Judge to decide Kitchener encampment future
- A judge will soon rule on whether a downtown Kitchener encampment must be cleared or can remain. - The hearing centers on the encampment and the Region of Waterloo’s obligations to provide care and shelter. - The decision could set a regional precedent for enforcement and homelessness responses (therecord.com)
An Ontario judge has reserved his decision on whether people can keep living at the encampment at 100 Victoria St. N. in downtown Kitchener. (kitchener.citynews.ca) Ontario Superior Court Justice Michael Gibson heard three days of arguments on April 16, 17 and 20, then said the injunction blocking enforcement will stay in place until he rules. No decision date has been set. (kitchener.citynews.ca; wrcls.ca) The Region of Waterloo says it needs the lot for crews working on the Kitchener Central Transit Hub, a $35 million project, and told court Metrolinx needs access to the property by June 2026. Regional lawyers said the site is the only region-owned parcel large enough for staging. (kitchener.citynews.ca; cbc.ca) Lawyers for encampment residents argued the region still cannot force people out without housing that is safe and workable for the people who are there now. On April 17, they told court the bylaw falls hardest on women, Indigenous people and people with disabilities. (cbc.ca) The case is back in court because a different Superior Court judge, Michael J. Valente, ruled on Jan. 27, 2023 that Waterloo Region could not evict people from the site while shelter space remained inadequate. That decision treated outdoor encampment shelter as protected by Section 7 of the Charter in those conditions. (cbc.ca) Regional council tried again on April 23, 2025, passing a site-specific bylaw to clear 100 Victoria by Dec. 1, 2025 and approving about $814,000 for supportive housing units, rent supplements and motel placements tied to the move. In January 2026, council amended the bylaw to target an April 1 move-out date. (cbc.ca; cambridgetoday.ca; cbc.ca) That bylaw never took effect because the court paused it in August 2025, and the region later agreed to mediation while the case was adjourned into 2026. The region said in October 2025 that staff were visiting the site daily and working on housing plans for 36 residents. (kitchener.citynews.ca; cambridgetoday.ca) The Canadian Civil Liberties Association joined the latest hearing as an intervenor on April 20, arguing governments must show any alternative shelter is actually adequate, accessible and safe for each person affected. The group said courts should weigh homelessness through an intersectional lens, especially after the Supreme Court of Canada’s recent Kanyinda decision. (ccla.org) The region said after the hearing that it will keep supporting people at the site and connecting them to community services while it waits for the ruling. Until Gibson decides, the tents at 100 Victoria can stay. (kitchener.citynews.ca)
