The province must do more to help municipalities deal with a “homelessness crisis.”
Those words come directly from a Town of Bancroft statement to advocate for help in Ontario’s upcoming budget.
It says the crisis has been “created by decades of provincial neglect.”
The statement quotes Mayor Paul Jenkins saying “numerous municipalities have called on the government for tangible programs and funding” but there’s been “very little acknowledgement that the crisis exists.”
Jenkins also says that “while costs of such programs are undoubtedly expensive,” municipalities “are already bearing these costs through increased demands on the health care sectors, policing and the judicial system.”
Bancroft’s asking for the province to heed recommendations by the Association of Municipalities of Ontario.
They are to increase the supply of affordable housing, increase financial assistance to families and invest in health services, including mental health and addictions services.
Ontario held pre-budget consultations in February and is expected to release its budget in late March.