St. Catharines divided on homelessness as cold weather intensifies

There’s a growing divide among some residents of St. Catharines over how best to handle the homeless encampments scattered throughout the city.

On one side, people are calling on the province to provide better support, while the other side is urging the government to invoke a controversial measure that would uproot the encampments entirely.

Winter has arrived in southern Ontario, and for many people living on the streets of St. Catharines, survival has never been more challenging.

“Oh, it’d be basically impossible to move right now, in this weather. There’s nowhere to go. Out here, everyone’s basically ripping each other off—it’s very hard, very hard living,” said Louie Real Carrey, an unhoused individual.

Amid a housing crisis, many of them have nowhere else to go.

Louie added, “Well, you know, it’s very hard to find a place to live right now. The rent is insane—triple the price it was. Even if you have the money, you can’t get a place because you need good credit, and not everyone has good credit.”

But this struggle is now at the center of a heated debate.

“If there is an encampment, it comes with a whole host of issues: debris, behavioral problems. I can understand why someone would have an issue with it. I think it’s important we have a range of supports around those encampments and the people who are in need.” said Juan Burry, Executive Director, Salvation Army St. Catharines.

A petition, launched by one resident, is calling on the government to invoke the notwithstanding clause, which would grant municipalities the legal ability to relocate these encampments.

Rob McConnell, a St. Catharines resident who started a petition to pressure Government to invoke a notwithstanding clause said, “We’ve found syringes, crack pipes, knives, human feces, used condoms throughout the neighborhood. There’s prostitution, drug deals going on day and night. The use of drugs in plain view is an everyday occurrence. The police, fire department, and EMS are in this area at least two or three times a day and at night.”

In 2023, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice ruled that in some cases, removing a homeless encampment would violate a person’s Charter rights—a measure that Rob McConnell says overlooks his own rights.

“And because of the court ruling, everything had to stop. According to the Charter, they were protected and allowed to stay where they were. However, what someone forgot, Roger, is that we too are protected by the same Charter. We too have our rights. And when people start threatening residents and committing criminal acts in our neighborhood and on our property, that’s where it got personal,” said Rob.

Meanwhile, another group of St. Catharines residents has voiced concern as well, but they say the notwithstanding clause isn’t the solution.

For those living on the margins, the stakes couldn’t be higher. The debate over these encampments may be political, but for the people here, it’s a matter of survival.