Ontario big city mayors demand urgent action on homelessness crisis

Mayors from major Ontario cities are renewing calls for urgent provincial and federal intervention to address escalating homelessness, mental health, and addiction crises. During the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference in Ottawa, the Ontario's Big City Mayors (OBCM) group emphasized that municipalities have reached their financial limits and can no longer sustain the rising costs of social supports through property taxes alone.

The OBCM’s ‘Solve the Crisis’ campaign urges the province to declare a state of emergency, increase investment in recovery-based treatments, and appoint a dedicated minister for mental health and addictions. The group also advocates for expanded addiction programming within correctional institutions and a review of the Mental Health Act.

In Sudbury, local community organizations report severe impacts, noting that the city has seen 100 overdose-related deaths and a hepatitis C infection rate 30% higher than the national average. Local advocates highlight the difficulty of finding low-income housing and the consequences of halting funding for supervised consumption sites.