Guelph’s mayor calling for more support to curb ‘open-air’ drug use

Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie is fed-up with the lack of support to address the growing problem of “open-air drug use” in his community.

He took to X earlier this week to express his frustration, while calling out both the province and the federal government for their inaction.

While speaking to The Mike Farwell Show, he said this isn’t the first time he’s brought up this problem.

“I’ve been raising this issue for quite a few years now, especially because a lot it has to do with upper levels of government,” Guthrie said. “And it just does not seem to be getting any real traction of some real solid either policy or funding or changes that my city or other cities need to address this issue.”

He said municipalities have been left to shoulder the financial burden of the addiction and mental health crisis and the housing shortage. The provincial off-loading of responsibilities has had a massive impact on municipal budgets and there just isn’t enough money to go around.

“A lot of it is a health care issue. A lot of it is a housing issue and a lot of it is an addictions and mental health issue. That falls under the jurisdiction of the province. Property tax dollars were never meant, ever, to go to these issues.”

But it’s not just the province that is lacking, Guthrie said the federal government has made changes to how law enforcement deals with people suffering from addiction and that has made it harder for police to maintain order in public spaces.

He would like to see those changes revisited.

However, Guelph’s mayor doesn’t think putting addicts in jail is the answer. He said he has a massive amount of compassion for people with addiction and mental health problems.

“You can have compassion and you can have some public order. It does not need to be this versus that. It can be both. Public spaces should be for everyone.”

Guthrie is calling on the Ford government to step-up supports for municipalities so that meaning action can be taken.