Pulling out the stops to deal with homeless encampment crisis

Big city mayors back move to deal with encampments Paul Lefebvre of Greater Sudbury is among the 13 big city mayors looking for action to clear homeless encampments in their cities.

The mayors of Ontario's largest cities are asking the province to consider using the notwithstanding clause in the constitution to ensure measures to combat homelessness are implemented in a timely and effective way.

Greater Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre is the only northern Ontario mayor represented in the letter sent to Premier Doug Ford,

The letter outlines five measures that the mayors want the provincial government to consider, including intervening in court challenges that restrict the ability of municipalities to regulate and prohibit encampments and making trespassing a criminal offence resulting in jail time for repeat offenders.

Lefebvre said what cities are doing now to deal with the crisis is not working and said this is the best way to get people the services they desperately need but aren’t willing to take

“A lot of these folks are saying, well, it's my right, my charter right to refuse services," he said.

"And we're saying, you know, what if a doctor can make a determination that their rights may be stopped and frozen for a certain period of time so that they can (get treatment) and get the medical and psychiatric services that they need."

Lefebvre said municipal groups in the north also want action, as well as many families of people on the street.

"I've heard from families themselves saying, if we have those tools, if our child would have been, you know, kind of ensure that they would have to access services, they would not just be continually cycled back on the street, that they could be provided the services," he said.

"They would probably still be alive today.”

But not everyone agrees with the approach. Sault Ste. Marie Mayor Matthew Shoemaker said solutions should be found without violating the constitution.

"I don’t think that the solutions lie in going around the charter," Shoemaker said.

"They lie in finding a program that fits within the Charter. And that's my position … There is some disagreement even among the big city mayors on that issue. I trust that there will be a fierce debate over it. But, you know, as a kind of a general position, I would say that Charter rights are absolute and should not be opted out of."

Punitive measures don't work

Heidi Eisenhauer, executive director of Sudbury's Reseau Access Network, the organization that operated Sudbury s supervised consumption site, said evidence has shown that punitive measures don't work.

"Punitive approaches to homelessness and substance use not only fail to address root causes, but actively harm our communities most vulnerable members."

For his part, Lefebvre said that every day, city staff reach out to offer services and while some people take them up on it, others refuse.

Still, he said the city is spending more than ever on housing, including the Lorraine Street project set to open this winter.

"That's 40 units," Lefebvre said.

"That's for voluntary … treatment. We have the Pearl Street project coming up, as well. That's another 38 beds. We have, the shelter space now for women … We've grown that from 10 to 26 on Cedar Street. The shelter space in energy court, as well."