City of Brantford Council unanimously supported the Restore Order petition and its associated campaign during a committee of the whole planning and administration meeting on Tuesday, October 14, 2025.
Mayor Kevin Davis, who brought the resolution forward, said that the Restore Order campaign was created after Alex Nuttall, Mayor for the City of Barrie, declared a state of emergency on Tuesday, September 9, 2025, in response to the rise in homeless encampments.
The overall campaign urges both the provincial and federal government to provide municipalities with immediate additional funding to expand shelter capacity, supportive housing, traditional housing, treatment hubs, and mental health and addiction services.
Restore Order also calls for:
- Legislative review and reform to grant municipalities clearer authority, when necessary, to manage or remove encampments that pose health or safety risks — while ensuring that individuals affected are offered safe alternatives.
- The development and implementation of a “compassionate intervention” framework that balances public safety with the dignity, rights, and human needs of persons experiencing homelessness.
- Amendments or a review of relevant legislation (for example, the Mental Health Act, Health Care Consent Act) to enhance community-based treatment options, coordination, and support for integrated care.
- Reforms to bail, sentencing, and criminal justice policies to prevent repeat offender activity that burdens public safety and municipal resources.
- Enhanced multi-level governance coordination (municipal, provincial, federal), with clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and funding flows among law enforcement, public health, social services, housing, and non-government organizations.
- A comprehensive audit, review, and public reporting of existing homelessness/encampment/social services funding, outcomes achieved, and remaining gaps.
During the meeting, Davis told councillors that the resolution and the campaign are ultimately calling for coordinated action on homelessness, public safety and dignity.
“People think that cities somehow have the ability to solve the problem they see on the streets. They think, ‘It’s just a homeless problem, build some houses.’ But we know that’s not true. We heard at last week’s Social Services meeting that 70 per cent of the people living on the street have severe addiction or mental health concerns; [these are the] kinds of issues that you cannot treat through supportive housing or day treatment,” he said. “…For the City to be able to deal with this with the limited resources we have, it’s nearly impossible. We need the help of the federal and provincial governments; they have the resources, they have the tools, and they have the systems that can help people. …Unfortunately, we’re not seeing the kind of coordinated effort that we’d like to see in this country, with federal and provincial and municipal governments all pulling in the same direction.”
Councillor Mandy Samwell later said that the item at hand was about creating balance.
“Community safety is important, but it must go hand in hand with meaningful support that gives people stability, connection and a sense of belonging. Everyone deserves a safe place to live, access to services and to fully participate in their communities, while neighbourhoods and residents are supported and protected,” said Samwell. “Restoring order means giving our City and all municipalities the resources, the authority, and the collaborative tools to strengthen communities and create lasting solutions because strong neighbourhoods are built when people have the support they need, they feel safe, and are connected to the communities around them.”
Later, her wardmate, Councillor Brian Van Tilborg said that while he was proud of the City and of social service organizations like SOAR for doing what they can to address the issues at hand, it’s just not enough.
“I am tired of the higher levels of government ignoring municipalities and ignoring the crisis. Communities will not put up with this and it will get worse and worse,” he said. “…We’re doing as well as we can with the resources that we have, but it’s something that really shouldn’t be in our domain.”
Before the vote, Davis added that the core of his resolution was to ask the public to help apply pressure, and lobby the higher levels of government to do something about the crisis.
“It’s a campaign to put more pressure on the provincial and federal governments to do what’s right, to help municipalities, to help people that are most in need, and to help restore order, safety, peace and health in our communities,” he said.
To learn more about Restore Order and its two petitions (one to the provincial government and one to the federal government), visit: https://restoreorder.ca/
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
