Ministry of Labour stops micro-shelter construction on Barton-Tiffany land in Hamilton

The construction of micro-shelters on Barton-Tiffany lands is on pause following an Order to Comply issued by the Ministry of Labour last Tuesday.

According to a council communications report, the City of Hamilton failed to register a notice of project to the ministry by Friday, as well as keep a list of designated substances to be present on site.

The new date to register the notice has been set to Dec. 23.

The order says work is to be suspended until the notice of project registration is completed.

Hours before the report was released, the city had confirmed a targeted opening date for the site for Dec. 20.

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Hamilton city council voted earlier this month to not invoke the notwithstanding clause to ban encampments in parks and public spaces.

In response to the city’s growing homeless and displaced persons population council approved the 192 new shelter beds and 80 temporary outdoor shelter beds to be built on the Barton-Tiffany lands.

Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath said following that vote that Hamilton has a compassionate community, but worries a growing sense of “compassion fatigue” is developing over the ongoing tensions surrounding encampments and the increasingly long process to enact plans.

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