Sudbury mayor joins group asking premier to override charter of rights to deal with encampments

With the surging number of homeless encampments in Ontario cities, Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre has joined other big city mayors in asking the province to back them up when they try and prohibit encampments.

With the surging number of homeless encampments in Ontario cities, Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre has joined other big city mayors in asking the province to back them up when they try and prohibit encampments.

The move comes after Premier Doug Ford mentioned this week using the notwithstanding clause in Canada's constitution, which allows provinces to override the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Ford mentioned using the clause at an unrelated press conference on Monday.

"Why don’t we put in, 'use the notwithstanding clause,' or something like that?" the premier said. "Let's see if (the mayors) have the backbone to do it."

That challenge was met Thursday when the mayor of 13 of the biggest cities in the province sent an open letter to Ford, formally requesting the use the clause if necessary to pass laws to ban homeless encampments.

"The provincial government is requested to become an intervenor on any court case that restricts the ability of municipalities to regulate and prohibit encampments, advocating for the principle endorsed by the U.S. Supreme Court … that courts should not be dictating homelessness policy," the letter reads.

It also calls for the province to bring in laws making repeated trespassing a criminal offence that leads to jail time, and for clear rules banning drug use in public "in the same manner as the open consumption of alcohol."