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limited access to personal protective equipment (PPE), dwindling
staff, and insufficient facilities to enable physical distancing, many
shelters and drop-ins have had little choice but to reduce services or
close entirely (despite best efforts).12 While some communities have
replaced or adapted services, advocates report significant gaps across
the country.
Emergency Relief
Some cities have chosen to create new temporary shelters in existing
public or private buildings (e.g., convention centres), seeking to enable
physical distancing (e.g., through positioning floor mats six feet apart).
While these facilities have been welcomed in some communities, they
have also been criticized for failing to comply with public health mea-
sures and displacing people from existing support systems.13
Heightened Law Enforcement
Many cities have heightened law enforcement to control the spread of
COVID-19 among people experiencing homelessness and the general
public. In cities such as Hamilton and Vancouver, people experienc-
ing homelessness report being ticketed $880 for failing to physically
distance.14 Tent encampments have increasingly been forcibly evicted
under the mantle of COVID-19, often in ways that are contrary to
international human rights law.15
12. See e.g. Al Donato âHomeless Canadians Face Increasing Danger Because Of
COVID-19 Lockdownsâ, Huffington Post (last updated 18 April 2020), online:
<www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/homeless-canadians-danger-coronavirus_
ca_5e83665fc5b62dd9f5d6a72d>.
13. See e.g. Cathy Crowe, âFifty Days into the COVID-19 Pandemic, and Homeless People
Are Still in a Desperate Situationâ (28 April 2020), online (blog): Rabble <rabble.ca/
blogs/bloggers/cathy-crowes-blog/2020/04/fifty-days-covid-19-pandemic-and-
homeless-people-are-still>.
14. See e.g. Matthew Van Dongen, ââI Canât Pay It Anywayâ: Why Are Hamilton
Police Ticketing The Homeless During The Covid-19 Pandemic?â Toronto Star
(21 April 2020), online: <www.thestar.com/news/gta/2020/04/21/i-cant-pay-it-
anyway-why-are-hamilton-police-ticketing-the-homeless-during-the-covid-
19-pandemic.html>.
15. Leilani Farha & Kaitlin Schwan, âA National Protocol for Homeless Encamp-
ments in Canada: A Human Rights Approachâ (30 April 2020), online (pdf):
UnitedÂ
NationsÂ
SpecialÂ
RapporteurÂ
onÂ
theÂ
RightÂ
toÂ
AdequateÂ
Housing <www.unhous-
ingrapp.org/user/pages/07.press-room/A%20National%20Protocol%20for%20
Homeless%20Encampments%20in%20Canada.pdf>.
VULNERABLE
The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Title
- VULNERABLE
- Subtitle
- The Law, Policy and Ethics of COVID-19
- Authors
- Vanessa MacDonnell
- Jane Philpott
- Sophie Thériault
- Sridhar Venkatapuram
- Publisher
- Ottawa Press
- Date
- 2020
- Language
- English
- License
- CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
- ISBN
- 9780776636429
- Size
- 15.2 x 22.8 cm
- Pages
- 648
- Categories
- Coronavirus
- International