Hamilton human rights lawyer, Wade Poziomka talks encampments and city councillors attacking ‘activists’

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Published October 8, 2020 at 7:00 pm

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of a number of public spaces and social services, leading to tent communities popping up in parts of the city.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of a number of public spaces and social services, leading to tent communities popping up in parts of the city.

With the lifting of a Superior Court injunction this week, the City of Hamilton will again be enforcing its bylaws prohibiting encampments on public property.

READ MORE: With the injunction lifted, the City of Hamilton will remove certain homeless encampments

It follows an agreement between the City of Hamilton and advocacy groups, Keeping Six and HAMSMaRT, that would see a new individualized and discretionary approach to enforcing the no camping by law.

The advocacy groups are represented by human rights lawyer, Wade Poziomka of Ross & McBride. He joined hamilton.insauga.com’s Anthony Urciuoli to discuss how the situation could have been avoided, what the City can do going forward, and the accusation by one member of City Council that the encampments were “artificially” created by “activists”.

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