Salvation Army tarp raises questions about hiding homelessness in Hamilton

Questions were raised Wednesday over a big change across the street from the newly renovated TD Coliseum.

In the last 24 hours, a fence went up outside The Salvation Army’s Hamilton Booth Centre homeless shelter on York Boulevard, blocking the view of the sidewalk.

While some suspect this may be an attempt to hide the city’s homeless population, those behind the move say it is all about exterior building maintenance.

The black tarp and fence are blocking the front entrance and sidewalk at 94 York Blvd., where many people hang out. Some locals think they know why it was put up.

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“My guess would be nobody that’s going to come to this coliseum is going to want to see what’s going on over there. There are people yelling, and screaming at themselves,” said a pedestrian.

“I think it’s there to hide the tough stuff going on in front of The Salvation Army,” another Hamiltonian said.

CHCH News contacted The Salvation Army to ask why the fence was put up.

“The fencing is part of the safety barrier that would be required during some exterior work that includes brick work, painting, new lighting and graffiti removal,” read an emailed statement from the homeless shelter.

Ward 2 Coun. Cameron Kroetsch says residents have been reaching out to his office, but what he saw earlier didn’t look like construction.

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“If that was the case the sidewalk itself would also be closed because the sidewalk is a place where you’re wanting to keep pedestrians safe,” Kroetsch said.

“If there’s any kind of work being done above, the city has new policies from the council to ensure there is scaffolding above, there’s a way to protect pedestrians who are walking in the area, so if that’s what’s going on here, I really hope that there is some scaffolding put up, some protection for pedestrians … We don’t want them in harm’s way.”

CHCH News also reached out to the city and it said there is a sidewalk occupancy permit to install walk-through scaffolding to facilitate façade work at The Salvation Army and adjacent buildings. That permit expires on Jan. 18, 2026.

It also said HUPEG  — a group that operates some downtown Hamilton entertainment venues — submitted the permit application.

Its president, PJ Mercanti, said this is part of the group’s working relationship with The Salvation Army, and he’s “encouraged to see that the TD Coliseum and revitalization of the Hamilton Convention Centre and the FirstOntario Concert Hall are accelerating much-needed repairs and enhancements to our downtown.”

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