Two Cambridge encampment residents allowed to remain on interim basis

Two Cambridge encampment residents will be allowed to stay on an interim basis.

Lawyers for both the City of Cambridge, and Michael Nanos, 52, and Joseph Micallef, 68, agreed Thursday in Ontario Superior Court the men can remain in the Branchton encampment until a decision is made on their motion.

Waterloo Region Community Legal Services filed a request for an injunction on behalf of the men Wednesday, to prevent Cambridge bylaw officers from evicting them from the encampment on a permanent basis.

On March 18, stickers stating the men had to be gone by Thursday and that bylaw would be clearing the camp were put on tents in the encampment near Branchton Road, on cityowned land a few hundred metres behind the Petro-Canada gas station at 1071 Dundas St. S.

The two men claim some of their possessions have already been disposed of.

Shannon Down, representing Nanos and Micallef, said not only can the men stay in the camp for now, the city will not prevent the plaintiffs from entering the encampment. If the city decides to remove garbage from the encampment, it will only remove items identified as garbage by the men.

As well, part of the agreement states Nanos and Micallef can’t erect any new structures at the encampment, other than tents.

The men are also seeking $10,000 in damages for loss of property and court costs.

The application stated Nanos and Micallef “will suffer irreparable harm” if evicted, including “psychological and physical effects of displacement, as well as a loss of property including essential survival items.”

Both men, who previously lived at an encampment at 150 Main St. before it was cleared by the region in August 2023, said the evictions take a toll on their physical and mental health.

About 13 people have stayed at the Branchton encampment at various time since the Main Street encampment was closed, and local agencies regularly visit to provide health and social supports.

There are no available shelter spaces in Waterloo Region to accommodate Nanos and Micallef, according to the motion.

M AT H E W MCCARTHY WATERLOO REGION RECORD FILE PHOTO The Soper Park camp was one of a few that popped up in the city after residents of an encampment at 150 Main St. were cleared out. Another was near Branchton Road, where two men have been granted an interim stay pending a decision on eviction.