Doug Ford slams encampment ruling affecting Kitchener transit expansion: 'It's a joke'
· Toronto Sun
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Premier Doug Ford isn’t too pleased with an Ontario judge’s ruling about a homeless encampment in Kitchener, which has stalled a planned transit expansion.
Ontario Court Justice Michael R. Gibson said Waterloo Region would not be allowed to remove residents living at the encampment as part of a court ruling that came down Thursday.
“It’s a joke,” Ford said Friday morning in Sault Ste. Marie when asked by reporters about the judge’s decision.
The premier was in The Soo to announce a $306 million investment made by global steel manufacturer Tenaris.
Ford also described the decision as “cockamamie” and “the most ridiculous ruling I have ever seen.”
Homeless can set up shop
In the 88-page decision, Gibson said the encampment is currently the only place in the region where people experiencing homelessness can legally set up a tent or a structure as a last refuge.
“It represents the only remaining safety valve for the region’s homeless as a refuge of last resort,” Gibson said in the ruling.
The tent city is located on the corner of Victoria and Weber St. in downtown Kitchener.
The new hub
Waterloo Region owns the property where the encampment is located and says it needs the land for the planned construction of the Kitchener Central Transit Hub . The estimated completion date of the project is late 2029 or early 2030.
Metrolinx construction crews are planning to raise the train tracks next month in advance of the new transit hub, located at King St. W. and Victoria St. N.
The judge said the construction of the hub is “a genuine public interest” and that Waterloo Region could still finish the project “while respecting the rights of encampment residents.”
Ford suggested the judge should instead house the residents of the encampment at his residence.
“I wish they would show up in this judge’s backyard and set up camp,” Ford said. “It is the craziest thing I have ever heard. I wish I could get that guy’s address and send 15 encampments to his backyard and see how he likes it. (It is) the craziest decision I have ever heard, but there are a lot of crazy decisions coming from our courts lately.”