'A human crisis': Sudbury mayor asks Ford for more control over homeless encampments

The mayor of Greater Sudbury, along with several other Ontario city mayors, is asking Premier Doug Ford to invoke the notwithstanding clause in response to a court decision preventing municipalities from clearing homeless encampments when shelters are full.

This plea comes as the unofficial number of people experiencing homelessness in Sudbury, Ont., has risen to 500, according to the city's "point-in-time" count.

On Thursday, the mayors called for a series of measures to help municipalities address issues related to mental health, addiction, and homeless encampments. Their request follows a January 2023 ruling by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

Justice M.J. Valente ruled that Waterloo Region could not use a municipal bylaw to evict people living in an encampment in Kitchener because that bylaw was deemed to violate section seven of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Section seven refers to the right to life, liberty and security of the person.

In their letter, the mayors request that the provincial government take the following actions:

• Become an intervenor in any court case that restricts municipalities' ability to regulate and prohibit encampments, following the principle endorsed by the U.S. Supreme Court that courts should not dictate government policy on homelessness.
• Strengthen the system of mandatory community-based and residential mental health care and expand services for individuals with severe addictions.
• Implement a drug and diversion court system across the province, ensuring adequate resources for a focus on rehabilitation rather than incarceration.
• Amend the Trespass to Property Act to include a separate provision for "repetitive acts of trespass," with penalties that could include incarceration. The amendments should also enable police officers to arrest individuals for repetitive trespassing after being warned.
• Enact legislation prohibiting the "open and public" use of drugs in the same manner as the open consumption of alcohol.

The letter is signed by Barrie Mayor Alex Nuttall, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown, Brantford Mayor Ken Davis, Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett, Chatham-Kent Mayor Darrin Canniff, Clarington Mayor Adrian Foster, Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie, Oakville Mayor Rob Burton, Oshawa Mayor Dan Carter, Pickering Mayor Kevin Ashe, St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe, Sudbury Mayor Paul Lefebvre and Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens.

"We ask for your immediate attention to this matter and look forward to working with the Government of Ontario to realize positive changes to very complex issues," the mayors wrote in the letter.

In a statement, Mayor Lefebvre expressed concern for families who feel powerless watching their loved ones struggle with severe mental health challenges and debilitating addictions. He emphasized the need for co-ordinated responses at both the municipal and provincial levels.

"In joining my colleagues in sending this letter, I recognize the gravity of invoking measures like the notwithstanding clause, a step we do not take lightly. However, the realities playing out across Ontario demand swift and decisive action, requiring the full spectrum of tools available to address it effectively and compassionately," he wrotein a statement to local media.

Lefebvre noted that the current system is unable to meet the growing demand for addiction treatment and rehabilitation programs.

"This is a human crisis that requires urgent action, and a key issue that the health care system needs to address," he wrote.

"Here in Greater Sudbury, we have made meaningful progress; through dedicated efforts to support those willing to accept intervention, we have been able to provide supportive transitional housing for individuals in need and provide critical wraparound services. This includes access to mental health care, addiction services, and other essential resources that help people rebuild their lives."

However, Heidi Eisenhauer, executive director of the Rseau ACCESS Network, an organization focused on harm reduction for people who use drugs,questioned the letter's release and the city's priorities.

"My first thoughts are to the folks living in the encampments, there is nowhere for them to go. Why aren't we first moving towards increasing access to shelters and affordable subsidized housing?" said Eisenhauer.

"As a city, there were choices made to reduce and to close many of the rooming houses and to sell off some of our pieces of subsidized housing to work with our deficit, but in turn, we have created even more homelessness."

Last year, the city turned to a church, public libraries and a local mission to extend hours and serve as warming centres for the unsheltered in January.

"It disturbs me when people are not seen for who they are and that time is not taken," said Eisenhauer, advising the city to consider getting input from the homeless community.