According to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), at least 1,400 homeless encampments were set up last year.
AMO is asking the province for advice on how to manage these encampments and do more to help house and support the people there.
The figures come from a survey of municipal officials conducted by the AMO and are contained in a policy paper the association released ahead of its conference next week, where it hopes to secure commitments from the Ford government.
“Municipalities did not create this crisis, they are forced to manage it without having the resources or tools necessary to respond adequately,” writes the AMO.
“Municipalities are often forced to balance the significant needs of people experiencing homelessness in encampments, who deserve to be treated with empathy and respect, with the responsibility to ensure that our communities are safe and vibrant places for all residents,” adds AMO.
Several municipalities have sought injunctions to address the encampment issue, with mixed results, and it is time for the province to provide guidance on the issue, AMO says.
The City of Kingston has turned to the courts. But Mayor Bryan Paterson says it’s costly, time-consuming, divisive and not a good solution.
“How do we manage these competing interests, these complex and difficult social and health issues, in a way that balances them? We expect the province to engage on this issue, to take it into account and to help municipalities find that balance.”
Municipalities are also calling on the province to provide more help in providing housing and health care to people in encampments. They say there is an urgent need to increase the number of supportive housing units, for example.
Affordable housing includes on-site resources, including mental health and addictions, and Ontario needs tens of thousands more units, AMO says.
“We know the solutions,” Paterson said.
Lack of financial resources
“There’s street outreach and shelters, then treatment, and then supportive housing. So we know those solutions. The problem is that municipalities don’t have the resources or the expertise to provide those services.”
AMO also wants the province to allow welfare or disability benefits recipients to receive housing allowances, even if they don’t have any, which would increase their income by about $400 to $500 per month.
Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy said he would continue to work with municipalities, particularly on the issue of homelessness, and said he had scheduled 35 meetings over the two-day conference.
“We’re going to continue to have robust conversations and talk about our shared priorities: homelessness, mental health, addiction and building more housing and infrastructure,” he said.
“The federal government must pay its fair share”
Justine Teplycky, spokesperson for the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, noted that Ontario spends $700 million a year on community and supportive housing and gives Toronto and Ottawa more than $240 million for shelters and homeless support.
She also noted that the budget tabled this spring provides an additional $396 million over three years for mental health and addiction services.
“We continue to call on the federal government to act, pay its fair share and take greater responsibility for the consequences of its policies, which have increased the number of people facing homelessness,” she said in a press release.
On the federal side, AMO notes that the Parliamentary Budget Officer has stated that, under the national housing strategy, the government spends about $561 million per year on homeless programs, but that an additional $3.5 billion per year would be needed to reduce the number of chronically homeless people by 50%.
In its latest budget, the Liberal government announced an additional $250 million to address the encampment problem. AMO is urging the Ontario government to do the same.
Federal Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Minister Sean Fraser did not respond to an interview request.