Ontario Premier Doug Ford has unveiled new measures to address the growing number of homeless encampments, including harsher penalties for lawlessness and more funds towards dismantling the sites.
Ford’s letter focused on implementing new initiatives and legislation to combat the overtaking of public spaces and communities by homeless encampments. The announcement also addressed mental health and addiction recovery.
“Our government shares your concerns about the need to keep our children, families and communities safe. That’s why we are acting to put an end to the public disorder, drug use and trafficking and loss of public space that have resulted from the widespread growth in encampments,” said Ford. “These are serious problems that are impacting communities across Ontario, with people rightly demanding action. Enough is enough.”
Ford said his government currently invests almost $700 million annually in its provincial homelessness prevention program. The Ontario government also recently announced investing $378 million to create 19 Homelessness and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hubs, expected to add up to 375 additional supportive housing units. The funding will also add new recovery and treatment beds.
The Ontario premier’s response follows various requests from Ontario’s Big City Mayors, a group of 29 of the province’s mayors with populations exceeding 100,000 people — representing around 70% of Ontario’s population.
The most recent letter from the group, sent on Nov. 7, said that municipalities are doing everything in their power to address the issue but lack the resources to solve the crisis on their own.
“Without direct support from the province of Ontario, this crisis will continue to grow,” warned the mayors in their letter.
Similarly, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario previously asked the province to intervene and address the 1,400 homeless encampments in the province in 2023.
“While municipalities did not create the homelessness crisis, they are being forced to manage it without the resources or tools to sufficiently respond,” wrote the association in a report.
Ford outlined various new initiatives and legislation in his letter.
He promised improved accountability for service managers and better alignment with both provincial and local priorities. He also pledged that even more funding would be allocated to growing capacity in the province’s shelters, which would be supported by accountability measures that aim to see these funds support dismantling encampments. Additionally, Ford pledged that any public use of drugs would be prohibited entirely by equipping authorities with new enforcement tools.
Ford said that anybody who deliberately and continuously breaks the law would be subject to enhanced penalties. Lastly, he emphasized a desire to focus on addiction recovery instead of incarceration of minors and non-violent, drug-related crimes.
Twelve mayors previously wrote Ford a letter, urging him to use the notwithstanding clause if necessary to address the issues of homelessness, mental health, and addiction.
Ford said he does not expect to need to invoke the notwithstanding clause, as the province’s legislation will align with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
“However, should the courts interfere with our shared goal of effectively addressing and clearing out encampments using these enhanced tools, with your support, our government is fully prepared to use the Notwithstanding Clause,” said Ford. “This includes the province becoming an intervenor in any court case that restricts the ability of municipalities to regulate and prohibit encampments, so long as the approach you pursue is aligned with provincial best practices.”
Ford previously told able-bodied homeless people to “get off your A-S-S and start working like everyone else is.”
Increased spending from the Liberals has not solved the issue, according to a previous report from the Parliamentary Budget Officer.
Despite Infrastructure Canada’s annual actual and projected spending averaging $561 million per year between 2018-19 and 2027-28—an increase of 374% compared to the 10 years prior—the number of homeless people in Canada has risen by 20% since 2018.
Ford concluded his letter by saying that solving the crisis would require all levels of government.
“Our government will continue to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you as we work to keep our communities safe and support people in need,” he said.