Cambridge rejects looking into weather-related encampment protections
Posted Sep 24, 2025 07:38:33 AM.
Last Updated Sep 24, 2025 10:25:33 AM.
With extreme weather, such as flooding just days ago, ever-present across Waterloo Region, Cambridge councillors have rejected a motion that would have looked into pausing encampment evictions during those extreme weather events.
It stems from a letter written to the City of Cambridge, coming right from the Federal Housing Advocate.
It raised concerns about how the city had been treating its homeless population and encampments during extreme weather events, particularly heat waves during the summer.
“The housing advocate was extremely concerned that we, Cambridge, were evicting unhoused persons from encampments, which is a human rights violation in itself,” said Ward 7 Councillor Scott Hamilton. “What was most troubling was that these eviction notices or evictions could have been occurring on extreme heat days.”
The motion, brought forward by Hamilton and Ward 4 Councillor Ross Earnshaw, was set to be discussed by Cambridge council during its latest meeting.
According to Ward 5 Councillor Sheri Roberts, the motion wouldn’t change any funding allocations or bylaws, but would simply open the door for the city to explore further studies and options on how to tackle the problem.
“At this point, we’re not asking for any changes to any policy or bylaw, and we can continue to offer the same supports that we have and whatever supports are available. I think it’s imperative that we continue to offer those,” Roberts stated. “We are simply requesting a report so that council and the community can have clarity on what the practices are.”
It saw a series of people voicing their opinions from across the local community, including Rozz Gunn, Director of Communications and Advocacy with YWCA Cambridge.
She said it was the city’s responsibility to better advocate for those living in encampments.
“As the motion rightly states, the housing and homelessness crisis is a systemic issue affecting all of Canada,” Gunn stated. “Municipalities like Cambridge don’t have the full financial and jurisdictional powers to solve this crisis on their own, but we do have a fundamental responsibility to act in a manner that upholds the human dignity and rights of every resident.”
Others, including former NDP candidate for Kitchener-South Hespeler, Jeff Dongersgoed, said that without motions like this, the problems of encampments will only continue.
“If we don’t have all of these partners on side, come up with real and tangible solutions to deal with affordability, accessibility, mental health, substance abuse, and, of course, housing, encampments are going to become a reality.”
Not everyone in attendance during the meeting was in support of the motion, with Matthew Hilson of Crillion Investment Corporation saying it would just add support to an ever-growing problem in the city.
“While this motion may seem ‘politically correct’ and ‘well-intentioned’, I fear it unwittingly and subtly lays the legislative groundwork to make encampments a permanent and institutionalized part of the Cambridge community and lifestyle, in effect, ‘the new normal’ and somehow, acceptable.”
Ward 6 Councillor Adam Cooper voiced similar concerns to those of Hilson, saying that he’s seen first-hand the damages and lasting issues stemming from those homeless encampments.
“They have been a shocking example of mass amounts of hard drug use, but most of all, clearly stolen property,” voiced Cooper. “I don’t like that I have to say that, but that’s what I have seen.”
Council ultimately elected to deny the motion, with a majority agreeing that the issue of encampments is a larger concern than finding support in cases of extreme weather.
It stated that staff need to focus more time on direct steps to address those safety, drug, and crime concerns within encampments, saying the motion could be the first step in promoting a continued presence instead.
