After a five-hour long meeting on Monday, which included several deputations from the community and a lengthy debate, Chatham-Kent Council deferred an encampment bylaw for further information.
Council approved a motion by East Kent Councillor John Wright to push the bylaw decision to the Monday, August 25, 2025 Council meeting.
Before the deferral, Council did deal with some elements of the report, including some adjustment to their encampment protocol.
Mayor Darrin Canniff entered a successful motion, which directed the current encampment protocols be amended to require encampments be 100 metres away from: Any private property line with a habitable residence, any business, 25 metres from a construction site and 10 metres from a recreational path.
Mayor Canniff’s motion also directed that tents be located two metres apart from each other and the bylaw enforcement officers also be tasked with encampment related bylaw issues that may arise on private property.
The approved motion also included “formal direction to administration” to “at no time proceed” with the purchase any sites for the specific development of a sanctioned encampment and that administration return with any further recommendations for community mitigation practices “on a regular ongoing basis.”
“All costs related to enforcement, mitigation, and community supports related to encampment issues be compiled and summarized and sent to the premier, minister of health, the minister of municipal affairs and housing and our local MPPs,” Mayor Canniff said in his motion.
The final piece of the Mayor’s motion, which directed administration to close or adjust recreational amenities that are consistent with the protocols outlined in this motion, was not approved by Council.
After this point failed, Council was informed it would leave the Municipality with no sites in Chatham that could accommodate an encampment.
If the recreational amenities part of the motion had been approved, it have made the Thames Grove Conservation Area the only spot an encampment could be accommodated.
The following motion by Chatham Councillor Michael Bondy failed in its entirety as well:
– Temporary Shelters are permitted to be erected on Municipal (property) from one hour before sunset to one hour after sunrise by any person experiencing homelessness. Temporary Shelters shall be subject to guidelines pertaining to location, size, and other guidelines that may be adopted by the Mayor, Council, or Administration.
– No person may use, occupy, maintain, place, erect, or construct, or cause to be or used, occupied, maintained, placed, erected, or constructed, a shelter, tent, building, or other structure on Municipal lands except: as permitted in 1 above; as permitted by permit; or by the authority of Council.
– A peace officer, a bylaw enforcement officer, a police officer, or any authorized agent of Chatham-Kent for this purpose may remove, seize, and impound or cause the removal, seizure or impoundment of any property or thing that unlawfully occupies, or has been unlawfully placed or left on Municipal lands.
In a report to Council, Kim Crew, the director of housing services – operations, said several logistical considerations needed to be taken into account when evaluating potential sites.
“The location should not be within a flood plain to ensure safety and long-term viability,” Crew said in her report.
“It must be accessible to individuals with mobility challenges and capable of supporting the installation and servicing of portable washroom facilities (if needed). The site must also accommodate the placement of a dumpster, along with the necessary equipment for regular waste removal (if needed).
Crew added: “Furthermore, it should be easily accessible to supportive social Chatham-Kent’s Municipal Encampment Protocol and By-Law 4 service providers and emergency services, including police, fire, and paramedics, to ensure timely and effective response when needed.”
The full staff report can be read, here.
