‘Humanitarian crisis’ happening in municipalities across Ontario: Big City Mayors

Ontario’s Big City Mayors (OBCM) are calling on the upper levels of government to fix what they are calling a “humanitarian crisis” within municipalities.

According to OBCM, communities have done “everything” to solve the homelessness crisis where many people are living in encampments and other unsafe spaces while dying from mental health and addiction.

“We don’t have the resources or expertise to take this on alone,” a press release reads.

This has prompted the OBCM to launch the Solve the Crisis campaign hoping to partner with the province and the federal government to tackle the issues once and for all.

It is asking:

• Appoint a ministry and minister as a single point of contact for housing needs, mental health, addictions and wrap around supports
• Have the minister create a task force that focuses on health care, first responders, community services and tourism
• Fund services that people need where there are gaps in the system
• Invest in 24/7 community hubs and crisis centres

“There are people in our community who need support, including a vastly underestimated number of women, girls and gender diverse peoples experiencing homelessness,” City of Waterloo Mayor Dorothy McCabe said in a statement. “We urgently need the provincial and federal governments to provide the resources required for this united effort.”

McCabe told 570 NewsRadio in an interview that the municipal property tax system was never set up to tackle the pressing issues that cities are seeing.

“We have poured millions of dollars in our region into addressing this, and we’re taking it off the backs of our local residents and our local citizens, and again there are solutions,” she said.

McCabe said the solutions cost money which they need from the upper tier governments.

“These are not programs that we can afford to run. We can manage the programs really well, but we need them there as as funding partners,” the mayor said.

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