Mayors, police, businesses ask Ontario for help in homelessness and opioid crisis

Ontario mayors, police leaders and businesses Provide states with more support to address the rise in homelessness and the opioid crisis hitting both large cities and small towns.

Ontario's metropolitan mayors, a group that includes 29 mayors, called for an emergency meeting with the state and Prime Minister Doug Ford two months ago to address the homeless problem. , the opioid crisis and mental health, said Cam Guthrie, chairman of the organization. said. He said he was "extremely disappointed" that the group's caucuses were kept waiting on such an important issue.

As mayors' caucuses met this week with Deputy Minister for Mental Health Michael Tyvolo at the Ontario Municipal Association's annual meeting, Guthrie said that dealing with such a complex issue would be difficult.

"Every day we don't get together with other stakeholders to try and find some solution," he said. It is a day when the struggle continues and the crisis worsens," he said.

Municipalities across the state are facing a growing homeless population, spurred by the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and growing dislike and mistrust of large shelters with collective environments. are coping with an increase in

As a result, large and small encampments have sprung up in many communities and acted as lightning rods. Many have been forcibly cleared by the police, only to see smaller ones appear elsewhere.

Guthrie said cities were not set up to address the medical needs of homeless and addicted people, noting that health care falls under state jurisdiction.

A spokeswoman for Municipal and Housing Minister Steve Clark said the province "ensures that all Ontarians have a safe, stable and affordable place to call home." Vulnerable."

The government of Ontario has added new measures to programs to help people experiencing or at risk of homelessness find housing, services, and support. About $25 million is invested in annual funding, said Victoria Podbielski. She added that the state's total annual investment in homelessness prevention programs is almost $500 million.

Other organizations support calls from metropolitan mayors to meet with states on the twin crisis. Among them are the Ontario Municipal Association, the Ontario Police Chief, and the Ontario Chamber of Commerce.

“They need to get involved and come up with the best solution and why they can do it effectively and efficiently. We spend a lot of money, but we're not seeing results," said Colin Best, the new president of AMO and councilor for the Halton region.

Ontario Police Chief spokesman Joe Coote said community policing includes "tackling the root causes of poverty, homelessness and addiction of all kinds, and helping people get in touch with the justice system." We need to make sure we do it,” he said.

"In our view, if we could solve these problems at their roots, it would save people a lot of suffering and involvement in the justice system," he said.

The Ontario Chamber of Commerce said it supported calls for state partnerships to "accelerate health- and economy-focused solutions to this crisis in the short and long term."

"The opioid crisis continues to have a significant socio-economic impact on Ontario's businesses and communities, particularly in the northern regions, the construction industry, and other racialized and marginalized groups." .

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on August 17, 2022.