Page 6 – Public Law and Order
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Our Public Spaces Belong to Everyone
A safe and orderly community should not be a luxury.
People in Thunder Bay should be able to walk downtown, take their children to a park, wait for a bus, visit a business, or use a public facility without being confronted by public drug use, serious disorder, public sexual activity, human waste, or threatening and disruptive behaviour.
This is not about judging people who are struggling.
It is about maintaining a basic standard of public safety, cleanliness, dignity and respect.
The Law Must Mean Something
Ontario already has legislation specifically addressing the consumption of illegal substances in public places.
The Restricting Public Consumption of Illegal Substances Act, 2025 prohibits the consumption of an illegal substance in a public place, subject to specified exemptions. Where a police officer has reasonable grounds to believe someone is consuming an illegal substance in a public place, the officer may direct that person to stop consuming the substance or leave the public place. A person who fails to comply with such a direction commits an offence.
That creates an important public-policy question for Thunder Bay:
If public drug consumption is prohibited by law, are our public spaces receiving the level of enforcement that residents should reasonably expect?
The answer should not be to simply accept public drug consumption as an unavoidable part of city life.
Public Disorder
The Criminal Code also contains provisions dealing with certain forms of disorderly conduct in or near public places.
For example, section 175 addresses causing a disturbance in or near a public place, including circumstances involving being drunk, fighting, shouting, obscene or insulting language, impeding or molesting other people, and certain other disorderly conduct.
This does not mean that every person who has been drinking in public has committed an offence. The circumstances and the conduct involved matter.
But when intoxication becomes disorderly, threatening, obstructive or disruptive to others, the law provides tools for enforcement.
Public Sexual Activity and Lewd Behaviour
Public spaces must also be places where residents can feel safe and comfortable.
The Criminal Code prohibits wilfully committing an indecent act in a public place in the presence of one or more persons, subject to the circumstances set out in the law.
Therefore, public sexual activity or other conduct that meets the legal definition of an indecent act should not simply be treated as something residents have to tolerate.
The appropriate response must depend on the circumstances and the applicable law, but the principle is straightforward:
Public spaces are not private spaces.
Families, seniors, children, visitors and businesses should not have to avoid public areas because of serious disorderly or indecent behaviour.
Public Urination and Defecation
There is another issue that residents increasingly notice: people urinating or defecating in public spaces.
Human waste on sidewalks, in doorways, parks and other public areas creates obvious concerns about cleanliness, public health, dignity and the use of shared spaces.
Not every instance of public urination or defecation necessarily constitutes a Criminal Code offence. The applicable response can depend on the circumstances and on municipal enforcement powers.
Thunder Bay already has municipal enforcement mechanisms and provides a process for residents to report by-law compliance concerns.
The question for municipal government is therefore not simply whether a particular incident can result in a criminal charge.
The question is:
Are we doing enough to keep our public spaces clean, safe and usable for everyone?
Compassion and Accountability
I believe Thunder Bay can address these problems without losing compassion.
People experiencing homelessness, addiction, mental-health challenges or other difficulties need access to appropriate services, treatment, housing and support.
But helping people does not require us to abandon public order.
Compassion and accountability are not opposites.
We can provide help to someone who needs it while also maintaining reasonable standards for behaviour in public places.
What I Would Advocate For as Mayor
As mayor, I would work within the authority of the municipal government and advocate for stronger coordination among the City, Thunder Bay Police Service, the Province, health and social-service providers and the justice system.
My focus would include:
- Consistent enforcement of laws governing public drug consumption and public disorder
- Better coordination between enforcement and social-service agencies
- Appropriate responses to repeat public-order problems
- Cleaner and better-maintained public spaces
- Improved access to treatment, housing and support services
- Protection of parks, sidewalks, transit areas, downtown streets and other shared public spaces
- Clear expectations for behaviour in public places
- Regular reporting to residents about public-safety and public-order initiatives
A mayor does not control police officers, Crown prosecutors or the courts. Those responsibilities belong to different levels and institutions of government.
But a mayor can advocate, coordinate, bring agencies together, identify gaps, support municipal enforcement and make public order a clear priority of municipal government.
A Simple Principle
My position is simple:
Help people who need help.
Enforce the law when laws are broken.
Protect the public spaces that belong to everyone.
No resident should be expected to accept public drug use, serious disorder, human waste or indecent behaviour simply because it has become common.
Thunder Bay can be compassionate without surrendering public order.
Our streets, sidewalks, parks and public spaces should be safe, clean and accessible to everyone.