Municipalities ask Ontario to appoint minister for housing needs, addiction

OTTAWA — Ontario municipalities are asking the province to appoint a minister to tackle homelessness as leaders sound the alarm on the growing housing, mental health and addictions needs of their communities.

Leaders from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario kicked off the organization’s annual conference in Ottawa on Sunday with a news conference to lay out their priorities for the summit.

“Have this minister strike an action table, bring together all of the experts in the field who have been willing and providing policy recommendations for many years, and develop a made-in-Ontario action plan,” said Marianne Meed Ward, mayor of Burlington and the chair of Ontario’s Big City Mayors Caucus.

The municipalities are also asking for a meeting with the province to discuss how Ontario’s public services can be funded and delivered more effectively.

The municipal leaders say their budgets are strained because of rising costs associated with homelessness, mental health and addictions.

“Municipalities deliver almost every public service that businesses and residents rely on, with the exception of primary health care and education. We need to work together to ensure that we’re using the best approaches for both orders of government and for taxpayers,” said Brian Rosborough, executive director of AMO.

The association estimates municipalities spent $4 billion in 2023 on health and social services, both of which are provincial responsibilities.

The Trillium, a news outlet focused on Queen’s Park, recently reported that documents obtained via a freedom-of-information request show the province’s “unofficial estimate” for homelessness is about 234,000 people.

“Just for reference, that is bigger than the entire city of Burlington,” said Meed Ward.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford is expected to address the summit in Ottawa on Monday, and leaders of opposition parties are also expected to attend.

Federal Housing Minister Sean Fraser is also expected to be there on Monday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2024.

Nojoud Al Mallees, The Canadian Press