A local councillor has joined in with other municipal and regional councillors in Ontario who are standing up against the potential use of the Notwithstanding Clause to deal with homeless encampments.
Ward 9 city councillor, Kieran McKenzie, is now on the list of 72 councillors against the clause.
The coalition are advocating for transparent, accountable governance and are calling on the province to commit resources for evidence-based solutions to homelessness.
They also urge the mayors who requested the clause to rescind their letter. Members with the coalition confirm they were not consulted before the clause was requested, stating it undermines local democracy.
Speaking on AM800's The Dan MacDonald Show, ward 9 city councillor, Kieran McKenzie, says he understands leaders are struggling, but doesn't believe this is the right solution.
"And in this case, I don't think that this bar comes even close to the bar that needs to be met in order for us to proceed. The issue of violating the Charter of Rights should be the absolute last thing that we think about doing when we're trying to solve problems. This will not achieve that goal, and for that, and many other reasons, I publicly expressed my opposition to the use of the Notwithstanding Clause."
He says there is a ton of legal risk to move forward.
"There is absolutely no doubt that if these measures are invoked, and acted upon, that the municipalities that do proceed will be involved in some kind of legal proceeding. Which involves costs, time, and resources, and frankly immortals us on the wrong side of a political issue."
McKenzie says adding housing and programming to address the issue is key, but the province is moving backwards.
"The Premier has spoken out of both sides of his mouth on numerous occasions around housing issues, and the need to add housing, but opposing the four-by-right measures. And our city council, unfortunately, I was public about that, chose to not enact that measure in a by-law, thereby eliminating our opportunity to be able access any of the Housing Accelerator Fund dollars. These are the solutions, it's adding housing."
The ward 9 councillor says he plans to bring up this issue at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario table next week.
Invoking the rarely used Notwithstanding Clause, or Section 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, would prevent a court from stepping in.
Councillors Alysson Storey, Michael Bondy, and Rhonda Jubenville, from Chatham-Kent are among the 72 councillors against the clause.