The pilot would have seen a community of 25 tiny homes erected at Strachan Linear Park. Pictured is an artist’s rending of the proposed community. Photo credit: Engage Hamilton/City of Hamilton
The Hamilton Alliance for Tiny Shelters (HATS) announced that they are cancelling their planned Strachan Street pilot project which received Council approval in August and was expected to be set up before this winter.
The cancellation comes after HATS expressed issues with costs (the project is entirely privately funded) and controversy regarding the location.
The pilot would have seen a community of 25 tiny homes erected at Strachan Linear Park, a city-owned piece of land on Strachan Street East between James Street North and Hughson Street North.
The land is located just north of LIUNA Station banquet and convention centre and just east of Bayfront Park.
Several residents expressed that there was no consultation regarding the location.
Indeed, the location was sprung on Council and Hamilton residents alike when city staff presented their proposed encampment protocol which included the plan for the tiny homes project.
A statement from the HATS Board of Directors reads: “The organization felt too many of its essential site selection criteria were not being fully met, which would severely compromise the success of the Pilot to the detriment of all of its community partners.”
“While the Strachan site addressed some of the needs of the HATS project, the due diligence process led HATS to conclude that the investment required was too significant,” the statement continues.
The location, which is in the city’s Ward 2, was opposed by the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA) which represents thousands of construction and energy workers across Canada, has a significant presence in Hamilton, and operates the nearby LIUNA Station.
The area’s former councillor, Jason Farr, and residents also made their voices heard both online and at in-person consultation meetings in opposition to the location.
HATS says that they are now moving forward in collaboration with the city to identify other sites for their pilot and now have a new targeted implementation date of mid-2024.
HATS says that LIUNA has also offered their support in identifying potential sites.
The City of Hamilton also released a statement recognizing the work that HATS has put in and expressing the city’s disappointment that the Strachan pilot will be unable to move forward.
The statement mentions that the city will be taking “additional measures to meet the needs of unhoused individuals over the winter months, including a call-out for applications for overnight winter warming spaces, expansion of daytime drop-in programs and expansion of hours at some recreation centres and libraries.”
The city also noted HATS’s 2024 plans, saying that “no alternative sites are proposed at this time” but the city “will continue to keep the public informed about progress with respect to the tiny homes initiative through monthly General Issues Committee Encampment Response Updates.”
The city’s statement also mentions that they are focused “on the ongoing implementation of the city’s encampment protocols” at this time. The protocols were also introduced in August.
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.
