Ontario mayors warn of homelessness surge without provincial action

Ontario’s municipalities are warning that the province could face a massive increase in the number of homeless and people living in encampments. And they say what the provincial government is doing now to fight homelessness isn’t working.

The association representing Ontario’s 444 municipalities is holding its annual conference this week. Burlington mayor Marianne Meed Ward, who’s chair of the Ontario Big City Mayors, says this is a vital meeting for municipal and provincial leaders.

And this week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and his cabinet could be getting a blast over homelessness.

As cities across the province struggle with encampments and homelessness, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) says this is a top priority.

“Housing is too expensive and communities are being ravaged by the opioid addiction,” said AMO President Robin Jones.

And the association says the province is not fixing the problem.

The AMO says currently there are “80,000 Ontarians known to be homeless” and “without action this will only get worse.”

If there’s an economic downturn, it says the number “could grow to nearly 300,000 people over the next 10 years.”

And the association is critical of the provincial government.

It says, “None of the province’s Housing Supply Action Plans address the challenge of the extreme lack of deeply affordable housing in Ontario, nor is there an overall government strategy to prevent, reduce, and ultimately end homelessness.”

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The municipal politicians say the current provincial funding system for municipalities is broken and they’re demanding a new deal to fight homelessness.

“Our key focus today is going to be around housing, how can we work together to get more housing built and stop pointing fingers about who is to blame for housing and look at who’s going to solve it together,” said Meed Ward. “We cannot continue to plan the long term investments that our community needs with a hope and a prayer, and a handout in competing with each other in the hunger games of financing.”

Hamilton’s mayor Andrea Horwath says she and other mayors met with Housing Minister Rob Flack Sunday and got his attention on issues like housing.

“It was very reinforcing for me, sitting around a table of 30 odd leaders of different municipalities. And in a short time with the minister, we got two shout outs. And that just shows that the relationship building and the advocacy that I’ve been doing is paying off,” said Horwath.

The homelessness crisis could be a key message for Premier Ford when he speaks at the meeting Monday.

“Homelessness, other challenges that we have, the opioid crisis that we’re facing with municipal tax dollars, really need some provincial support. But we would like to not do it in a happenstance way. We’d like to be able to have a discussion on all of the needs that are there, and how do we pay for them to the benefit of the people who live and work in Ontario,” said Jones.

At the same time, the image of President Donald Trump and his tariffs is looming over the meeting, with the AMO saying they need stimulus investment to head off major economic damage that could cost more than 100,000 jobs by next year.

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