Burlington & Halton Councils Unanimously Pass Resolutions Calling on Province to Help End Homelessness in Ontario
At our Burlington Council meeting on March 21, we unanimously passed a resolution I brought forward calling on the Provincial government to help end homeless in Ontario. A similar resolution was brought forward by myself and Halton Regional & Milton Town Councillor Colin Best at our Halton Regional Council meeting on March 22 and it too passed unanimously.There are several complex factors impacting the unprecedented level of people who are homeless are experiencing in Ontario. Municipalities do not have the expertise, capacity, or resources to address these increasingly complex healthcare issues that lead tohomelessness or extend chronic homelessness.MY TAKE:This originated from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) asking municipalities to join together to recognize the impacts of homelessness on its towns and cities. To date, 30 municipalities have passed a similar resolution and AMO is calling for an emergency meeting with the Province. We can't do it alone and need upper levels of government working in partnership in order to address this issue.
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To view the full resolution, see below or click/tap here: ADM-03-23 A Call to the Provincial government to End Homelessness in OntarioWhereas the homelessness crisis is taking a devastating toll on families and communities, undermining a healthy and prosperous Ontario; andWhereas the homelessness crisis is the result of the underinvestment and poor policy choices of successive provincial governments; andWhereas homelessness requires a range of housing, social service and health solutions from government; andWhereas homelessness is felt most at the level of local government and the residents that they serve; andWhereas municipalities and Regional Governments are doing their part, but do not have the resources, capacity or tools to address this complex challenge; and,Whereas leadership and urgent action is needed from the provincial government on an emergency basis to develop, resource, and implement a comprehensive plan to prevent, reduce and ultimately end homelessness in Ontario;Therefore, be it resolved that; Burlington City Council calls on the Provincial Government to urgently:a. Acknowledge that homelessness in Ontario is a social, economic, and health crisis; andb. Commit to ending homelessness in Ontario; andc. Work with Association of Municipalities of Ontario, Regional and Municipal partners and a broad range of community, health, Indigenous and economic partners to develop, resource, and implement an action plan to achieve this goal.And further that, a copy of this motion be sent to the Premier of Ontario; the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing; the Minister of Children, Community and Social Services; the Minister of Health; Halton MPPs; Halton Region and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.RELATED LINK: