City of Hamilton Encampment Protocol

At the January 15, 2025, General Issues Committee meeting the 2023 Encampment Protocol was rescinded effective March 6, 2025. On March 6, staff will transition from the rescinded Encampment Protocol to enforcement of the City of Hamilton Parks By-law No. 01-219, which prohibits camping in City parks. 

To report the presence of an encampment in a City park, please contact the Coordinated Encampment Response Team at [email protected] or call 905-546-2782 Option 1

The number and email are monitored Monday to Friday during regular business hours (8:30 am to 4:30 pm). A file will be entered for investigation as appropriate. 

Report immediate threats to the safety and well-being of any community member, including loss of consciousness, frostbite, heat stroke, substance poisoning, or harassment by calling 9-1-1.

Background

The City of Hamilton recognizes the challenges faced by the unhoused members of our community as an intersection of the complex pressures and social inequities which existed before, and were exacerbated by, the COVID-19 pandemic: high costs of living, income not keeping pace with inflation, affordability and availability of places to call home, as well as the challenges or barriers related to mental health, addiction and those escaping domestic violence. Shelters and services have been pushed to capacity, with many community members faced with the reality of having nowhere else to go.

In line with that strategy, the City remains committed to the long-term goal of permanent housing for all, and protecting the dignity of unsheltered individuals, ensuring homeless and unhoused individuals receive the supports they need in the short-term, acknowledging that the long-term solution – safe and supportive housing – is one which Hamilton, and cities across Canada, cannot respond to quickly enough given the growing, immediate needs of the unhoused in our community.

The City provides several housing and homelessness support services in the community and financial support to numerous community partners. Housing-related services the City provides include support for the City’s housing authority and community partners, rental support, homelessness outreach, support for emergency shelters and transitional housing for residents experiencing homelessness. The City operates many of these with or on behalf of the provincial government and has received annual funding contributions.

In line with increasing demand, the City of Hamilton increased its housing-related budget in 2023 by 30% to more than $70 million, making it the largest investor in housing in the City’s overall housing budget, which reaches $146.6 million when accounting for contributions by the federal and provincial governments. Over the past few years, the City’s contribution to housing has grown faster than its provincial or federal government housing partners.

Canadian legislation, in the National Housing Strategy Act, recognizes housing as a human right, something that has been affirmed in international law. 

In addition to evolving legal principles, homelessness in Hamilton and in other areas of Canada has hit crisis levels. In recognition of this, the City of Hamilton declared homelessness as a state of emergency in April 2023, joining the City of Toronto, Ottawa and Niagara Region. These declarations highlight the need for the investments and interventions required to take immediate action on the intersecting crises of homelessness, housing affordability and addictions and mental health. These declarations highlight the need for additional and rapid support and investment from the governments of Ontario and Canada to end chronic homelessness, prioritizing health and social service supports for the most vulnerable in our community, including unhoused women, youth and Indigenous persons.