Charter rights and encampments in Hamilton

Although encampments have become more visible in Hamilton and other cities since the pandemic, they are not new. In the 1920s and 30s, a group of people lived in “ramshackle boathouses”, the so-called Shacktown of Cootes Paradise. This caused public debate at the time related to the beauty and orderliness of the city. Housing is a human right according to the Canadian government’s National Housing…