TORONTO — Cities and towns across Ontario saw at least 1,400 homeless encampments in their communities last year, according to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, which is asking the province for guidance on how to handle them, as well as more help to house and support people. The number comes from an AMO survey of municipal service managers and is contained in a policy paper the association has released in advance of their conference next week, during which it is hoping for some commitments from Ontario. "While municipalities did not create the homelessness crisis, they are being forced to manage it without the resources or tools to sufficiently respond," the association wrote.
"Municipalities are often caught balancing the important needs of unsheltered people living in encampments, who deserve to be treated with empathy and respect, and a responsibility to ensure our communities are safe and vibrant places for all residents." Several municipalities have sought injunctions in order to deal with encampments, with mixed results, and it's time for the province to provide some guidance on the issue, AMO says. Kingston is one city that has turned to the courts, and Mayor Bryan Paterson said it's expensive, time consuming, divisive, and not a good solution.
"How do we navigate these competing interests, these challenging, complex social and health issues that we see, in a way that balances those off?" he said in an interview. "We're looking for the province to engage .