Downtown City of Windsor councillor Renaldo Agostino says he will not be adding his name to the growing list of municipal and regional councillors in Ontario who are against the potential use of the Notwithstanding Clause to deal with homeless encampments.
Last week, ward 9 councillor Kieran McKenzie voiced his concern after more than a dozen mayors, including Windsor mayor Drew Dilkens and the mayor of Chatham-Kent, signed a letter to Premier Doug Ford asking him to consider using the clause earlier this month.
Municipalities have been told unless they have available space in the shelter system, an encampment must remain in place.
Agostino says the city needs help after spending more than a fair share of his time at encampments.
"What we're doing right now is not working. It's not working for the tax payers, it's not working for the business owners, but most importantly it's not working for those people that are inside those tents and putting themselves and the people around them in danger."
The coalition letter also said the councillors reject any plans that do not respect the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
A January 2023 ruling by an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled that Waterloo Region could not use a municipal bylaw to evict people living in an encampment because it violated their rights.
Agostino says the people he's been in contact with at encampments in Windsor have refused to receive the help being offered to them...
"I just can't leave people in tents over the winter. I can't have tents on Ouellette Avenue, right at the entrance of our city, of our downtown core. I can't have tents popping up all across the riverfront. We just can't allow it, because once we do, then we're going to turn into the next Hamilton and the next London, and that's not something I'm prepared to see."
Last week, mayor Dilkens told AM800 News that Windsor is in a good position when it comes to encampments, compared to other cities in the province, something Agostino agrees with.
"I think that says a lot about our shelters and our shelter staff, our city, and our H4. We have things in place to help. To me, one encampment is one too many, right? But, what we need to do is make sure that we continue to have the tools in our toolbox, if necessary, to be able to treat the issue where it needs to be treated, and only when it needs to be used."
Invoking the rarely used Notwithstanding Clause, or Section 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, would prevent a court from stepping in.