Forty tiny shelters were meant to have been ready by mid-December. Photo Credit: Jeff Harti/LinkedIn.
Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath’s plan to have 40 tiny shelters available by mid-December to house the homeless has still not come to fruition.
Instead, the project has been marred by controversy and delays with multiple questions asked about the contractor the city chose to source the shelters, revelations that the structures were actually manufactured in China, and residents left wondering why the project has now been delayed for weeks.
First, Brantford-based company MicroShelters Inc. which was chosen by the City to deliver the tiny shelters, was sent a cease-and-desist letter from California-based company Foldum Corp.
Folsom Corp. said that MicroShelters Inc. was using photos of their tiny shelters on their website.
Then, it was revealed that the tiny shelters are actually made in China and being shipped to Canada.
MicroShelters Inc. was chosen by the City of Hamilton to deliver the shelters without a proper competitive procurement process or due diligence, with the City citing time constraints.
It turns out that MicroShelters Inc., a company that was only created a few months ago, is actually sourcing the shelters through an American company Global Axxis LLC which in turn sources tiny shelters through China.
Hamilton Mayor Andrea Horwath issued a directive to City staff to create a tiny shelter community on Aug. 6, 2024.
Meanwhile, MicroShelters Inc. appears to have been incorporated only a few days later on Aug. 28, 2024. It is unclear if they have even delivered any previous projects.
MicroShelters Inc. is certified as an Indigenous business by the Canadian Council for Indigenous Business and is founded by Jeff Cooper, who’s LinkedIn account identifies him as being from Ohsweken, Ontario within the Six Nations of the Grand River, and Denis Fourcaudot from Burlington, Ontario.
Questions have been asked why the City chose MicroShelters Inc. as its contractor when there are multiple Canadian companies that manufacture tiny shelters, including in the City of Hamilton itself.
Those questions were magnified when the City revealed that the project would be delayed until at least mid-January.
The shelters were supposed to be up by Dec. 20, 2024.
There have reportedly been “unexpected delays.”
Those questions were magnified again when it was revealed that the City will also be paying taxes, shipping, and duties on the 40 tiny shelters, escalating costs.
In September, the city estimated that the total one-time cost to set up the project would be $2.8 million with annual operating costs of $4 million.
It remains to be seen what the final costs will be. It also remains to be seen when the project will be up and running.
In the meantime, Ontario Premier Doug Ford is also now reportedly involved in looking into the procurement process that the City of Hamilton took to source the shelters.
Ward 3 (East Hamilton) resident Andrew Selman contacted Ford about the matter and the Premier called Selman and said that he will be looking into it.
The tiny shelter community is going to be set up on a city-owned lot at Barton Street West and Tiffany Street near Bayfront Park and the West Harbour GO Station.
The city will be prioritizing couples and individuals with pets at these tiny homes and, in addition to the 40 shelters, the lot will include a common building as well as washrooms, showers, 24/7 staff, and laundry amenities.
Based in Hamilton, he reaches hundreds of thousands of people monthly on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter. He has been published in The Hamilton Spectator, Stoney Creek News, and Bay Observer. He has also been a segment host with Cable 14 Hamilton. In 2017, he received the Chancellor Full Tuition Scholarship from the University of Ottawa (BA, 2022). He has also received the Governor General’s Academic Medal. He formerly worked in a non-partisan role on Parliament Hill in Ottawa.
