Canadian homeless encampments have become increasingly visible in recent years, and those residing within them have faced a fair bit of variation in how local governments react to their presence. Today, let’s look at a remarkable legal case that may change the game regarding how homeless encampments are considered under Canadian law and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
It’s one place that the Canadian legal system has gotten one-up on the US system (Johnson v. Grants Pass), between this and the City of Victoria case. Unless cases in other provinces rule differently (i.e. Prairies’ Bench courts say its no problem to evict, Cour Supérieure de Québec okays it as long as displaced residents get 3 packs of smokes and a 2-4 of beer each etc.), I could see that any appeal could eventually see the federal supreme court ruling along the same lines.
It shows that we have a robust set of Rights given to us by the Charter, but it is easier for cities to overlook them if they aren’t asserted.