A member of Windsor city council is looking for a report from administration around the likelihood of council prohibiting panhandling around the city.
Ward 1 councillor Fred Francis made the ask specifically to the legal and by-law departments at Monday's council meeting.
He says the issue has become a huge problem, and one that he was reluctant to bring forward in the past because it's been a ward specific issue.
"And you tend not to step on the toes of the other councillors, but eight years in enough's enough. We've got to take the downtown back, we've got to take other parts of our city back. I work in the downtown, I'm there every single day, I see the panhandlers on Ouellette, I see the panhandlers on Tecumseh Road across from Jackson Park," he said.
Francis says he doesn't understand why people can set up shop at the Bangladesh Peace Clock to loiter and litter without anyone telling them they can't be there.
It's also an issue he's heard about from residents and business owners for years now.
"Now I understand there might be human rights challenges and there might be legal challenges, and that's why I want administration to let us know what the power is that city council has," Francis continued. "I want people to know that we're doing everything we possibly can to deal with the homelessness situation, but panhandling has become completely out of control in this city in my opinion."
Francis says he's seen some areas in the United States where this kind of idea has been successful, but in Canada it's a little bit more difficult.
"We have to try. If the courts tell us no you can't do that, or if the province or federal government say no you guys are overstepping, fine let them tell us that. But we can't just sit on our hands and allow a problem to grow and grow and grow into other parts of the city and do nothing."
The timeline for receiving such a report could fluctuate.
Francis says if it's something that can be implemented, administration will likely need to take more time to do their due diligence on how council could move forward.
If it's something that can't be implemented, administration would come back saying that the courts would strike it down.
Do you think city council pass a bylaw to ban panhandling in Windsor? Vote in the AM800 News Poll here
- with files from AM800's Rob Hindi