One persistent file I know I will continue spending time on in 2025 is encampments, which was in the news once again at the end of last year. On December 5, Premier Doug Ford sent a letter responding to a number of mayors across Ontario indicating his government’s intent to provide municipalities the ability to regulate and prohibit encampments. One week later, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing introduced Bill 242, “Safer Municipalities Act, 2024.” Speaking of this new bill and its potential infringement on constitutional rights previously articulated by the courts regarding encampments, Premier Ford said he would, if necessary, invoke the notwithstanding clause to allow violations the Charter of Rights and Freedoms towards this goal.
This request from these mayors–which does not include Mayor Olivia Chow or the City of Toronto–follows a 2023 Superior Court of Justice decision in Waterloo. This decision declared that removing individuals from an encampment without being able to provide an accessible shelter bed is a violation of section 7 – Life, liberty and security of person – of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Whether one agrees with this decision or not, it has shaped the municipal response across Ontario to encampments, including Toronto’s.
Following a report from the Ombudsman on the City’s previous actions related to the clearing of encampments, the Interdivisional Protocol for Encampments in Toronto was created, guiding the City’s response to encampments since.
Bill 242 does two things. First, it gives police the authority to arrest and charge someone who is consuming illegal substances on public property with a potential $10,000 fine and/or six months of jail time. Secondly, it tells courts to consider additional factors when considering a trespassing offense that could result in up to a $10,000 fine if convicted.
On its face, this may seem to be a reasonable way for municipalities to deal with encampments. I’m unfortunately here to tell you that it’s not.
Encampments are one of the most complex issues facing the city. The negative impact encampments have had in spaces like Allan Gardens, Moss Park and St. James Park is undeniable. Those impacts include public safety concerns, unreasonable noise, drug dealing and much more. I do not accept that a tent is a suitable alternative for a shelter bed, and should not be a stopgap measure until proper housing can be secured. That is why I continue to work with City staff and my council colleagues to expand accessible shelter options and housing opportunities.
Financial penalties and incarceration will not solve the core issue that is driving encampments: a lack of deeply affordable housing. It doesn’t make sense to fine someone who is living in a tent in a park $10,000; they aren’t going to have the money to pay it in the first place, and it’s going to make it much more difficult to stabilize and house that individual if collection agencies are holding several thousand dollars over their heads when they are trying to rebuild their life. Bill 242 is not solving the root causes that create encampments, it’s only going to help perpetuate it.
Jail time for public drug use is equally asinine. Let’s put aside the costs to policing, court services–including paying a prosecutor and a public defender–and let’s just focus on the costs of incarceration. It costs over $300 a day to keep your average person in jail in Canada. It would likely be cheaper for the province to send an individual for six months to a hotel in downtown Toronto with $20,000 in their pocket (or $10,000 if you still want to fine them) than to put them in a jail cell for the same period.
Beyond the province’s response, I need to call out all the mayors and councilors in Ontario who are supporting these measures. You don’t need Bill 242; you just need to do the work.
Toronto Centre was once home to one of the largest encampments in the country at Allan Gardens. Through hard work and perseverance at that park, the City was able to permanently house 98 people and connect 433 individuals to indoor shelter accommodation, allowing the City to remove the encampment. The City did this without needing police intervention and without violating any fundamental rights and freedoms. Importantly, this City did this work within the guidelines provided by the Superior Court of Justice.
Instead of seeking provincial assistance to allow violations to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to “solve” encampments, municipalities should follow the Waterloo decision and create more accessible shelter spaces. Better yet, create housing targeted to your homeless populations so your residents can stay in their communities and support centres, rather than punishing them and pushing them out to neighbouring municipalities, including Toronto. This is the direction the Ontario Big City Mayors caucus recommended the province instead direct its energy toward, and is supported by myself and over 75 mayors and councillors across Ontario.
Creating new housing and shelter spaces is not a simple matter. It takes effort, a lot money and a thick skin to deal with the NIMBYism that often accompanies the opening of such facilities. Premier Ford has promised additional funding to create capacity in shelter systems and additional supports for those living with addiction, which are absolutely necessary. The future Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment (HART) Hub planned for the downtown is welcome after over a decade of provincial neglect.
But living in a tent in a park is not a moral failure, it’s a societal one. And it should be on all levels of government to address head on, rather than seeking to toss the problem in a jail cell.
2025 is going to be a very memorable year, with regime change in the United States, a likely provincial election, and a federal election. It will mean a lot of uncertainty for Toronto. I’m not going anywhere, so like me or hate me, I look forward to hearing from you about how we can make life better for everyone here in Toronto Centre.
Yours in Service,

Chris Moise
City Councillor
Ward 13 - Toronto Centre