A controversial bylaw proposal to regulate the use of public space went back to council Wednesday afternoon. And with it followed dozens of protesters in front of city hall ahead of the meeting.
About 50 people, many of whom wore face masks, gathered in the open space in front of city hall about an hour before the meeting was set to begin at 4 p.m.
The bylaw, if passed, would limit where homeless encampments can be set up.
Many who participated later went inside to fill the council chamber gallery for the meeting to make their dismay known.
“This bylaw will disproportionately harm our unhoused neighbours in Guelph, even criminalize their existence without providing them with any viable or suitable alternative,” a man, who declined to be identified, told the gathered crowd through a loudspeaker.
There was a noticeable police presence around city hall, but officers appeared to keep their distance as the protest played out.
Participants chanted through speeches, there was music as well.
A number of different chants broke out, from “people over profit” to “safety for all” and “police abolition” and more.
“These are our neighbours, our friends, our family members,” said Kate Nixon, the founder of Your Downtown Guelph Friends.
“They died, not because they are weak, not because they were lost causes, but because they were failed by the very system that was supposed to protect them.
“Policy failures are not abstract. They have real devastating consequences.”
At the end, those who went inside for the meeting left their posters along the front glass window.
At the time this article was published, city council had not made a decision regarding the draft bylaw.
