Encampment protest at Hamilton City Hall reaches one month, facing threats of removal

The encampment protest outside Hamilton City Hall continues to grow as the demonstration has now been ongoing since May.

It has now been one month since several unhoused individuals and their supporters have been camped outside on city property, but city staff say Hamilton’s Parks bylaw will be enforced.

Izzee Emmanuel says living on the streets in Hamilton didn’t just ‘happen overnight.’

“I’ve been living on the street for five years,” said Emmanuel. “Four years of couch-surfing with family and friends, then all my resources got exhausted. Then I was forced to live on the street – two weeks it’s been one year [sic].”

Emmanuel said he was living on the Bruce Trail until the City of Hamilton started to enforce the Parks bylaw back in May, when he was kicked out.

“You can’t just move us from one area to another,” said Emmanuel. “It just makes it worse – you’re taking away our shelter and tents, and that leaves us in the open.”

The demonstration at city hall started after people were forced out of encampments along the escarpment rail trail, but now after a month, it’s grown from a protest into a large encampment with dozens of people calling city hall home.

Mickey, someone who now stays at the encampment, said he used to live in New Brunswick, “but my house burnt down, and I thought I could start over in my hometown, but it’s not working.”

The City of Hamilton said there may be beds available for anyone who wants one.

“The shelter system within Hamilton is operating at or above capacity, and that’s the usual for us,” said Michelle Baird, the director of Hamilton Housing Services. “However, shelters offer a sort of flexibility – there’s always inflows and outflows happening from shelters – it’s not a permanent solution, so if people need beds we can find some.”

While the city said they support people’s right to protest, the tents are not allowed.

“So, the encampment can’t be located in the area – it’s currently in violation of the City of Hamilton’s Parks bylaw, so any of the structures that’s associated with the action happening down at City Hall and Peace Park, would not be permitted,” said Dan Smith, the acting director of Hamilton’s Licensing and Bylaw Services.

The city said the Parks bylaw “is and will be enforced.”

Some people have already left, and some have already returned, but the city said they will continue to enforce the Parks bylaw.

“In a perfect world, I would like to be housed,” said Emmanuel. “Hamilton has over 100 vacant units, like Jamesville has 91 units, which have been condemned and left to rot for so many years. They can just repair it back up, and put some people in there. Everybody has their own units.”

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