Sault Ste. Marie city council will consider a bylaw amendment designed to prevent city parkland from becoming encampments.
Although the city says this is a simple updating of the parks bylaw, advocates for the homeless say the change will impact the most vulnerable.
As it stands now, the bylaw already prohibits overnight camping in city parks.
"Individuals who would go and set up camp would be directed by city staff between the hours of 10 p.m. to 7 in the morning to pack up and disperse essentially," said city solicitor Jeff King.
With the proposed amendment, citizens would not be allowed to set up camp at city parks at any time of day.
"We just want to add clarity with this amendment that individuals aren’t to utilize park space for camping at any given time," said King.
"So, that essentially is the purpose of the amendment. We felt that the existing bylaw that was created in the 1980s needed updates to meet the realities of today."
Connie Raynor-Elliott, whose group, Save Our Young Adults, regularly deals with homeless people, said the change could be harmful to some people.
"Where’s the resolution? That’s what I’m looking for," said Raynor-Elliott.
"What are they going to do? You can’t camp here, but where are you going to advise them to go?"
She said with limited shelter beds and a growing number of individuals and families unable to afford rent, pitching a tent is the only means of escaping the elements for some.
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"There's a lot of people out there that are camping, and I’ll tell you it's not at Ojibway Park and places like Bell's Point," said Raynor-Elliott.
"They're camping out in our city for a reason, trust me. They don't want to be in those tents, but they don’t have no other place to go."
The amendment to the parks bylaw will be debated at Monday's city council meeting.
