A Hamilton councillor’s recent experience witnessing a baby born in an encampment in the city demonstrates the “unacceptable” housing crisis residents face and “eye opening” situations paramedics and police officers are currently responding to, he says.

Coun. Matt Francis (Ward 5) told CBC Hamilton he was doing a ride along with police on a cold morning in late November when they were called to a medical emergency at an encampment tucked away in an industrial area in the east end.

They arrived at the same time as paramedics and “to our surprise,” he said, a woman had given birth in a tent and was holding the infant with the umbilical cord still attached. There was another person in the tent with her.

“I was one of the very first people to see this child born and I was shocked and saddened at the same time,” Francis said in an interview Monday.

Paramedics cut the umbilical cord and wrapped the baby in a blanket, while police helped the mother onto a stretcher. She and the baby were taken away in an ambulance, he said.

“My heart goes out to the mother and any other mothers in such a terrible situation,” said Francis, a father of two. “My heart goes out and breaks for the children too that are born into the world that way.”

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    10 months ago

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    A Hamilton councillor’s recent experience witnessing a baby born in an encampment in the city demonstrates the “unacceptable” housing crisis residents face and “eye opening” situations paramedics and police officers are currently responding to, he says.

    Matt Francis (Ward 5) told CBC Hamilton he was doing a ride along with police on a cold morning in late November when they were called to a medical emergency at an encampment tucked away in an industrial area in the east end.

    Francis spoke publicly about the experience for the first time at a council meeting on Monday — after the chief of police asked for a $20 million budget increase for 2024.

    Francis has been a vocal opponent of encampments in public spaces, saying at a council meeting last year they’re “beyond inappropriate” and that he supports an “enforcement-first approach.”

    “The investments in housing and homelessness are a significant driver of the 2024 budget and we know it’s also [among] the key council priorities,” Jason Thorne, general manager of planning and economic development, told councillors Tuesday.

    Residents in his ward, east of the Redhill, can’t afford another major tax increase like last year, he said, adding people are struggling to pay their mortgages amid inflation and high interest rates.

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