Ontario’s big city mayors are discussing a plan to urge upper-level governments to provide more assistance to handle encampments and provide better supports for those struggling with addictions issues.
QP Briefing has learned the province’s big city mayors’ caucus is debating passing a motion asking the provincial and federal governments to take on “intervenor status” in future court cases that could restrict their communities’ ability to regulate and prohibit encampments.
The motion would also call for an update of the Mental Health Act and the Health Care Consent Act to enforce mandatory treatment for addiction and some severe mental health cases, according to a copy of the draft motion viewed by QP Briefing.
It will be debated at the caucus’ next meeting on October 18.
A major goal of the motion appears to be pressing provincial and the federal governments to permit municipal regulation of encampments, advocating that courts should not dictate homelessness policies that override provincial and municipal authority.
“Municipalities need clear and enforceable guidance from the provincial government and must have the legal authority to act swiftly and decisively when public safety is at risk,” the motion reads.
It says court decisions have restricted municipalities’ ability to manage public lands effectively, making it difficult to handle encampments and ensure public safety.
Mayors say conversations around the motion started in August, during the meeting of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO), of which the caucus is part of. AMO includes all municipal governments in Ontario except for Toronto.
A report conducted by AMO in July said that “some people living in encampments refuse offers of shelter or housing options, (…) There are situations when it is necessary to re-locate and/or remove encampments and find other alternative options.”
“It is not a sustainable, long-term solution for municipalities to allow the normalization of encampments. Municipalities need to act in the best interests of the homeless and their communities to find other solutions,” the report read.
Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall said the motion is necessary because municipalities need the system to work.
“Right now, because of the court rulings, we’re not able to enforce our bylaws and ensure that our parks are kept as, you know, safe, clean and welcoming areas,” he said.
“We’re struggling in some parks where our pathways and treed areas, as well as playgrounds, are being turned into encampments. We’re seeing a lot of drug paraphernalia in these areas, which creates an unsafe situation for our most vulnerable citizens, our children.”
For mayors across Ontario, the problem goes beyond managing public spaces. The mayors say that the root causes of homelessness — often undiagnosed and untreated mental health issues and addictions — are being ignored, and the burden of addressing them is being unfairly placed on local governments.
The motion says provincial and federal governments need to “take responsibility for policy decisions that have led to this humanitarian crisis and must take on a greater leadership role in helping municipalities address the associated issues.”
It will also advise the provincial and federal governments to develop a “compassionate, compulsory treatment program that expands the scope of and strengthens the system of mandatory community-based and residential mental health and addictions treatment under the Mental Health Act and the Health Care Consent Act.”
This means individuals with severe mental health or addiction issues would be required to receive treatment, even if they do not voluntarily seek it.
The Mental Health Act and the Health Care Consent Act are existing pieces of legislation that govern how mental health care is provided and under what circumstances someone can be treated without their consent.
Minister of Health Sylvia Jones has raised concerns about involuntary treatment in the past, but refused to completely rule it out.
When asked if Ontario would be on board with the mayors’ proposal, a spokesperson for the premier’s office said simply that the province is “looking at all options available.”
“We’re hearing from municipalities and residents who are rightly frustrated with the encampments in their communities,” the spokesperson added.
Brantford Mayor Kevin Davis said the Mental Health Act is outdated and needs to be reviewed.
“It hasn’t been done now for 30 years. We believe there’s a need to look at sections of the Mental Health Act that deal with mandatory treatment, and consider those sections in light of what we’ve all been experiencing in the last 10 years and what’s currently happening,” he said.
“I think myself and a number of other mayors feel that the focus is too much on harm reduction. This is an attempt to broaden the approach,” Davis said.
“I know from my own personal experience in dealing with alcoholics in my family and friends, that if you enable an addiction, that is not going to create the circumstances or the incentive for the person to seek treatment,” he added.
The motion will also recommend the governments to implement “Diversion Courts” throughout the province, to divert cases from the penal system to a health system. These courts will also:
“A. Providing the Courts with an escalating scale of penalty provisions in the case of subsequent convictions for repetitive trespass;
B. Allowing for referral to a Diversion Court for charges of repetitive trespass;
C. Permitting a police officer to arrest a person without warrant who commits an act of repetitive trespass.”
“Repetitive trespass” was not defined in the motion.
Finally, the motion advises the provincial and federal governments to pass legislation prohibiting open and public use of illicit drugs and public intoxication, whether that be by consumption of alcohol or illicit drugs.
“I don’t want to be part of a society or community that puts the trauma of adults ahead of the innocence of children,” he said. “We need to help those suffering from homelessness and addiction while also preserving safe spaces for our kids,” Nuttall said.
Municipalities plan to relocate these people into supportive shelter spaces or transitional supportive housing in social services that are available in each municipality. Some are run by the local region or the municipal government, but others fall into provincial and federal responsibility.
Supportive housing is affordable housing with on-site support that helps individuals achieve housing stability.
The wait list for government subsidized housing assistance in 2018 was 215,000 people. A study from the Canada Housing Renewal Association says that additional 143,225 units of affordable community housing are needed in Ontario by 2030 just to meet the OECD average.
“We’ll wait to see where the federal government would go in terms of working with the municipalities,” Nuttall said.
