Court of Appeal Orders New Trial in Encampment Case Citing “Series of Errors” by Hamilton Judge

The Court of Appeal for Ontario (ONCA) has ordered a new trial in the now over half-decade long Charter of Rights challenges against Hamilton’s bylaws prohibiting unhoused individuals from erecting encampments in local parks and other areas of the city.

Writing for an unanimous panel of three appellant judges, Justice Lise G. Favreau writes that Hamilton Superior Court Justice James Ramsey “made a series of errors” in making his December 2024 decision, and “given the errors made by the application judge, it would be inappropriate for this court to decide the issues … or to provide general guidance beyond the issues that arise in this case.”

The appellant judges write that Justice Ramsey’s decision “lacked the depth of analysis that is required when dealing with issues of this significance” and that he “only addressed the key factual and legal issues in brief conclusory paragraphs with little or no analysis.”

The number of errors, and the extent of the “lack of analysis” by Justice Ramsey means the matter must “unfortunately” be remitted “back to the Superior Court to be decided afresh because it would not be appropriate for this court to make the findings of fact and conduct the necessary analysis as though it were the court of first instance,” writes ONCA Justice Favreau.

The matter is now remitted back to the “Superior Court to be decided by a different judge.”

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The decision was issued at 12:00 noon. More to come…

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Published: October 9, 2026
Last updated: October 9, 2026
Author: Joey Coleman

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