Hearing for Victoria Street encampment eviction set for November

As the region's request for an eviction order for the the Victoria Street encampment in Kitchener continues to move through the courts, we now know when the matter is expected to be dealt with. 

According to James Bennet, one of the region's lawyers, involved parties have agreed upon the dates of November 7th and 8th – and while there is potential for that hearing to be moved up should the courts become available, Bennet said that's unlikely. 

Speaking to the latest discussions in court, Bennet referenced the material provided by the region in its affidavit – describing the “dangerous and chaotic situation” that's been developing at the Victoria Street encampment site. Sharing the region's perspective, Bennet said that there are “serious criminal, health and safety issues” that are escalating in the area, as he called the eviction order not an enforcement of regional bylaw, but rather a “necessary remedy” being sought to address escalating risks. 

“… it's also important to balance the risks of not only the people that are at the encampment, but also the residents (…) rights of the citizens of the region and specifically, the adjacent businesses and property owners that are being negatively affected.”

Bennet said those concerns were the reason that the region had agreed to its tight timetable on the delivery of responding materials, though he said the courts weren't available to hear the matter in earlier dates of September and October. Furthermore, Bennet indicated the region is seeking to have a “pre-emptory” to avoid any further adjournments. 

“We don't want to see this drift off after November, and that's the reason why the judge made an order today that if anybody wants to get involved (…) they have until the end of August to do so.”

According to Bennet, the region is confident that the matter will be dealt with on a timetable that's been agreed to by both parties – allowing time for the filing of response material, potential cross examinations and more. According to court information, ten residents from the encampment are being represented by Shannon Down and Waterloo Region Community Legal Services.

Regarding the potential for moving up the hearing, Bennet said that is not likely to happen as the courts have only recently reopened after the COVID-19 shutdown. 

“The timetable for a hearing in September just wasn't practical for the residents that are represented by Ms. Down to get their materials together – and the region doesn't want to be seen as trying to take advantage on some technical timeline – so we're concerned that there's problems at the site, it won't be dealt with until November but we believe it's managable – and as long as the matter proceeds in November it will be acceptable.”