Niagara Region committee to consider asking province to commit to elimination of homelessness

St. Catharines regional Coun. Laura Ip isn’t confident her motion calling for a commitment from the province to end homelessness in Ontario will spur the government into action.

“But at the very least, it sends a clear message to the province,” she said.

Ip plans to present a motion at Tuesday’s Niagara Region public health and social services committee meeting that calls on the province to commit to ending homelessness in Ontario; to acknowledge that homelessness is a social, economic and health crisis; and to work with the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) and community, health, Indigenous and economic partners to implement an action plan.

Although she opposed a recent vote of regional council to declare states of emergency for homelessness, mental health and addictions, describing it at the time as “simply a feel-good public relations move” that would not accomplish its goals, she said the motion she’s presenting “includes a lot more specific language than just saying ‘it’s an emergency.’”

“Declaring a state of emergency doesn’t send a clear message ... That’s why I’m bringing this motion forward,” she said.

“This is much clearer, it’s more specific, it actually communicates something.”

Ip said her motion was based on one recently drafted by AMO, in the hope of launching a co-ordinated effort by all municipalities “to call on the province before the provincial budget is announced at the end of March.”

She said she edited AMO’s motion to specifically mention Niagara as being one of the communities identified in a 2021 Auditor General’s report as being underfunded by the province to address homelessness.

“The (province’s) funding allocation model has not been updated in years and years, and it is incorrect for a few communities, as well as Niagara,” she said.

Ip said she hopes to see many of Ontario’s 444 municipalities approve similar motions.

“If a number of municipalities are making that same call — and whether the province listens is really a separate matter — but I think they’re more likely to listen if there are dozens or maybe 100 municipalities that are making the same call,” she said.

Despite opposing the state of emergency, Ip said she supported the majority of the calls for action within it. Many of them, she added, were similar to motions she presented during the past term of council.

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